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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/6372-h.zip b/6372-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3def967 --- /dev/null +++ b/6372-h.zip diff --git a/6372-h/6372-h.htm b/6372-h/6372-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f52d3c4 --- /dev/null +++ b/6372-h/6372-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,5574 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Wonder-working Magician, by Calderon + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Wonder-Working Magician, by +Pedro Calderon de la Barca + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 + + +Title: The Wonder-Working Magician + +Author: Pedro Calderon de la Barca + +Translator: Denis Florence Mac-Carthy + +Release Date: June 14, 2009 [EBook #6372] +Last Updated: February 1, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN *** + + + + +Produced by Sue Asscher, and David Widger + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN + </h1> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Pedro Calderon de la Barca + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + Now First Translated Fully From The Spanish<br /> In The Metre Of The + Original. By Denis Florence Mac-Carthy. + </h3> + <h4> + <br /><br /> London: Henry S. King & Co.,<br /> 65 Cornhill, And 12, + Paternoster Row.<br /> 1873. <br /> <br /> + </h4> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> ACT THE FIRST. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> ACT THE SECOND. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> ACT THE THIRD. </a> + </p> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + INTRODUCTION. + </h2> + <p> + Two of the dramas contained in this volume are the most celebrated of all + Calderon's writings. The first, "La Vida es Sueno", has been translated + into many languages and performed with success on almost every stage in + Europe but that of England. So late as the winter of 1866-7, in a Russian + version, it drew crowded houses to the great theatre of Moscow; while a + few years earlier, as if to give a signal proof of the reality of its + title, and that Life was indeed a Dream, the Queen of Sweden expired in + the theatre of Stockholm during the performance of "La Vida es Sueno". In + England the play has been much studied for its literary value and the + exceeding beauty and lyrical sweetness of some passages; but with the + exception of a version by John Oxenford published in "The Monthly + Magazine" for 1842, which being in blank verse does not represent the form + of the original, no complete translation into English has been attempted. + Some scenes translated with considerable elegance in the metre of the + original were published by Archbishop Trench in 1856; but these comprised + only a portion of the graver division of the drama. The present version of + the entire play has been made with the advantages which the author's long + experience in the study and interpretation of Calderon has enabled him to + apply to this master-piece of the great Spanish poet. All the forms of + verse have been preserved; while the closeness of the translation may be + inferred from the fact, that not only the whole play but every speech and + fragment of a speech are represented in English in the exact number of + lines of the original, without the sacrifice, it is to be hoped, of one + important idea. + </p> + <p> + A note by Hartzenbusch in the last edition of the drama published at + Madrid (1872), tells that "La Vida es Sueno", is founded on a story which + turns out to be substantially the same as that with which English students + are familiar as the foundation of the famous Induction to the "Taming of + the Shrew". Calderon found it however in a different work from that in + which Shakespeare met with it, or rather his predecessor, the anonymous + author of "The Taming of a Shrew", whose work supplied to Shakespeare the + materials of his own comedy. + </p> + <p> + On this subject Malone thus writes. "The circumstance on which the + Induction to the anonymous play, as well as to the present Comedy + [Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew"], is founded, is related (as + Langbaine has observed) by Heuterus, "Rerum Burgund." lib. iv. The + earliest English original of this story in prose that I have met with is + the following, which is found in Goulart's "Admirable and Memorable + Histories", translated by E. Grimstone, quarto, 1607; but this tale (which + Goulart translated from Heuterus) had undoubtedly appeared in English, in + some other shape, before 1594: + </p> + <p> + "Philip called the good Duke of Burgundy, in the memory of our ancestors, + being at Bruxelles with his Court, and walking one night after supper + through the streets, accompanied by some of his favourites, he found lying + upon the stones a certaine artisan that was very dronke, and that slept + soundly. It pleased the prince in this artisan to make trial of the vanity + of our life, whereof he had before discoursed with his familiar friends. + He therefore caused this sleeper to be taken up, and carried into his + palace; he commands him to be layed in one of the richest beds; a riche + night cap to be given him; his foule shirt to be taken off, and to have + another put on him of fine holland. When as this dronkard had digested his + wine, and began to awake, behold there comes about his bed Pages and + Groomes of the Duke's Chamber, who drawe the curteines, make many + courtesies, and being bare-headed, aske him if it please him to rise, and + what apparell it would please him to put on that day. They bring him rich + apparell. This new Monsieur amazed at such courtesie, and doubting whether + he dreamt or waked, suffered himselfe to be drest, and led out of the + chamber. There came noblemen which saluted him with all honour, and + conduct him to the Masse, where with great ceremonie they give him the + booke of the Gospell, and the Pixe to kisse, as they did usually to the + Duke. From the Masse they bring him back unto the pallace; he washes his + hands, and sittes down at the table well furnished. After dinner, the + Great Chamberlain commands cards to be brought with a great summe of + money. This Duke in imagination playes with the chief of the Court. Then + they carry him to walke in the gardein, and to hunt the hare, and to + hawke. They bring him back into the pallace, where he sups in state. + Candles being light the musitions begin to play; and the tables taken + away, the gentlemen and gentlewomen fell to dancing. Then they played a + pleasant comedie, after which followed a Banket, whereat they had + presently store of Ipocras and pretious wine, with all sorts of + confitures, to this prince of the new impression; so as he was dronke, and + fell soundlie asleepe. Hereupon the Duke commanded that he should be + disrobed of all his riche attire. He was put into his old ragges, and + carried into the same place, where he had been found the night before; + where he spent that night. Being awake in the morning, he began to + remember what had happened before; he knewe not whether it were true + indeede, or a dream that had troubled his braine. But in the end, after + many discourses, he concludes that ALL WAS BUT A DREAME that had happened + unto him; and so entertained his wife, his children, and his neighbours, + without any other apprehension." + </p> + <p> + It is curious to find that the same anecdote which formed the Induction to + the original "Taming of a Shrew", and which, from a comic point of view, + Shakespeare so wonderfully developed in his own comedy, Calderon invested + with such solemn and sublime dignity in "La Vida es Sueno". He found it, + as Senor Hartzenbusch points out in the edition of 1872 already quoted, in + the very amusing "Viage Entretenido" of Augustin de Rojas, which was first + published in 1603. Hartzenbusch refers to the modern edition of Rojas, + Madrid, 1793, tomo I, pp. 261, 262, 263, but in a copy of the Lerida + edition of 1615, in my own possession, I find the anecdote at folios 118, + 119, 120. There are some slight differences between the version of Rojas + and that of Goulart, but the incidents and the persons are the same. The + conclusion to which the artizan arrived at, in the version of Goulart, + that all had been a dream, is expressed more strongly by the Duke himself + in the story as told by Rojas. + </p> + <p> + "Y dijo entonces el Duque: 'veis aqui, amigos, "Lo que es el Mundo: Todo + es un Sueno", pues esto verdaderamente ha pasado por este, como habeis + visto, y le parece que lo ha sonado.'"— + </p> + <p> + The story in all probability came originally from the East. Mr. Lane in + his translation of the Thousand and One Nights gives a very interesting + narrative which he believes to be founded on an historical fact in which + Haroun Al Raschid plays the part of the good Duke of Burgundy, and + Abu-l-Hasan the original of Christopher Sly. The gravity of the treatment + and certain incidents in this Oriental story recall more strongly + Calderon's drama than the Induction to the "Taming of the Shrew". "La Vida + es Sueno" was first published either at the end of 1635 or beginning of + 1636. + </p> + <p> + The "Aprobacion" for its publication along with eleven other dramas (not + nine as Archbishop Trench has stated), was signed on the 6th of November + in the former year by the official licenser, Juan Bautista de Sossa. The + volume was edited by the poet's brother, Don Joseph Calderon. So scarce + has this first authorised collection of any of Calderon's dramas become, + that a Spanish writer Don Vicente Garcia de la Huerta, in his "Teatro + Espanol" (Parte Segunda, tomo 30), denies the existence of this volume of + 1635, and states that it did not appear until 1640. As if to corroborate + this view, Barrera in his "Catalogo del Teatro antiguo Espanol" gives the + date 1640 to the "Primera parte de comedias de Calderon" edited by his + brother Joseph. + </p> + <p> + There can be no doubt, however, that the volume appeared in 1635 or 1636 + as stated. In 1637 Don Joseph Calderon published the "Second Part" of his + brother's dramas containing like the former volume twelve plays.* In his + dedication of this volume to D. Rodrigo de Mendoza, Joseph Calderon + expressly alludes to the First Part of his brother's comedies which he had + "printed." "En la primera Parte, Excellentissimo Senor, de las comedias + que imprimi de Don Pedro Calderon de La Barca, mi hermano," etc. This of + course settles the fact of the prior publication of the first Part. It is + singular, however, to find that the most famous of all Calderon's dramas + should have been frequently ascribed to Lope de Vega. So late as 1857 it + is given in an Italian version by Giovanni La Cecilia, under the title of + "La Vita e un Sogno", as a drama of Lope de Vega, with the date 1628. This + of course is a mistake, but Senor Hartzenbusch, who makes no allusion to + this circumstance, admits that two dramas of Lope de Vega, which it is + presumed preceded the composition of Calderon's play turn on very nearly + the same incidents as those of "La Vida es Sueno". These are "Lo que ha de + ser", and "Barlan y Josafa". He gives a passage from each of these dramas + which seem to be the germ of the fine lament of Sigismund, which the + reader will find translated in the present volume. + </p> + <p> + [footnote] *In the library of the British Museum there is a fine copy of + this "Segunda Parte de Comedias de Don Pedro Calderon de la Barca" Madrid, + 1637. Mr. Ticknor mentions (1863) that he too had a copy of this + interesting volume. + </p> + <p> + Senor Hartzenbusch, in the edition of Calderon's "La Vida es Sueno", + already referred to (Madrid, 1872), prints the passages from Lope de + Vega's two dramas, but in neither of them, he justly remarks, can we find + anything that at all corresponds to this "grandioso caracter de + Segismundo." + </p> + <p> + The second drama in this volume, "The Wonderful Magician", is perhaps + better known to poetical students in England than even the first, from the + spirited fragment Shelley has left us in his "Scenes from Calderon." The + preoccupation of a subject by a great master throws immense difficulties + in the way of any one who ventures to follow in the same path: but as + Shelley allowed himself great licence in his versification, and either + from carelessness or an imperfect knowledge of Spanish is occasionally + unfaithful to the meaning of his author, it may be hoped in my own version + that strict fidelity both as to the form as well as substance of the + original may be some compensation for the absence of those higher poetical + harmonies to which many of my readers will have been accustomed. + </p> + <p> + "El Magico Prodigioso" appeared for the first time in the same volume as + "La Vida es Sueno", prepared for publication in 1635 by Don Joseph + Calderon. The translation is comprised in the same number of lines as the + original, and all the preceding remarks on "Life is a Dream", whether in + reference to the period of the first publication of the drama in Spain, or + the principles I kept in view while attempting this version may be applied + to it. As in the Case of "Life is a Dream", "The Wonderful Magician" has + previously been translated entire by an English writer, ("Justina", by + J.H. 1848); but as Archbishop Trench truly observes, "the writer did not + possess that command of the resources of the English language, which none + more than Calderon requires." + </p> + <p> + The Legend on which Calderon founded "El Magico Prodigioso" will be found + in Surius, "De probatis Sanctorum historiis", t. V. (Col. Agr. 1574), p. + 351: "Vita et Martyrium SS. Cypriani et Justinae, autore Simeone + Metaphraste", and in Chapter cxlii, of the "Legenda Aurea" of Jacobus de + Voragine "De Sancta Justina virgine". + </p> + <p> + The martyrdom of the Saints took place in the year 290, and their festival + is celebrated by the Church on the 26th of September. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Ticknor in his History of Spanish Literature, 1863, volume ii. p. 369, + says that the Wonder-working Magician is founded on "the same legend on + which Milman has founded his 'Martyr of Antioch.'" This is a mistake of + the learned writer. "The Martyr of Antioch" is founded not on the history + of St. Justina but of Saint Margaret, as Milman himself expressly states. + Chapter xciii., "De Sancta Margareta", in the "Legenda Aurea" of Jacobus + de Voragine contains her story. + </p> + <p> + The third translation in this volume is that of "The Purgatory of St. + Patrick". This, though perhaps not so famous as the two preceding dramas, + is intended to be given by Don P. De la Escosura, in a selection of + Calderon's finest "comedias", now being edited by him for the Spanish + Academy, as the representative piece of its class—namely, the + mystical drama founded on the lives of Saints. Mr. Ticknor prefers it to + the more celebrated "Devotion of the Cross," and says that it "is commonly + ranked among the best religious plays of the Spanish theatre in the + seventeenth century." + </p> + <p> + In all that relates to the famous cave known through the middle ages as + the "Purgatory of Saint Patrick", as well as the Story of Luis Enius—the + Owain Miles of Ancient English poetry—Calderon was entirely indebted + to the little volume published at Madrid, in 1627, by Juan Perez de + Montalvan, entitled "Vida y Purgatorio de San Patricio". This singular + work met with immense success. It went through innumerable editions, and + continues to be reprinted in Spain as a chap-book, down to the present + day. I have the fifth impression "improved and enlarged by the author + himself," Madrid, 1628, the year after its first appearance: also a later + edition, Madrid, 1664. As early as 1637 a French translation appeared at + Brussels by "F. A. S. Chartreux, a Bruxelles." In 1642 a second French + translation was published at Troyes, by "R. P. Francois Bouillon, de + l'Ordre de S. Francois, et Bachelier de Theologie." Mr. Thomas Wright in + his "Essay on St. Patrick's Purgatory," London, 1844, makes the singular + mistake of supposing that Bouillon's "Histoire de la Vie et Purgatoire de + S. Patrice" was founded on the drama of Calderon, it being simply a + translation of Montalvan's "Vida y Purgatorio," from which, like itself, + Calderon's play was derived. Among other translations of Montalvan's work + may be mentioned one in Dutch (Brussels, 1668) and one in Portuguese + (Lisbon, 1738). It was also translated into German and Italian, but I find + no mention of an English version. For this reason I have thought that a + few extracts might be interesting, as showing how closely Calderon adhered + even to the language of his predecessor. + </p> + <p> + In all that relates to the Purgatory, Montalvan's work is itself chiefly + compiled from the "Florilegium Insulae Sanctorum, seu vitae et Actae + sanctorum Hiberniae," Paris, 1624, fol. This work, which has now become + scarce, was written by Thomas Messingham an Irish priest, the Superior of + the Irish Seminary in Paris. No complete English version appears to have + been made of it, but a small tract in English containing everything in the + original work that referred to St. Patrick's Purgatory was published at + Paris in 1718. As this tract is perhaps more scarce than even the + Florilegium itself, the account of the Purgatory as given by Messingham + from the MS. of Henry of Saltrey is reprinted in the notes to this drama + in the quaint language of the anonymous translator. Of this tract, + "printed at Paris in 1718" without the name of author, publisher or + printer, I have not been able to trace another copy. In other points of + interest connected with Calderon's drama, particularly to the clearing up + of the difficulty hitherto felt as to the confused list of authorities at + the end, the reader is also referred to the notes. + </p> + <p> + The present version of "The Purgatory of Saint Patrick" is, with the + exception of a few unimportant lines, an entirely new translation. It is + made with the utmost care, imitating all the measures and contained, like + the two preceding dramas, in the exact number of lines of the original. + One passage of the translation which I published in 1853 is retained in + the notes, as a tribute of respect to the memory of the late John Rutter + Chorley, it having been mentioned with praise by that eminent Spanish + scholar in an elaborate review of my earlier translations from Calderon, + which appeared in the "Athenaeum", Nov. 19 and Nov. 26, 1853. + </p> + <p> + It only remains to add that the text I have followed is that of + Hartzenbusch in his edition of Calderon's Comedias, Madrid, 1856 + ("Biblioteca de Autores Espanoles"). His arrangement of the scenes has + been followed throughout, thus enabling the reader in a moment to verify + for himself the exactness of the translation by a reference to the + original, a crucial test which I rather invite than decline. + </p> + <p> + CLAPHAM PARK, Easter, 1873. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN. + </h1> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + TO THE MEMORY OF + SHELLEY, + WHOSE ADMIRATION FOR + "THE LIGHT AND ODOUR OF THE FLOWERY AND STARRY AUTOS" + IS THE HIGHEST TRIBUTE TO THE BEAUTY OF + CALDERON'S POETRY, + + THIS DRAMA + IS INSCRIBED. +</pre> + <hr /> + <p> + PERSONS. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + CYPRIAN. + THE DEMON. + LELIUS, The Governor of Antioch's Son. + FLORUS, friend of Lelius. + MOSCON, Servant of Cyprian. + CLARIN, Servant of Cyprian. + THE GOVERNOR OF ANTIOCH. + FABIUS, his Servant. + LYSANDER, the reputed Father of Justina. + JUSTINA. + LIVIA, her Maid. + A Servant. + A Soldier. + ATTENDANTS, Soldiers, People. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE—Antioch and its environs. +</pre> + <h1> + THE WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN. + </h1> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + ACT THE FIRST. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE I. + + A WOOD NEAR ANTIOCH. + + Enter CYPPRIAN in a Student's gown, followed by CLARIN and MOSCON, as + poor Scholars, carrying books. + + CYPRIAN. In the pleasant solitude + Of this tranquil spot, this thicket + Formed of interlacing boughs, + Buds, and flowers, and shrubs commingled, + You may leave me, leaving also, + As my best companions, with me, + (For I need none else) those books + Which I bad you to bring hither + From the house; for while, to-day, + Antioch, the mighty city, + Celebrates with such rejoicing + The great temple newly finished + Unto Jupiter, the bearing + Thither, also, of his image + Publicly, in grant procession, + To its shrine to be uplifted;— + I, escaping the confusion + Of the streets and squares, have flitted + Hitherward, to spend in study + What of daylight yet may glimmer. + Go, enjoy the festival, + Go to Antioch and mingle + In its various sports, returning + When the sun descending sinketh + To be buried in the waves, + Which, beneath the dark clouds' fringes, + Round the royal corse of gold, + Shine like sepulchres of silver. + Here you'll find me. + + MOSCON. Sir, although + Most decidedly my wish is + To behold the sports, yet I + Cannot go without a whisper + Of some few five thousand words, + Which I'll give you in a jiffy. + Can it be that on a day + Of such free, such unrestricted + Revelry, and mirth, and fun, + You with your old books come hither + To this country place, rejecting + All the frolic of the city? + + CLARIN. Well, I think my master's right; + For there's nothing more insipid + Than a grand procession day, + Half fandangos, priests, and fiddles. + + MOSCON. Clarin, from the first to last, + All your life you've been a trickster, + A smart temporizing toady, + A bold flatterer, a trimmer, + Since you praise the thoughts of others, + And ne'er speak your own. + + CLARIN. The civil + Way to tell a man he lies + Is to say he's wrong:—you twig me, + Now I think I speak my mind. + + CYPRIAN. Moscon, Clarin, both I bid ye + Cease this silly altercation. + It is ever thus betwixt ye, + Puffed up with your little knowledge + Each maintains his own opinion. + Go, and (as I've said) here seek me + When night falls, and with the thickness + Of its shadows veils from view + This most fair and wondrous system + Of the universe. + + MOSCON. How comes it, + That although you have admitted + 'Tis not right to see the feast, + Yet you go to see it? + + CLARIN. Simple + Is the answer: no one follows + The advice which he has given + To another. + + MOSCON [aside]. To see Livia, + Would the gods that I were winged. + [Exit. + + CLARIN [aside]. If the honest truth were told + Livia is the girl that gives me + Something worth the living for. + Even her very name has in it + This assurance: 'Livia', yes, + Minus 'a', I live for 'Livi'.* + [Exit. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [footnote] *This, of course, is a paraphrase of the original, which, + perhaps, may be given as an explanation. + "Ilega, 'Livia'. + Al 'na', y se, Livia, 'liviana'." +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE II. + + CYPRIAN. Now I am alone, and may, + If my mind can be so lifted, + Study the great problem which + Keeps my soul disturbed, bewilder'd, + Since I read in Pliny's page + The mysterious words there written. + Which define a god; because + It doth seem beyond the limits + Of my intellect to find + One who all these signs exhibits. + This mysterious hidden truth + Must I seek for. + [Reads. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE III. + + Enter the DEMON, in gala dress. CYPRIAN. + + DEMON [aside]. Though thou givest + All thy thoughts to the research, + Cyprian, thou must ever miss it, + Since I'll hide it from thy mind. + + CYPRIAN. There's a rustling in this thicket. + Who is there? who art thou? + + DEMON. Sir, + A mere stranger, who has ridden + All this morning up and down + These dark groves, not knowing whither, + Having lost my way, my horse, + To the emerald that encircles, + With a tapestry of green, + These lone hills, I've loosed, it gives him + At the same time food and rest. + I'm to Antioch bound, on business + Of importance, my companions + I have parted from; through listless + Lapse of thought (a thing that happens + To the most of earthly pilgrims), + I have lost my way, and lost + Comrades, servants, and assistants. + + CYPRIAN. I am much surprised to learn + That in view of the uplifted + Towers of Antioch, you thus + Lost your way. There's not a single + Path that on this mountain side, + More or less by feet imprinted, + But doth lead unto its walls, + As to its one central limit. + By whatever path you take, + You'll go right. + + DEMON. It is an instance + Of that ignorance which in sight + Even of truth the true goal misses. + And as it appears not wise + Thus to enter a strange city + Unattended and unknown, + Asking even my way, 'tis fitter + That 'till night doth conquer day, + Here while light doth last, to linger; + By your dress and by these books + Round you, like a learned circle + Of wise friends, I see you are + A great student, and the instinct + Of my soul doth ever draw me + Unto men to books addicted. + + CYPRIAN. Have you studied much? + + DEMON. Well, no; + But I've knowledge quite sufficient + Not to be deemed ignorant. + + CYPRIAN. Then, what sciences know you? + + DEMON. Many. + + CYPRIAN. Why, we cannot reach even one + After years of studious vigil, + And can you (what vanity!) + Without study know so many? + + DEMON. Yes; for I am of a country + Where the most exalted science + Needs no study to be known. + + CYPRIAN. Would I were a happy inmate + Of that country! Here our studies + Prove our ignorance more. + + DEMON. No figment + Is the fact that without study, + I had the superb ambition + For the first Professor's chair + To compete, and thought to win it, + Having very numerous votes. + And although I failed, sufficient + Glory is it to have tried. + For not always to the winner + Is the fame. If this you doubt, + Name the subject of your study, + And then let us argue on it; + I not knowing your opinion, + Even although it be the right, + Shall the opposite view insist on. + + CYPRIAN. I am greatly gratified + That you make this proposition. + Here in Plinius is a passage + Which much anxious thought doth give me + How to understand, to know + Who's the God of whom he has written. + + DEMON. 'Tis that passage which declares + (Well I know the words) this dictum: + "God is one supremest good, + One pure essence, one existence, + Self-sustained, all sight, all hands." + + CYPRIAN. Yes, 'tis true. + + DEMON. And what is in it + So abstruse? + + CYPRIAN. I cannot find + Such a god as Plinius figures. + If he be the highest good, + Then is Jupiter deficient + In that attribute; we see him + Acting like a mortal sinner + Many a time,—this, Danae, + This, Europa, too, doth witness. + Can then, by the Highest Good, + All whose actions, all whose instincts, + Should be sacred and divine, + Human frailty be committed? + + DEMON. These are fables which the learned + First made use of, to exhibit + Underneath the names of gods + What in truth was but a hidden + System of philosophy. + + CYPRIAN. This reply is not sufficient, + Since such awe is due to God, + None should dare to Him attribute, + None should stain His name with sins, + Though these sins should be fictitious. + And considering well the case, + If the highest good is figured + By the gods, of course, they must + Will what is the best and fittest; + How, then, can some gods wish one thing, + Some another? This we witness + In the dubious responses + Which are by their statues given. + Here you cannot say I speak of + Learned abstractions of the ideal. + To two armies, if two shrines + Promise give of being victors, + One, of course, must lose the battle: + The conclusion is so simple,— + Need I say it? that two wills, + Mutually antagonistic, + Cannot lead unto one end. + They being thus in opposition, + One we must consider good, + One as bad we must consider. + But an evil will in God + Would imply a contradiction: + Then the highest good can dwell not + Among gods who know division. + + DEMON. I deny your major, since + These responses may be given, + By the oracles, for ends + Which our intellectual vision + Cannot reach: 'tis providence. + Thus more good may have arisen + To the loser in that battle + Than its gain could bring the winner. + + CYPRIAN. Granted; but that god ought not, + For the gods are not malicious, + To have promised victory;— + It would have been quite sufficient, + Without this most false assurance, + The defeat to have permitted. + Then if God must be all sight, + Every god should see distinctly + With clear vision to the end; + Seeing THAT, he erred in fixing + On a false conclusion; then + Though the deity may with fitness + Be divided into persons, + Yet His essence must be single + In the smallest circumstance. + + DEMON. It was needful for this business, + That the oracle should rouse + The two hosts alike. + + CYPRIAN. If fitting, + There were genii that could rouse them + (Good and bad, as they're distinguished + By the learned), who are, in fact, + Spirits who among us mingle, + And who good and evil acts, + Evil thoughts, suggest and whisper, + A convincing argument + For the immortal soul's existence: + Of these ministers could God + Have made use, nor thus exhibit + He was capable of a lie + To effect his ends? + + DEMON. Consider, + That these seeming contradictions + Cannot our firm faith diminish + In the oneness of the gods, + If in things of higher import + They know naught of dissonance. + Take man's wondrous frame, for instance, + Surely that majestic structure + Once conception doth exhibit. + + CYPRIAN. If man's maker then were one + He some vantage must have given him + O'er the others; and if they + All are equal,—'tis admitted + That they are so, from the fact + Of their mutual opposition + To each other,—when the thought + Of creating man was hinted + By one god, another could + Say, "No, no, I do not wish it." + Then if God must be all hands, + Time might come when they would differ, + One creating, one undoing, + Ere the other's work was finished, + Since the power of each was equal, + But unequal were their wishes. + Which of these two powers would conquer? + + DEMON. On impossible and false issues + There can be no argument;— + But your premises admitting, + Say what then? + + CYPRIAN. That there must be + One sole God, all hands, all vision, + Good Supreme, supreme in grace, + One who cannot err, omniscient, + One the highest, none can equal, + Not beginning, yet the Beginner, + One pure essence, one sole substance, + One wise worker, ozone sole willer;— + And though He in one or two + Or more persons be distinguished, + Yet the sovereign Deity + Must be one, sublime and single, + The first cause of every cause, + The first germ of all existence. + + DEMON. How can I deny so clear, + [They rise. + So conclusive a position? + + CYPRIAN. Do you feel it? + + DEMON. Who would not + Feel to find another quicker + In the rivalry of wit?— + And though I am not deficient + In an answer, I restrain it, + Hearing steps approaching hither + Through the wood; besides 'tis time + I proceeded to the city. + + CYPRIAN. Go in peace. + + DEMON. Remain in peace.— + [Aside. + So involved in study IS he, + That I now must wean him from it, + Weaving round him the bewitchment + Of rare beauty. Since I have leave + To attempt my fires to kindle + In Justina's breast, one stroke, + Thus, two vengeances shall give me. + [Exit. + + CYPRIAN. Never saw I such a man. + But since still my people linger, + I, the cause of so much doubt, + Will now strive to reconsider. + + [He resumes his reading, without perceiving + the approach of those who enter. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE IV. + + Enter LELIUS and FLORUS.—CYPRIAN. + + LELIUS. Further let us not proceed; + For these rocks, these boughs so thickly + Interwoven, that the sun + Cannot even find admittance, + Shall be the sole witnesses + Of our duel. + + FLORUS. Then, this instant + Draw your sword; for here are deeds, + If in words elsewhere we've striven. + + LELIUS. Yes, I know that in the field, + While the tongue is mute, the glitter + Of the sword speaks thus. + [They fight. + + CYPRIAN. What's this? + Hold, good Florus! Lelius, listen!— + Here until your rage is calmed, + Even unarmed I stand betwixt ye. + + LELIUS. Thus to interrupt my vengeance, + Whence, O Cyprian, have you risen + Like a spectre? + + FLORUS. A wild wood-god, + Have you from these tree-trunks issued? +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE V. + + Enter MOSCON and CLARIN. + + MOSCON. Yonder, where we left our master, + I hear sword-strokes; run, run quickly. + + CLARIN. Well, except to run away, + I am anything but nimble;— + Truly a retiring person. + + MOSCON and CLARIN. Sir.... + + CYPRIAN. No more: your gabble irks me.— + How? What's this? Two noble friends, + Who in blood, in birth, in lineage, + Are to-day of Antioch all + Its expectancy, the city's + Eye of fashion, one the son + Of the Governor, of the princely + House Colalto, one the heir, + Thus to peril, as of little + Value, two such precious lives + To their country and their kindred? + + LELIUS. Cyprian, although respect + Which on many grounds I give thee, + Holds my sword suspended thus + In due deference for an instant,— + To the scabbard's calm repose + It hath got no power to win it. + Thou of science knowest more, + Than the duel, pretermitting + This, that when two nobles meet + In the field, no power can link them + Friends again, save this, that one + Must his life give as a victim. + + FLORUS. This I also say, and ask thee, + With thy people, that thou quittest, + Leaving us to end our quarrel + Without any help or hindrance. + + CYPRIAN. Though it seems to you my calling + Makes me know the laws but little + Of the duel—that strict code + Valour and vain pride have written, + You are wrong, for I was born + With the obligations fitting + Rank like yours, to know in truth + Infamy and honour's limits. + The devotion to my studies + Has my courage not diminished, + For they oftentimes shake hands + Arms and letters as though kinsmen. + If to meet here in the field + Was the quarrel's first condition, + Having met and fought, its lies + Calumny can never whisper. + And the cause you thus can tell me + Of the feud that brings you hither; + For I promise, if, on hearing + What to me is thus committed, + I perceive that satisfaction + Must on either side be given, + Here to leave you both alone, + Unobserved by any witness. + + LELIUS. Then on this condition solely, + That you leave us, when the bitter + Truth is told, to end our quarrel, + I to tell the cause am willing. + I a certain lady love, + The same lady as his mistress + Florus also loves; now see, + How incompatible are our wishes!— + Since betwixt two jealous nobles + No mediation is admitted. + + FLORUS. I this lady love so much, + That the sunlight I would hinder + From beholding her sweet face. + Since then all interposition + Is in vain, pray stand aside, + And our quarrel let us finish. + + CYPRIAN. Stay, for one more thing I'd know. + Tell me this of your fair mistress, + Is she possible to your hopes, + Or impossible to your wishes?— + + LELIUS. Oh: she is so good and wise, + That if even the sun enkindled + Jealousy in the heart of Florus, + It was jealousy pure and simple, + Without cause, for even the sun + Dare not look upon her visage. + + CYPRIAN. Would you marry with her, then? + + FLORUS. This is all my heart's ambition. + + CYPRIAN. And would you? + + LELIUS. Ah, would to heaven, + I were destined for such blisses!— + For although she's very poor, + Virtue dowers her with its riches. + + CYPRIAN. If you both aspire to wed her, + Is it not an act most wicked, + Most unworthy, thus beforehand + Her unspotted fame to injure? + What will say the world, if one + Of you two shall marry with her + After having killed the other + For her sake? The supposition + Is not probable in fact, + To imagine it is sufficient. + I by no means say you should + Each your chances try to win her + At one time, for I would blush + Such a craven proposition + Came from me, because the lover + Who could keep his jealousy hidden, + Would condone even shame thereafter, + Were the opportunity given; + But I say that you should learn + Which of you it is your mistress + Gives the preference to, then.... + + LELIUS. Stay!— + For it were an act too timid, + Too faint-hearted thus to ask + Of a lady such admission + As the choosing him or me. + For if me she chose, more fixed + Is my call for satisfaction; + For his fault has this addition, + He loves one who loves but me. + If to him the choice is given, + This intensifies my anger + All the more, that she, my mistress, + Whom I love, should love another. + Her selection could do little + In the matter, which at last + To our swords should be committed,— + The accepted for his honour, + The refused for his dismissal. + + FLORUS. I confess that I adopt + Altogether that opinion, + Still the privilege of selection + May to ladies be permitted; + So to-day I mean to ask her + Of her father. 'Tis sufficient + To have come here to the field, + And my naked sword uplifted, + (Specially as one is by + Who the further fight resisteth,) + For my honour;—so to sheathe, + Lelius, my sword I'm willing. + [Sheathes his sword. + + LELIUS. By your argument and action, + Florus, you have half convinced me; + I forego the remaining half— + True or false, I thus act with you. + [Sheathes his sword. + I to-day will seek her father. + + CYPRIAN. On, of course, the supposition, + That this lady you pay court to + Suffers naught by the admission, + Since you both have spoken proudly + Of her virtue and her strictness, + Tell me who she is; for I, + Who am held throughout the city + In esteem, would for you both + Speak to her at first a little + That she thus may be prepared + When her father tells your wishes. + + LELIUS. You are right. + + CYPRIAN. Her name? + + FLORUS. Justina, + Daughter of Lysander. + + CYPRIAN. Little, + Now that I have heard her name, + Seem the praises you have given her; + She is virtuous as she's noble. + Instantly I'll pay my visit. + + FLORUS [aside]. May heaven grant that in my favour + Her cold heart be moved to pity! + [Exit. + + LELIUS. Love, my hopes with laurels crown + When they are to her submitted! + [Exit. + + CYPRIAN. Further mischief or misfortune, + Grant me, heaven, that I may hinder! + [Exit. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE VI. + + MOSCON, CLARIN. + + MOSCON. Has your worship heard our master + Now is gone to pay a visit + To Justina? + + CLARIN. Yes, my lord. + But what matter if he didn't? + + MOSCON. Matter quite enough, your worship; + He has no business there. + + CLARIN. Why, prithee? + + MOSCON. Why? because I die for Livia, + Who is maid to this Justina, + And I wouldn't have even the sun + Get a glimpse of her through the window. + + CLARIN. Well, that's good; but, for a lady, + To contend were worse than silly, + Whom I mean to make my wife. + + MOSCON. Excellent, faith! the fancy tickles + Quite my fancy. Let her say + Who it is that annoys or nicks her + To a nicety. Let's go see her, + And she'll choose. + + CLARIN. A good idea!— + Though I fear she'll pitch on you. + + MOSCON. Have you then that wise suspicion? + + CLARIN. Yes; for always these same Livias + Choose the worst, th'ungrateful minxes.* + [Exeunt. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [footnote] *The 'asonante' versification in 'i-e', which has been + kept up through these six scenes, ends here. The seventh scene + commences in rhymed five-line stanzas, which change to the asonante + in e-e, at the beginning of Lysander's long speech. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE VII. + + A HALL IN THE HOUSE OF LYSANDER. + + Enter JUSTINA and LYSANDER. + + JUSTINA. Consolation, sir, is vain, + After what I've seen to-day: + The whole city, madly gay, + Error-blinded and insane, + Consecrating shrine and fane + To an image, which I know, + Cannot be a god, although + Some demoniac power may pass, + Making breathe the silent brass + As a proof that it is so. + + LYSANDER. Fair Justina, thou indeed, + Wert not who thou art, if thou + Didst not weep as thou dost now, + Didst not in thy pure heart bleed + For what Christ's divinest creed + Suffers on this sinful day. + + JUSTINA. Thus my lineage I display:— + For thy child I could not be, + Could I without weeping see + This idolatrous display. + + LYSANDER. Ah, my good, my gentle maid! + Thou art not my daughter, no, + 'Twere too happy, if 'twere so. + But, O God! what's this I've said?— + My life's secret is betrayed! + 'Twas my soul that spoke aloud. + + JUSTINA. What do you say, sir? + + LYSANDER. Oh! a crowd + Of old thoughts my heart hath stirred. + + JUSTINA. Many times methought I heard + What but now you have avowed, + And yet never wished to hear, + At the risk perchance of paining, + A more accurate explaining + Of your sorrow and my fear; + But since now it doth appear + Right that I should be possess'd + Of the whole truth half confess'd, + Let me say, though bold appearing,— + Trust your secret to my hearing, + Since it hath escaped your breast. + + LYSANDER. Ah! Justina, I have long + Kept this secret from your ears, + Fearing from your tender years + That the telling might be wrong; + But now seeing you are strong, + Firm in thought, in action brave, + Seeing too, that with this stave, + I go creeping o'er the ground, + Rapping with a hollow sound + At the portals of the grave, + Knowing that my time is brief, + I would not here leave you, no, + In your ignorance; I owe + My own peace, too, this relief: + Then attentive to my grief + Let your pleasure list. + + JUSTINA. A fear + Struggles in my breast. + + LYSANDER. Severe + Is the test my duty pays. + + JUSTINA. From this most perplexing maze + Oh, sir, rescue me. + + LYSANDER. Then hear. + I, most beautiful Justina, + Am Lysander.... This commencement + With my name need not surprise you; + For though known to you already, + It is right, for all that follows, + That it should be well remembered, + Since of me you know no more + Than what this my name presenteth. + Yes, I am Lysander, son + Of that city which on Seven + Hills a hydra seems of stone, + Since it seven proud heads erecteth; + Of that city now the seat + Of the mighty Roman empire, + Cradle of Christ's wider realm,— + Boon that Rome alone could merit. + There of poor and humble parents + I was born, if "poor" expresses + Well their rank who left behind them + Virtues, not vain earthly treasures. + Both of them by birth were Christians, + Joyful both to be descended + From brave sires who with their blood + Happily life's page had reddened, + Terminating the dull scroll + With death's bright emblazoned letters. + In the Christian faith well grounded + I grew up, and so well learnt it, + That I would, in its defence, + Even a thousand lives surrender. + I was young still, when to Rome, + In disguise and ill attended, + Came our good Pope Alexander, + Who then prudently directed + The high apostolic see, + Though its place there was not settled; + For, as the despotic power + Of the stern and cruel gentiles + Satisfies its thirst with blood + From the martyrs' veins that shed it, + So must still the primitive church + Keep concealed its sons and servants; + Not that they decline to die, + Not that martyrdom is dreaded + But that rebel rage should not, + At one stroke, one hour of vengeance, + Triumph o'er the ruined church, + So that no one should be left it + Who could preach and teach the word, + Who could catechise the gentile. + Alexander being in Rome, + I was secretly presented + To him there, and from his hand + Which was graciously extended, + With his blessing I received + Holy Orders, which the seraphs + Well might envy me, since man + Only such an honour merits. + Alexander, as my mission, + Unto Antioch then sent me, + Where the law of Christ in secret + I should preach. With glad contentment + I obeyed, and at their mercy, + Through so many nations wending, + Came at length to Antioch; + And when I, these hills ascending, + Saw beneath me in the valley + All its golden towers and temples, + The sun failed me, and down sinking + Drew with him the day, presenting + For my solace a companion, + And a substitute for his presence + In the light of stars, a pledge + That he'd soon return to bless me. + With the sun I lost my way, + And then wandering dejected + Through the windings of the forest, + Found me in the dim recesses + Of a natural bower, wherein + Even the numerous rays that trembled + Downward from each living torch + Could in noways find an entrance, + For to black clouds turned the leaves + That by day were green with freshness. + Here arranging to await + The new sun's reviving presence, + Giving fancy that full scope, + That wide range which it possesses, + I in solitude indulged + Many and many a deep reflection. + Thus absorbed was I in thought + When there came to me the echo + Of a sigh half heard, for half + To its owner retroverted. + Then collecting in mine ear + All my senses joined together, + I again heard more distinctly + That weak cry, that faint expression, + That mute idiom of the sad, + Since by it they're comprehended. + From a woman came that groan + To whose sigh so low and gentle + Followed a man's deeper voice, + Who thus speaking low addressed her: + "Thou first stain of noblest blood + By my hands this moment perish, + Ere thou meetest with thy death + 'Neath the hands of infamous headsmen."— + Then the hapless woman said + In a voice that sobbed and trembled, + "Ah, lament for thine own blood, + But for me do not lament thee!"— + I attempted then to reach them, + That the stroke might be prevented, + But I could not, since the voices + At that moment ceased and ended, + And a horseman rode away + 'Mong the tree-trunks undetected. + Loadstone of my deep compassion + Was that voice which still exerted + All its failing powers to speak + Amid groans and tears this sentence,— + "Dying innocent and a Christian + I a martyr's death may merit."— + Following the polar-star + Of the voice, I came directly + Where the gloom revealed a woman, + Though I could not well observe her, + Who in life's despairing struggle, + Hand to hand with death contended. + Scarcely was I heard, when she + Summoning up her strength addressed me,— + "Blood-stained murderer mine, come back, + Nor in this last hour desert me + Of my life."—"I am," said I, + "Only one whom chance hath sent here, + Guided it may be by heaven, + To assist you in this dreadful + Hour of trial."—"Vain," she said, + "Is the favour that your mercy + Offers to my life, for see, + Drop by drop the life-stream ebbeth, + Let this hapless one enjoy it, + Who it seems that heaven intendeth, + Being born upon my grave, + All my miseries should inherit."— + So she died, and then I... +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE VIII. + + LIVIA, JUSTINA, and LYSANDER. + + Enter LIVIA. + + LIVIA. Sir, + The same tradesman who so presses + To be paid, comes here to seek you, + By the magistrate attended. + That you were not in, I told him: + By that door you have an exit. + + JUSTINA. This untimely interruption + By their coming, how it frets me! + For upon your tragic story + Life, soul, reason, all depended!— + But retire, sir, lest the justice + Should here meet you, if he enters. + + LYSANDER. Ah! with what indignities + Poverty must be contented! + [Exit. + + JUSTINA. They are coming here, no doubt, + Outside I can hear some persons. + + LIVIA. No, they are not they. I see + It is Cyprian. + + JUSTINA. How? what sendeth + Cyprian here? +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE IX. + + Enter CYPRIAN, CLARIN, and MOSCON. + + CYPRIAN. A wish to serve you + Is the sole cause of my presence. + For on seeing the officials + Issuing from your house, the friendship + Which I owe unto Lysander + Made me bold herein to enter; + But to know ([Aside.] Disturbed, bewildered + Am I.) if by chance ([Aside.] What gelid + Frost is freezing up my veins!) + I in any way could help you. + ([Aside.] Ah, how badly have I spoken!— + Fire not frost my blood possesses!) + + JUSTINA. May heaven guard you many years, + Since in his more grave concernments, + Thus you honour my dear father + With your favours. + + CYPRIAN. I shall ever + Be most gratified to serve you. + ([Aside.] What disturbs me, what unnerves me?) + + JUSTINA. He is not just now at home. + + CYPRIAN. Thus then, lady, I can better + Tell you what is the true cause + That doth bring me here at present; + For the cause that you have heard + Is not that which wholly led me + Here to see you. + + JUSTINA. Then, what is it? + + CYPRIAN. This, which craves your brief attention.— + Fair Justina, beauty's shrine,* + To whose human loveliness + Nature, with a fond excess, + Adds such marks of the divine, + 'Tis your rest that doth incline + Hither my desire to-day: + But see what the tyrant sway + Of despotic fate can do,— + While I bring your rest to you, + You from me take mine away. + Lelius, of his passion proud, + (Never less was love to blame!) + Florus, burning with love's flame, + (Ne'er could flame be more allowed!) + Each of them by vows they vowed + Sought to kill his friend for you: + I for you disturbed the two, + (Woe is me!) but see the end; + While from death I saved my friend, + You my own death give in lieu. + Lest the scandal-monger's hum + Should be buzzed about your name, + Here to speak with you I came, + (Would that I had never come!) + That your choice might strike it dumb, + Being the umpire in the cause, + Being the judge in love's sweet laws;— + But behold what I endure, + While I their sick hearts may cure, + Jealousy mine own heart gnaws. + Lady, I proposed to be + Their bold spokesman here, that you + Might decide betwixt the two + Which you would select (ah, me!) + That I might (oh, misery!) + Ask you of your father: vain + This pretence. No more I'll feign:— + For you see while I am speaking + About them, my heart is seeking + But a vent for its own pain. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [footnote] * The five-lined rhymed stanza here recommences, and + continues to the end of the scene. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + JUSTINA. Half in wonder and dismay + At the vile address you make me, + Reason, speech, alike forsake me, + And I know not what to say. + Never in the slightest way + Have your clients had from me + Encouragement for this embassy— + Florus never—Lelius no:— + Of the scorn that I can show + Let then this a warning be. + + CYPRIAN. If I, knowing that you loved + Some one else, would dare to seek + Your regard, my love were weak, + And could justly be reproved. + But here seeing you stand unmoved, + Like a rock mid raging seas, + No extraneous miseries + Make me say I love you now. + 'Tis not for my friends I bow, + So your warning hear with ease.— + To Lelius what shall I say? + + JUSTINA. That he + Well may trust the boding fears + Of his love of many years. + + CYPRIAN. To Florus? + + JUSTINA. Not my face to see. + + CYPRIAN. And to myself? + + JUSTINA. Your love should be + Not so bold. + + CYPRIAN. Though a god should woo? + + JUSTINA. Will a god do more for you + Than for those I have denied? + + CYPRIAN. Yes. + + JUSTINA. Well then, I have replied + To Lelius, Florus, and to you. + [Exeunt JUSTINA and CYPRIAN at opposite sides. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE X. + + CLARIN, MOSCON, and LIVIA. + + CLARIN. Livia, heigh! + + MOSCON. And Livia, ho!— + List good lass. + + CLARIN. We're here, we two. + + LIVIA. Well, what WANT you, sir? and YOU, + What do you want? + + CLARIN. We both would show, + If perchance you do not know, + That we love you to distraction. + On a murderous transaction + We came here, to kill each other:— + So to put an end to the bother, + Just choose one for satisfaction. + + LIVIA. Why the thing that you're demanding + Is so great, it hath bereft me + Of my wits. My grief hath left me + Without sense or understanding. + Choose but one! My heart expanding, + Beats so hard a strait to shun! + I one only! 'Tis for fun + That you ask me so to do. + For with heart enough for two, + Why require that I choose one? + + CLARIN. Two at once would you have to woo? + Would not two embarrass you, pray? + + LIVIA. No, we women have a way + To dispose of them two by two. + + MOSCON. What's the way? do tell us, do;— + What is it? speak. + + LIVIA. You put one out!— + I would love them, do not doubt.... + + MOSCON. How? + + LIVIA. ALTERNATIVELY. + + CLARIN. Eh, + What's ALTERNATIVELY? + + LIVIA. 'Tis to say, + That I would love them day about. + [Exit. + + MOSCON. Well, I choose to-day: good-bye. + + CLARIN. I, to-morrow, the better part. + So I give it with all my heart. + + MOSCON. Livia, in fine, for whom I die, + To-day love me, and to-day love I. + Happy is he who so much can say. + + CLARIN. Hearken, my friend: you know my way. + + MOSCON. Why this speech? Does a threat lie in it? + + CLARIN. Mind, she is not yours a minute + After the clock strikes twelve to-day. + [Exeunt. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XI. + + THE STREET BEFORE LYSANDER'S HOUSE: NIGHT + + Enter FLORUS and LELIUS at opposite sides, not seeing each other. + + LELIUS [aside]. Scarcely has the darksome night + O'er the brow of heaven extended* + Its black veil, when I come hither + To adore this sacred threshold; + For although at Cyprian's prayer, + I my sharp sword have suspended, + I have not my love, for love + Cannot be suspended ever. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [footnote] *Asonante in e-e, to the end of the Act. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + FLORUS [aside]. Here the dawn will find me waiting:— + Here, because 'tis force compels me + To go hence, for I, elsewhere, + Am away from my true centre. + Would to love the day had come, + And with it the dear, expected + Answer Cyprian may bring me, + Risking all upon that venture. + + LELIUS [aside]. I have surely in that window + Heard a noise. + + FLORUS [aside]. Some sound descends here + From that balcony. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XII. + + The Demon appears at a window in the house of LYSANDER. + + LELIUS [aside]. A figure + Issues from it, whose dim presence + I distinguish. + + FLORUS [aside]. Through the darkness + I can there perceive some person. + + DEMON [aside]. For the many persecutions + O'er Justina's head impending, + Her pure honour to defame + Thus I make a bold commencement. + [He descends by a ladder. + + LELIUS [aside]. But, O woe! what's this I witness!— + + FLORUS [aside]. What do I see! Oh, wretched! wretched!— + + LELIUS [aside]. From the balcony to the ground + The dark figure has descended. + + FLORUS [aside]. From her house a man comes forth!— + Jealousy kill me not, preserve me, + 'Till I discover who he is. + + LELIUS [aside]. I will try to intercept him + And find out at once who thus + Tastes the bliss I've lost for ever. + + [They advance with drawn swords to recognise + the person who has descended. + + DEMON [aside]. Not alone Justina's fame + Do I by this act discredit, + But dissensions, perhaps murders, + Thus provoke. Ope, earth's dark centre, + And receive me, leaving here + This confusion + [He disappears between FLORUS and LELIUS, who meet together. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XIII. + + FLORUS and LELIUS. + + LELIUS. Sir, whoever + You may be, it doth import me + To know who you are directly; + So at every risk I come here, + On this resolute quest determined. + Say who are you. + + FLORUS. If the accident + Of my having been the observer + Of your secret love, compels you + To this valorous aggression, + More than it can you concern + Me to know, it doth concern me + To know you; for to be curious + Is far less than to be jealous. + Yes, by Heaven! for who is master + Of the house have I to learn here, + Who it is at such an hour, + By this balcony ascending, + Gaineth that which I lose weeping + At these gratings. + + LELIUS. This excelleth, + Good, in faith, is it thus to dim + The clear light of my resentment, + By attributing to me + That which solely your offence is!— + Who you are I have to know, + Death to give to him who has left me + Dead with jealousy here, by coming + From this balcony. + + FLORUS. How excessive + How superfluous is this caution, + Proving what it would dissemble! + + LELIUS. Vainly would the tongue untangle + That which the keen sword can better + Thus cut through. + + FLORUS. With it I answer. + [They fight. + + LELIUS. In this way I'll know for certain + Who is the admitted lover + Of Justina. + + FLORUS. My intention + Is the same. I'll die or know you. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XIV. + + Enter CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + + CYPRIAN. Gentlemen, I pray you let me + Interpose in this your quarrel, + Since by accident I am present. + + FLORUS. You cannot oblige me more + Than by letting the fight be ended. + + CYPRIAN. Florus? + + FLORUS. Yes, for sword in hand, + I my name deny not ever + To who asks. + + CYPRIAN. I'm at your side, + Death to him who would offend you. + + LELIUS. You produce in me less fear, + Both of you thus joined together, + Than did he alone. + + CYPRIAN. What! Lelius? + + LELIUS. Yes. + + CYPRIAN. I am prevented + [To Florus. + Now from standing at your side, + Since between you I present me. + How is this? In one day twice + Have I your disputes to settle!— + + LELIUS. Then this time will be the last, + For we've settled them already; + Since in knowing who is he + Who Justina's heart possesses, + Now no more my hope remaineth, + Even the thought of it hath left me. + If you have not to Justina + Spoken yet, do not address her; + This I ask you in the name + Of my wrongs and my resentments, + Having seen her secret favours + Florus' happier fate deserveth. + From this balcony I saw him, + From my lost delight descending; + And my heart is not so base + As to meanly love, in presence + Of such jealousies so well proved, + Of disillusions, ah! so certain. + [Exit. + + FLORUS. Stay. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XV. + + CYPRIAN. You must not follow him, + [Aside. (Oh, this news with death o'erwhelms me!) + Since if he who is the loser + Of what you have gained, expressly + Says he would forget it, you + Should not try his patient temper. + + FLORUS. Both by you and him at once + Has mine own been too well tested. + Speak not now unto Justina + About me; for though full vengeance + I propose to take for being + Thus supplanted and rejected, + Every hope of her being mine + Now has ceased, for shameful were it, + In the face of such proved facts, + To persist in my addresses. + [Exit. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XVI. + + CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + + CYPRIAN [aside]. What is this, O heavens! I hear? + Can it be the two are jealous + Of each other at one time? + And I too of both together?— + Doubtless from some strange delusion + The two suffer, which I welcome + With a sort of satisfaction, + For to it I am indebted + For the fact of their desisting + From their suit and their pretension.— + Moscon, have for me by morning + A rich court-suit; sword and feathers, + Clarin, be thy care; for love + In a certain airy splendour + Takes delight; for now no longer + Books or studies give me pleasure;— + Love they say doth murder mind, + Learning dies when he is present. + [Exeunt. +</pre> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + ACT THE SECOND. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE I. + + THE STREET IN FRONT OF LYSANDER'S HOUSE. + + Enter CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN, in gala dresses. + + CYPRIAN [aside]. Where, presumptuous thoughts, ah! where, + Would you lead me, whither go? + If for certain now you know + That the high attempts you dare + Are delusive dreams of bliss, + Since you strive to scale heaven's wall, + But from that proud height to fall + Headlong down a dark abyss? + I Justina saw..... So near + Would to God I had not seen her, + Nor in her divine demeanour + All the light of heaven's fourth sphere. + Lovers twain for her contend, + Both being jealous each should woo, + And I, jealous of the two, + Know not which doth most offend. + All I know is, that suspicion, + Her disdain, my own desires, + Fill my heart with furious fires— + Drive me, ah! to my perdition. + This I know, and know no more, + This I feel in all my strait; + Heavens! Justina is my fate! + Heavens! Justina I adore!— + Moscon. + + MOSCON. Sir. + + CYPRIAN. Inquire, I pray, + If Lysander's in. + + MOSCON. I fly. + + CLARIN. No, sir, no. On me rely,— + Moscon can't go there to-day. + + CYPRIAN. Ever wrangling in this way, + How ye both my patience try! + Why can he not go? Say why? + + CLARIN. Because to-day is not his day. + Mine it is, sir, to his sorrow. + So your message I will bear. + Moscon can't to-day go there; + He will have his turn to-morrow. + + CYPRIAN. What new madness can this be + Which your usual feud doth show? + But now neither of you go, + Since in all her brilliancy + Comes Justina. + + CLARIN. From the street + To her house she goes. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE II. + + Enter JUSTINA and LIVIA, veiled.—CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + + JUSTINA. Ah, me! + Cyprian's here. [Aside to her.] See, Livia, see! + + CYPRIAN [aside]. I must strive and be discreet, + Feigning with a ready wit, + Till my jealousy I can prove. + I will only speak of love, + If my jealousy will permit. + Not in vain, senora sweet,— + Have I changed my student's dress, + The livery of thy loveliness, + As a servant at thy feet, + Thus I wear. If sighs could move thee + I would labour to deserve thee; + Give me leave at least to serve thee, + Since thou wilt not let me love thee. + + JUSTINA. Slight effect, sir, as I see, + Have my words produced on you, + Since they have not brought.... + + CYPRIAN. Too true! + + JUSTINA. A forgetfulness of me. + In what way must I explain + Clearer than I have done before, + That persistence at my door + Is and ever must be vain? + If a day, a month, a year, + If for ages there you stay, + Naught but this that now I say + Ever can you hope to hear. + As it were my latest breath, + Let this sad assurance move thee,— + Fate forbids that I should love thee, + Cyprian, except in death. + [She moves towards the house. + + CYPRIAN. At these words my hopes revive:— + Sad! no, no, to joy they move me, + For if thou in death canst love me, + Soon for me will death arrive. + Be it so; and since so nigh + Comes the hour your words to prove— + Ah! even now begin to love, + Since I now begin to die. + + [JUSTINA enters. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE III. + + CYPRIAN, MOSCON, CLARIN, and LIVIA. + + CLARIN. Livia, while my master yonder, + Like a living skeleton, + Life and motion being gone, + On his luckless love doth ponder, + Give me an embrace. + + LIVIA. Stay, stay. + Patience, man! until I see, + For I like my conscience free, + If to-day is your right day.— + Tuesday, yes, and Wednesday, no. + + CLARIN. What are you counting there? Awake! + Moscon's mum. + + LIVIA. He might mistake, + And I wish not to act so. + For, desiring to pursue + A just course betwixt you both, + Turn about, I would be loth + Not to give you each his due. + But I see that you are right, + 'Tis your day. + + CLARIN. Embrace me, then. + + LIVIA. Yes, again, and yet again. + + MOSCON. Hark to me, my lady bright, + May I from your ardour borrow + A good omen in my case; + And as Clarin you embrace, + Moscon you'll embrace to-morrow! + + LIVIA. Your suspicion is, in fact, + Quite absurd; on me rely. + Jupiter forbid that I + Should commit so bad an act + As to be cool in any way + To a friend. I will to thee + Give an embrace in equity, + When it is your worship's day. + [Exit. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE IV. + + CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + + CLARIN. Well, I'll not be by to see, + That's a comfort. + + MOSCON. How? why so? + Need I be chagrined to know, + If the girl's not mine, that she + Thus to you her debt did pay. + + CLARIN. No. + + MOSCON. This makes my point more strong, + Since to me it were no wrong + If it chanced not on my day. + But our master yonder, see, + How absorbed he seems. + + CLARIN. More near, + If he speaks I'd like to hear. + + MOSCON. And I, too, would like. + + CYPRIAN. Ah me! + [As MOSCON and CLARIN approach CYPRIAN from opposite sides, he + gesticulates with his arms, and accidentally strikes both. + Love, how great thy agonies!— + + CLARIN. Ah! ah, me! + + MOSCON. Ah, me! I bawl. + + CLARIN. Well, I think that we may call + This the land of the 'sigh-ah-mes'! + + CYPRIAN. What! and have you both been here? + + CLARIN. I, at least, was here, I'll swear. + + MOSCON. And I, also. + + CYPRIAN. O, despair + End at once my sad career! + Ah, what human heart to woe + Like to mine has given a home? +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE V. + + THE COUNTRY. + + CYPRIAN, CLARIN, and MOSCON. + + CLARIN. Whither Moscon, do we roam? + + MOSCON. When we've reached the end, we'll know. + Leagues behind us lies the town, + Still we go. + + CLARIN. A strange proceeding!— + Little time have we for reading, + Idly pacing up and down. + + CYPRIAN. Clarin, get thee home. + + MOSCON. And I? + + CLARIN. Sly-boots, would you rather stay? + + CYPRIAN. Go: here leave me both; away! + + CLARIN. Mind, he tells us both to fly. + + [Exeunt CLARIN and MOSCON. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE VI. + + CYPRIAN. Memory of a maddened brain, + Do not with such strong control + Make me think another soul + Is what in my heart doth reign. + Blind idolator I have been— + Lost in love's ambitious flight, + Since such beauty met my sight, + Since a goddess I have seen. + Yet in such a maze of woe + Rigorous fate doth make me move, + That I know but whom I love, + And of whom I am jealous—no. + Yet this passion is so strong— + Ah, so sweet this fascination, + Driving my imagination + With resistless force along— + That I would (I know too well + How this madness doth degrade me) + To some devilish power to aid me, + Were it even to rise from hell, + Where some mightier power hath kept it,— + Sharing all its pains in common,— + I would, to possess this woman, + Give my soul. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE VII. + + The Demon and CYPRIAN. + + Demon [within]. And I accept it. + + [A great tempest is heard, with thunder and lightning. + + CYPRIAN. What's this, ye heavens so pure? + Clear but a moment hence and now obscure, + Ye fright the gentle day! + The thunder-balls, the lightning's forked ray, + Leap from its riven breast— + Terrific shapes it cannot keep at rest; + All the whole heaven a crown of clouds doth wear, + And with the curling mist, like streaming hair, + This mountain's brow is bound. + Outspread below, the whole horizon round + Is one volcanic pyre. + The sun is dead, the air is smoke, heaven fire. + Philosophy, how far from thee I stray, + When I cannot explain the marvels of this day! + And now the sea, upborne on clouds the while, + Seems like some ruined pile, + That crumbling down the wind as 'twere a wall, + In dust not foam doth fall. + And struggling through the gloom, + Facing the storm, a mighty ship seeks room + On the open sea, whose rage it seems to court, + Flying the dangerous pity of the port. + The noise, the terror, and that fearful cry, + Give fatal augury + Of the impending stroke. Death hesitates, + For each already dies who death awaits. + With portents the whole atmosphere is rife, + Nor is it all the effect of elemental strife. + The ship is rigged with tempest as it flies.* + It rushes on the lee, + The war is now no longer of the sea; + Upon a hidden rock + It strikes: it breaks as with a thunder shock. + Blood flakes the foam where helpless it is tost. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [footnote] *Hartzenbusch remarks that there is no corresponding rhyme + for this line in the original, and that both the sense and the + versification are defective.—'Comedias de Calderon', t. 2, p. 178. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [The sound of the tempest increases, and voices are heard within. + + VOICES WITHIN. We sink! we sink! we're lost! + + DEMON [within]. For what I have in hand, + I'll trust this plank to bear me to the land. + + CYPRIAN. As scorning the wild wave + One man alone his life attempts to save. + While lurching over, mid the billows' swell, + The great ship sinks to where the Tritons dwell; + There, with its mighty ribs asunder rent, + It lies a corse of the sea, its grave and monument. + + [Enter The Demon, dripping with wet, as if escaped from the sea. + + DEMON [aside]. For the end I wish to gain + It was of necessity + That upon this sapphire sea + I this fearful storm should feign, + And in form unlike that one + Which in this wild wood I wore, + When I found my deepest lore + By his keener wit outdone, + Come again to assail him here, + Trusting better now to prove + Both his intellect and his love.— + [Aloud. + Earth, loved earth, O mother dear, + From this monster, this wild sea, + Give me shelter in thy arms. + + CYPRIAN. Lose, my friend, the dread alarms, + And the cruel memory + Of thy peril happily past; + Since we learn or late or soon, + That beneath the inconstant moon + Human bliss doth never last. + + DEMON. Who are thou, at whose kind feet + Has my fortune cast me here? + + CYPRIAN. One who with a pitying tear, + For a ruin so complete, + Would alleviate your woe. + + DEMON. Ah, impossible!—for me + Never, never, can there be + Any solace. + + CYPRIAN. How, why so? + + DEMON. All my priceless wealth I've lost... + But I'm wrong to thus complain, + I'll forget, nay, think it gain, + Since my life it hath not cost. + + CYPRIAN. Now that the wild whirl malign + Of this earthquake storm doth cease, + And the sky returns to peace, + Quiet, calm, and crystalline, + And the bright succeeds the dark + With such strange rapidity, + That the storm would seem to be + Only raised to sink thy bark, + Tell me who thou art, repay + Thus a sympathy so sincere. + + DEMON. It has cost me to come here + More than you have seen to-day, + More than I can well express; + Of the miseries I recall + This ship's loss is least of all. + Would you see that clearly? + + CYPRIAN. Yes. + + DEMON. I am since you wish to know it, + An epitome, a wonder* + Of all happiness and misfortune, + One I have lost, I weep the other. + By my gifts was I so glorious, + So conspicuous in my order, + Of a lineage so illustrious, + With a mind so well informed, + That my rare endowments feeling, + A great king (in truth the noblest + King of Kings, for all would tremble + If he looked in anger on them,) + In his palace roofed with diamonds + And with gems as bright as morning, + (If I called them stars, 'tis certain + The comparison were too modest,) + His especial favourite called me. + Which high epithet of honour + So enflamed my pride, as rival + For his royal seat I plotted, + Hoping soon my victor footsteps + Would his golden thrones have trodden. + It was an unheard-of daring, + THAT, chastized I must acknowledge, + I was mad; but then repentance + Were a still insaner folly. + Obstinate in my resistance, + With my spirit yet unconquered, + I preferred to fall with courage + Than surrender with dishonour. + If the attempt was rash, the rashness + Was not solely my misfortune, + For among his numerous vassals + Not a few my standard followed. + From his court, in fine, thus vanquished, + Though part victor in the contest, + I went forth, my eyes outflashing + Flames of anger and abhorrence, + And my lips proclaiming vengeance + For the public insult offered + To my pride, among his people + Scattering murder, rapine, horror. + Then a bloody pirate, I + The wide plains of the sea ran over, + Argus of its dangerous shallows, + Lynx-eyed where the reefs lay covered; + In that vessel which the wind + Bit by bit so soon demolished, + In that vessel which the sea + As a dustless ruin swallowed, + I to-day these fields of crystal + Eagerly ran o'er, my object + Being stone by stone to examine, + Tree by tree to search this forest:— + For a man in it is living, + Whom it is of great importance + I should see, this day expecting + The fulfilment of a promise + Which he gave and I accepted. + This infuriate tempest stopped me. + And although my powerful genius + Could chain up east, south, and north wind, + I cared not, as if despairing + Of success, with other objects, + Other aims in view, to turn them + To the west wind's summer softness.— + [Aside. + (I have said I could, but did not, + For I note the dangerous workings + Of his mind, and thus to magic + Bind him by these hints the stronger.) + Let not my wild fury fright thee, + Nor be at my power astonished, + For I could my own death give me, + If I were by rage so prompted, + And so great that power, the sunlight, + By my science could be blotted. + I, in magic am so mighty, + That I can describe the orbits + Of the stars, for I have travelled + Through the farthest and beyond them. + And in order that this boasting + May not seem to you mere bombast, + Look, if at this very instant + You desire it, this untrodden + Nimrod of rude rocks more savage + Than of Babylon is recorded, + Shall without a leaf being shaken, + Show the most horrific portents. + I am, then, the orphan guest here + Of these ash-trees, of these poplars, + And though what I am, assistance + At thy feet here I ask from thee: + And I wish the good I purchase + To repay thee with the product + Of unnumbered years of study, + Though it now slight effort costs me, + Giving to your wildest wishes + [Aside. + (Here I touch his love,) the fondest + Longings of your heart, whatever + Passion can desire or covet. + If through courtesy or caution + You should not accept my offer, + Let my good intentions pay you, + If from greater acts you stop me. + For the pity that you show me, + Which I thankfully acknowledge, + I will be a friend so faithful, + That henceforth the changeful monster + Of events and acts, called Fortune, + Which 'twixt flattering words and scornful, + Generous now, and now a miser, + Shows a friendly face or hostile, + Neither it nor that laborious + Ever flying, running worker, + Time, the loadstone of the ages, + Nor even heaven itself, heaven proper, + To whose stars the dark world oweth + All its most divine adornment, + Will have power to separate me + From your side a single moment, + Since you here have given me welcome. + And even this is almost nothing + When compared with what my wishes + Hope hereafter to accomplish. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [footnote] *Asonante in 1-3, to the end of the speech. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + CYPRIAN. Well to the sea, my thanks are due, that bore + You struggling to the shore, + And led you to this grove, + Where you will quickly prove + The friendly feelings that inflame my breast, + If happily I merit such a guest. + Then let us homeward wend, + For I esteem you now as an old friend. + My guest you are, and so you must not leave me + While my house suits you. + + DEMON. Do you then receive me + Wholly as yours? + + CYPRIAN [embracing him]. This act doth prove it true, + That seals an eternal bond betwixt us two.— + [Aside. + Oh! if I could win o'er + This man to instruct me in his magic lore! + Since by that art my love might gain + Some solace for its pain; + Or yielding to its mighty laws + My love at length might win my love's sweet cause— + The cause of all my torment, madness, rage. + + DEMON [aside]. The working of his mind and love I gauge. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE VIII. + + CLARIN and MOSCON enter running from opposite sides. + + CYPRIAN and The Demon. + + CLARIN. Oh! are you sir, alive? + + MOSCON. My friend, do you + Speak civilly for once as something new? + That he's alive requires no demonstration. + + CLARIN. I struck this lofty note of admiration, + Thou noble lackey, to express my wonder, + How from this storm of lightning, rain, and thunder, + Without a miracle he could survive. + + MOSCON. Will you stop wondering, now you see him alive? + + CYPRIAN. These are my servants, sir.— + What brings you here? + + MOSCON. Your spleen once more to stir. + + DEMON. They have a pleasant humour. + + CYPRIAN. Foolish pair, + Their weary wit is oft too hard to bear. + + MOSCON. This man, sir, waiting here, + Who is he? + + CYPRIAN. He's my guest, so do not fear. + + CLARIN. Wherefore have guests at such a time as this? + + CYPRIAN [to The Demon]. Your worth is lost on ignorance such as his. + + MOSCON. My master's right. Are you, forsooth, his heir? + + CLARIN. No; but our new friend there, + Looks like a guest, unless I deceive me, who + Will honour our poor house a year or two. + + MOSCON. Why? + + CLARIN. When a guest soon means to go away, + Well, he'll not make much smoke in the house, we say. + But this.... + + MOSCON. Speak out. + + CLARIN. Will make, I do not joke.. + + MOSCON. What? + + CLARIN. In the house a deuced deal of smoke. + + CYPRIAN. In order to repair + The danger done by the rude sea and air, + Come thou with me. + + DEMON. [Aside.] I'm thine, while thou hast breath. + + CYPRIAN. I go to prepare thy rest. + + DEMON [aside]. And I thy death:— + An entrance having gained + Within his breast, and thus my end obtained; + My rage insatiate now without control + Seeks by another way to win Justina's soul. + [Exit. + + CLARIN. Guess, if you can, what I am thinking about. + + MOSCON. What is it? + + CLARIN. That a new volcano has burst out + In the late storm, there's such a sulphur smell. + + MOSCON. It came from the guest, as my good nose could tell. + + CLARIN. He uses bad pastilles, then; but I can + Infer the cause. + + MOSCON. What is it? + + CLARIN. The poor gentleman + Has a slight rash on his skin, a ticklish glow, + And uses sulphur ointment. + + MOSCON. Gad! 'tis so. + [Exeunt. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE IX. + + THE STREET. + + LELIUS and FABIUS. + + FABIUS. You return, then, to this street. + + LELIUS. Yes; the life that I deplore + I return to seek once more + Where 'twas lost. Ah! guide my feet, + Love, to find it!— + + FABIUS. That house there + Is Justina's; come away. + + LELIUS. Wherefore, when I will to-day + Once again my love declare. + And as she, I saw it plain, + Trusted some one else at night, + 'Tis not strange, in open light, + That I try to soothe my pain. + Leave me, go; for it is best + That I enter here alone. + My rank in Antioch is known, + My father Governor; thus drest + In his robe as 'twere, my strong + Passion listening to no mentor, + I Justina's house will enter + To protest against my wrong. + [Exeunt. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE X. + + A HALL IN THE HOUSE OF LYSANDER. + + JUSTINA, and afterwards LELIUS. + + JUSTINA. Livia.... But a step! who's there? + + [LELIUS enters + LELIUS. It is I. + + JUSTINA. What novelty, + What extreme temerity, + Thus, my lord, compels you?... + + LELIUS. Spare + Your reproaches. Jealous-grown, + I can bear that you reprove. + Pardon me, for with my love + My respect has also flown. + + JUSTINA. Why, at such a perilous cost + Have you dared... + + LELIUS. Because I'm mad. + + JUSTINA. To intrude.... + + LELIUS. Heart-broken, sad. + + JUSTINA. Here.... + + LELIUS. Because, in truth, I'm lost. + + JUSTINA. Nor perceive how scandal views + Such an act as now you do + 'Gainst.... + + LELIUS. Be not so moved, for you + Little honour now can lose. + + JUSTINA. Lelius, spare at least my fame. + + LELIUS. Ah, Justina, it were best + That this language you addressed + Unto him who nightly came + Down here from this balcony;— + 'Tis enough for me to show + All your lightness that I know, + That less coy and cold to me + Your pretended honour prove. + If I am disdained, displaced, + 'Tis another suits your taste, + Not that you your honour love. + + JUSTINA. Silence, cease, your words withhold. + Who with insult e'er before + Dared to pass my threshold's door? + Are you then so blind and bold, + So audacious, so insane, + As my pure light to eclipse, + Through the libel of your lips, + By chimeras false and vain?— + In my house a man? + + LELIUS. 'Tis so. + + JUSTINA. From my balcony? + + LELIUS. With shame + I repeat it. + + JUSTINA. O, my fame, + O'er us twain your Aegis throw. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XI. + + THE SAME. + + The Demon appears at the door which is behind JUSTINA. + + DEMON [aside]. For the deep design I handle, + For my double plot I come + Raging to this simple home, + Now to work the greatest scandal + Ever seen. Here, brooding o'er him, + This wild lover mad with ire, + I will fan his jealous fire, + I will place myself before him, + Catch his eye, and then as fleeing, + In invisible gloom array me. + [He affects to come in, and being seen by LELIUS muffles himself in + his cloak, and re-enters the inner apartment. + + JUSTINA. Man, do you come here to slay me? + + LELIUS. No, to die. + + JUSTINA. What object seeing + Paralyses thus your senses? + + LELIUS. What I see is your untruth. + Tell me now, the wish, forsooth, + Has invented my offences. + From that very chamber there + Came a man, I turned my head, + When he saw my face he fled + Back into the room. + + JUSTINA. The air + Must this phantasy display— + This illusion. + + LELIUS. Oh, that sight! + + JUSTINA. Is it not enough by night, + Lelius, but in open day + Thus fictitious forms to see? + + LELIUS. Phantom shape or real lover, + Now the truth I will discover. + [He goes into the room where The Demon had disappeared. + + JUSTINA. I no hindrance offer thee, + For my innocence, a way, + At the cost of this permission, + Thus finds out the night's submission + To correct by the light of day. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XII. + + LYSANDER and JUSTINA; LELIUS, within. + + LYSANDER. My Justina. + + JUSTINA [aside]. Woe is me! + Ah, if here before Lysander* + Lelius from that room comes forth! +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [footnote] *Asonante in a-i to the end of Scene XVII. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + LYSANDER. My misfortunes, my disasters + Fly to be consoled by thee. + + JUSTINA. What can be the grief, the sadness, + That your face betrays so plainly? + + LYSANDER. And no wonder, when the pallor + Springs even from the heart. This sobbing + Stops my weak words in their passage. + + [LELIUS appears at the door of the apartment. + LELIUS [aside]. I begin now to believe, + Since he is not in this chamber, + Jealousy can cause these spectres. + He, the man I saw, has vanished, + How I know not. + + JUSTINA [aside to Lelius]. Come not forth, + Lelius, here before my father. + + LELIUS. Convalescent in my sickness + I will wait till he is absent. + [Retires. + + JUSTINA. Why this weeping? why this sighing? + What, sir, moves thee, what unmans thee? + + LYSANDER. I am moved by a misfortune, + I'm unmanned by a disaster, + Greater far than tender pity + Ever wept,—the dread example + Cruelty has sworn to make + In the innocent blood of martyrs. + To the Governor of this city + Decius Caesar a strict mandate + Has despatched... I can speak no more. + + JUSTINA [aside]. What position e'er was harder? + Moved with pity for the Christians + Hither comes to me Lysander + The sad news to tell, not knowing + Lelius to his words may hearken,— + Lelius, the Governor's son. + + LYSANDER. So Justina... + + JUSTINA. Sir, no farther, + Since you feel it so acutely, + Speak upon this painful matter. + + LYSANDER. Let me, for I'll feel some solace + When to thee it is imparted. + In it he commands... + + JUSTINA. Proceed not + Further now, when you should rather + Cheat your years with more repose. + + LYSANDER. How? when I, to make you partner + In those lively fears whose bodings + Are sufficient to despatch me, + Would inform you of the edict, + The most cruel that the margin + Of the Tiber ever saw + Writ in blood to stain its waters, + Do you stop me? Ah, Justina, + You were wont in another manner + Once to listen to me. + + JUSTINA. Sir, + Different were the circumstances. + + LELIUS [at the door, aside]. I can hear but indistinctly + Half-formed words and broken accents. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XIII. + + FLORUS enters.—JUSTINA and LYSANDER; LELIUS, peeping at the door + of the inner room. + + FLORUS [aside]. Licence has a jealous lover, + Who but enters to unmask here + A pretended purity, + To forego politer manners. + I come here with that intention... + But as she is with her father + I will wait a new occasion. + + LYSANDER. Who is there? Some footstep passes. + + FLORUS [aside]. Ah! 'tis now impossible + Without speaking to get back here. + Some excuse I'll try to offer:— + I am... + + LYSANDER. You here, sir? + + FLORUS. Your pardon. + I ask leave, sir, to speak with you + On a most important matter. + + JUSTINA [aside]. Oh! take pity on me, fortune, + For these trials are too many. + + LYSANDER. Well, sir, speak. + + FLORUS [aside, at the door]. Florus in Justina's house + Leaves and enters like a master!— + These are not unfounded jealousies, + These are real and substantial. + + LYSANDER. You grow pale, you change your colour. + + FLORUS. Do not wonder, be not startled, + For I came to give a warning, + To your life of utmost value, + Of an enemy that you have, + Who your swift destruction planneth. + What I've said is quite sufficient. + + LYSANDER [aside]. Florus, doubtless, must have gathered + Somehow that I am a Christian, + And thus comes in kindliest manner + Of my danger to apprise me.— + [Aloud. + Speak, hide nothing in this matter. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XIV. + + LIVIA enters.— + + JUSTINA, LYSANDER, and FLORUS; LELIUS at the door of the room. + + LIVIA. Sir, the Governor, who is waiting + At the door of the house, commanded + Me to call you to his presence. + + FLORUS. Best I wait for his departure:— + [Aside. + (Meantime my excuse I'll think of.) + So 'tis well that you despatch him. + + LYSANDER. I appreciate your politeness. + Here I will return instanter. + [Exeunt LYSANDER and LIVIA. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XV. + + JUSTINA and FLORUS; LELIUS at the door. + + FLORUS. Are you then that virtuous maiden, + Who, the very breeze that flatters + With its soft and sweet caresses, + You would call rude, bold, unmannered? + How then is it you surrendered + Even the very keys of the casket + Of your honour? + + JUSTINA. Hold, hold, Florus, + Do not dare to throw a shadow + On that honour which the sun + After the most strict examen + Has proved bright and pure. + + FLORUS. Too late + Comes this idle boast. It happens + That I know to whom you have given + Free access... + + JUSTINA. You dare this scandal?— + + FLORUS. By a balcony... + + JUSTINA. Do not say it. + + FLORUS. To your honour. + + JUSTINA. Thus will you blast me? + + FLORUS. Yes, for hypocritical virtue + Merits something even harsher. + + LELIUS [at the door, aside]. Florus was not then the hero + Of the balcony; some more happy + Lover than us twain she welcomes. + + JUSTINA. Oh! defame not noble damsels, + Since you noble blood inherit. + + FLORUS. Noble damsel, dar'st thou call thee, + When thy very arms received him, + And from thy balcony he departed? + Power subdued thee; from the fact + That the Governor is his father, + Vanity led thee on to show + That in Antioch he commanded... + + LELIUS [aside]. Here he speaks of me. + + FLORUS. Not seeing + Any graver defect of manner, + Than what in his birth and breeding + Rank may cover with its mantle, + But not so.... + + [LELIUS enters. + LELIUS. Be silent, Florus, + Nor attack me in my absence; + For of a rival to speak ill, + Is the act but of a dastard. + 'Tis to stop this I come forward, + Angry after so many passes + Which my sword has had with thine, + That I have not yet dispatched thee. + + JUSTINA. Who, not guilty, ever saw her + In such dangerous straits entangled? + + FLORUS. What behind your back was spoken, + I before you will establish, + Truth is truth where'er 'tis uttered. + [They grasp their swords. + + JUSTINA. Florus! Lelius! what would you have then. + + LELIUS. I would have full satisfaction + Where I heard th'insulting language. + + FLORUS. I'll maintain what I have said + Where I said it. + + JUSTINA. From so many + Strokes of fortune, free me, Heaven!— + + FLORUS. And I'll learn to chastise your rashness. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XVI. + + The Governor enters with LYSANDER and attendants.—JUSTINA, LELIUS, + and FLORUS. + + [All who enter]. Hold! stand back! + + JUSTINA. Unhappy me! + + GOVERNOR. What is this? But empty scabbards, + Naked swords, are quite sufficient + To inform me what has happened. + + JUSTINA. What misfortune! + + LYSANDER. What affliction!— + + LELIUS. Ah, my lord... + + GOVERNOR. Enough, no farther. + Lelius, thou a son of mine, + A disturber? Thou a scandal + To all Antioch through my favour? + + LELIUS. Think, my lord... + + GOVERNOR. Arrest, disarm them, + Take them hence. Make no distinction + On account of blood or rank here. + Let them suffer both alike, + Since in guilt alike they acted. + + LELIUS [aside]. I came jealous, and go outraged. + + FLORUS [aside]. To my pains new pains are added. + + GOVERNOR. In distinct and separate prisons, + And with watchful eyes to guard them, + Place the two.—And you, Lysander, + Is it possible you have tarnished + Such a noble reputation, + Suffering.... + + LYSANDER. No; let not these dazzling + False appearances mislead you, + For Justina in what happened + Was quite blameless. + + GOVERNOR. In her house here, + Would you have her live regardless + Of the fact that they were young, + And that she was fair; My anger + I restrain, lest people say, + I, an interested party, + Sentence passed as partial judge.— + But of you who caused this quarrel, + Now that maiden shame has left you, + Well I know that you will glad me + With the occasion I desire, + Of exposing, of unmasking, + In the light of actual vices, + The false virtuous part you've acted. + + [Exeunt The Governor and his attendants; + LELIUS and FLORUS follow as prisoners. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XVII. + + JUSTINA and LYSANDER. + + JUSTINA. I reply but with my tears. + + LYSANDER. Tears as vain as they are tardy. + What an act was mine, Justina, + When to thee my lips imparted + Who thou art! Oh, would I never + Told thee, that upon the margin + Of a rivulet in this forest, + A dead mother's womb here cast thee! + + JUSTINA. I.... + + LYSANDER. Do not attempt excuses. + + JUSTINA. Heaven will make them, then, hereafter + + LYSANDER. When too late, perhaps. + + JUSTINA. No limit + Can be late here while life lasteth. + + LYSANDER. For the punishment of crimes. + + JUSTINA. Injured truth to re-establish. + + LYSANDER. I, from what I have seen, condemn thee. + + JUSTINA. I thee, from what thou knowest not, rather. + + LYSANDER. Leave me; I go forth to die + Where my grief will soon dispatch me. + + JUSTINA. At thy feet I would lose my life; + But do not reject me, father. + [Exeunt. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XVIII. + + A HALL IN CYPRIAN'S HOUSE. + At the end is an open gallery, through which is seen the country. + + CYPRIAN, the Demon, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + + DEMON. Since the hour that I have been + In your house a guest, you ne'er + Show a gay and cheerful air. + Sadness in your face is seen. + It is wrong your cure to shun, + Seeking to mislead mine eyes, + Since I would unsphere the skies, + Shake the stars, and shroud the sun, + For the least desire you feel + That more pleasantly you might live. + + CYPRIAN. Magic has no power to give + The impossible I conceal, + Though the misery I betray. + + DEMON. Come, confess the longed-for bliss. + + CYPRIAN. I love a woman. + + DEMON. And is this + The impossible that you say? + + CYPRIAN. If you knew her, you'd agree. + + DEMON. Well, describe her, I'm resigned; + Though I can't but smile to find + What a coward you must be. + + CYPRIAN. The fair cradle of the skies, + Where the infant sun reposes, + Ere he rises, decked with roses, + Robed in snow, to dry heaven's eyes. + The green prison-bud that tries + To restrain the conscious rose, + When the crimson captive knows + April treads its gardens near, + Turning dawn's half frozen tear + To a smile where sunshine glows. + The sweet streamlet gliding by, + Though it scarcely dares to breathe + Softest murmurs through its teeth, + From the frosts that on it lie. + The bright pink, in its small sky + Shining like a coral star. + The blithe bird that flies afar, + Drest in shifting shades and blooms— + Soaring cithern of plumes + Harping high o'er heaven's blue bar. + The white rock that cheats the sun + When it tries to melt it down, + What it melts is but the crown + Which from winter's snow it won. + The green bay that will not shun, + Though the heavens are all aglow, + For its feet a bath of snow,— + Green Narcissus of the brook, + Fearless leaning o'er to look, + Though the stream runs chill below + In a word, the crimson dawn, + Sun, mead, streamlet, rosebud, May + Bird that sings his amorous lay, + April's laugh that gems the lawn, + Pink that sips the dews up-drawn, + Rock that stands in storm and shine, + Bay-tree that delights to twine + Round its fadeless leaves the sun, + All are parts which met in one + Form this woman most divine. + For myself, in blind unrest, + (Guess my madness if you can) + I, to seem another man, + In these courtly robes am drest, + Studious calm I now detest, + Fame no longer fires my mind, + Passion reigns where thought refined, + I my firmness fling to tears, + Courage I resign to fears, + And my hopes I give the wind. + I have said, and so will do, + That to some infernal sprite + I would offer with delight + (And the pledge I now renew) + Even my soul for her I woo. + But my offer is in vain, + Hell rejects it with disdain, + For my soul, it may allege, + Is a disproportionate pledge + For the interest I would gain. + + DEMON. Is this, then your boasted courage, + In the footsteps of dejected* + Swains to follow, who grow timid + When their first assault's rejected? + Are examples then so distant + Of fair ladies who surrender + All their vanities to entreaties, + All their pride to fond addresses? + Would you make your breast the prison + Of your love, your arms her fetters? +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [footnote] *Asonante in e-e to the end of the Act. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + CYPRIAN. Can you doubt it? + + DEMON. Then command them + To retire, those two, your servants, + So that we remain here only. + + CYPRIAN. Go: both leave me for the present. + + MOSCON. I obey. + [Exit. + + CLARIN. And I as well.— + [Aside, concealing himself. + Such a guest must be the devil. + + CYPRIAN. They are gone. + + DEMON [aside]. That Clarin's hiding, + Is to me of small concernment. + + CYPRIAN. What more wish you now? + + DEMON. First fasten + Well this door. + + CYPRIAN. Yes; none can enter. + + DEMON. For the possession of this woman, + With your lips you have asserted + You would give your soul. + + CYPRIAN. 'Tis so. + + DEMON. Then the contract is accepted. + + CYPRIAN. What do you say? + + DEMON. That I accept it. + + CYPRIAN. How? + + DEMON. So much have I effected + By my science, that I will teach you + How by it to get possession + Of the woman that you worship; + For I (though so wise and learned) + Have no other means to win her. + Let us now in writing settle + What we have resolved between us. + + CYPRIAN. Do you wish by new pretences + To prolong the pains I suffer? + In my hand is what I tender, + But in yours is not the offer + That you make me; no, for never + Conjurations or enchantments + Can free will control or fetter. + + DEMON. Give me, on the terms you spoke of, + Your signed bond. + + CLARIN. [peeping]. The deuce! This fellow + Is no fool, I see. No greenhorn + In his business is this devil. + I give him my bond! No, truly, + Though my lodgings wanted a tenant + For the space of twenty ages, + I wouldn't do it. + + CYPRIAN. Sir, much jesting + May with merry friends be pastime, + Not with those who are dejected. + + DEMON. I, in proof of what I am able + To effect, will now present you + With an example, though it faintly + Shows the power my art possesses. + From this gallery what is seen? + + CYPRIAN. Much of sky, and much of meadow, + Wood, a rivulet, and a mountain. + + DEMON. Which to you doth seem most pleasant? + + CYPRIAN. The proud mountain, for in it + Is my adored one represented. + + DEMON. Proud competitor of time, + Rival of the years for ever, + Who as king of fields and plains + Crown'st thee with the cloud and tempest, + Move thyself, change earth and air; + Look, see who I am that tell thee.— + And, look thou, too, since a mountain + I can move, thou mayest a maiden. + + [The mountain moves from one side to the other in the perspective of + the theatre. + + CYPRIAN. Never saw I such a wonder! + Ne'er a sight of so much terror! + + CLARIN [peeping]. With the fright and with the fear, + I enjoy a twofold tremble. + + CYPRIAN. Mighty mountain bird that fliest, + Trees for wings replacing feathers, + Boat, whose rocks supply the tackle, + As thou furrowest through the zephyr, + To thy centre back return thee, + And so end this fear, this terror. + + [The mountain returns to its original position. + + DEMON. If one proof is not sufficient, + I will give you then a second. + Do you wish to see the woman + You adore? + + CYPRIAN. Yes. + + DEMON. Then, thy entrails + Ope, thou monster, to whose being + The four elements are servants. + Show to us the perfect beauty + That thou hidest in thy centre. + [A rock opens and JUSTINA is seen sleeping. + Is this she whom you adore? + + CYPRIAN. Whom I idolize beyond measure. + + DEMON. But since I have power to give her, + I can take her too, remember. + + CYPRIAN. Now impossible dream of mine, + Now thy arms will be the centre + Of my love, thy lips the sun, + Burning, brimming as with nectar. + + DEMON. Stay; for till the word you gave me + Is affirmed, and well attested, + You can touch her not. + + [CYPRIAN rushes towards the rock, which closes. + CYPRIAN. Oh, stay + Cloud that hides the most resplendent + Sun, that on my bliss e'er dawned!— + But 'tis air my void arm presses.— + I believe your art, acknowledge + Now I am your slave for ever. + What do you wish I do for thee? + What do you ask? + + DEMON. To be protected + By your signature here written + In your blood, at the foot of a letter. + + CLARIN [peeping]. Oh! I'd give my soul that I + To stay here had not been tempted. + + CYPRIAN. For my pen I use this dagger, + Paper let this white cloth serve for, + And the ink wherewith I write it, + Be the blood my arm presents me. + [He writes with the point of a dagger upon a piece of linen, having + drawn blood from one of his arms. + + CYPRIAN [Aside]. Oh! I freeze with fear, with horror! + I, great Cyprian, say expressly + I will give my immortal soul, + (Oh! what lethargy, what frenzy!) + Unto him whose art will teach me + (What confusion! what strange terror!) + How I may of fair Justina, + Haughty mistress mine, possess me. + I have signed it with my name. + + DEMON [aside]. Now to my deceits is rendered + Valid homage, when such reason, + When discourse like his must tremble + Even when my help is sought for.— + Have you written? + + CYPRIAN. And signed the letter. + + DEMON. Then the sun you adore is thine. + + CYPRIAN. Thine too, for the years eternal, + Is the soul I offer thee. + + DEMON. Soul for soul I pay my debtors, + Then for thine I give to thee + Thy Justina's + + CYPRIAN. In what term then, + Think you you can teach to me + All your magic art? + + DEMON. A twelvemonth; + But on this condition.... + + CYPRIAN. Speak. + + DEMON. That within a cavern buried, + Without any other study, + We may live there both together, + In our service having no one + For us two but this attendant, + [Drags out CLARIN. + Who being curious hid him here;— + By securing thus his person + That our secret is well kept, + We, I think, may be quite certain. + + CLARIN [aside]. Oh, that I had never waited! + How does it happen though, so many + Neighbours prone to pry, as I am, + Are not caught thus by the devil? + + CYPRIAN. So far well. My love, my genius + Have this happy end effected: + First Justina will be mine, + Then by my new lights, new learning, + I will wake the world's surprise. + + DEMON. I have gained what I intended. + + CLARIN. I not so. + + DEMON. You come with us.— + [Aside. + O'er my great foe I've got the better. + + CYPRIAN. Ah, how happy my desires, + If I reach to such possession!— + + DEMON [aside]. Never will my envy rest + Till I gain both souls to serve me.— + Let us go, and in the deepest + Cavern this wild world presenteth + You to-day will learn in magic + Your first lesson. + + CYPRIAN. Let us enter, + For my mind with such a master, + For my love with such incentive, + Will the sorcerer Cyprian's name + Live before the world for ever. +</pre> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + ACT THE THIRD. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE I. + + A WOOD; AT THE EXTREMITY A GROTTO. + + CYPRIAN. + + CYPRIAN. Ungrateful beauty mine, + At length the day, the happy day doth shine— + My hope's remotest range, + The limits of my love and of thy change, + Since I to-day will gain + At last my triumph over thy disdain. + This lofty mountain nigh, + Raised to the star-lit palace of the sky, + And this dark cavern's gloom, + Of two that live, so long the dismal tomb, + Are the rough school wherein + From magic art its mystic lore I win, + And such perfection reach + That I can now my mighty master teach. + Seeing, that on this day, since I came here + The sun completes its course from sphere to sphere, + I from my prison cell come forth to view + What in the light I now have power to do. + Ye skies of cloudless day + List to my magic spell-words and obey; + Swift zephyrs that rejoice + In heaven's warm light, stand still and hear my voice; + Stupendous mountain rock + Shake at my words as at an earthquake shock; + Ye trees in rough bark drest + Be frightened at the groanings of my breast; + Ye flowers so fair and frail + Faint at the echoing terror of my wail; + Ye sweet melodious birds + Hush all your songs before my awful words; + Ye cruel beasts of prey + See the first fruits of my long toil to-day; + For blinded, dazzled, dazed, + Confused, disturbed, astonished and amazed, + Ye skies and zephyrs, rocks, and trees, and flowers, + And birds, and beasts, behold my magic powers, + And thus to all make plain + Cyprian's infernal study is not vain. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE II. + + The Demon and CYPRIAN. + + DEMON. Cyprian! + + CYPRIAN. Wise friend and master still! + + DEMON. Why, how is this, that using your free-will + More than my precept meant, + Say for what end, what object, what intent, + Through ignorance or boldness can it be, + You thus come forth the sun's bright face to see? + + CYPRIAN. Seeing that now my spell + Can fill with fear, with horror even hell, + Since I, with so much care + Have studied magic and its depths laid bare, + So that yourself can scarcely tell + Whether 'tis I or you that most excel, + Seeing that now there is no place or part + That I with study, diligence and art, + have not attained, + Since necromancy's secret I have gained, + That art whose lines of gloom + Can ope to me the dark funereal tomb, + And bring before mine eyes + Each corpse that in it lies, + Regaining them, as 'twere by a new birth + From the hard avarice of the grasping earth. + The pale ghosts, one and all, + Rise and respond my call;— + And seeing that at length the sun + My goal of life had won, + Since from its innate force + Swift-speeding on its course, + Climbing the heavens each day, + It turns as 'twere reluctantly away, + And with a natural fear + Completes to-day the lifetime of a year, + I wish to attain the scope + To last of all my dreams, of all my hope. + To-day the rare, the beautiful, the divine + Justina will be mine, + Here summoned by my charms, + Here lured by love she'll come unto my arms, + For you from me no longer can require + Postponement of my hope's, my heart's desire. + + DEMON. Nor do I wish to do it, no, + Since thus so earnestly you wish it so. + Now trace upon the ground + Mute mystic symbols, and the deep profound + Of air, with powerful incantations move + Obedient to your hope and to your love. + + CYPRIAN. For that I will retire; + You soon shall see the heaven and earth admire. + [Exit. + + DEMON. I give you leave to go, + Because our science being the same, I know + That the abyss of hell + Obedient to your spell + Will yield through me, this way, + The fair Justina to your arms to-day: + For, though my mighty power + Cannot enslave free-will even for an hour, + It may present + The outward show of rapture and content, + Suggesting thoughts impure:— + If force I cannot use, at least I lure. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE III. + + CLARIN and The Demon. + + CLARIN. Ungrateful fair, who still my heart doth hold, + Not burning Libya sure, but Livia cold, + The time is come to show + Whether in love you have been true or no, + Whether, since I within this cave was placed, + Not chased by me you have yourself been chaste; + For I have studied here + At second hand some magic for a year, + Just to find out (alack! I can't but wince) + Whether with Moscon you have wronged me since:— + Ye watery skies (some people call them pure) + List to my conjurations I conjure, + Mountains.... + + DEMON. How, Clarin? + + CLARIN. Oh! my master wise! + By the concomitance of my hands and eyes, + I've learned some magic, and would know by it + If Livia, that ungrateful little chit, + Has played me false since I have been away, + Embracing that rogue Moscon on my day. + + DEMON. Have done with these buffooneries: leave me, go. + And 'mid these intricate rocks whose paths you know, + Assist your master, who will let you see + (If you would witness such a prodigy) + The end of all his woe. + I wish to be alone. + + CLARIN. And I not so. + I now perceive + Why to use magic I have not your leave, + The fault was mine, neglecting to attest + My bond, and sign it with the blood of my breast.— + [He takes out a soiled pocket-handkerchief. + Upon this linen handkerchief + (None cleaner he can have who cries for grief) + I'll sign it now, the method I propose + Is but to give myself a box on the nose, + For there is little harm + Whether the blood is drawn from nose or arm. + + [He writes with his finger on the handkerchief, + after having drawn some blood. + + I, the great Clarin, say, if I can level + Pert Livia's cruel pride, whom I give to the devil.... + + DEMON. Leave me, I say again, + Go seek your master and with him remain. + + CLARIN. Yes, I will do so, don't get angry though. + The reason you reject my bond I know: + 'Tis this, because you see, + Do what I will that you are sure of me. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE IV. + + The Demon. + + DEMON. Abyss of hell prepare! + Thyself the region of thine own despair.— + From out each dungeon's dark recess + Let loose the spirits of voluptuousness, + To rain and o'erthrow + Justina's virgin fabric pure as snow. + A thousand filthy phantoms with thee brought + So people her chaste thought + That all her maiden fancies may be filled + With their deceits; let sweetest notes be trilled + From every tuneful grove, + And all, birds, plants, and flowers, provoke to love. + Let nothing meet her eyes + But spoils of love's delicious victories, + Let nothing meet her ears + But languid sighs that listening passion hears: + That thus unguarded by the faith, and weak, + She here may Cyprian seek + Invoked by his strong spell, + And by my blinding spirit lured as well. + Begin, in silence I will here remain + Unseen, that you may now begin the strain. + [Exit. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE V. + + JUSTINA; music within. [They sing within.] + + A VOICE. What is the glory far above, + All else that life can give? + + CHORUS OF VARIOUS VOICES. Love love. + + A VOICE. No creature lives on which love's flame + Has not impressed its burning seal, + The man feels more who love doth feel + Than when Life's breath first warmed his frame. + Love owns one universal claim,— + To Love, it only needs To Be,— + Whether a bird, a flower, a tree: + Then the chief glory, far above + All else in life must be.... + + CHORUS [within]. Love, love. + + JUSTINA [alarmed and restless]. Fancy, flatter that thou art, + Though thou should'st be sad to-day, + When did I to thee impart, + In this strange and sudden way, + Licence to afflict my heart? + What thus makes my pulses move? + What strange fire is this I prove + Which each moment doth increase? + Ah! this pain that ends my peace, + This sweet unrest, ah, what? + + CHORUS. Love, love. + + JUSTINA [more composed]. 'Tis that enamoured nightingale + Who thus gives me the reply:— + To his partner in the vale + Listening on a bough hard by + Warbling thus his tuneful wail. + Cease, sweet nightingale, nor show + By thy softly witching strain + Trilling forth thy bliss and woe, + How a man might feel love's pain, + When a bird can feel his so. + No: it was that wanton vine + That in fond pursuit has sought + The tall tree it doth entwine, + Till the green weight it hath brought + Makes the noble trunk decline. + Green entwining boughs that hold + What you love in your embrace, + Make my fancy not too bold:— + Ah, if boughs thus interlace, + How would clasping arms infold!— + And if not the vine, 'twill be + That bright sunflower which we see + Turning with its tearful eyes + To its sun-god in the skies, + Whatsoe'er his movements be. + Flower thy watch no longer keep, + Drooping leaflets fold in sleep, + For the fond thought reappears, + Ah, if leaves can shed such tears, + What are those that eyes can weep! + Cease then, lyrist of the grove, + Leafy vine, unclasp thy arms, + Fickle flower, no longer move, + And declare, these poisoned charms + That you use, what yields? + + CHORUS [within]. Love, love. + + JUSTINA. Love! it cannot be. Its chain + Have I ever worn for man? + No, the fond deceit is vain. + All received a like disdain, + Lelius, Florus, Cyprian. + Lelius did I not despise? + Florus did I not detest? + Cyprian, the good and wise, + + [She pauses at Cyprian's name and + resumes for a time her unquiet manner. + + Spurn with such a haughty breast, + That he vanished from my eyes, + As if frightened by their ire?— + Where he went I do not know. + But save this, the faintest fire + Love e'er lit, ne'er dared to glow + In the depths of my desire. + Yes, for since I said that he + Should submit without appeal + Never more my face to see, + Ah, I know and what I feel!— + [She grows calmer. + Pity it must surely be, + That a man so widely known + Should through love of me be lost, + When he pays at such a cost + For the preference he has shown. + [She becomes troubled again. + Were it pity though, 'tis true, + The same pity I should give + Lelius and to Florus too, + Who in separate dungeons live, + Ah! for daring me to woo. + [She grows calmer. + But my thoughts, ye mutinous crew, + If my pity is enough + It should not be clogged by you. + Still your promptings press me so, + That I feel in my despair, + Where he is, if I could know, + I to seek him now would go. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE VI. + + The Demon and JUSTINA. + + DEMON. Come, and I will tell thee where. + + JUSTINA. Who art thou who has procured + Entrance to this lone retreat, + Though the entrance is secured? + Or, my senses being obscured, + Art thou but delusion's cheat? + + DEMON. No, not so; but having known + How this passion pressed thee so, + I have sought thee here alone, + Having promised thee to show + Whither Cyprian has flown. + + JUSTINA. Then thou'lt reach not thy intent; + For this passion, this strange pain, + Which my thought doth so torment, + Though my fancy it may gain, + It will never my consent. + + DEMON. But in thought to enter in + Shows that half the deed is done; + Since accomplished is the sin:— + Stop not halfway, ere is won + What the wish desired to win. + + JUSTINA. Even in this desponding hour, + Though to think may taint the flower, + Thy suggestion comes to nought,— + In my power is not my thought + But my act is in my power. + I can follow to the brink, + Free to pause or to pursue, + Move my foot, or backward shrink, + For it is one thing to do, + And another thing to think. + + DEMON. If a stronger power than thine, + Drawn from a profounder source, + With thine own desires combine, + How resist the double force + Which with force thy steps incline? + + JUSTINA. I will trust a safer spell:— + My free will suffices me. + + DEMON. But my power will it excel. + + JUSTINA. Then the will no more were free + If a force could it compel. + + DEMON. Come where every bliss thou'lt meet. + [Attempts to draw her with him, but cannot move her. + + JUSTINA. Ah! the bliss were bought too dear. + + DEMON. It is peace, serene and sweet. + + JUSTINA. 'Tis a slavery most severe. + + DEMON. Life, 'tis joy. + + JUSTINA. 'Tis death, deceit. + + DEMON. Thy defence, what can it be, + If my power thus forces thee? + [Drags her with more force. + + JUSTINA. In my God it doth consist. + + DEMON. By persisting to resist, + [Releases her. + Woman, thou has conquered me. + Thy defence to God is due, + And my counsel is disdained; + Yes, but raging I'll renew + My attempt and have thee feigned, + If I cannot have thee true. + To a spirit I will give + Shape like thine though fugitive, + It will counterfeit thy form, + As with seeming life be warm, + And in it disgraced thou'lt live. + Thus two triumphs at one time + I am sure to win by this, + Be thy virtue so sublime, + Since through an ideal bliss + I will consummate a crime. + [Exit. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE VII. + + JUSTINA. + + JUSTINA. 'Gainst the clouds that round me lower + I appeal to heaven's high power; + Let this spectre of my fame— + As before the wind the flame— + As before the frost the flower, + Vanish, die.... But woe is me! + Who is here to heed my moan? + Was there not a man with me? + Yes. But no: I am alone: + No. But yes: for I could see. + Where so quickly could he fly? + Was he born of my unrest? + Oh! my danger's manifest... + Father! friend! Lysander! I + Call.... +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE VIII. + + LYSANDER and LIVIA enter from opposite doors.—JUSTINA. + + LYSANDER. My child? + + LIVIA. What means this cry? + + JUSTINA. Saw you not a man (ah, me!) + Who but left me instantly? + I can scarce express my thought. + + LYSANDER. A man here? + + JUSTINA. You saw him not? + + LIVIA. No, senora. + + JUSTINA. I could see. + + LYSANDER. Saw a man here? That is hard, + When the place was locked and barred. + + LIVIA [aside]. Moscon sure she must have seen, + Whom I have contrived to screen + In my changer. + + LYSANDER. I regard + What you saw but as the play + Of your fancy and your fear. + Melancholy surely may + Have, the man that you saw here, + Formed from atoms of the day. + + LIVIA. Yes, I think my master's right. + + JUSTINA. No, 'twas no defect of sight, + No illusion: since my heart,— + Ah! too well I feel the smart— + Has been broken by the fright. + Some strange witchery of my will + Must have been effected here. + And with such consummate skill, + That if God had not been near + I might have pursued my ill. + He who at such timely hour + Helped me to resist the power + Of this fearful violence, + Will my humble innocence + Guard, whatever dangers lower.— + Livia, my cloak: whene'er + [Exit LIVIA. + Overwhelming griefs oppress, + I to holy church repair, + Where we secretly confess + The true faith. + [LIVIA returns with the cloak, which she places on JUSTINA. + LIVIA. 'Tis this you wear. + + JUSTINA. There perchance I may appease + This strange fire that burns me so. + + LYSANDER. I desire with thee to go. + + LIVIA [aside]. I will breathe much more at ease + When they're out of the house, I know. + + JUSTINA. Since I wholly trust to thee + Heaven, thy hold to me afford. + Save me.... + + LYSANDER. Come: so it may be. + + JUSTINA. Since the cause is thine, O Lord! + Oh, defend Thyself and me! + [Exeunt JUSTINA and LYSANDER. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE IX. + + MOSCON and LIVIA. + + MOSCON. Have they gone? + + LIVIA. They're gone: all right. + + MOSCON. Why, I'm almost dead with fright. + + LIVIA. Were you of your sense bereft + When but now my room you left + And appeared before her sight? + + MOSCON. Left your room? Be seen by her? + Why, I swear it, Livia dear, + Not one moment did I stir. + + LIVIA. Who then was it she saw here? + + MOSCON. Well, the devil, as I infer. + How know I? But then do not + Take it so to heart, my soul. + + LIVIA. Oh! that's not the cause. + [She weeps. + + MOSCON. Then what? + + LIVIA. Such a question, when the whole + Of a day it was his lot + With me here locked up to stay? + For his comrade far away + Must I not a tear then shed, + Though I take this day instead, + Having wept not yesterday? + Would I have him think of me + As a woman who could be + So forgetful and so frail, + As for half a year to fail + In what we did both agree? + + MOSCON. Half a year? It is above + One whole year since he went away. + + LIVIA. Quite an error, as I'll prove. + Mind, I cannot count a day + When I Clarin could not love. + This being so, if I to thee + Gave up half the year (ah me!), + I would give a false amount + To place all to his account. + + MOSCON. Ah, ungrateful! can it be + When my heart on thee depends + For its peace, that thine attends + To such trifles? + + LIVIA. Moscon, yes, + For I find, I must confess, + Short accounts make longest friends. + + MOSCON. Such being then thy constancy, + Livia, I must say good-bye, + Till to-morrow. Ah! if he + Is thy two-day fever, I + Hope he's not thy syncope. + + LIVIA. Well, my friend, from this you know + I no malice bear. + + MOSCON. Just so. + + LIVIA. See me then no more to-day, + But to-morrow, sir, you may: + I'll not need to send. Heigho! + [Exeunt. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE X. + + A WOOD. + + CYPRIAN, as frightened; CLARIN, stealthily after him. + + CYPRIAN. Doubtless something must have happened + 'Mong the stars; imperial clusters,* + Since I find their influences + To my wishes so repugnant. + Up from the profound abysses + Some dark caveat must be uttered, + Which prohibits the obedience + Which they owe me as my subjects. + I, a thousand times, with spell-words + Made the winds of heaven to shudder, + I, a thousand times, the bosom + Of the earth with symbols furrowed, + Yet mine eyes have not been gladdened + By the human sun refulgent + That I seek, nor in mine arms + Hold that human heaven. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [footnote] *'Asonante' in 'u-e' to the end of Scene XV. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + CLARIN. What wonder? + When a thousand times have I + Scraped the earth as if for nuggets, + When a thousand times the wind + By my screeching was perturbed, + And yet Livia was oblivious. + + CYPRIAN. Once again then I am humbled + To invoke her thus. Oh, listen, + Beautiful Justina.... +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XI. + + A phantom Figure of JUSTINA appears. + + The Figure, CYPRIAN, and CLARIN. + + FIGURE. Summoned, + As I wander through these mountains, + I obey a call so urgent. + What, then, wouldst thou? what, then, wouldst thou, + Cyprian, with me? + + CYPRIAN. Oh, I shudder! + + FIGURE. And since now.... + + CYPRIAN. I am astonished! + + FIGURE. I have come.... + + CYPRIAN. What thus disturbs me? + + FIGURE. To this place.... + + CYPRIAN. What makes me tremble? + + FIGURE. Where.... + + CYPRIAN. Oh! whence this doubt that numbs me? + + FIGURE. Love doth call me.... + + CYPRIAN. Why, this terror? + + FIGURE. And the powerful spell thou workest + Thus complied with, to this forest's + Deepest depths I fly to shun thee. + [Exit, covering her face with the cloak. + + CYPRIAN. Listen, hear me, stay, Justina! + But why linger spell-bound, stunned here? + I'll pursue her, and this forest, + Whither by my spells conducted + She has flown, will be the leafy + Theatre, the rude-constructed + Bride-bed of the strangest bridal + Heaven e'er witnessed. + [Exit. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XII. + + CLARIN. Stop: Renuncio + Bride like this who smells of smoke + Stronger than a blacksmith's furnace. + But perhaps the incantation, + Being so extremely sudden, + Caught her leaning o'er the lye-tub, + If not cooking tripe for supper. + No. Thus cloaked and in a kitchen! + That excuse won't do: another + Let me try. (I have it now, + For an honourable woman + Never smells then any sweeter,) + She with fright must have been flustered.— + He has overtaken her now, + And from that rude vale uncultured, + Struggling in closed clasping arms, + (For I think when lovers struggle, + Open arms are not the weapon + Even for the lustiest lover,) + To this very spot they come: + I will watch them under cover, + For I wish for once to witness + How young women are abducted. + [Conceals himself. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XIII. + + CYPRIAN embracing the Figure of JUSTINA, which he carries in his arms. + + CYPRIAN. Now, O beautiful Justina, + In this sweet and secret covert, + Where no beam of sun can enter, + Nor the breeze of heaven blow roughly, + Now the trophy of thy beauty + Makes my magic toils triumphant, + For here folding thee, no longer + Have I need to fear disturbance. + Fair Justina, thou hast cost me + Even my soul. But in my judgment, + Since the gain has been so glorious, + Not so dear has been the purchase. + Oh! unveil thyself, fair goddess, + Not in the clouds obscure and murky, + Not in vapours hide the sun, + Show its golden rays refulgent. + [He draws aside the cloak and discovers a skeleton. + But, O woe! what's this I see! + Is it a cold corse, mute, pulseless, + That within its arms expects me? + Who, in one brief moment's compass, + Could upon these faded features, + Pallid, motionless, and shrunken, + Have extinguished the bright beauties + Of the blush rose and the purple? + + THE SKELETON. Cyprian, such are all the glories + Of the world that you so covet. + + [The Skeleton disappears. + CLARIN rushes in frightened, and embraces CYPRIAN. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XIV. + + CLARIN and CYPRIAN. + + CLARIN. Fear, for any one who wants it, + Wholesale or retail I'll furnish. + + CYPRIAN. Stay! funereal shadow, stay! + Now for other ends I urge thee. + + CLARIN. I am a funereal body:— + Don't you see it by my bulk here? + + CYPRIAN. Ah! who are you? + + CLARIN. Who I am, sir, + Or am not, myself doth puzzle. + + CYPRIAN. Did you in the air's void spaces, + Or earth's caverns yawning under, + See an icy corse here vanish, + See to dust and ashes turning + All the freshness and the beauty + That it promised in its coming? + + CLARIN. Do you take me, sir, for one + Of those pitiful poor lurkers + Men call spies? + + CYPRIAN. What could it be? + + CLARIN. And not be, in such a hurry. + + CYPRIAN. Let us seek it. + + CLARIN. Let's not seek it. + + CYPRIAN. I must sift this matter further. + + CLARIN. I would rather not. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XV. + + The Demon, CYPRIAN, and CLARIN. + + DEMON [aside]. Just heavens, + If my nature, in conjunction, + Once possessed both grace and science, + When 'mongst angels I was numbered, + Grace alone is what I've lost, + Science no. Then why unjustly, + If 'tis so, deprive my science + Of its proper power and function? + + CYPRIAN. Lucifer, wise master mine. + + CLARIN. Pray don't call him: for he'll come here + In another corse, I warrant. + + DEMON. Speak, what would you? + + CYPRIAN. The annulling, + The redemption of those pledges, + At whose very thought I shudder. + + CLARIN. As I don't redeem my pledges, + I'll slip off here through the bushes. + [Exit. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XVI. + + CYPRIAN and The Demon. + + CYPRIAN. Scarcely o'er earth's wounded bosom + Had I the true spell-word uttered, + When in the ensuing action, + She, of all my dreams the subject, + My adored, divine Justina.... + But why take the useless trouble, + That to tell you know already? + I embraced her, would unmuffle + Her fair face, when (woe is me!) + In her beauty I discovered + A gaunt skeleton, a statue, + A pale image, a sepulchral + Show of death, which in these measured + Words thus spoke (even yet I shudder), + "Cyprian, such are all the glories + Of the world that you so covet."— + To assert, that on thy magic + As expressed by me, the burden + Of the fault should lie, is vain, + For I, point by point, so worked it, + That of all its silent symbols + There was not a line but somewhere + Had its place, of all its spell-words + Not one word that was not uttered. + Then, 'tis plain thou has deceived me, + For though acting as instructed, + I but found an empty phantom + Where I sought a blissful substance. + + DEMON. Cyprian, this defect from thee, + Nor from me, in truth, resulted: + Not from thee, because the magic + Thou didst exercise with subtle + Thought and skill; and not from me, + For I could not teach thee further. + From a higher cause, believe me, + Came this injury thou hast suffered. + But be not cast down: for I, + Who in tranquil rest would lull thee, + Will to thee unite Justina, + By a different way and juster. + + CYPRIAN. That is not my intention now. + For this strange event has struck me + With such terror and confusion, + That thy ways I do not covet. + And since thou has not complied with + The conditions, the assumptions + Of my love, I only ask thee, + Now that from thy face I'm rushing, + As the contract is annulled, + That my bond thou shouldst return me. + + DEMON. What I promised was to teach thee, + By a course of secret study, + How to draw to thee Justina + By the potent power impulsive + Of thy words: and since the wind + Here Justina hath conducted, + I have then fulfilled my contract, + I have kept my plighted word then. + + CYPRIAN. What was offered to my love + Was that I should surely pluck here + The sweet fruit whose seeds my hope + Had to these wild wastes entrusted. + + DEMON. Cyprian, I was only bound + Her to bring here. + + CYPRIAN. A mere shuffle: + To my arms you swore to give her. + + DEMON. In thy arms I saw her struggle. + + CYPRIAN. 'Twas a phantom. + + DEMON. 'Twas a portent. + + CYPRIAN. Worked by whom? + + DEMON. By one who worked it + To protect her. + + CYPRIAN. Who was he? + + DEMON [trembling]. I don't wish the name to utter. + + CYPRIAN. I will turn my magic science + 'Gainst thyself. By its compulsion + Speak, inform me who he is. + + DEMON. Well, a god who takes this trouble + For Justina. + + CYPRIAN. What's one God, + When of gods there's such a number? + + DEMON. All their power in Him is centred. + + CYPRIAN. Then One only, sole and sovereign, + Must He be, whose single will + Their united wills outworketh. + + DEMON. I know nothing, I know nothing. + + CYPRIAN. I renounce then with my utmost + Power the pact that I made with thee; + What compelled Him (this I urge thee + In that God's great name) to guard her? + + DEMON [after having struggled ineffectually not to say it]. To + preserve her pure, unsullied. + + CYPRIAN. Then He is the sovereign goodness + Since a wrong He will not suffer. + But if she remained here hidden + Say what loss would have resulted? + + DEMON. Loss of honour, if the secret + Leaked out to the gossiping vulgar. + + CYPRIAN. Then that God must be all sight, + Since he could foresee these trouble. + But, why could not thy enchantment + Be as potent and consummate? + + DEMON. Ah! His power is ampler, fuller. + + CYPRIAN. Then that God must be all hands, + Since whate'er He wills He worketh. + Tell me then who is that God, + Whom to-day I have discovered + The supreme of good to be, + The Creator, the Annuller, + The Omniscient, the All-seeing, + Whom I've sought for years unnumbered? + + DEMON. Him I know not. + + CYPRIAN. Speak, who is He? + + DEMON. As I speak it, how I shudder! + He—He is the God of the Christians. + + CYPRIAN. Say what moved Him to obstruct me + In my wish? + + DEMON. Her Christian faith. + + CYPRIAN. Does He guard so those who love Him? + + DEMON. Yes; but now too late, too late, + Dost thou hope to gain His succour, + Since, in being my slave, thou canst not + Claim the privilege of His subject. + + CYPRIAN. I thy slave? + + DEMON. In my possession + Is thy signature. + + CYPRIAN. I'll struggle + To regain it from thee, since + 'Twas conditional at the utmost. + I don't doubt I will get it. + + DEMON. How? + + CYPRIAN. In this way. + [He draws his sword, strikes at The Demon, but cannot touch him. + + DEMON. Although the lunges + Of thy naked sword against me + Are well aimed, thou hast not struck me, + Fierce as were thy blows. And now, + Even in more despair to plunge thee, + I would have thee learn at least + That the Devil is thy instructor. + + CYPRIAN. What do you say? + + DEMON. That I am he. + + CYPRIAN. Oh! to hear thee how I shudder!— + + DEMON. Not alone a slave art thou, + But MY slave; be that thy comfort. + + CYPRIAN. I the slave of the Devil! I + Own a master so unworthy? + + DEMON. Yes; for since thy soul thou gav'st me, + Thenceforth it to me was subject. + + CYPRIAN. Is there then no gleam of hope, + No appeal, no aid, no succour, + By which I so great a crime + Can blot out? + + DEMON. No. + + CYPRIAN. Why doubt further? + Let not this sharp sword rest idly + In my hand, but swiftly cutting + Through my breast, become the willing + Instrument of mine own murder. + But what say I? He who could + Snatch Justina from thy clutches, + Can He not, too, rescue me? + + DEMON. No. By choice thou wert a culprit, + And He does not favour crimes, + Virtues only. + + CYPRIAN. If the summit + Of all power He be, to pardon + Is as easy as to punish. + + DEMON. He rewardeth by His power, + He chastiseth from His justice. + + CYPRIAN. One who yields He'll not chastise. + I am one, since I am humbled. + + DEMON. Thou art mine, my slave: no master + Canst thou have but me. + + CYPRIAN. I trust not. + + DEMON. How, when still in my possession + Is that bond of thine, that bloody + Scroll inscribed by thine own hand? + + CYPRIAN. He who is supreme and sovereign, + And depends not on another, + Will yet bear me through triumphant. + + DEMON. In what way? + + CYPRIAN. He is all sight, + And will see the fitting juncture. + + DEMON. It I hold. + + CYPRIAN. He is all hands, + And will burst my bonds asunder. + + DEMON. Ere that comes I'll see thee dead: + Thus my clasping arms shall crush thee. + + [They struggle together. + + CYPRIAN. Thou great God, the Christians' God, + Oh, assist me in this struggle! + + DEMON [flinging CYPRIAN from his arms]. + It is He who has saved thy life. + + CYPRIAN. More He'll do since I seek Him humbly. + [Exeunt. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XVII. + + HALL IN THE PALACE OF THE GOVERNOR. + + The Governor, FABIUS, and Soldiers. + + GOVERNOR. How then was the capture made? + + FABIUS. In their church, as we suspected, + We discovered them collected, + Where before their God they prayed. + With an armed guard I traced them + To this secret sacred hall, + Made them prisoners one and all, + And in different prisons placed them. + But, your patience not to tire, + The chief point I may declare,— + Captured is Justina fair, + And Lysander her old sire. + + GOVERNOR. If for gold, a fair pretence, + If for rank, you would not miss, + Wherefore bring me news like this + And not claim your recompense? + + FABIUS. If you deign to value thus + My poor service you may pay it. + + GOVERNOR. How? + + FABIUS. With great respect I say it, + Florus free, and Lelius. + + GOVERNOR. Though I seemed austere and cold, + Them chastising without pity + To strike terror through the city, + Yet if the whole truth were told, + Then the cause were plain why they + Have been prisoned a whole year. + It is this, a father's fear + Lelius would preserve this way. + Florus was his rival, he + Had a host of powerful friends, + Each was jealous, and his ends + Would attain whate'er might be. + I was fearful a collision + Would ensue if they should meet, + So I thought it more discreet + Not to come to a decision. + So with this intent I sought + Some pretext, Justina's face + To expel from out this place, + But I could discover nought. + But since this event to-day, + With her damaged character, + Gives a right to banish her, + Nay, to take her life away, + Let them be released. No fear + Need you have about their fate; + Go, and Lelius liberate, + Go, and Florus bring me here. + + FABIUS. Myriad times I kiss thy feet + For a favour so immense. + [Exit. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XVIII. + + The Governor and Soldiers. + + GOVERNOR. And since now this fair pretence, + This hypocritical deceit, + In my power at last doth lie, + Wherefore my revenge postpone + For the sorrows I have known + Through her fault? Yes, she shall die + By the bloody headsman's hand. + [To a Soldier. + Bring her hither in my name. + Let her punishment and shame + Be a terror to the land. + Let the palace she thought sweet + But her scaffold scene present. + [Exit the Soldier with others. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XIX. + + FABIUS, LELIUS, and FLORUS.—THE SAME. + + FABIUS. Sir, the two for whom you sent + Here are kneeling at your feet. + + LELIUS. I, whose wish it is to be + Welcomed as thy son this time, + With no consciousness of crime + Do not see a judge in thee, + I an angry sire may see + With a son's respectful fear + And obedience. + + FLORUS. Being here, I infer that it must be + (Though no guilt can I discern) + Thy chastising hand to feel. + See. Submissive here I kneel. + + GOVERNOR. Lelius, Florus, I was stern, + Justly stern against ye two, + For as judge or father I + Could not unchastised pass by + Your offence. But then I knew + That in noble hearts the feeling + Of resentment does not last, + And as now the cause is past, + I resolved, to both appealing, + Friends to make of you once more. + So to consecrate the tie + Now embrace in amity. + + LELIUS. I am glad that, as of yore, + Florus is my friend to-day. + + FLORUS. That thou'rt mine this act may show. + Here's my hand. + + GOVERNOR. This being so, + You are free to go or stay:— + When I tell you of the sad + Fall of her you once admired, + Northing further is required. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XX. + + The Demon, a crowd of People.—THE SAME. + + DEMON [within]. Ware! beware! He's mad! he's mad! + + GOVERNOR. What is this? + + LELIUS. I'll go and see. + [He goes to the door, and after a pause returns. + + GOVERNOR. In this palace hall these cries, + From what cause can they arise? + + FLORUS. Something serious it must be. + + LELIUS. This confusion is occasioned + (Hear a singular adventure), + Sir, by Cyprian, who being absent + Many days again has entered* + Antioch completely mad. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [footnote] *Asonante in e-e which continues to the end. +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + FLORUS. It was doubtless the fine essence + Of his mind that thus has brought him + To this lamentable ending. + + PEOPLE [within]. Ware the madman! ware the madman! +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XXI. + + CYPRIAN, half naked; People.—THE SAME. + + CYPRIAN. Never was I more collected; + It is you yourselves are mad. + + GOVERNOR. Cyprian, what is all this ferment? + + CYPRIAN. Governor of Antioch, + Viceroy of great Caesar Decius, + Florus, Lelius, my young friends, + Whom I valued and respected, + Proud nobility, great people, + To my words be all attentive: + I am Cyprian, I am he + Once so studious, and so learned, + I the wonder of the schools, + Of the sciences the centre. + What I gained from all my studies + Was one doubt, a doubt that never + Left my wildered mind a moment, + Ever troubling and perplexing. + I Justina saw, and seeing, + To her charms my soul surrendered, + And for soft voluptuous Venus + Left the wise and learn'd Minerva. + Baffled by Justina's virtue, + I, pursuing though rejected, + And from one extreme to another + Passing on as passion led me, + To my guest, who from the sea + Found my feet a port of shelter, + For Justina pledged my soul, + Since at once he charmed my senses + And my intellect, by giving + Love its hopes, and thought its treasures. + From that hour, as his disciple + Lived I in these lonely deserts, + And to his laborious teaching + I am for a power indebted, + By which I can move even mountains + And in different places set them: + Yet although these mighty wonders + I can do to-day, I'm helpless + By the voice of my desire + To draw towards me one fair vestal. + And the cause why I am powerless + To subdue that beauteous virgin + Is that by a God she's guarded, + Whom, now knowing by His blessed + Grace bestowed, I come to acknowledge + As the Infinite, the Eternal. + Yes, the great God of the Christians + I now openly confess here. + And though true it is I am + Still of hell the slave and servant, + Having with my very blood + Signed a certain secret cedule, + Yet my blood that blood may blot out + In the martyrdom I'm expecting. + If you are a judge, if Christians + You pursue with bloody vengeance, + I am one: for in these mountains + A grave venerable elder + The first sacrament conferring + With its sacred sign impressed me. + This being so, why wait? Your orders + Give unto the bloody headsman, + Tell him here to strike this neck + And from it my head dissever. + Try my firmness as you will, + For I, resolute and determined, + Will endure a thousand deaths + Since this truth at last I've learned, + That without the great God, whom + Now I seek, adore, and reverence, + Human glories are but ashes, + Dust, smoke, wind, delusive, empty. + [He falls as if in a swoon, with his face to the ground. + + GOVERNOR. So absorbed, so lost in wonder, + Cyprian, has thy daring left me, + That considering modes of torture + I have yet not one selected. + Rise. Bestir thee. + [Spurns him with his foot. + + FLORUS. As a statue + Formed of ice he lies extended +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XXII. + + Soldiers, JUSTINA.—THE SAME. + + A SOLDIER. Here, your Highness, is Justina. + + GOVERNOR [aside]. I must go, her face unnerves me.— + With this living corse here lying + [Aside to his retinue. + Let us leave her for the present. + For the two being here confined, + It may alter their intentions, + Seeing that they are condemned + Both to die: if not, 'tis certain, + That unless they adore our gods + Frightful torments soon shall end them. + + LELIUS [aside]. I remain 'twixt love and fear + Quite bewildered and suspended. + + FLORUS [aside]. So affected have I been, + I scarce know what most affects me. + + [Exeunt all, except JUSTINA. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XXIII. + + JUSTINA; CYPRIAN, insensible on the ground. + + JUSTINA. What! without a word you leave me? + When I come here, calm, contented, + Even to die. Ah! wishing death, + Am I then of death prevented?— + [She perceives CYPRIAN. + But my punishment is, doubtless, + Thus locked up to face the terrors + Of a slow and lingering death, + With the body of this wretch here + Left alone, my sole companion + Being a corse. O thou, re-entered + Into thy original earth, + Happy wert thou, if thy sentence + Was passed on thee for the faith + I adore! + + CYPRIAN [recovering consciousness]. O proud avenger + Of your gods, why wait, the thread + Of my life to cut?... + [He perceives JUSTINA, and rises. + Heaven bless me!— + [Aside. + Can I trust my eyes? Justina! + + JUSTINA [aside]. Cyprian, do I see? O Heaven! + + CYPRIAN [aside]. No, it is not she, my thought + Fills the void air with her presence. + + JUSTINA [aside]. No, it is not he, the wind + Forms this phantom to divert me. + + CYPRIAN. Shadow of my fantasy... + + JUSTINA. Of my wish, delusive spectre... + + CYPRIAN. Terror of my startled senses... + + JUSTINA. Horror of my heart's dejection... + + CYPRIAN. What, then, wouldst thou? + + JUSTINA. What, then, wouldst thou? + + CYPRIAN. I invoked thee not. What errand + Has thou come on? + + JUSTINA. Why thus seek me? + I to thee no thought directed. + + CYPRIAN. Ah! I sought thee not, Justina. + + JUSTINA. Nor here at thy call I entered. + + CYPRIAN. Then why here? + + JUSTINA. I am a prisoner.— + Thou? + + CYPRIAN. I, too, have been arrested. + But, Justina, say what crime + Could thy virtue have effected? + + JUSTINA. It is not for any crime, + It is from their deep resentment, + Their abhorrence of Christ's faith, + Whom I as my God confess here. + + CYPRIAN. Thou dost owe Him that, Justina, + For thy God was thy defender, + He watched o'er thee in His goodness. + Get my prayers to Him accepted. + + JUSTINA. Pray with faith, and He will listen. + + CYPRIAN. Then with that I will address Him. + Though a fear, that's not despair, + Makes me for my great sins tremble. + + JUSTINA. Oh! have confidence. + + CYPRIAN. My crimes are + So immense. + + JUSTINA. But more immense are + His great mercies. + + CYPRIAN. Then, will He + Pardon have on me? + + JUSTINA. 'Tis certain. + + CYPRIAN. How, if my soul surrendered + To the Demon's self, as purchase + Of thy beauty? + + JUSTINA. Oh, there are not + Stars as many in the heavens, + Sands as many on the shore, + Sparks within the fire as many, + Motes as many in the beam, + On the winds so many feathers, + As the sins He can forgive. + + CYPRIAN. I believe it, and am ready + Now a thousand lives to give Him.— + But I hear some people enter. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XXIV. + + FABIUS, leading in MOSCON, CLARIN, and LIVIA, as prisoners; CYPRIAN + and JUSTINA. + + FABIUS. With your master and your mistress + Here remain confined together. + [Exit. + + LIVIA. If THEY fancy to be Christians, + What have WE done to offend them? + + MOSCON. Much: 'tis crime enough for us + That we happen to be servants. + + CLARIN. Flying peril in the mountain, + I find here a greater peril. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XXV. + + A Servant.—THE SAME. + + SERVANT. The Lord Governor Aurelius + Summons Cyprian to his presence, + And Justina. + + JUSTINA. Ah! how happy, + If 'tis for the wished-for ending. + Do not, Cyprian, be disheartened. + + CYPRIAN. Faith, zeal, courage, all possess me: + For if life must be the ransom + Of my slavery to the devil, + He who gave his soul for thee, + Will he not give God his person? + + JUSTINA. I once said that I could love thee + But in death, and since together, + Cyprian, we now must die, + What I promised I present thee. + + [They are led out by the Servant. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XXVI. + + MOSCON, LIVIA, and CLARIN. + + MOSCON. How contentedly to die + They go forth. + + LIVIA. Much more contented + Are we three to remain alive. + + CLARIN. Not much more; for we must settle + Our account now, though I own + The occasion might be better, + And the place too, still 'twere wrong + To neglect the time that's present. + + MOSCON. What account pray? + + CLARIN. I have been + Absent. + + LIVIA. Speak. + + CLARIN. The whole of a twelvemonth, + When without my intermission + Moscon in possession held thee. + Now my quota in the business, + If we both have equal measure, + Is that I must have my year. + + LIVIA. Can it be that I'm suspected + Of thus wronging thee so basely? + Why, I wept whole days together + When it was the day for weeping. + + MOSCON. Yes, for I myself was present: + Every day that was not mine + She thy friendship quite respected. + + CLARIN. That's a bounce; for not a tear, + When this day her house I entered, + Did she shed, and there I found thee + Sitting with her quite contented. + + LIVIA. But this day is not a fast. + + CLARIN. Yes, it is; for I remember + That the day I went away + Was my day. + + LIVIA. Oh! that's an error. + + MOSCON. Yes, I see how that arises, + This year is a year bissextile, + And our days are now the same. + + CLARIN. Well, I'm satisfied, 'tis better + That a man should not too deeply + Pry into such things.—Good heavens!— + + [The sound of a great tempest is heard. +</pre> + <hr /> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + SCENE XXVII. + + The Governor, a crowd of People; then FABIUS, LELIUS, and FLORUS, all + astonished; afterwards The Demon. + + LIVIA. Sure the house is tumbling down. + + MOSCON. How terrific! what a tempest! + + GOVERNOR. Doubtless in disastrous ruin + Topple down the walls of heaven + + [The tempest is renewed, and enter FABIUS, LELIUS, and FLORUS. + + FABIUS. Scarcely on the public scaffold + Had the headsman's hand dissevered + Cyprian and Justina's necks, + When the earth, even to its centre, + Seemed to tremble. + + LELIUS. And a cloud, + From whose burning womb extended + The wild lightnings, the loud thunders, + Awful embryos were projected, + Fell upon us. + + FLORUS. From which issued + A most horrid, most repelling + Shape, who on the scaly shells + Of a mailed and mighty serpent, + O'er the scaffold made a sign + Motioning silence and attention. + + [The Scene opens, and a scaffold with the heads and bodies of JUSTINA + and CYPRIAN is seen. Over it in the air, upon a winged serpent, is + The Demon. + + DEMON. Hear, O mortals, hear what I, + By the orders of high Heaven, + For Justina's exculpation, + Must declare to all here present. + I it was, who to dishonour + Her pure fame, in form dissembled + For the purpose, scaled her house, + And her very chamber entered. + And in order that her fame + Should not by that fraud be lessened, + I come here her injured honour + To exhibit pure and perfect. + Cyprian, who with her lieth + On a happy bier at rest there, + Was my slave. But he effacing, + With the blood his neck outsheddeth, + The red signature, the linen + Is now spotless and unblemished. + And the two, in spite of me, + Having to the spheres ascended + Of the sacred throne of God, + Live there in a world far better.— + This, then, is the truth, which I + Tell, because God makes me tell it, + Much against my will, my practice + Not being great as a truth-teller. + [He falls swiftly, and sinks into the earth. + + LIVIA. Oh! what horror! + + FLORUS. What confusion! + + LIVIA. What a prodigy! + + MOSCON. What terror! + + GOVERNOR. These are all but the enchantments + Which this sorcerer effected + At his death. + + FLORUS. I am in doubt + To believe them or reject them. + + LELIUS. The mere thought of them confounds me. + + CLARIN. If magician, it is certain, + As I hold, he must have been + The magician then of heaven. + + MOSCON. Leaving our partitioned love + In a rather odd dilemma, + For "The Wonderful Magician" + Ask the pardon of its errors. +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Wonder-Working Magician, by +Pedro Calderon de la Barca + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN *** + +***** This file should be named 6372-h.htm or 6372-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/7/6372/ + +Produced by Sue Asscher, and David Widger + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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 + + +Title: The Wonder-Working Magician + +Author: Pedro Calderon de la Barca + +Translator: Denis Florence Mac-Carthy + +Release Date: August, 2004 [EBook #6372] +Posting Date: June 14, 2009 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN *** + + + + +Produced by Sue Asscher + + + + + + + + + +THE WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN + +By Pedro Calderon de la Barca + +CALDERON'S DRAMAS. + + +Now First Translated Fully From The Spanish In The Metre +Of The Original. By Denis Florence Mac-Carthy. + + + +London: Henry S. King & Co., +65 Cornhill, And 12, Paternoster Row. +1873. + + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + +Two of the dramas contained in this volume are the most celebrated of +all Calderon's writings. The first, "La Vida es Sueno", has been +translated into many languages and performed with success on almost +every stage in Europe but that of England. So late as the winter of +1866-7, in a Russian version, it drew crowded houses to the great +theatre of Moscow; while a few years earlier, as if to give a signal +proof of the reality of its title, and that Life was indeed a Dream, +the Queen of Sweden expired in the theatre of Stockholm during the +performance of "La Vida es Sueno". In England the play has been much +studied for its literary value and the exceeding beauty and lyrical +sweetness of some passages; but with the exception of a version by +John Oxenford published in "The Monthly Magazine" for 1842, which +being in blank verse does not represent the form of the original, no +complete translation into English has been attempted. Some scenes +translated with considerable elegance in the metre of the original +were published by Archbishop Trench in 1856; but these comprised only +a portion of the graver division of the drama. The present version +of the entire play has been made with the advantages which the +author's long experience in the study and interpretation of Calderon +has enabled him to apply to this master-piece of the great Spanish +poet. All the forms of verse have been preserved; while the +closeness of the translation may be inferred from the fact, that not +only the whole play but every speech and fragment of a speech are +represented in English in the exact number of lines of the original, +without the sacrifice, it is to be hoped, of one important idea. + +A note by Hartzenbusch in the last edition of the drama published at +Madrid (1872), tells that "La Vida es Sueno", is founded on a story +which turns out to be substantially the same as that with which +English students are familiar as the foundation of the famous +Induction to the "Taming of the Shrew". Calderon found it however in +a different work from that in which Shakespeare met with it, or +rather his predecessor, the anonymous author of "The Taming of a +Shrew", whose work supplied to Shakespeare the materials of his own +comedy. + +On this subject Malone thus writes. "The circumstance on which the +Induction to the anonymous play, as well as to the present Comedy +[Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew"], is founded, is related (as +Langbaine has observed) by Heuterus, "Rerum Burgund." lib. iv. The +earliest English original of this story in prose that I have met with +is the following, which is found in Goulart's "Admirable and +Memorable Histories", translated by E. Grimstone, quarto, 1607; but +this tale (which Goulart translated from Heuterus) had undoubtedly +appeared in English, in some other shape, before 1594: + +"Philip called the good Duke of Burgundy, in the memory of our +ancestors, being at Bruxelles with his Court, and walking one night +after supper through the streets, accompanied by some of his +favourites, he found lying upon the stones a certaine artisan that +was very dronke, and that slept soundly. It pleased the prince in +this artisan to make trial of the vanity of our life, whereof he had +before discoursed with his familiar friends. He therefore caused +this sleeper to be taken up, and carried into his palace; he commands +him to be layed in one of the richest beds; a riche night cap to be +given him; his foule shirt to be taken off, and to have another put +on him of fine holland. When as this dronkard had digested his wine, +and began to awake, behold there comes about his bed Pages and +Groomes of the Duke's Chamber, who drawe the curteines, make many +courtesies, and being bare-headed, aske him if it please him to rise, +and what apparell it would please him to put on that day. They bring +him rich apparell. This new Monsieur amazed at such courtesie, and +doubting whether he dreamt or waked, suffered himselfe to be drest, +and led out of the chamber. There came noblemen which saluted him +with all honour, and conduct him to the Masse, where with great +ceremonie they give him the booke of the Gospell, and the Pixe to +kisse, as they did usually to the Duke. From the Masse they bring +him back unto the pallace; he washes his hands, and sittes down at +the table well furnished. After dinner, the Great Chamberlain +commands cards to be brought with a great summe of money. This Duke +in imagination playes with the chief of the Court. Then they carry +him to walke in the gardein, and to hunt the hare, and to hawke. +They bring him back into the pallace, where he sups in state. +Candles being light the musitions begin to play; and the tables taken +away, the gentlemen and gentlewomen fell to dancing. Then they +played a pleasant comedie, after which followed a Banket, whereat +they had presently store of Ipocras and pretious wine, with all sorts +of confitures, to this prince of the new impression; so as he was +dronke, and fell soundlie asleepe. Hereupon the Duke commanded that +he should be disrobed of all his riche attire. He was put into his +old ragges, and carried into the same place, where he had been found +the night before; where he spent that night. Being awake in the +morning, he began to remember what had happened before; he knewe not +whether it were true indeede, or a dream that had troubled his +braine. But in the end, after many discourses, he concludes that ALL +WAS BUT A DREAME that had happened unto him; and so entertained his +wife, his children, and his neighbours, without any other +apprehension." + +It is curious to find that the same anecdote which formed the +Induction to the original "Taming of a Shrew", and which, from a +comic point of view, Shakespeare so wonderfully developed in his own +comedy, Calderon invested with such solemn and sublime dignity in "La +Vida es Sueno". He found it, as Senor Hartzenbusch points out in the +edition of 1872 already quoted, in the very amusing "Viage +Entretenido" of Augustin de Rojas, which was first published in 1603. +Hartzenbusch refers to the modern edition of Rojas, Madrid, 1793, +tomo I, pp. 261, 262, 263, but in a copy of the Lerida edition of +1615, in my own possession, I find the anecdote at folios 118, 119, +120. There are some slight differences between the version of Rojas +and that of Goulart, but the incidents and the persons are the same. +The conclusion to which the artizan arrived at, in the version of +Goulart, that all had been a dream, is expressed more strongly by the +Duke himself in the story as told by Rojas. + +"Y dijo entonces el Duque: 'veis aqui, amigos, "Lo que es el Mundo: +Todo es un Sueno", pues esto verdaderamente ha pasado por este, como +habeis visto, y le parece que lo ha sonado.'"-- + +The story in all probability came originally from the East. Mr. Lane +in his translation of the Thousand and One Nights gives a very +interesting narrative which he believes to be founded on an +historical fact in which Haroun Al Raschid plays the part of the good +Duke of Burgundy, and Abu-l-Hasan the original of Christopher Sly. +The gravity of the treatment and certain incidents in this Oriental +story recall more strongly Calderon's drama than the Induction to the +"Taming of the Shrew". "La Vida es Sueno" was first published either +at the end of 1635 or beginning of 1636. + +The "Aprobacion" for its publication along with eleven other dramas +(not nine as Archbishop Trench has stated), was signed on the 6th of +November in the former year by the official licenser, Juan Bautista +de Sossa. The volume was edited by the poet's brother, Don Joseph +Calderon. So scarce has this first authorised collection of any of +Calderon's dramas become, that a Spanish writer Don Vicente Garcia de +la Huerta, in his "Teatro Espanol" (Parte Segunda, tomo 30), denies +the existence of this volume of 1635, and states that it did not +appear until 1640. As if to corroborate this view, Barrera in his +"Catalogo del Teatro antiguo Espanol" gives the date 1640 to the +"Primera parte de comedias de Calderon" edited by his brother Joseph. + +There can be no doubt, however, that the volume appeared in 1635 or +1636 as stated. In 1637 Don Joseph Calderon published the "Second +Part" of his brother's dramas containing like the former volume +twelve plays.* In his dedication of this volume to D. Rodrigo de +Mendoza, Joseph Calderon expressly alludes to the First Part of his +brother's comedies which he had "printed." "En la primera Parte, +Excellentissimo Senor, de las comedias que imprimi de Don Pedro +Calderon de La Barca, mi hermano," etc. This of course settles the +fact of the prior publication of the first Part. It is singular, +however, to find that the most famous of all Calderon's dramas should +have been frequently ascribed to Lope de Vega. So late as 1857 it is +given in an Italian version by Giovanni La Cecilia, under the title +of "La Vita e un Sogno", as a drama of Lope de Vega, with the date +1628. This of course is a mistake, but Senor Hartzenbusch, who makes +no allusion to this circumstance, admits that two dramas of Lope de +Vega, which it is presumed preceded the composition of Calderon's +play turn on very nearly the same incidents as those of "La Vida es +Sueno". These are "Lo que ha de ser", and "Barlan y Josafa". He +gives a passage from each of these dramas which seem to be the germ +of the fine lament of Sigismund, which the reader will find +translated in the present volume. + +[footnote] *In the library of the British Museum there is a fine copy +of this "Segunda Parte de Comedias de Don Pedro Calderon de la Barca" +Madrid, 1637. Mr. Ticknor mentions (1863) that he too had a copy of +this interesting volume. + +Senor Hartzenbusch, in the edition of Calderon's "La Vida es Sueno", +already referred to (Madrid, 1872), prints the passages from Lope de +Vega's two dramas, but in neither of them, he justly remarks, can we +find anything that at all corresponds to this "grandioso caracter de +Segismundo." + +The second drama in this volume, "The Wonderful Magician", is perhaps +better known to poetical students in England than even the first, +from the spirited fragment Shelley has left us in his "Scenes from +Calderon." The preoccupation of a subject by a great master throws +immense difficulties in the way of any one who ventures to follow in +the same path: but as Shelley allowed himself great licence in his +versification, and either from carelessness or an imperfect knowledge +of Spanish is occasionally unfaithful to the meaning of his author, +it may be hoped in my own version that strict fidelity both as to the +form as well as substance of the original may be some compensation +for the absence of those higher poetical harmonies to which many of +my readers will have been accustomed. + +"El Magico Prodigioso" appeared for the first time in the same volume +as "La Vida es Sueno", prepared for publication in 1635 by Don Joseph +Calderon. The translation is comprised in the same number of lines +as the original, and all the preceding remarks on "Life is a Dream", +whether in reference to the period of the first publication of the +drama in Spain, or the principles I kept in view while attempting +this version may be applied to it. As in the Case of "Life is a +Dream", "The Wonderful Magician" has previously been translated +entire by an English writer, ("Justina", by J.H. 1848); but as +Archbishop Trench truly observes, "the writer did not possess that +command of the resources of the English language, which none more +than Calderon requires." + +The Legend on which Calderon founded "El Magico Prodigioso" will be +found in Surius, "De probatis Sanctorum historiis", t. V. (Col. Agr. +1574), p. 351: "Vita et Martyrium SS. Cypriani et Justinae, autore +Simeone Metaphraste", and in Chapter cxlii, of the "Legenda Aurea" of +Jacobus de Voragine "De Sancta Justina virgine". + +The martyrdom of the Saints took place in the year 290, and their +festival is celebrated by the Church on the 26th of September. + +Mr. Ticknor in his History of Spanish Literature, 1863, volume ii. p. +369, says that the Wonder-working Magician is founded on "the same +legend on which Milman has founded his 'Martyr of Antioch.'" This is +a mistake of the learned writer. "The Martyr of Antioch" is founded +not on the history of St. Justina but of Saint Margaret, as Milman +himself expressly states. Chapter xciii., "De Sancta Margareta", in +the "Legenda Aurea" of Jacobus de Voragine contains her story. + +The third translation in this volume is that of "The Purgatory of St. +Patrick". This, though perhaps not so famous as the two preceding +dramas, is intended to be given by Don P. De la Escosura, in a +selection of Calderon's finest "comedias", now being edited by him +for the Spanish Academy, as the representative piece of its +class--namely, the mystical drama founded on the lives of Saints. Mr. +Ticknor prefers it to the more celebrated "Devotion of the Cross," +and says that it "is commonly ranked among the best religious plays +of the Spanish theatre in the seventeenth century." + +In all that relates to the famous cave known through the middle ages +as the "Purgatory of Saint Patrick", as well as the Story of Luis +Enius--the Owain Miles of Ancient English poetry--Calderon was +entirely indebted to the little volume published at Madrid, in 1627, +by Juan Perez de Montalvan, entitled "Vida y Purgatorio de San +Patricio". This singular work met with immense success. It went +through innumerable editions, and continues to be reprinted in Spain +as a chap-book, down to the present day. I have the fifth impression +"improved and enlarged by the author himself," Madrid, 1628, the year +after its first appearance: also a later edition, Madrid, 1664. As +early as 1637 a French translation appeared at Brussels by "F. A. S. +Chartreux, a Bruxelles." In 1642 a second French translation was +published at Troyes, by "R. P. Francois Bouillon, de l'Ordre de S. +Francois, et Bachelier de Theologie." Mr. Thomas Wright in his +"Essay on St. Patrick's Purgatory," London, 1844, makes the singular +mistake of supposing that Bouillon's "Histoire de la Vie et +Purgatoire de S. Patrice" was founded on the drama of Calderon, it +being simply a translation of Montalvan's "Vida y Purgatorio," from +which, like itself, Calderon's play was derived. Among other +translations of Montalvan's work may be mentioned one in Dutch +(Brussels, 1668) and one in Portuguese (Lisbon, 1738). It was also +translated into German and Italian, but I find no mention of an +English version. For this reason I have thought that a few extracts +might be interesting, as showing how closely Calderon adhered even to +the language of his predecessor. + +In all that relates to the Purgatory, Montalvan's work is itself +chiefly compiled from the "Florilegium Insulae Sanctorum, seu vitae +et Actae sanctorum Hiberniae," Paris, 1624, fol. This work, which +has now become scarce, was written by Thomas Messingham an Irish +priest, the Superior of the Irish Seminary in Paris. No complete +English version appears to have been made of it, but a small tract in +English containing everything in the original work that referred to +St. Patrick's Purgatory was published at Paris in 1718. As this +tract is perhaps more scarce than even the Florilegium itself, the +account of the Purgatory as given by Messingham from the MS. of Henry +of Saltrey is reprinted in the notes to this drama in the quaint +language of the anonymous translator. Of this tract, "printed at +Paris in 1718" without the name of author, publisher or printer, I +have not been able to trace another copy. In other points of +interest connected with Calderon's drama, particularly to the +clearing up of the difficulty hitherto felt as to the confused list +of authorities at the end, the reader is also referred to the notes. + +The present version of "The Purgatory of Saint Patrick" is, with the +exception of a few unimportant lines, an entirely new translation. +It is made with the utmost care, imitating all the measures and +contained, like the two preceding dramas, in the exact number of +lines of the original. One passage of the translation which I +published in 1853 is retained in the notes, as a tribute of respect +to the memory of the late John Rutter Chorley, it having been +mentioned with praise by that eminent Spanish scholar in an elaborate +review of my earlier translations from Calderon, which appeared in +the "Athenaeum", Nov. 19 and Nov. 26, 1853. + +It only remains to add that the text I have followed is that of +Hartzenbusch in his edition of Calderon's Comedias, Madrid, 1856 +("Biblioteca de Autores Espanoles"). His arrangement of the scenes +has been followed throughout, thus enabling the reader in a moment to +verify for himself the exactness of the translation by a reference to +the original, a crucial test which I rather invite than decline. + +CLAPHAM PARK, Easter, 1873. + + + * * * * * + + + +THE WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN. + + + TO THE MEMORY OF + SHELLEY, + WHOSE ADMIRATION FOR + "THE LIGHT AND ODOUR OF THE FLOWERY AND STARRY AUTOS" + IS THE HIGHEST TRIBUTE TO THE BEAUTY OF + CALDERON'S POETRY, + + THIS DRAMA + IS INSCRIBED. + + + + * * * * * + + + +PERSONS. + + + CYPRIAN. + THE DEMON. + LELIUS, The Governor of Antioch's Son. + FLORUS, friend of Lelius. + MOSCON, Servant of Cyprian. + CLARIN, Servant of Cyprian. + THE GOVERNOR OF ANTIOCH. + FABIUS, his Servant. + LYSANDER, the reputed Father of Justina. + JUSTINA. + LIVIA, her Maid. + A Servant. + A Soldier. + ATTENDANTS, Soldiers, People. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE--Antioch and its environs. + + +THE WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN. + + * * * * * + + + + +ACT THE FIRST. + + SCENE I. + + A WOOD NEAR ANTIOCH. + + Enter CYPPRIAN in a Student's gown, followed by CLARIN and MOSCON, as + poor Scholars, carrying books. + + CYPRIAN. In the pleasant solitude + Of this tranquil spot, this thicket + Formed of interlacing boughs, + Buds, and flowers, and shrubs commingled, + You may leave me, leaving also, + As my best companions, with me, + (For I need none else) those books + Which I bad you to bring hither + From the house; for while, to-day, + Antioch, the mighty city, + Celebrates with such rejoicing + The great temple newly finished + Unto Jupiter, the bearing + Thither, also, of his image + Publicly, in grant procession, + To its shrine to be uplifted;-- + I, escaping the confusion + Of the streets and squares, have flitted + Hitherward, to spend in study + What of daylight yet may glimmer. + Go, enjoy the festival, + Go to Antioch and mingle + In its various sports, returning + When the sun descending sinketh + To be buried in the waves, + Which, beneath the dark clouds' fringes, + Round the royal corse of gold, + Shine like sepulchres of silver. + Here you'll find me. + + MOSCON. Sir, although + Most decidedly my wish is + To behold the sports, yet I + Cannot go without a whisper + Of some few five thousand words, + Which I'll give you in a jiffy. + Can it be that on a day + Of such free, such unrestricted + Revelry, and mirth, and fun, + You with your old books come hither + To this country place, rejecting + All the frolic of the city? + + CLARIN. Well, I think my master's right; + For there's nothing more insipid + Than a grand procession day, + Half fandangos, priests, and fiddles. + + MOSCON. Clarin, from the first to last, + All your life you've been a trickster, + A smart temporizing toady, + A bold flatterer, a trimmer, + Since you praise the thoughts of others, + And ne'er speak your own. + + CLARIN. The civil + Way to tell a man he lies + Is to say he's wrong:--you twig me, + Now I think I speak my mind. + + CYPRIAN. Moscon, Clarin, both I bid ye + Cease this silly altercation. + It is ever thus betwixt ye, + Puffed up with your little knowledge + Each maintains his own opinion. + Go, and (as I've said) here seek me + When night falls, and with the thickness + Of its shadows veils from view + This most fair and wondrous system + Of the universe. + + MOSCON. How comes it, + That although you have admitted + 'Tis not right to see the feast, + Yet you go to see it? + + CLARIN. Simple + Is the answer: no one follows + The advice which he has given + To another. + + MOSCON [aside]. To see Livia, + Would the gods that I were winged. + [Exit. + + CLARIN [aside]. If the honest truth were told + Livia is the girl that gives me + Something worth the living for. + Even her very name has in it + This assurance: 'Livia', yes, + Minus 'a', I live for 'Livi'.* + [Exit. + + + [footnote] *This, of course, is a paraphrase of the original, which, + perhaps, may be given as an explanation. + "Ilega, 'Livia'. + Al 'na', y se, Livia, 'liviana'." + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE II. + + CYPRIAN. Now I am alone, and may, + If my mind can be so lifted, + Study the great problem which + Keeps my soul disturbed, bewilder'd, + Since I read in Pliny's page + The mysterious words there written. + Which define a god; because + It doth seem beyond the limits + Of my intellect to find + One who all these signs exhibits. + This mysterious hidden truth + Must I seek for. + [Reads. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE III. + + Enter the DEMON, in gala dress. CYPRIAN. + + DEMON [aside]. Though thou givest + All thy thoughts to the research, + Cyprian, thou must ever miss it, + Since I'll hide it from thy mind. + + CYPRIAN. There's a rustling in this thicket. + Who is there? who art thou? + + DEMON. Sir, + A mere stranger, who has ridden + All this morning up and down + These dark groves, not knowing whither, + Having lost my way, my horse, + To the emerald that encircles, + With a tapestry of green, + These lone hills, I've loosed, it gives him + At the same time food and rest. + I'm to Antioch bound, on business + Of importance, my companions + I have parted from; through listless + Lapse of thought (a thing that happens + To the most of earthly pilgrims), + I have lost my way, and lost + Comrades, servants, and assistants. + + CYPRIAN. I am much surprised to learn + That in view of the uplifted + Towers of Antioch, you thus + Lost your way. There's not a single + Path that on this mountain side, + More or less by feet imprinted, + But doth lead unto its walls, + As to its one central limit. + By whatever path you take, + You'll go right. + + DEMON. It is an instance + Of that ignorance which in sight + Even of truth the true goal misses. + And as it appears not wise + Thus to enter a strange city + Unattended and unknown, + Asking even my way, 'tis fitter + That 'till night doth conquer day, + Here while light doth last, to linger; + By your dress and by these books + Round you, like a learned circle + Of wise friends, I see you are + A great student, and the instinct + Of my soul doth ever draw me + Unto men to books addicted. + + CYPRIAN. Have you studied much? + + DEMON. Well, no; + But I've knowledge quite sufficient + Not to be deemed ignorant. + + CYPRIAN. Then, what sciences know you? + + DEMON. Many. + + CYPRIAN. Why, we cannot reach even one + After years of studious vigil, + And can you (what vanity!) + Without study know so many? + + DEMON. Yes; for I am of a country + Where the most exalted science + Needs no study to be known. + + CYPRIAN. Would I were a happy inmate + Of that country! Here our studies + Prove our ignorance more. + + DEMON. No figment + Is the fact that without study, + I had the superb ambition + For the first Professor's chair + To compete, and thought to win it, + Having very numerous votes. + And although I failed, sufficient + Glory is it to have tried. + For not always to the winner + Is the fame. If this you doubt, + Name the subject of your study, + And then let us argue on it; + I not knowing your opinion, + Even although it be the right, + Shall the opposite view insist on. + + CYPRIAN. I am greatly gratified + That you make this proposition. + Here in Plinius is a passage + Which much anxious thought doth give me + How to understand, to know + Who's the God of whom he has written. + + DEMON. 'Tis that passage which declares + (Well I know the words) this dictum: + "God is one supremest good, + One pure essence, one existence, + Self-sustained, all sight, all hands." + + CYPRIAN. Yes, 'tis true. + + DEMON. And what is in it + So abstruse? + + CYPRIAN. I cannot find + Such a god as Plinius figures. + If he be the highest good, + Then is Jupiter deficient + In that attribute; we see him + Acting like a mortal sinner + Many a time,--this, Danae, + This, Europa, too, doth witness. + Can then, by the Highest Good, + All whose actions, all whose instincts, + Should be sacred and divine, + Human frailty be committed? + + DEMON. These are fables which the learned + First made use of, to exhibit + Underneath the names of gods + What in truth was but a hidden + System of philosophy. + + CYPRIAN. This reply is not sufficient, + Since such awe is due to God, + None should dare to Him attribute, + None should stain His name with sins, + Though these sins should be fictitious. + And considering well the case, + If the highest good is figured + By the gods, of course, they must + Will what is the best and fittest; + How, then, can some gods wish one thing, + Some another? This we witness + In the dubious responses + Which are by their statues given. + Here you cannot say I speak of + Learned abstractions of the ideal. + To two armies, if two shrines + Promise give of being victors, + One, of course, must lose the battle: + The conclusion is so simple,-- + Need I say it? that two wills, + Mutually antagonistic, + Cannot lead unto one end. + They being thus in opposition, + One we must consider good, + One as bad we must consider. + But an evil will in God + Would imply a contradiction: + Then the highest good can dwell not + Among gods who know division. + + DEMON. I deny your major, since + These responses may be given, + By the oracles, for ends + Which our intellectual vision + Cannot reach: 'tis providence. + Thus more good may have arisen + To the loser in that battle + Than its gain could bring the winner. + + CYPRIAN. Granted; but that god ought not, + For the gods are not malicious, + To have promised victory;-- + It would have been quite sufficient, + Without this most false assurance, + The defeat to have permitted. + Then if God must be all sight, + Every god should see distinctly + With clear vision to the end; + Seeing THAT, he erred in fixing + On a false conclusion; then + Though the deity may with fitness + Be divided into persons, + Yet His essence must be single + In the smallest circumstance. + + DEMON. It was needful for this business, + That the oracle should rouse + The two hosts alike. + + CYPRIAN. If fitting, + There were genii that could rouse them + (Good and bad, as they're distinguished + By the learned), who are, in fact, + Spirits who among us mingle, + And who good and evil acts, + Evil thoughts, suggest and whisper, + A convincing argument + For the immortal soul's existence: + Of these ministers could God + Have made use, nor thus exhibit + He was capable of a lie + To effect his ends? + + DEMON. Consider, + That these seeming contradictions + Cannot our firm faith diminish + In the oneness of the gods, + If in things of higher import + They know naught of dissonance. + Take man's wondrous frame, for instance, + Surely that majestic structure + Once conception doth exhibit. + + CYPRIAN. If man's maker then were one + He some vantage must have given him + O'er the others; and if they + All are equal,--'tis admitted + That they are so, from the fact + Of their mutual opposition + To each other,--when the thought + Of creating man was hinted + By one god, another could + Say, "No, no, I do not wish it." + Then if God must be all hands, + Time might come when they would differ, + One creating, one undoing, + Ere the other's work was finished, + Since the power of each was equal, + But unequal were their wishes. + Which of these two powers would conquer? + + DEMON. On impossible and false issues + There can be no argument;-- + But your premises admitting, + Say what then? + + CYPRIAN. That there must be + One sole God, all hands, all vision, + Good Supreme, supreme in grace, + One who cannot err, omniscient, + One the highest, none can equal, + Not beginning, yet the Beginner, + One pure essence, one sole substance, + One wise worker, ozone sole willer;-- + And though He in one or two + Or more persons be distinguished, + Yet the sovereign Deity + Must be one, sublime and single, + The first cause of every cause, + The first germ of all existence. + + DEMON. How can I deny so clear, + [They rise. + So conclusive a position? + + CYPRIAN. Do you feel it? + + DEMON. Who would not + Feel to find another quicker + In the rivalry of wit?-- + And though I am not deficient + In an answer, I restrain it, + Hearing steps approaching hither + Through the wood; besides 'tis time + I proceeded to the city. + + CYPRIAN. Go in peace. + + DEMON. Remain in peace.-- + [Aside. + So involved in study IS he, + That I now must wean him from it, + Weaving round him the bewitchment + Of rare beauty. Since I have leave + To attempt my fires to kindle + In Justina's breast, one stroke, + Thus, two vengeances shall give me. + [Exit. + + CYPRIAN. Never saw I such a man. + But since still my people linger, + I, the cause of so much doubt, + Will now strive to reconsider. + + [He resumes his reading, without perceiving + the approach of those who enter. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE IV. + + Enter LELIUS and FLORUS.--CYPRIAN. + + LELIUS. Further let us not proceed; + For these rocks, these boughs so thickly + Interwoven, that the sun + Cannot even find admittance, + Shall be the sole witnesses + Of our duel. + + FLORUS. Then, this instant + Draw your sword; for here are deeds, + If in words elsewhere we've striven. + + LELIUS. Yes, I know that in the field, + While the tongue is mute, the glitter + Of the sword speaks thus. + [They fight. + + CYPRIAN. What's this? + Hold, good Florus! Lelius, listen!-- + Here until your rage is calmed, + Even unarmed I stand betwixt ye. + + LELIUS. Thus to interrupt my vengeance, + Whence, O Cyprian, have you risen + Like a spectre? + + FLORUS. A wild wood-god, + Have you from these tree-trunks issued? + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE V. + + Enter MOSCON and CLARIN. + + MOSCON. Yonder, where we left our master, + I hear sword-strokes; run, run quickly. + + CLARIN. Well, except to run away, + I am anything but nimble;-- + Truly a retiring person. + + MOSCON and CLARIN. Sir.... + + CYPRIAN. No more: your gabble irks me.-- + How? What's this? Two noble friends, + Who in blood, in birth, in lineage, + Are to-day of Antioch all + Its expectancy, the city's + Eye of fashion, one the son + Of the Governor, of the princely + House Colalto, one the heir, + Thus to peril, as of little + Value, two such precious lives + To their country and their kindred? + + LELIUS. Cyprian, although respect + Which on many grounds I give thee, + Holds my sword suspended thus + In due deference for an instant,-- + To the scabbard's calm repose + It hath got no power to win it. + Thou of science knowest more, + Than the duel, pretermitting + This, that when two nobles meet + In the field, no power can link them + Friends again, save this, that one + Must his life give as a victim. + + FLORUS. This I also say, and ask thee, + With thy people, that thou quittest, + Leaving us to end our quarrel + Without any help or hindrance. + + CYPRIAN. Though it seems to you my calling + Makes me know the laws but little + Of the duel--that strict code + Valour and vain pride have written, + You are wrong, for I was born + With the obligations fitting + Rank like yours, to know in truth + Infamy and honour's limits. + The devotion to my studies + Has my courage not diminished, + For they oftentimes shake hands + Arms and letters as though kinsmen. + If to meet here in the field + Was the quarrel's first condition, + Having met and fought, its lies + Calumny can never whisper. + And the cause you thus can tell me + Of the feud that brings you hither; + For I promise, if, on hearing + What to me is thus committed, + I perceive that satisfaction + Must on either side be given, + Here to leave you both alone, + Unobserved by any witness. + + LELIUS. Then on this condition solely, + That you leave us, when the bitter + Truth is told, to end our quarrel, + I to tell the cause am willing. + I a certain lady love, + The same lady as his mistress + Florus also loves; now see, + How incompatible are our wishes!-- + Since betwixt two jealous nobles + No mediation is admitted. + + FLORUS. I this lady love so much, + That the sunlight I would hinder + From beholding her sweet face. + Since then all interposition + Is in vain, pray stand aside, + And our quarrel let us finish. + + CYPRIAN. Stay, for one more thing I'd know. + Tell me this of your fair mistress, + Is she possible to your hopes, + Or impossible to your wishes?-- + + LELIUS. Oh: she is so good and wise, + That if even the sun enkindled + Jealousy in the heart of Florus, + It was jealousy pure and simple, + Without cause, for even the sun + Dare not look upon her visage. + + CYPRIAN. Would you marry with her, then? + + FLORUS. This is all my heart's ambition. + + CYPRIAN. And would you? + + LELIUS. Ah, would to heaven, + I were destined for such blisses!-- + For although she's very poor, + Virtue dowers her with its riches. + + CYPRIAN. If you both aspire to wed her, + Is it not an act most wicked, + Most unworthy, thus beforehand + Her unspotted fame to injure? + What will say the world, if one + Of you two shall marry with her + After having killed the other + For her sake? The supposition + Is not probable in fact, + To imagine it is sufficient. + I by no means say you should + Each your chances try to win her + At one time, for I would blush + Such a craven proposition + Came from me, because the lover + Who could keep his jealousy hidden, + Would condone even shame thereafter, + Were the opportunity given; + But I say that you should learn + Which of you it is your mistress + Gives the preference to, then.... + + LELIUS. Stay!-- + For it were an act too timid, + Too faint-hearted thus to ask + Of a lady such admission + As the choosing him or me. + For if me she chose, more fixed + Is my call for satisfaction; + For his fault has this addition, + He loves one who loves but me. + If to him the choice is given, + This intensifies my anger + All the more, that she, my mistress, + Whom I love, should love another. + Her selection could do little + In the matter, which at last + To our swords should be committed,-- + The accepted for his honour, + The refused for his dismissal. + + FLORUS. I confess that I adopt + Altogether that opinion, + Still the privilege of selection + May to ladies be permitted; + So to-day I mean to ask her + Of her father. 'Tis sufficient + To have come here to the field, + And my naked sword uplifted, + (Specially as one is by + Who the further fight resisteth,) + For my honour;--so to sheathe, + Lelius, my sword I'm willing. + [Sheathes his sword. + + LELIUS. By your argument and action, + Florus, you have half convinced me; + I forego the remaining half-- + True or false, I thus act with you. + [Sheathes his sword. + I to-day will seek her father. + + CYPRIAN. On, of course, the supposition, + That this lady you pay court to + Suffers naught by the admission, + Since you both have spoken proudly + Of her virtue and her strictness, + Tell me who she is; for I, + Who am held throughout the city + In esteem, would for you both + Speak to her at first a little + That she thus may be prepared + When her father tells your wishes. + + LELIUS. You are right. + + CYPRIAN. Her name? + + FLORUS. Justina, + Daughter of Lysander. + + CYPRIAN. Little, + Now that I have heard her name, + Seem the praises you have given her; + She is virtuous as she's noble. + Instantly I'll pay my visit. + + FLORUS [aside]. May heaven grant that in my favour + Her cold heart be moved to pity! + [Exit. + + LELIUS. Love, my hopes with laurels crown + When they are to her submitted! + [Exit. + + CYPRIAN. Further mischief or misfortune, + Grant me, heaven, that I may hinder! + [Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE VI. + + MOSCON, CLARIN. + + MOSCON. Has your worship heard our master + Now is gone to pay a visit + To Justina? + + CLARIN. Yes, my lord. + But what matter if he didn't? + + MOSCON. Matter quite enough, your worship; + He has no business there. + + CLARIN. Why, prithee? + + MOSCON. Why? because I die for Livia, + Who is maid to this Justina, + And I wouldn't have even the sun + Get a glimpse of her through the window. + + CLARIN. Well, that's good; but, for a lady, + To contend were worse than silly, + Whom I mean to make my wife. + + MOSCON. Excellent, faith! the fancy tickles + Quite my fancy. Let her say + Who it is that annoys or nicks her + To a nicety. Let's go see her, + And she'll choose. + + CLARIN. A good idea!-- + Though I fear she'll pitch on you. + + MOSCON. Have you then that wise suspicion? + + CLARIN. Yes; for always these same Livias + Choose the worst, th'ungrateful minxes.* + [Exeunt. + + + [footnote] *The 'asonante' versification in 'i-e', which has been + kept up through these six scenes, ends here. The seventh scene + commences in rhymed five-line stanzas, which change to the asonante + in e-e, at the beginning of Lysander's long speech. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE VII. + + A HALL IN THE HOUSE OF LYSANDER. + + Enter JUSTINA and LYSANDER. + + JUSTINA. Consolation, sir, is vain, + After what I've seen to-day: + The whole city, madly gay, + Error-blinded and insane, + Consecrating shrine and fane + To an image, which I know, + Cannot be a god, although + Some demoniac power may pass, + Making breathe the silent brass + As a proof that it is so. + + LYSANDER. Fair Justina, thou indeed, + Wert not who thou art, if thou + Didst not weep as thou dost now, + Didst not in thy pure heart bleed + For what Christ's divinest creed + Suffers on this sinful day. + + JUSTINA. Thus my lineage I display:-- + For thy child I could not be, + Could I without weeping see + This idolatrous display. + + LYSANDER. Ah, my good, my gentle maid! + Thou art not my daughter, no, + 'Twere too happy, if 'twere so. + But, O God! what's this I've said?-- + My life's secret is betrayed! + 'Twas my soul that spoke aloud. + + JUSTINA. What do you say, sir? + + LYSANDER. Oh! a crowd + Of old thoughts my heart hath stirred. + + JUSTINA. Many times methought I heard + What but now you have avowed, + And yet never wished to hear, + At the risk perchance of paining, + A more accurate explaining + Of your sorrow and my fear; + But since now it doth appear + Right that I should be possess'd + Of the whole truth half confess'd, + Let me say, though bold appearing,-- + Trust your secret to my hearing, + Since it hath escaped your breast. + + LYSANDER. Ah! Justina, I have long + Kept this secret from your ears, + Fearing from your tender years + That the telling might be wrong; + But now seeing you are strong, + Firm in thought, in action brave, + Seeing too, that with this stave, + I go creeping o'er the ground, + Rapping with a hollow sound + At the portals of the grave, + Knowing that my time is brief, + I would not here leave you, no, + In your ignorance; I owe + My own peace, too, this relief: + Then attentive to my grief + Let your pleasure list. + + JUSTINA. A fear + Struggles in my breast. + + LYSANDER. Severe + Is the test my duty pays. + + JUSTINA. From this most perplexing maze + Oh, sir, rescue me. + + LYSANDER. Then hear. + I, most beautiful Justina, + Am Lysander.... This commencement + With my name need not surprise you; + For though known to you already, + It is right, for all that follows, + That it should be well remembered, + Since of me you know no more + Than what this my name presenteth. + Yes, I am Lysander, son + Of that city which on Seven + Hills a hydra seems of stone, + Since it seven proud heads erecteth; + Of that city now the seat + Of the mighty Roman empire, + Cradle of Christ's wider realm,-- + Boon that Rome alone could merit. + There of poor and humble parents + I was born, if "poor" expresses + Well their rank who left behind them + Virtues, not vain earthly treasures. + Both of them by birth were Christians, + Joyful both to be descended + From brave sires who with their blood + Happily life's page had reddened, + Terminating the dull scroll + With death's bright emblazoned letters. + In the Christian faith well grounded + I grew up, and so well learnt it, + That I would, in its defence, + Even a thousand lives surrender. + I was young still, when to Rome, + In disguise and ill attended, + Came our good Pope Alexander, + Who then prudently directed + The high apostolic see, + Though its place there was not settled; + For, as the despotic power + Of the stern and cruel gentiles + Satisfies its thirst with blood + From the martyrs' veins that shed it, + So must still the primitive church + Keep concealed its sons and servants; + Not that they decline to die, + Not that martyrdom is dreaded + But that rebel rage should not, + At one stroke, one hour of vengeance, + Triumph o'er the ruined church, + So that no one should be left it + Who could preach and teach the word, + Who could catechise the gentile. + Alexander being in Rome, + I was secretly presented + To him there, and from his hand + Which was graciously extended, + With his blessing I received + Holy Orders, which the seraphs + Well might envy me, since man + Only such an honour merits. + Alexander, as my mission, + Unto Antioch then sent me, + Where the law of Christ in secret + I should preach. With glad contentment + I obeyed, and at their mercy, + Through so many nations wending, + Came at length to Antioch; + And when I, these hills ascending, + Saw beneath me in the valley + All its golden towers and temples, + The sun failed me, and down sinking + Drew with him the day, presenting + For my solace a companion, + And a substitute for his presence + In the light of stars, a pledge + That he'd soon return to bless me. + With the sun I lost my way, + And then wandering dejected + Through the windings of the forest, + Found me in the dim recesses + Of a natural bower, wherein + Even the numerous rays that trembled + Downward from each living torch + Could in noways find an entrance, + For to black clouds turned the leaves + That by day were green with freshness. + Here arranging to await + The new sun's reviving presence, + Giving fancy that full scope, + That wide range which it possesses, + I in solitude indulged + Many and many a deep reflection. + Thus absorbed was I in thought + When there came to me the echo + Of a sigh half heard, for half + To its owner retroverted. + Then collecting in mine ear + All my senses joined together, + I again heard more distinctly + That weak cry, that faint expression, + That mute idiom of the sad, + Since by it they're comprehended. + From a woman came that groan + To whose sigh so low and gentle + Followed a man's deeper voice, + Who thus speaking low addressed her: + "Thou first stain of noblest blood + By my hands this moment perish, + Ere thou meetest with thy death + 'Neath the hands of infamous headsmen."-- + Then the hapless woman said + In a voice that sobbed and trembled, + "Ah, lament for thine own blood, + But for me do not lament thee!"-- + I attempted then to reach them, + That the stroke might be prevented, + But I could not, since the voices + At that moment ceased and ended, + And a horseman rode away + 'Mong the tree-trunks undetected. + Loadstone of my deep compassion + Was that voice which still exerted + All its failing powers to speak + Amid groans and tears this sentence,-- + "Dying innocent and a Christian + I a martyr's death may merit."-- + Following the polar-star + Of the voice, I came directly + Where the gloom revealed a woman, + Though I could not well observe her, + Who in life's despairing struggle, + Hand to hand with death contended. + Scarcely was I heard, when she + Summoning up her strength addressed me,-- + "Blood-stained murderer mine, come back, + Nor in this last hour desert me + Of my life."--"I am," said I, + "Only one whom chance hath sent here, + Guided it may be by heaven, + To assist you in this dreadful + Hour of trial."--"Vain," she said, + "Is the favour that your mercy + Offers to my life, for see, + Drop by drop the life-stream ebbeth, + Let this hapless one enjoy it, + Who it seems that heaven intendeth, + Being born upon my grave, + All my miseries should inherit."-- + So she died, and then I... + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE VIII. + + LIVIA, JUSTINA, and LYSANDER. + + Enter LIVIA. + + LIVIA. Sir, + The same tradesman who so presses + To be paid, comes here to seek you, + By the magistrate attended. + That you were not in, I told him: + By that door you have an exit. + + JUSTINA. This untimely interruption + By their coming, how it frets me! + For upon your tragic story + Life, soul, reason, all depended!-- + But retire, sir, lest the justice + Should here meet you, if he enters. + + LYSANDER. Ah! with what indignities + Poverty must be contented! + [Exit. + + JUSTINA. They are coming here, no doubt, + Outside I can hear some persons. + + LIVIA. No, they are not they. I see + It is Cyprian. + + JUSTINA. How? what sendeth + Cyprian here? + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE IX. + + Enter CYPRIAN, CLARIN, and MOSCON. + + CYPRIAN. A wish to serve you + Is the sole cause of my presence. + For on seeing the officials + Issuing from your house, the friendship + Which I owe unto Lysander + Made me bold herein to enter; + But to know ([Aside.] Disturbed, bewildered + Am I.) if by chance ([Aside.] What gelid + Frost is freezing up my veins!) + I in any way could help you. + ([Aside.] Ah, how badly have I spoken!-- + Fire not frost my blood possesses!) + + JUSTINA. May heaven guard you many years, + Since in his more grave concernments, + Thus you honour my dear father + With your favours. + + CYPRIAN. I shall ever + Be most gratified to serve you. + ([Aside.] What disturbs me, what unnerves me?) + + JUSTINA. He is not just now at home. + + CYPRIAN. Thus then, lady, I can better + Tell you what is the true cause + That doth bring me here at present; + For the cause that you have heard + Is not that which wholly led me + Here to see you. + + JUSTINA. Then, what is it? + + CYPRIAN. This, which craves your brief attention.-- + Fair Justina, beauty's shrine,* + To whose human loveliness + Nature, with a fond excess, + Adds such marks of the divine, + 'Tis your rest that doth incline + Hither my desire to-day: + But see what the tyrant sway + Of despotic fate can do,-- + While I bring your rest to you, + You from me take mine away. + Lelius, of his passion proud, + (Never less was love to blame!) + Florus, burning with love's flame, + (Ne'er could flame be more allowed!) + Each of them by vows they vowed + Sought to kill his friend for you: + I for you disturbed the two, + (Woe is me!) but see the end; + While from death I saved my friend, + You my own death give in lieu. + Lest the scandal-monger's hum + Should be buzzed about your name, + Here to speak with you I came, + (Would that I had never come!) + That your choice might strike it dumb, + Being the umpire in the cause, + Being the judge in love's sweet laws;-- + But behold what I endure, + While I their sick hearts may cure, + Jealousy mine own heart gnaws. + Lady, I proposed to be + Their bold spokesman here, that you + Might decide betwixt the two + Which you would select (ah, me!) + That I might (oh, misery!) + Ask you of your father: vain + This pretence. No more I'll feign:-- + For you see while I am speaking + About them, my heart is seeking + But a vent for its own pain. + + + [footnote] * The five-lined rhymed stanza here recommences, and + continues to the end of the scene. + + + JUSTINA. Half in wonder and dismay + At the vile address you make me, + Reason, speech, alike forsake me, + And I know not what to say. + Never in the slightest way + Have your clients had from me + Encouragement for this embassy-- + Florus never--Lelius no:-- + Of the scorn that I can show + Let then this a warning be. + + CYPRIAN. If I, knowing that you loved + Some one else, would dare to seek + Your regard, my love were weak, + And could justly be reproved. + But here seeing you stand unmoved, + Like a rock mid raging seas, + No extraneous miseries + Make me say I love you now. + 'Tis not for my friends I bow, + So your warning hear with ease.-- + To Lelius what shall I say? + + JUSTINA. That he + Well may trust the boding fears + Of his love of many years. + + CYPRIAN. To Florus? + + JUSTINA. Not my face to see. + + CYPRIAN. And to myself? + + JUSTINA. Your love should be + Not so bold. + + CYPRIAN. Though a god should woo? + + JUSTINA. Will a god do more for you + Than for those I have denied? + + CYPRIAN. Yes. + + JUSTINA. Well then, I have replied + To Lelius, Florus, and to you. + [Exeunt JUSTINA and CYPRIAN at opposite sides. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE X. + + CLARIN, MOSCON, and LIVIA. + + CLARIN. Livia, heigh! + + MOSCON. And Livia, ho!-- + List good lass. + + CLARIN. We're here, we two. + + LIVIA. Well, what WANT you, sir? and YOU, + What do you want? + + CLARIN. We both would show, + If perchance you do not know, + That we love you to distraction. + On a murderous transaction + We came here, to kill each other:-- + So to put an end to the bother, + Just choose one for satisfaction. + + LIVIA. Why the thing that you're demanding + Is so great, it hath bereft me + Of my wits. My grief hath left me + Without sense or understanding. + Choose but one! My heart expanding, + Beats so hard a strait to shun! + I one only! 'Tis for fun + That you ask me so to do. + For with heart enough for two, + Why require that I choose one? + + CLARIN. Two at once would you have to woo? + Would not two embarrass you, pray? + + LIVIA. No, we women have a way + To dispose of them two by two. + + MOSCON. What's the way? do tell us, do;-- + What is it? speak. + + LIVIA. You put one out!-- + I would love them, do not doubt.... + + MOSCON. How? + + LIVIA. ALTERNATIVELY. + + CLARIN. Eh, + What's ALTERNATIVELY? + + LIVIA. 'Tis to say, + That I would love them day about. + [Exit. + + MOSCON. Well, I choose to-day: good-bye. + + CLARIN. I, to-morrow, the better part. + So I give it with all my heart. + + MOSCON. Livia, in fine, for whom I die, + To-day love me, and to-day love I. + Happy is he who so much can say. + + CLARIN. Hearken, my friend: you know my way. + + MOSCON. Why this speech? Does a threat lie in it? + + CLARIN. Mind, she is not yours a minute + After the clock strikes twelve to-day. + [Exeunt. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XI. + + THE STREET BEFORE LYSANDER'S HOUSE: NIGHT + + Enter FLORUS and LELIUS at opposite sides, not seeing each other. + + LELIUS [aside]. Scarcely has the darksome night + O'er the brow of heaven extended* + Its black veil, when I come hither + To adore this sacred threshold; + For although at Cyprian's prayer, + I my sharp sword have suspended, + I have not my love, for love + Cannot be suspended ever. + + + [footnote] *Asonante in e-e, to the end of the Act. + + + FLORUS [aside]. Here the dawn will find me waiting:-- + Here, because 'tis force compels me + To go hence, for I, elsewhere, + Am away from my true centre. + Would to love the day had come, + And with it the dear, expected + Answer Cyprian may bring me, + Risking all upon that venture. + + LELIUS [aside]. I have surely in that window + Heard a noise. + + FLORUS [aside]. Some sound descends here + From that balcony. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XII. + + The Demon appears at a window in the house of LYSANDER. + + LELIUS [aside]. A figure + Issues from it, whose dim presence + I distinguish. + + FLORUS [aside]. Through the darkness + I can there perceive some person. + + DEMON [aside]. For the many persecutions + O'er Justina's head impending, + Her pure honour to defame + Thus I make a bold commencement. + [He descends by a ladder. + + LELIUS [aside]. But, O woe! what's this I witness!-- + + FLORUS [aside]. What do I see! Oh, wretched! wretched!-- + + LELIUS [aside]. From the balcony to the ground + The dark figure has descended. + + FLORUS [aside]. From her house a man comes forth!-- + Jealousy kill me not, preserve me, + 'Till I discover who he is. + + LELIUS [aside]. I will try to intercept him + And find out at once who thus + Tastes the bliss I've lost for ever. + + [They advance with drawn swords to recognise + the person who has descended. + + DEMON [aside]. Not alone Justina's fame + Do I by this act discredit, + But dissensions, perhaps murders, + Thus provoke. Ope, earth's dark centre, + And receive me, leaving here + This confusion + [He disappears between FLORUS and LELIUS, who meet together. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XIII. + + FLORUS and LELIUS. + + LELIUS. Sir, whoever + You may be, it doth import me + To know who you are directly; + So at every risk I come here, + On this resolute quest determined. + Say who are you. + + FLORUS. If the accident + Of my having been the observer + Of your secret love, compels you + To this valorous aggression, + More than it can you concern + Me to know, it doth concern me + To know you; for to be curious + Is far less than to be jealous. + Yes, by Heaven! for who is master + Of the house have I to learn here, + Who it is at such an hour, + By this balcony ascending, + Gaineth that which I lose weeping + At these gratings. + + LELIUS. This excelleth, + Good, in faith, is it thus to dim + The clear light of my resentment, + By attributing to me + That which solely your offence is!-- + Who you are I have to know, + Death to give to him who has left me + Dead with jealousy here, by coming + From this balcony. + + FLORUS. How excessive + How superfluous is this caution, + Proving what it would dissemble! + + LELIUS. Vainly would the tongue untangle + That which the keen sword can better + Thus cut through. + + FLORUS. With it I answer. + [They fight. + + LELIUS. In this way I'll know for certain + Who is the admitted lover + Of Justina. + + FLORUS. My intention + Is the same. I'll die or know you. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XIV. + + Enter CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + + CYPRIAN. Gentlemen, I pray you let me + Interpose in this your quarrel, + Since by accident I am present. + + FLORUS. You cannot oblige me more + Than by letting the fight be ended. + + CYPRIAN. Florus? + + FLORUS. Yes, for sword in hand, + I my name deny not ever + To who asks. + + CYPRIAN. I'm at your side, + Death to him who would offend you. + + LELIUS. You produce in me less fear, + Both of you thus joined together, + Than did he alone. + + CYPRIAN. What! Lelius? + + LELIUS. Yes. + + CYPRIAN. I am prevented + [To Florus. + Now from standing at your side, + Since between you I present me. + How is this? In one day twice + Have I your disputes to settle!-- + + LELIUS. Then this time will be the last, + For we've settled them already; + Since in knowing who is he + Who Justina's heart possesses, + Now no more my hope remaineth, + Even the thought of it hath left me. + If you have not to Justina + Spoken yet, do not address her; + This I ask you in the name + Of my wrongs and my resentments, + Having seen her secret favours + Florus' happier fate deserveth. + From this balcony I saw him, + From my lost delight descending; + And my heart is not so base + As to meanly love, in presence + Of such jealousies so well proved, + Of disillusions, ah! so certain. + [Exit. + + FLORUS. Stay. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XV. + + CYPRIAN. You must not follow him, + [Aside. (Oh, this news with death o'erwhelms me!) + Since if he who is the loser + Of what you have gained, expressly + Says he would forget it, you + Should not try his patient temper. + + FLORUS. Both by you and him at once + Has mine own been too well tested. + Speak not now unto Justina + About me; for though full vengeance + I propose to take for being + Thus supplanted and rejected, + Every hope of her being mine + Now has ceased, for shameful were it, + In the face of such proved facts, + To persist in my addresses. + [Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XVI. + + CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + + CYPRIAN [aside]. What is this, O heavens! I hear? + Can it be the two are jealous + Of each other at one time? + And I too of both together?-- + Doubtless from some strange delusion + The two suffer, which I welcome + With a sort of satisfaction, + For to it I am indebted + For the fact of their desisting + From their suit and their pretension.-- + Moscon, have for me by morning + A rich court-suit; sword and feathers, + Clarin, be thy care; for love + In a certain airy splendour + Takes delight; for now no longer + Books or studies give me pleasure;-- + Love they say doth murder mind, + Learning dies when he is present. + [Exeunt. + + + + + +ACT THE SECOND. + + SCENE I. + + THE STREET IN FRONT OF LYSANDER'S HOUSE. + + Enter CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN, in gala dresses. + + CYPRIAN [aside]. Where, presumptuous thoughts, ah! where, + Would you lead me, whither go? + If for certain now you know + That the high attempts you dare + Are delusive dreams of bliss, + Since you strive to scale heaven's wall, + But from that proud height to fall + Headlong down a dark abyss? + I Justina saw..... So near + Would to God I had not seen her, + Nor in her divine demeanour + All the light of heaven's fourth sphere. + Lovers twain for her contend, + Both being jealous each should woo, + And I, jealous of the two, + Know not which doth most offend. + All I know is, that suspicion, + Her disdain, my own desires, + Fill my heart with furious fires-- + Drive me, ah! to my perdition. + This I know, and know no more, + This I feel in all my strait; + Heavens! Justina is my fate! + Heavens! Justina I adore!-- + Moscon. + + MOSCON. Sir. + + CYPRIAN. Inquire, I pray, + If Lysander's in. + + MOSCON. I fly. + + CLARIN. No, sir, no. On me rely,-- + Moscon can't go there to-day. + + CYPRIAN. Ever wrangling in this way, + How ye both my patience try! + Why can he not go? Say why? + + CLARIN. Because to-day is not his day. + Mine it is, sir, to his sorrow. + So your message I will bear. + Moscon can't to-day go there; + He will have his turn to-morrow. + + CYPRIAN. What new madness can this be + Which your usual feud doth show? + But now neither of you go, + Since in all her brilliancy + Comes Justina. + + CLARIN. From the street + To her house she goes. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE II. + + Enter JUSTINA and LIVIA, veiled.--CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + + JUSTINA. Ah, me! + Cyprian's here. [Aside to her.] See, Livia, see! + + CYPRIAN [aside]. I must strive and be discreet, + Feigning with a ready wit, + Till my jealousy I can prove. + I will only speak of love, + If my jealousy will permit. + Not in vain, senora sweet,-- + Have I changed my student's dress, + The livery of thy loveliness, + As a servant at thy feet, + Thus I wear. If sighs could move thee + I would labour to deserve thee; + Give me leave at least to serve thee, + Since thou wilt not let me love thee. + + JUSTINA. Slight effect, sir, as I see, + Have my words produced on you, + Since they have not brought.... + + CYPRIAN. Too true! + + JUSTINA. A forgetfulness of me. + In what way must I explain + Clearer than I have done before, + That persistence at my door + Is and ever must be vain? + If a day, a month, a year, + If for ages there you stay, + Naught but this that now I say + Ever can you hope to hear. + As it were my latest breath, + Let this sad assurance move thee,-- + Fate forbids that I should love thee, + Cyprian, except in death. + [She moves towards the house. + + CYPRIAN. At these words my hopes revive:-- + Sad! no, no, to joy they move me, + For if thou in death canst love me, + Soon for me will death arrive. + Be it so; and since so nigh + Comes the hour your words to prove-- + Ah! even now begin to love, + Since I now begin to die. + + [JUSTINA enters. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE III. + + CYPRIAN, MOSCON, CLARIN, and LIVIA. + + CLARIN. Livia, while my master yonder, + Like a living skeleton, + Life and motion being gone, + On his luckless love doth ponder, + Give me an embrace. + + LIVIA. Stay, stay. + Patience, man! until I see, + For I like my conscience free, + If to-day is your right day.-- + Tuesday, yes, and Wednesday, no. + + CLARIN. What are you counting there? Awake! + Moscon's mum. + + LIVIA. He might mistake, + And I wish not to act so. + For, desiring to pursue + A just course betwixt you both, + Turn about, I would be loth + Not to give you each his due. + But I see that you are right, + 'Tis your day. + + CLARIN. Embrace me, then. + + LIVIA. Yes, again, and yet again. + + MOSCON. Hark to me, my lady bright, + May I from your ardour borrow + A good omen in my case; + And as Clarin you embrace, + Moscon you'll embrace to-morrow! + + LIVIA. Your suspicion is, in fact, + Quite absurd; on me rely. + Jupiter forbid that I + Should commit so bad an act + As to be cool in any way + To a friend. I will to thee + Give an embrace in equity, + When it is your worship's day. + [Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE IV. + + CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + + CLARIN. Well, I'll not be by to see, + That's a comfort. + + MOSCON. How? why so? + Need I be chagrined to know, + If the girl's not mine, that she + Thus to you her debt did pay. + + CLARIN. No. + + MOSCON. This makes my point more strong, + Since to me it were no wrong + If it chanced not on my day. + But our master yonder, see, + How absorbed he seems. + + CLARIN. More near, + If he speaks I'd like to hear. + + MOSCON. And I, too, would like. + + CYPRIAN. Ah me! + [As MOSCON and CLARIN approach CYPRIAN from opposite sides, he + gesticulates with his arms, and accidentally strikes both. + Love, how great thy agonies!-- + + CLARIN. Ah! ah, me! + + MOSCON. Ah, me! I bawl. + + CLARIN. Well, I think that we may call + This the land of the 'sigh-ah-mes'! + + CYPRIAN. What! and have you both been here? + + CLARIN. I, at least, was here, I'll swear. + + MOSCON. And I, also. + + CYPRIAN. O, despair + End at once my sad career! + Ah, what human heart to woe + Like to mine has given a home? + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE V. + + THE COUNTRY. + + CYPRIAN, CLARIN, and MOSCON. + + CLARIN. Whither Moscon, do we roam? + + MOSCON. When we've reached the end, we'll know. + Leagues behind us lies the town, + Still we go. + + CLARIN. A strange proceeding!-- + Little time have we for reading, + Idly pacing up and down. + + CYPRIAN. Clarin, get thee home. + + MOSCON. And I? + + CLARIN. Sly-boots, would you rather stay? + + CYPRIAN. Go: here leave me both; away! + + CLARIN. Mind, he tells us both to fly. + + [Exeunt CLARIN and MOSCON. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE VI. + + CYPRIAN. Memory of a maddened brain, + Do not with such strong control + Make me think another soul + Is what in my heart doth reign. + Blind idolator I have been-- + Lost in love's ambitious flight, + Since such beauty met my sight, + Since a goddess I have seen. + Yet in such a maze of woe + Rigorous fate doth make me move, + That I know but whom I love, + And of whom I am jealous--no. + Yet this passion is so strong-- + Ah, so sweet this fascination, + Driving my imagination + With resistless force along-- + That I would (I know too well + How this madness doth degrade me) + To some devilish power to aid me, + Were it even to rise from hell, + Where some mightier power hath kept it,-- + Sharing all its pains in common,-- + I would, to possess this woman, + Give my soul. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE VII. + + The Demon and CYPRIAN. + + Demon [within]. And I accept it. + + [A great tempest is heard, with thunder and lightning. + + CYPRIAN. What's this, ye heavens so pure? + Clear but a moment hence and now obscure, + Ye fright the gentle day! + The thunder-balls, the lightning's forked ray, + Leap from its riven breast-- + Terrific shapes it cannot keep at rest; + All the whole heaven a crown of clouds doth wear, + And with the curling mist, like streaming hair, + This mountain's brow is bound. + Outspread below, the whole horizon round + Is one volcanic pyre. + The sun is dead, the air is smoke, heaven fire. + Philosophy, how far from thee I stray, + When I cannot explain the marvels of this day! + And now the sea, upborne on clouds the while, + Seems like some ruined pile, + That crumbling down the wind as 'twere a wall, + In dust not foam doth fall. + And struggling through the gloom, + Facing the storm, a mighty ship seeks room + On the open sea, whose rage it seems to court, + Flying the dangerous pity of the port. + The noise, the terror, and that fearful cry, + Give fatal augury + Of the impending stroke. Death hesitates, + For each already dies who death awaits. + With portents the whole atmosphere is rife, + Nor is it all the effect of elemental strife. + The ship is rigged with tempest as it flies.* + It rushes on the lee, + The war is now no longer of the sea; + Upon a hidden rock + It strikes: it breaks as with a thunder shock. + Blood flakes the foam where helpless it is tost. + + + [footnote] *Hartzenbusch remarks that there is no corresponding rhyme + for this line in the original, and that both the sense and the + versification are defective.--'Comedias de Calderon', t. 2, p. 178. + + + [The sound of the tempest increases, and voices are heard within. + + VOICES WITHIN. We sink! we sink! we're lost! + + DEMON [within]. For what I have in hand, + I'll trust this plank to bear me to the land. + + CYPRIAN. As scorning the wild wave + One man alone his life attempts to save. + While lurching over, mid the billows' swell, + The great ship sinks to where the Tritons dwell; + There, with its mighty ribs asunder rent, + It lies a corse of the sea, its grave and monument. + + [Enter The Demon, dripping with wet, as if escaped from the sea. + + DEMON [aside]. For the end I wish to gain + It was of necessity + That upon this sapphire sea + I this fearful storm should feign, + And in form unlike that one + Which in this wild wood I wore, + When I found my deepest lore + By his keener wit outdone, + Come again to assail him here, + Trusting better now to prove + Both his intellect and his love.-- + [Aloud. + Earth, loved earth, O mother dear, + From this monster, this wild sea, + Give me shelter in thy arms. + + CYPRIAN. Lose, my friend, the dread alarms, + And the cruel memory + Of thy peril happily past; + Since we learn or late or soon, + That beneath the inconstant moon + Human bliss doth never last. + + DEMON. Who are thou, at whose kind feet + Has my fortune cast me here? + + CYPRIAN. One who with a pitying tear, + For a ruin so complete, + Would alleviate your woe. + + DEMON. Ah, impossible!--for me + Never, never, can there be + Any solace. + + CYPRIAN. How, why so? + + DEMON. All my priceless wealth I've lost... + But I'm wrong to thus complain, + I'll forget, nay, think it gain, + Since my life it hath not cost. + + CYPRIAN. Now that the wild whirl malign + Of this earthquake storm doth cease, + And the sky returns to peace, + Quiet, calm, and crystalline, + And the bright succeeds the dark + With such strange rapidity, + That the storm would seem to be + Only raised to sink thy bark, + Tell me who thou art, repay + Thus a sympathy so sincere. + + DEMON. It has cost me to come here + More than you have seen to-day, + More than I can well express; + Of the miseries I recall + This ship's loss is least of all. + Would you see that clearly? + + CYPRIAN. Yes. + + DEMON. I am since you wish to know it, + An epitome, a wonder* + Of all happiness and misfortune, + One I have lost, I weep the other. + By my gifts was I so glorious, + So conspicuous in my order, + Of a lineage so illustrious, + With a mind so well informed, + That my rare endowments feeling, + A great king (in truth the noblest + King of Kings, for all would tremble + If he looked in anger on them,) + In his palace roofed with diamonds + And with gems as bright as morning, + (If I called them stars, 'tis certain + The comparison were too modest,) + His especial favourite called me. + Which high epithet of honour + So enflamed my pride, as rival + For his royal seat I plotted, + Hoping soon my victor footsteps + Would his golden thrones have trodden. + It was an unheard-of daring, + THAT, chastized I must acknowledge, + I was mad; but then repentance + Were a still insaner folly. + Obstinate in my resistance, + With my spirit yet unconquered, + I preferred to fall with courage + Than surrender with dishonour. + If the attempt was rash, the rashness + Was not solely my misfortune, + For among his numerous vassals + Not a few my standard followed. + From his court, in fine, thus vanquished, + Though part victor in the contest, + I went forth, my eyes outflashing + Flames of anger and abhorrence, + And my lips proclaiming vengeance + For the public insult offered + To my pride, among his people + Scattering murder, rapine, horror. + Then a bloody pirate, I + The wide plains of the sea ran over, + Argus of its dangerous shallows, + Lynx-eyed where the reefs lay covered; + In that vessel which the wind + Bit by bit so soon demolished, + In that vessel which the sea + As a dustless ruin swallowed, + I to-day these fields of crystal + Eagerly ran o'er, my object + Being stone by stone to examine, + Tree by tree to search this forest:-- + For a man in it is living, + Whom it is of great importance + I should see, this day expecting + The fulfilment of a promise + Which he gave and I accepted. + This infuriate tempest stopped me. + And although my powerful genius + Could chain up east, south, and north wind, + I cared not, as if despairing + Of success, with other objects, + Other aims in view, to turn them + To the west wind's summer softness.-- + [Aside. + (I have said I could, but did not, + For I note the dangerous workings + Of his mind, and thus to magic + Bind him by these hints the stronger.) + Let not my wild fury fright thee, + Nor be at my power astonished, + For I could my own death give me, + If I were by rage so prompted, + And so great that power, the sunlight, + By my science could be blotted. + I, in magic am so mighty, + That I can describe the orbits + Of the stars, for I have travelled + Through the farthest and beyond them. + And in order that this boasting + May not seem to you mere bombast, + Look, if at this very instant + You desire it, this untrodden + Nimrod of rude rocks more savage + Than of Babylon is recorded, + Shall without a leaf being shaken, + Show the most horrific portents. + I am, then, the orphan guest here + Of these ash-trees, of these poplars, + And though what I am, assistance + At thy feet here I ask from thee: + And I wish the good I purchase + To repay thee with the product + Of unnumbered years of study, + Though it now slight effort costs me, + Giving to your wildest wishes + [Aside. + (Here I touch his love,) the fondest + Longings of your heart, whatever + Passion can desire or covet. + If through courtesy or caution + You should not accept my offer, + Let my good intentions pay you, + If from greater acts you stop me. + For the pity that you show me, + Which I thankfully acknowledge, + I will be a friend so faithful, + That henceforth the changeful monster + Of events and acts, called Fortune, + Which 'twixt flattering words and scornful, + Generous now, and now a miser, + Shows a friendly face or hostile, + Neither it nor that laborious + Ever flying, running worker, + Time, the loadstone of the ages, + Nor even heaven itself, heaven proper, + To whose stars the dark world oweth + All its most divine adornment, + Will have power to separate me + From your side a single moment, + Since you here have given me welcome. + And even this is almost nothing + When compared with what my wishes + Hope hereafter to accomplish. + + + [footnote] *Asonante in 1-3, to the end of the speech. + + + CYPRIAN. Well to the sea, my thanks are due, that bore + You struggling to the shore, + And led you to this grove, + Where you will quickly prove + The friendly feelings that inflame my breast, + If happily I merit such a guest. + Then let us homeward wend, + For I esteem you now as an old friend. + My guest you are, and so you must not leave me + While my house suits you. + + DEMON. Do you then receive me + Wholly as yours? + + CYPRIAN [embracing him]. This act doth prove it true, + That seals an eternal bond betwixt us two.-- + [Aside. + Oh! if I could win o'er + This man to instruct me in his magic lore! + Since by that art my love might gain + Some solace for its pain; + Or yielding to its mighty laws + My love at length might win my love's sweet cause-- + The cause of all my torment, madness, rage. + + DEMON [aside]. The working of his mind and love I gauge. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE VIII. + + CLARIN and MOSCON enter running from opposite sides. + + CYPRIAN and The Demon. + + CLARIN. Oh! are you sir, alive? + + MOSCON. My friend, do you + Speak civilly for once as something new? + That he's alive requires no demonstration. + + CLARIN. I struck this lofty note of admiration, + Thou noble lackey, to express my wonder, + How from this storm of lightning, rain, and thunder, + Without a miracle he could survive. + + MOSCON. Will you stop wondering, now you see him alive? + + CYPRIAN. These are my servants, sir.-- + What brings you here? + + MOSCON. Your spleen once more to stir. + + DEMON. They have a pleasant humour. + + CYPRIAN. Foolish pair, + Their weary wit is oft too hard to bear. + + MOSCON. This man, sir, waiting here, + Who is he? + + CYPRIAN. He's my guest, so do not fear. + + CLARIN. Wherefore have guests at such a time as this? + + CYPRIAN [to The Demon]. Your worth is lost on ignorance such as his. + + MOSCON. My master's right. Are you, forsooth, his heir? + + CLARIN. No; but our new friend there, + Looks like a guest, unless I deceive me, who + Will honour our poor house a year or two. + + MOSCON. Why? + + CLARIN. When a guest soon means to go away, + Well, he'll not make much smoke in the house, we say. + But this.... + + MOSCON. Speak out. + + CLARIN. Will make, I do not joke.. + + MOSCON. What? + + CLARIN. In the house a deuced deal of smoke. + + CYPRIAN. In order to repair + The danger done by the rude sea and air, + Come thou with me. + + DEMON. [Aside.] I'm thine, while thou hast breath. + + CYPRIAN. I go to prepare thy rest. + + DEMON [aside]. And I thy death:-- + An entrance having gained + Within his breast, and thus my end obtained; + My rage insatiate now without control + Seeks by another way to win Justina's soul. + [Exit. + + CLARIN. Guess, if you can, what I am thinking about. + + MOSCON. What is it? + + CLARIN. That a new volcano has burst out + In the late storm, there's such a sulphur smell. + + MOSCON. It came from the guest, as my good nose could tell. + + CLARIN. He uses bad pastilles, then; but I can + Infer the cause. + + MOSCON. What is it? + + CLARIN. The poor gentleman + Has a slight rash on his skin, a ticklish glow, + And uses sulphur ointment. + + MOSCON. Gad! 'tis so. + [Exeunt. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE IX. + + THE STREET. + + LELIUS and FABIUS. + + FABIUS. You return, then, to this street. + + LELIUS. Yes; the life that I deplore + I return to seek once more + Where 'twas lost. Ah! guide my feet, + Love, to find it!-- + + FABIUS. That house there + Is Justina's; come away. + + LELIUS. Wherefore, when I will to-day + Once again my love declare. + And as she, I saw it plain, + Trusted some one else at night, + 'Tis not strange, in open light, + That I try to soothe my pain. + Leave me, go; for it is best + That I enter here alone. + My rank in Antioch is known, + My father Governor; thus drest + In his robe as 'twere, my strong + Passion listening to no mentor, + I Justina's house will enter + To protest against my wrong. + [Exeunt. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE X. + + A HALL IN THE HOUSE OF LYSANDER. + + JUSTINA, and afterwards LELIUS. + + JUSTINA. Livia.... But a step! who's there? + + [LELIUS enters + LELIUS. It is I. + + JUSTINA. What novelty, + What extreme temerity, + Thus, my lord, compels you?... + + LELIUS. Spare + Your reproaches. Jealous-grown, + I can bear that you reprove. + Pardon me, for with my love + My respect has also flown. + + JUSTINA. Why, at such a perilous cost + Have you dared... + + LELIUS. Because I'm mad. + + JUSTINA. To intrude.... + + LELIUS. Heart-broken, sad. + + JUSTINA. Here.... + + LELIUS. Because, in truth, I'm lost. + + JUSTINA. Nor perceive how scandal views + Such an act as now you do + 'Gainst.... + + LELIUS. Be not so moved, for you + Little honour now can lose. + + JUSTINA. Lelius, spare at least my fame. + + LELIUS. Ah, Justina, it were best + That this language you addressed + Unto him who nightly came + Down here from this balcony;-- + 'Tis enough for me to show + All your lightness that I know, + That less coy and cold to me + Your pretended honour prove. + If I am disdained, displaced, + 'Tis another suits your taste, + Not that you your honour love. + + JUSTINA. Silence, cease, your words withhold. + Who with insult e'er before + Dared to pass my threshold's door? + Are you then so blind and bold, + So audacious, so insane, + As my pure light to eclipse, + Through the libel of your lips, + By chimeras false and vain?-- + In my house a man? + + LELIUS. 'Tis so. + + JUSTINA. From my balcony? + + LELIUS. With shame + I repeat it. + + JUSTINA. O, my fame, + O'er us twain your Aegis throw. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XI. + + THE SAME. + + The Demon appears at the door which is behind JUSTINA. + + DEMON [aside]. For the deep design I handle, + For my double plot I come + Raging to this simple home, + Now to work the greatest scandal + Ever seen. Here, brooding o'er him, + This wild lover mad with ire, + I will fan his jealous fire, + I will place myself before him, + Catch his eye, and then as fleeing, + In invisible gloom array me. + [He affects to come in, and being seen by LELIUS muffles himself in + his cloak, and re-enters the inner apartment. + + JUSTINA. Man, do you come here to slay me? + + LELIUS. No, to die. + + JUSTINA. What object seeing + Paralyses thus your senses? + + LELIUS. What I see is your untruth. + Tell me now, the wish, forsooth, + Has invented my offences. + From that very chamber there + Came a man, I turned my head, + When he saw my face he fled + Back into the room. + + JUSTINA. The air + Must this phantasy display-- + This illusion. + + LELIUS. Oh, that sight! + + JUSTINA. Is it not enough by night, + Lelius, but in open day + Thus fictitious forms to see? + + LELIUS. Phantom shape or real lover, + Now the truth I will discover. + [He goes into the room where The Demon had disappeared. + + JUSTINA. I no hindrance offer thee, + For my innocence, a way, + At the cost of this permission, + Thus finds out the night's submission + To correct by the light of day. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XII. + + LYSANDER and JUSTINA; LELIUS, within. + + LYSANDER. My Justina. + + JUSTINA [aside]. Woe is me! + Ah, if here before Lysander* + Lelius from that room comes forth! + + + [footnote] *Asonante in a-i to the end of Scene XVII. + + + LYSANDER. My misfortunes, my disasters + Fly to be consoled by thee. + + JUSTINA. What can be the grief, the sadness, + That your face betrays so plainly? + + LYSANDER. And no wonder, when the pallor + Springs even from the heart. This sobbing + Stops my weak words in their passage. + + [LELIUS appears at the door of the apartment. + LELIUS [aside]. I begin now to believe, + Since he is not in this chamber, + Jealousy can cause these spectres. + He, the man I saw, has vanished, + How I know not. + + JUSTINA [aside to Lelius]. Come not forth, + Lelius, here before my father. + + LELIUS. Convalescent in my sickness + I will wait till he is absent. + [Retires. + + JUSTINA. Why this weeping? why this sighing? + What, sir, moves thee, what unmans thee? + + LYSANDER. I am moved by a misfortune, + I'm unmanned by a disaster, + Greater far than tender pity + Ever wept,--the dread example + Cruelty has sworn to make + In the innocent blood of martyrs. + To the Governor of this city + Decius Caesar a strict mandate + Has despatched... I can speak no more. + + JUSTINA [aside]. What position e'er was harder? + Moved with pity for the Christians + Hither comes to me Lysander + The sad news to tell, not knowing + Lelius to his words may hearken,-- + Lelius, the Governor's son. + + LYSANDER. So Justina... + + JUSTINA. Sir, no farther, + Since you feel it so acutely, + Speak upon this painful matter. + + LYSANDER. Let me, for I'll feel some solace + When to thee it is imparted. + In it he commands... + + JUSTINA. Proceed not + Further now, when you should rather + Cheat your years with more repose. + + LYSANDER. How? when I, to make you partner + In those lively fears whose bodings + Are sufficient to despatch me, + Would inform you of the edict, + The most cruel that the margin + Of the Tiber ever saw + Writ in blood to stain its waters, + Do you stop me? Ah, Justina, + You were wont in another manner + Once to listen to me. + + JUSTINA. Sir, + Different were the circumstances. + + LELIUS [at the door, aside]. I can hear but indistinctly + Half-formed words and broken accents. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XIII. + + FLORUS enters.--JUSTINA and LYSANDER; LELIUS, peeping at the door + of the inner room. + + FLORUS [aside]. Licence has a jealous lover, + Who but enters to unmask here + A pretended purity, + To forego politer manners. + I come here with that intention... + But as she is with her father + I will wait a new occasion. + + LYSANDER. Who is there? Some footstep passes. + + FLORUS [aside]. Ah! 'tis now impossible + Without speaking to get back here. + Some excuse I'll try to offer:-- + I am... + + LYSANDER. You here, sir? + + FLORUS. Your pardon. + I ask leave, sir, to speak with you + On a most important matter. + + JUSTINA [aside]. Oh! take pity on me, fortune, + For these trials are too many. + + LYSANDER. Well, sir, speak. + + FLORUS [aside, at the door]. Florus in Justina's house + Leaves and enters like a master!-- + These are not unfounded jealousies, + These are real and substantial. + + LYSANDER. You grow pale, you change your colour. + + FLORUS. Do not wonder, be not startled, + For I came to give a warning, + To your life of utmost value, + Of an enemy that you have, + Who your swift destruction planneth. + What I've said is quite sufficient. + + LYSANDER [aside]. Florus, doubtless, must have gathered + Somehow that I am a Christian, + And thus comes in kindliest manner + Of my danger to apprise me.-- + [Aloud. + Speak, hide nothing in this matter. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XIV. + + LIVIA enters.-- + + JUSTINA, LYSANDER, and FLORUS; LELIUS at the door of the room. + + LIVIA. Sir, the Governor, who is waiting + At the door of the house, commanded + Me to call you to his presence. + + FLORUS. Best I wait for his departure:-- + [Aside. + (Meantime my excuse I'll think of.) + So 'tis well that you despatch him. + + LYSANDER. I appreciate your politeness. + Here I will return instanter. + [Exeunt LYSANDER and LIVIA. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XV. + + JUSTINA and FLORUS; LELIUS at the door. + + FLORUS. Are you then that virtuous maiden, + Who, the very breeze that flatters + With its soft and sweet caresses, + You would call rude, bold, unmannered? + How then is it you surrendered + Even the very keys of the casket + Of your honour? + + JUSTINA. Hold, hold, Florus, + Do not dare to throw a shadow + On that honour which the sun + After the most strict examen + Has proved bright and pure. + + FLORUS. Too late + Comes this idle boast. It happens + That I know to whom you have given + Free access... + + JUSTINA. You dare this scandal?-- + + FLORUS. By a balcony... + + JUSTINA. Do not say it. + + FLORUS. To your honour. + + JUSTINA. Thus will you blast me? + + FLORUS. Yes, for hypocritical virtue + Merits something even harsher. + + LELIUS [at the door, aside]. Florus was not then the hero + Of the balcony; some more happy + Lover than us twain she welcomes. + + JUSTINA. Oh! defame not noble damsels, + Since you noble blood inherit. + + FLORUS. Noble damsel, dar'st thou call thee, + When thy very arms received him, + And from thy balcony he departed? + Power subdued thee; from the fact + That the Governor is his father, + Vanity led thee on to show + That in Antioch he commanded... + + LELIUS [aside]. Here he speaks of me. + + FLORUS. Not seeing + Any graver defect of manner, + Than what in his birth and breeding + Rank may cover with its mantle, + But not so.... + + [LELIUS enters. + LELIUS. Be silent, Florus, + Nor attack me in my absence; + For of a rival to speak ill, + Is the act but of a dastard. + 'Tis to stop this I come forward, + Angry after so many passes + Which my sword has had with thine, + That I have not yet dispatched thee. + + JUSTINA. Who, not guilty, ever saw her + In such dangerous straits entangled? + + FLORUS. What behind your back was spoken, + I before you will establish, + Truth is truth where'er 'tis uttered. + [They grasp their swords. + + JUSTINA. Florus! Lelius! what would you have then. + + LELIUS. I would have full satisfaction + Where I heard th'insulting language. + + FLORUS. I'll maintain what I have said + Where I said it. + + JUSTINA. From so many + Strokes of fortune, free me, Heaven!-- + + FLORUS. And I'll learn to chastise your rashness. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XVI. + + The Governor enters with LYSANDER and attendants.--JUSTINA, LELIUS, + and FLORUS. + + [All who enter]. Hold! stand back! + + JUSTINA. Unhappy me! + + GOVERNOR. What is this? But empty scabbards, + Naked swords, are quite sufficient + To inform me what has happened. + + JUSTINA. What misfortune! + + LYSANDER. What affliction!-- + + LELIUS. Ah, my lord... + + GOVERNOR. Enough, no farther. + Lelius, thou a son of mine, + A disturber? Thou a scandal + To all Antioch through my favour? + + LELIUS. Think, my lord... + + GOVERNOR. Arrest, disarm them, + Take them hence. Make no distinction + On account of blood or rank here. + Let them suffer both alike, + Since in guilt alike they acted. + + LELIUS [aside]. I came jealous, and go outraged. + + FLORUS [aside]. To my pains new pains are added. + + GOVERNOR. In distinct and separate prisons, + And with watchful eyes to guard them, + Place the two.--And you, Lysander, + Is it possible you have tarnished + Such a noble reputation, + Suffering.... + + LYSANDER. No; let not these dazzling + False appearances mislead you, + For Justina in what happened + Was quite blameless. + + GOVERNOR. In her house here, + Would you have her live regardless + Of the fact that they were young, + And that she was fair; My anger + I restrain, lest people say, + I, an interested party, + Sentence passed as partial judge.-- + But of you who caused this quarrel, + Now that maiden shame has left you, + Well I know that you will glad me + With the occasion I desire, + Of exposing, of unmasking, + In the light of actual vices, + The false virtuous part you've acted. + + [Exeunt The Governor and his attendants; + LELIUS and FLORUS follow as prisoners. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XVII. + + JUSTINA and LYSANDER. + + JUSTINA. I reply but with my tears. + + LYSANDER. Tears as vain as they are tardy. + What an act was mine, Justina, + When to thee my lips imparted + Who thou art! Oh, would I never + Told thee, that upon the margin + Of a rivulet in this forest, + A dead mother's womb here cast thee! + + JUSTINA. I.... + + LYSANDER. Do not attempt excuses. + + JUSTINA. Heaven will make them, then, hereafter + + LYSANDER. When too late, perhaps. + + JUSTINA. No limit + Can be late here while life lasteth. + + LYSANDER. For the punishment of crimes. + + JUSTINA. Injured truth to re-establish. + + LYSANDER. I, from what I have seen, condemn thee. + + JUSTINA. I thee, from what thou knowest not, rather. + + LYSANDER. Leave me; I go forth to die + Where my grief will soon dispatch me. + + JUSTINA. At thy feet I would lose my life; + But do not reject me, father. + [Exeunt. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XVIII. + + A HALL IN CYPRIAN'S HOUSE. + At the end is an open gallery, through which is seen the country. + + CYPRIAN, the Demon, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + + DEMON. Since the hour that I have been + In your house a guest, you ne'er + Show a gay and cheerful air. + Sadness in your face is seen. + It is wrong your cure to shun, + Seeking to mislead mine eyes, + Since I would unsphere the skies, + Shake the stars, and shroud the sun, + For the least desire you feel + That more pleasantly you might live. + + CYPRIAN. Magic has no power to give + The impossible I conceal, + Though the misery I betray. + + DEMON. Come, confess the longed-for bliss. + + CYPRIAN. I love a woman. + + DEMON. And is this + The impossible that you say? + + CYPRIAN. If you knew her, you'd agree. + + DEMON. Well, describe her, I'm resigned; + Though I can't but smile to find + What a coward you must be. + + CYPRIAN. The fair cradle of the skies, + Where the infant sun reposes, + Ere he rises, decked with roses, + Robed in snow, to dry heaven's eyes. + The green prison-bud that tries + To restrain the conscious rose, + When the crimson captive knows + April treads its gardens near, + Turning dawn's half frozen tear + To a smile where sunshine glows. + The sweet streamlet gliding by, + Though it scarcely dares to breathe + Softest murmurs through its teeth, + From the frosts that on it lie. + The bright pink, in its small sky + Shining like a coral star. + The blithe bird that flies afar, + Drest in shifting shades and blooms-- + Soaring cithern of plumes + Harping high o'er heaven's blue bar. + The white rock that cheats the sun + When it tries to melt it down, + What it melts is but the crown + Which from winter's snow it won. + The green bay that will not shun, + Though the heavens are all aglow, + For its feet a bath of snow,-- + Green Narcissus of the brook, + Fearless leaning o'er to look, + Though the stream runs chill below + In a word, the crimson dawn, + Sun, mead, streamlet, rosebud, May + Bird that sings his amorous lay, + April's laugh that gems the lawn, + Pink that sips the dews up-drawn, + Rock that stands in storm and shine, + Bay-tree that delights to twine + Round its fadeless leaves the sun, + All are parts which met in one + Form this woman most divine. + For myself, in blind unrest, + (Guess my madness if you can) + I, to seem another man, + In these courtly robes am drest, + Studious calm I now detest, + Fame no longer fires my mind, + Passion reigns where thought refined, + I my firmness fling to tears, + Courage I resign to fears, + And my hopes I give the wind. + I have said, and so will do, + That to some infernal sprite + I would offer with delight + (And the pledge I now renew) + Even my soul for her I woo. + But my offer is in vain, + Hell rejects it with disdain, + For my soul, it may allege, + Is a disproportionate pledge + For the interest I would gain. + + DEMON. Is this, then your boasted courage, + In the footsteps of dejected* + Swains to follow, who grow timid + When their first assault's rejected? + Are examples then so distant + Of fair ladies who surrender + All their vanities to entreaties, + All their pride to fond addresses? + Would you make your breast the prison + Of your love, your arms her fetters? + + + [footnote] *Asonante in e-e to the end of the Act. + + + CYPRIAN. Can you doubt it? + + DEMON. Then command them + To retire, those two, your servants, + So that we remain here only. + + CYPRIAN. Go: both leave me for the present. + + MOSCON. I obey. + [Exit. + + CLARIN. And I as well.-- + [Aside, concealing himself. + Such a guest must be the devil. + + CYPRIAN. They are gone. + + DEMON [aside]. That Clarin's hiding, + Is to me of small concernment. + + CYPRIAN. What more wish you now? + + DEMON. First fasten + Well this door. + + CYPRIAN. Yes; none can enter. + + DEMON. For the possession of this woman, + With your lips you have asserted + You would give your soul. + + CYPRIAN. 'Tis so. + + DEMON. Then the contract is accepted. + + CYPRIAN. What do you say? + + DEMON. That I accept it. + + CYPRIAN. How? + + DEMON. So much have I effected + By my science, that I will teach you + How by it to get possession + Of the woman that you worship; + For I (though so wise and learned) + Have no other means to win her. + Let us now in writing settle + What we have resolved between us. + + CYPRIAN. Do you wish by new pretences + To prolong the pains I suffer? + In my hand is what I tender, + But in yours is not the offer + That you make me; no, for never + Conjurations or enchantments + Can free will control or fetter. + + DEMON. Give me, on the terms you spoke of, + Your signed bond. + + CLARIN. [peeping]. The deuce! This fellow + Is no fool, I see. No greenhorn + In his business is this devil. + I give him my bond! No, truly, + Though my lodgings wanted a tenant + For the space of twenty ages, + I wouldn't do it. + + CYPRIAN. Sir, much jesting + May with merry friends be pastime, + Not with those who are dejected. + + DEMON. I, in proof of what I am able + To effect, will now present you + With an example, though it faintly + Shows the power my art possesses. + From this gallery what is seen? + + CYPRIAN. Much of sky, and much of meadow, + Wood, a rivulet, and a mountain. + + DEMON. Which to you doth seem most pleasant? + + CYPRIAN. The proud mountain, for in it + Is my adored one represented. + + DEMON. Proud competitor of time, + Rival of the years for ever, + Who as king of fields and plains + Crown'st thee with the cloud and tempest, + Move thyself, change earth and air; + Look, see who I am that tell thee.-- + And, look thou, too, since a mountain + I can move, thou mayest a maiden. + + [The mountain moves from one side to the other in the perspective of + the theatre. + + CYPRIAN. Never saw I such a wonder! + Ne'er a sight of so much terror! + + CLARIN [peeping]. With the fright and with the fear, + I enjoy a twofold tremble. + + CYPRIAN. Mighty mountain bird that fliest, + Trees for wings replacing feathers, + Boat, whose rocks supply the tackle, + As thou furrowest through the zephyr, + To thy centre back return thee, + And so end this fear, this terror. + + [The mountain returns to its original position. + + DEMON. If one proof is not sufficient, + I will give you then a second. + Do you wish to see the woman + You adore? + + CYPRIAN. Yes. + + DEMON. Then, thy entrails + Ope, thou monster, to whose being + The four elements are servants. + Show to us the perfect beauty + That thou hidest in thy centre. + [A rock opens and JUSTINA is seen sleeping. + Is this she whom you adore? + + CYPRIAN. Whom I idolize beyond measure. + + DEMON. But since I have power to give her, + I can take her too, remember. + + CYPRIAN. Now impossible dream of mine, + Now thy arms will be the centre + Of my love, thy lips the sun, + Burning, brimming as with nectar. + + DEMON. Stay; for till the word you gave me + Is affirmed, and well attested, + You can touch her not. + + [CYPRIAN rushes towards the rock, which closes. + CYPRIAN. Oh, stay + Cloud that hides the most resplendent + Sun, that on my bliss e'er dawned!-- + But 'tis air my void arm presses.-- + I believe your art, acknowledge + Now I am your slave for ever. + What do you wish I do for thee? + What do you ask? + + DEMON. To be protected + By your signature here written + In your blood, at the foot of a letter. + + CLARIN [peeping]. Oh! I'd give my soul that I + To stay here had not been tempted. + + CYPRIAN. For my pen I use this dagger, + Paper let this white cloth serve for, + And the ink wherewith I write it, + Be the blood my arm presents me. + [He writes with the point of a dagger upon a piece of linen, having + drawn blood from one of his arms. + + CYPRIAN [Aside]. Oh! I freeze with fear, with horror! + I, great Cyprian, say expressly + I will give my immortal soul, + (Oh! what lethargy, what frenzy!) + Unto him whose art will teach me + (What confusion! what strange terror!) + How I may of fair Justina, + Haughty mistress mine, possess me. + I have signed it with my name. + + DEMON [aside]. Now to my deceits is rendered + Valid homage, when such reason, + When discourse like his must tremble + Even when my help is sought for.-- + Have you written? + + CYPRIAN. And signed the letter. + + DEMON. Then the sun you adore is thine. + + CYPRIAN. Thine too, for the years eternal, + Is the soul I offer thee. + + DEMON. Soul for soul I pay my debtors, + Then for thine I give to thee + Thy Justina's + + CYPRIAN. In what term then, + Think you you can teach to me + All your magic art? + + DEMON. A twelvemonth; + But on this condition.... + + CYPRIAN. Speak. + + DEMON. That within a cavern buried, + Without any other study, + We may live there both together, + In our service having no one + For us two but this attendant, + [Drags out CLARIN. + Who being curious hid him here;-- + By securing thus his person + That our secret is well kept, + We, I think, may be quite certain. + + CLARIN [aside]. Oh, that I had never waited! + How does it happen though, so many + Neighbours prone to pry, as I am, + Are not caught thus by the devil? + + CYPRIAN. So far well. My love, my genius + Have this happy end effected: + First Justina will be mine, + Then by my new lights, new learning, + I will wake the world's surprise. + + DEMON. I have gained what I intended. + + CLARIN. I not so. + + DEMON. You come with us.-- + [Aside. + O'er my great foe I've got the better. + + CYPRIAN. Ah, how happy my desires, + If I reach to such possession!-- + + DEMON [aside]. Never will my envy rest + Till I gain both souls to serve me.-- + Let us go, and in the deepest + Cavern this wild world presenteth + You to-day will learn in magic + Your first lesson. + + CYPRIAN. Let us enter, + For my mind with such a master, + For my love with such incentive, + Will the sorcerer Cyprian's name + Live before the world for ever. + + + + + +ACT THE THIRD. + + SCENE I. + + A WOOD; AT THE EXTREMITY A GROTTO. + + CYPRIAN. + + CYPRIAN. Ungrateful beauty mine, + At length the day, the happy day doth shine-- + My hope's remotest range, + The limits of my love and of thy change, + Since I to-day will gain + At last my triumph over thy disdain. + This lofty mountain nigh, + Raised to the star-lit palace of the sky, + And this dark cavern's gloom, + Of two that live, so long the dismal tomb, + Are the rough school wherein + From magic art its mystic lore I win, + And such perfection reach + That I can now my mighty master teach. + Seeing, that on this day, since I came here + The sun completes its course from sphere to sphere, + I from my prison cell come forth to view + What in the light I now have power to do. + Ye skies of cloudless day + List to my magic spell-words and obey; + Swift zephyrs that rejoice + In heaven's warm light, stand still and hear my voice; + Stupendous mountain rock + Shake at my words as at an earthquake shock; + Ye trees in rough bark drest + Be frightened at the groanings of my breast; + Ye flowers so fair and frail + Faint at the echoing terror of my wail; + Ye sweet melodious birds + Hush all your songs before my awful words; + Ye cruel beasts of prey + See the first fruits of my long toil to-day; + For blinded, dazzled, dazed, + Confused, disturbed, astonished and amazed, + Ye skies and zephyrs, rocks, and trees, and flowers, + And birds, and beasts, behold my magic powers, + And thus to all make plain + Cyprian's infernal study is not vain. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE II. + + The Demon and CYPRIAN. + + DEMON. Cyprian! + + CYPRIAN. Wise friend and master still! + + DEMON. Why, how is this, that using your free-will + More than my precept meant, + Say for what end, what object, what intent, + Through ignorance or boldness can it be, + You thus come forth the sun's bright face to see? + + CYPRIAN. Seeing that now my spell + Can fill with fear, with horror even hell, + Since I, with so much care + Have studied magic and its depths laid bare, + So that yourself can scarcely tell + Whether 'tis I or you that most excel, + Seeing that now there is no place or part + That I with study, diligence and art, + have not attained, + Since necromancy's secret I have gained, + That art whose lines of gloom + Can ope to me the dark funereal tomb, + And bring before mine eyes + Each corpse that in it lies, + Regaining them, as 'twere by a new birth + From the hard avarice of the grasping earth. + The pale ghosts, one and all, + Rise and respond my call;-- + And seeing that at length the sun + My goal of life had won, + Since from its innate force + Swift-speeding on its course, + Climbing the heavens each day, + It turns as 'twere reluctantly away, + And with a natural fear + Completes to-day the lifetime of a year, + I wish to attain the scope + To last of all my dreams, of all my hope. + To-day the rare, the beautiful, the divine + Justina will be mine, + Here summoned by my charms, + Here lured by love she'll come unto my arms, + For you from me no longer can require + Postponement of my hope's, my heart's desire. + + DEMON. Nor do I wish to do it, no, + Since thus so earnestly you wish it so. + Now trace upon the ground + Mute mystic symbols, and the deep profound + Of air, with powerful incantations move + Obedient to your hope and to your love. + + CYPRIAN. For that I will retire; + You soon shall see the heaven and earth admire. + [Exit. + + DEMON. I give you leave to go, + Because our science being the same, I know + That the abyss of hell + Obedient to your spell + Will yield through me, this way, + The fair Justina to your arms to-day: + For, though my mighty power + Cannot enslave free-will even for an hour, + It may present + The outward show of rapture and content, + Suggesting thoughts impure:-- + If force I cannot use, at least I lure. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE III. + + CLARIN and The Demon. + + CLARIN. Ungrateful fair, who still my heart doth hold, + Not burning Libya sure, but Livia cold, + The time is come to show + Whether in love you have been true or no, + Whether, since I within this cave was placed, + Not chased by me you have yourself been chaste; + For I have studied here + At second hand some magic for a year, + Just to find out (alack! I can't but wince) + Whether with Moscon you have wronged me since:-- + Ye watery skies (some people call them pure) + List to my conjurations I conjure, + Mountains.... + + DEMON. How, Clarin? + + CLARIN. Oh! my master wise! + By the concomitance of my hands and eyes, + I've learned some magic, and would know by it + If Livia, that ungrateful little chit, + Has played me false since I have been away, + Embracing that rogue Moscon on my day. + + DEMON. Have done with these buffooneries: leave me, go. + And 'mid these intricate rocks whose paths you know, + Assist your master, who will let you see + (If you would witness such a prodigy) + The end of all his woe. + I wish to be alone. + + CLARIN. And I not so. + I now perceive + Why to use magic I have not your leave, + The fault was mine, neglecting to attest + My bond, and sign it with the blood of my breast.-- + [He takes out a soiled pocket-handkerchief. + Upon this linen handkerchief + (None cleaner he can have who cries for grief) + I'll sign it now, the method I propose + Is but to give myself a box on the nose, + For there is little harm + Whether the blood is drawn from nose or arm. + + [He writes with his finger on the handkerchief, + after having drawn some blood. + + I, the great Clarin, say, if I can level + Pert Livia's cruel pride, whom I give to the devil.... + + DEMON. Leave me, I say again, + Go seek your master and with him remain. + + CLARIN. Yes, I will do so, don't get angry though. + The reason you reject my bond I know: + 'Tis this, because you see, + Do what I will that you are sure of me. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE IV. + + The Demon. + + DEMON. Abyss of hell prepare! + Thyself the region of thine own despair.-- + From out each dungeon's dark recess + Let loose the spirits of voluptuousness, + To rain and o'erthrow + Justina's virgin fabric pure as snow. + A thousand filthy phantoms with thee brought + So people her chaste thought + That all her maiden fancies may be filled + With their deceits; let sweetest notes be trilled + From every tuneful grove, + And all, birds, plants, and flowers, provoke to love. + Let nothing meet her eyes + But spoils of love's delicious victories, + Let nothing meet her ears + But languid sighs that listening passion hears: + That thus unguarded by the faith, and weak, + She here may Cyprian seek + Invoked by his strong spell, + And by my blinding spirit lured as well. + Begin, in silence I will here remain + Unseen, that you may now begin the strain. + [Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE V. + + JUSTINA; music within. [They sing within.] + + A VOICE. What is the glory far above, + All else that life can give? + + CHORUS OF VARIOUS VOICES. Love love. + + A VOICE. No creature lives on which love's flame + Has not impressed its burning seal, + The man feels more who love doth feel + Than when Life's breath first warmed his frame. + Love owns one universal claim,-- + To Love, it only needs To Be,-- + Whether a bird, a flower, a tree: + Then the chief glory, far above + All else in life must be.... + + CHORUS [within]. Love, love. + + JUSTINA [alarmed and restless]. Fancy, flatter that thou art, + Though thou should'st be sad to-day, + When did I to thee impart, + In this strange and sudden way, + Licence to afflict my heart? + What thus makes my pulses move? + What strange fire is this I prove + Which each moment doth increase? + Ah! this pain that ends my peace, + This sweet unrest, ah, what? + + CHORUS. Love, love. + + JUSTINA [more composed]. 'Tis that enamoured nightingale + Who thus gives me the reply:-- + To his partner in the vale + Listening on a bough hard by + Warbling thus his tuneful wail. + Cease, sweet nightingale, nor show + By thy softly witching strain + Trilling forth thy bliss and woe, + How a man might feel love's pain, + When a bird can feel his so. + No: it was that wanton vine + That in fond pursuit has sought + The tall tree it doth entwine, + Till the green weight it hath brought + Makes the noble trunk decline. + Green entwining boughs that hold + What you love in your embrace, + Make my fancy not too bold:-- + Ah, if boughs thus interlace, + How would clasping arms infold!-- + And if not the vine, 'twill be + That bright sunflower which we see + Turning with its tearful eyes + To its sun-god in the skies, + Whatsoe'er his movements be. + Flower thy watch no longer keep, + Drooping leaflets fold in sleep, + For the fond thought reappears, + Ah, if leaves can shed such tears, + What are those that eyes can weep! + Cease then, lyrist of the grove, + Leafy vine, unclasp thy arms, + Fickle flower, no longer move, + And declare, these poisoned charms + That you use, what yields? + + CHORUS [within]. Love, love. + + JUSTINA. Love! it cannot be. Its chain + Have I ever worn for man? + No, the fond deceit is vain. + All received a like disdain, + Lelius, Florus, Cyprian. + Lelius did I not despise? + Florus did I not detest? + Cyprian, the good and wise, + + [She pauses at Cyprian's name and + resumes for a time her unquiet manner. + + Spurn with such a haughty breast, + That he vanished from my eyes, + As if frightened by their ire?-- + Where he went I do not know. + But save this, the faintest fire + Love e'er lit, ne'er dared to glow + In the depths of my desire. + Yes, for since I said that he + Should submit without appeal + Never more my face to see, + Ah, I know and what I feel!-- + [She grows calmer. + Pity it must surely be, + That a man so widely known + Should through love of me be lost, + When he pays at such a cost + For the preference he has shown. + [She becomes troubled again. + Were it pity though, 'tis true, + The same pity I should give + Lelius and to Florus too, + Who in separate dungeons live, + Ah! for daring me to woo. + [She grows calmer. + But my thoughts, ye mutinous crew, + If my pity is enough + It should not be clogged by you. + Still your promptings press me so, + That I feel in my despair, + Where he is, if I could know, + I to seek him now would go. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE VI. + + The Demon and JUSTINA. + + DEMON. Come, and I will tell thee where. + + JUSTINA. Who art thou who has procured + Entrance to this lone retreat, + Though the entrance is secured? + Or, my senses being obscured, + Art thou but delusion's cheat? + + DEMON. No, not so; but having known + How this passion pressed thee so, + I have sought thee here alone, + Having promised thee to show + Whither Cyprian has flown. + + JUSTINA. Then thou'lt reach not thy intent; + For this passion, this strange pain, + Which my thought doth so torment, + Though my fancy it may gain, + It will never my consent. + + DEMON. But in thought to enter in + Shows that half the deed is done; + Since accomplished is the sin:-- + Stop not halfway, ere is won + What the wish desired to win. + + JUSTINA. Even in this desponding hour, + Though to think may taint the flower, + Thy suggestion comes to nought,-- + In my power is not my thought + But my act is in my power. + I can follow to the brink, + Free to pause or to pursue, + Move my foot, or backward shrink, + For it is one thing to do, + And another thing to think. + + DEMON. If a stronger power than thine, + Drawn from a profounder source, + With thine own desires combine, + How resist the double force + Which with force thy steps incline? + + JUSTINA. I will trust a safer spell:-- + My free will suffices me. + + DEMON. But my power will it excel. + + JUSTINA. Then the will no more were free + If a force could it compel. + + DEMON. Come where every bliss thou'lt meet. + [Attempts to draw her with him, but cannot move her. + + JUSTINA. Ah! the bliss were bought too dear. + + DEMON. It is peace, serene and sweet. + + JUSTINA. 'Tis a slavery most severe. + + DEMON. Life, 'tis joy. + + JUSTINA. 'Tis death, deceit. + + DEMON. Thy defence, what can it be, + If my power thus forces thee? + [Drags her with more force. + + JUSTINA. In my God it doth consist. + + DEMON. By persisting to resist, + [Releases her. + Woman, thou has conquered me. + Thy defence to God is due, + And my counsel is disdained; + Yes, but raging I'll renew + My attempt and have thee feigned, + If I cannot have thee true. + To a spirit I will give + Shape like thine though fugitive, + It will counterfeit thy form, + As with seeming life be warm, + And in it disgraced thou'lt live. + Thus two triumphs at one time + I am sure to win by this, + Be thy virtue so sublime, + Since through an ideal bliss + I will consummate a crime. + [Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE VII. + + JUSTINA. + + JUSTINA. 'Gainst the clouds that round me lower + I appeal to heaven's high power; + Let this spectre of my fame-- + As before the wind the flame-- + As before the frost the flower, + Vanish, die.... But woe is me! + Who is here to heed my moan? + Was there not a man with me? + Yes. But no: I am alone: + No. But yes: for I could see. + Where so quickly could he fly? + Was he born of my unrest? + Oh! my danger's manifest... + Father! friend! Lysander! I + Call.... + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE VIII. + + LYSANDER and LIVIA enter from opposite doors.--JUSTINA. + + LYSANDER. My child? + + LIVIA. What means this cry? + + JUSTINA. Saw you not a man (ah, me!) + Who but left me instantly? + I can scarce express my thought. + + LYSANDER. A man here? + + JUSTINA. You saw him not? + + LIVIA. No, senora. + + JUSTINA. I could see. + + LYSANDER. Saw a man here? That is hard, + When the place was locked and barred. + + LIVIA [aside]. Moscon sure she must have seen, + Whom I have contrived to screen + In my changer. + + LYSANDER. I regard + What you saw but as the play + Of your fancy and your fear. + Melancholy surely may + Have, the man that you saw here, + Formed from atoms of the day. + + LIVIA. Yes, I think my master's right. + + JUSTINA. No, 'twas no defect of sight, + No illusion: since my heart,-- + Ah! too well I feel the smart-- + Has been broken by the fright. + Some strange witchery of my will + Must have been effected here. + And with such consummate skill, + That if God had not been near + I might have pursued my ill. + He who at such timely hour + Helped me to resist the power + Of this fearful violence, + Will my humble innocence + Guard, whatever dangers lower.-- + Livia, my cloak: whene'er + [Exit LIVIA. + Overwhelming griefs oppress, + I to holy church repair, + Where we secretly confess + The true faith. + [LIVIA returns with the cloak, which she places on JUSTINA. + LIVIA. 'Tis this you wear. + + JUSTINA. There perchance I may appease + This strange fire that burns me so. + + LYSANDER. I desire with thee to go. + + LIVIA [aside]. I will breathe much more at ease + When they're out of the house, I know. + + JUSTINA. Since I wholly trust to thee + Heaven, thy hold to me afford. + Save me.... + + LYSANDER. Come: so it may be. + + JUSTINA. Since the cause is thine, O Lord! + Oh, defend Thyself and me! + [Exeunt JUSTINA and LYSANDER. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE IX. + + MOSCON and LIVIA. + + MOSCON. Have they gone? + + LIVIA. They're gone: all right. + + MOSCON. Why, I'm almost dead with fright. + + LIVIA. Were you of your sense bereft + When but now my room you left + And appeared before her sight? + + MOSCON. Left your room? Be seen by her? + Why, I swear it, Livia dear, + Not one moment did I stir. + + LIVIA. Who then was it she saw here? + + MOSCON. Well, the devil, as I infer. + How know I? But then do not + Take it so to heart, my soul. + + LIVIA. Oh! that's not the cause. + [She weeps. + + MOSCON. Then what? + + LIVIA. Such a question, when the whole + Of a day it was his lot + With me here locked up to stay? + For his comrade far away + Must I not a tear then shed, + Though I take this day instead, + Having wept not yesterday? + Would I have him think of me + As a woman who could be + So forgetful and so frail, + As for half a year to fail + In what we did both agree? + + MOSCON. Half a year? It is above + One whole year since he went away. + + LIVIA. Quite an error, as I'll prove. + Mind, I cannot count a day + When I Clarin could not love. + This being so, if I to thee + Gave up half the year (ah me!), + I would give a false amount + To place all to his account. + + MOSCON. Ah, ungrateful! can it be + When my heart on thee depends + For its peace, that thine attends + To such trifles? + + LIVIA. Moscon, yes, + For I find, I must confess, + Short accounts make longest friends. + + MOSCON. Such being then thy constancy, + Livia, I must say good-bye, + Till to-morrow. Ah! if he + Is thy two-day fever, I + Hope he's not thy syncope. + + LIVIA. Well, my friend, from this you know + I no malice bear. + + MOSCON. Just so. + + LIVIA. See me then no more to-day, + But to-morrow, sir, you may: + I'll not need to send. Heigho! + [Exeunt. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE X. + + A WOOD. + + CYPRIAN, as frightened; CLARIN, stealthily after him. + + CYPRIAN. Doubtless something must have happened + 'Mong the stars; imperial clusters,* + Since I find their influences + To my wishes so repugnant. + Up from the profound abysses + Some dark caveat must be uttered, + Which prohibits the obedience + Which they owe me as my subjects. + I, a thousand times, with spell-words + Made the winds of heaven to shudder, + I, a thousand times, the bosom + Of the earth with symbols furrowed, + Yet mine eyes have not been gladdened + By the human sun refulgent + That I seek, nor in mine arms + Hold that human heaven. + + + [footnote] *'Asonante' in 'u-e' to the end of Scene XV. + + + CLARIN. What wonder? + When a thousand times have I + Scraped the earth as if for nuggets, + When a thousand times the wind + By my screeching was perturbed, + And yet Livia was oblivious. + + CYPRIAN. Once again then I am humbled + To invoke her thus. Oh, listen, + Beautiful Justina.... + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XI. + + A phantom Figure of JUSTINA appears. + + The Figure, CYPRIAN, and CLARIN. + + FIGURE. Summoned, + As I wander through these mountains, + I obey a call so urgent. + What, then, wouldst thou? what, then, wouldst thou, + Cyprian, with me? + + CYPRIAN. Oh, I shudder! + + FIGURE. And since now.... + + CYPRIAN. I am astonished! + + FIGURE. I have come.... + + CYPRIAN. What thus disturbs me? + + FIGURE. To this place.... + + CYPRIAN. What makes me tremble? + + FIGURE. Where.... + + CYPRIAN. Oh! whence this doubt that numbs me? + + FIGURE. Love doth call me.... + + CYPRIAN. Why, this terror? + + FIGURE. And the powerful spell thou workest + Thus complied with, to this forest's + Deepest depths I fly to shun thee. + [Exit, covering her face with the cloak. + + CYPRIAN. Listen, hear me, stay, Justina! + But why linger spell-bound, stunned here? + I'll pursue her, and this forest, + Whither by my spells conducted + She has flown, will be the leafy + Theatre, the rude-constructed + Bride-bed of the strangest bridal + Heaven e'er witnessed. + [Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XII. + + CLARIN. Stop: Renuncio + Bride like this who smells of smoke + Stronger than a blacksmith's furnace. + But perhaps the incantation, + Being so extremely sudden, + Caught her leaning o'er the lye-tub, + If not cooking tripe for supper. + No. Thus cloaked and in a kitchen! + That excuse won't do: another + Let me try. (I have it now, + For an honourable woman + Never smells then any sweeter,) + She with fright must have been flustered.-- + He has overtaken her now, + And from that rude vale uncultured, + Struggling in closed clasping arms, + (For I think when lovers struggle, + Open arms are not the weapon + Even for the lustiest lover,) + To this very spot they come: + I will watch them under cover, + For I wish for once to witness + How young women are abducted. + [Conceals himself. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XIII. + + CYPRIAN embracing the Figure of JUSTINA, which he carries in his arms. + + CYPRIAN. Now, O beautiful Justina, + In this sweet and secret covert, + Where no beam of sun can enter, + Nor the breeze of heaven blow roughly, + Now the trophy of thy beauty + Makes my magic toils triumphant, + For here folding thee, no longer + Have I need to fear disturbance. + Fair Justina, thou hast cost me + Even my soul. But in my judgment, + Since the gain has been so glorious, + Not so dear has been the purchase. + Oh! unveil thyself, fair goddess, + Not in the clouds obscure and murky, + Not in vapours hide the sun, + Show its golden rays refulgent. + [He draws aside the cloak and discovers a skeleton. + But, O woe! what's this I see! + Is it a cold corse, mute, pulseless, + That within its arms expects me? + Who, in one brief moment's compass, + Could upon these faded features, + Pallid, motionless, and shrunken, + Have extinguished the bright beauties + Of the blush rose and the purple? + + THE SKELETON. Cyprian, such are all the glories + Of the world that you so covet. + + [The Skeleton disappears. + CLARIN rushes in frightened, and embraces CYPRIAN. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XIV. + + CLARIN and CYPRIAN. + + CLARIN. Fear, for any one who wants it, + Wholesale or retail I'll furnish. + + CYPRIAN. Stay! funereal shadow, stay! + Now for other ends I urge thee. + + CLARIN. I am a funereal body:-- + Don't you see it by my bulk here? + + CYPRIAN. Ah! who are you? + + CLARIN. Who I am, sir, + Or am not, myself doth puzzle. + + CYPRIAN. Did you in the air's void spaces, + Or earth's caverns yawning under, + See an icy corse here vanish, + See to dust and ashes turning + All the freshness and the beauty + That it promised in its coming? + + CLARIN. Do you take me, sir, for one + Of those pitiful poor lurkers + Men call spies? + + CYPRIAN. What could it be? + + CLARIN. And not be, in such a hurry. + + CYPRIAN. Let us seek it. + + CLARIN. Let's not seek it. + + CYPRIAN. I must sift this matter further. + + CLARIN. I would rather not. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XV. + + The Demon, CYPRIAN, and CLARIN. + + DEMON [aside]. Just heavens, + If my nature, in conjunction, + Once possessed both grace and science, + When 'mongst angels I was numbered, + Grace alone is what I've lost, + Science no. Then why unjustly, + If 'tis so, deprive my science + Of its proper power and function? + + CYPRIAN. Lucifer, wise master mine. + + CLARIN. Pray don't call him: for he'll come here + In another corse, I warrant. + + DEMON. Speak, what would you? + + CYPRIAN. The annulling, + The redemption of those pledges, + At whose very thought I shudder. + + CLARIN. As I don't redeem my pledges, + I'll slip off here through the bushes. + [Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XVI. + + CYPRIAN and The Demon. + + CYPRIAN. Scarcely o'er earth's wounded bosom + Had I the true spell-word uttered, + When in the ensuing action, + She, of all my dreams the subject, + My adored, divine Justina.... + But why take the useless trouble, + That to tell you know already? + I embraced her, would unmuffle + Her fair face, when (woe is me!) + In her beauty I discovered + A gaunt skeleton, a statue, + A pale image, a sepulchral + Show of death, which in these measured + Words thus spoke (even yet I shudder), + "Cyprian, such are all the glories + Of the world that you so covet."-- + To assert, that on thy magic + As expressed by me, the burden + Of the fault should lie, is vain, + For I, point by point, so worked it, + That of all its silent symbols + There was not a line but somewhere + Had its place, of all its spell-words + Not one word that was not uttered. + Then, 'tis plain thou has deceived me, + For though acting as instructed, + I but found an empty phantom + Where I sought a blissful substance. + + DEMON. Cyprian, this defect from thee, + Nor from me, in truth, resulted: + Not from thee, because the magic + Thou didst exercise with subtle + Thought and skill; and not from me, + For I could not teach thee further. + From a higher cause, believe me, + Came this injury thou hast suffered. + But be not cast down: for I, + Who in tranquil rest would lull thee, + Will to thee unite Justina, + By a different way and juster. + + CYPRIAN. That is not my intention now. + For this strange event has struck me + With such terror and confusion, + That thy ways I do not covet. + And since thou has not complied with + The conditions, the assumptions + Of my love, I only ask thee, + Now that from thy face I'm rushing, + As the contract is annulled, + That my bond thou shouldst return me. + + DEMON. What I promised was to teach thee, + By a course of secret study, + How to draw to thee Justina + By the potent power impulsive + Of thy words: and since the wind + Here Justina hath conducted, + I have then fulfilled my contract, + I have kept my plighted word then. + + CYPRIAN. What was offered to my love + Was that I should surely pluck here + The sweet fruit whose seeds my hope + Had to these wild wastes entrusted. + + DEMON. Cyprian, I was only bound + Her to bring here. + + CYPRIAN. A mere shuffle: + To my arms you swore to give her. + + DEMON. In thy arms I saw her struggle. + + CYPRIAN. 'Twas a phantom. + + DEMON. 'Twas a portent. + + CYPRIAN. Worked by whom? + + DEMON. By one who worked it + To protect her. + + CYPRIAN. Who was he? + + DEMON [trembling]. I don't wish the name to utter. + + CYPRIAN. I will turn my magic science + 'Gainst thyself. By its compulsion + Speak, inform me who he is. + + DEMON. Well, a god who takes this trouble + For Justina. + + CYPRIAN. What's one God, + When of gods there's such a number? + + DEMON. All their power in Him is centred. + + CYPRIAN. Then One only, sole and sovereign, + Must He be, whose single will + Their united wills outworketh. + + DEMON. I know nothing, I know nothing. + + CYPRIAN. I renounce then with my utmost + Power the pact that I made with thee; + What compelled Him (this I urge thee + In that God's great name) to guard her? + + DEMON [after having struggled ineffectually not to say it]. To + preserve her pure, unsullied. + + CYPRIAN. Then He is the sovereign goodness + Since a wrong He will not suffer. + But if she remained here hidden + Say what loss would have resulted? + + DEMON. Loss of honour, if the secret + Leaked out to the gossiping vulgar. + + CYPRIAN. Then that God must be all sight, + Since he could foresee these trouble. + But, why could not thy enchantment + Be as potent and consummate? + + DEMON. Ah! His power is ampler, fuller. + + CYPRIAN. Then that God must be all hands, + Since whate'er He wills He worketh. + Tell me then who is that God, + Whom to-day I have discovered + The supreme of good to be, + The Creator, the Annuller, + The Omniscient, the All-seeing, + Whom I've sought for years unnumbered? + + DEMON. Him I know not. + + CYPRIAN. Speak, who is He? + + DEMON. As I speak it, how I shudder! + He--He is the God of the Christians. + + CYPRIAN. Say what moved Him to obstruct me + In my wish? + + DEMON. Her Christian faith. + + CYPRIAN. Does He guard so those who love Him? + + DEMON. Yes; but now too late, too late, + Dost thou hope to gain His succour, + Since, in being my slave, thou canst not + Claim the privilege of His subject. + + CYPRIAN. I thy slave? + + DEMON. In my possession + Is thy signature. + + CYPRIAN. I'll struggle + To regain it from thee, since + 'Twas conditional at the utmost. + I don't doubt I will get it. + + DEMON. How? + + CYPRIAN. In this way. + [He draws his sword, strikes at The Demon, but cannot touch him. + + DEMON. Although the lunges + Of thy naked sword against me + Are well aimed, thou hast not struck me, + Fierce as were thy blows. And now, + Even in more despair to plunge thee, + I would have thee learn at least + That the Devil is thy instructor. + + CYPRIAN. What do you say? + + DEMON. That I am he. + + CYPRIAN. Oh! to hear thee how I shudder!-- + + DEMON. Not alone a slave art thou, + But MY slave; be that thy comfort. + + CYPRIAN. I the slave of the Devil! I + Own a master so unworthy? + + DEMON. Yes; for since thy soul thou gav'st me, + Thenceforth it to me was subject. + + CYPRIAN. Is there then no gleam of hope, + No appeal, no aid, no succour, + By which I so great a crime + Can blot out? + + DEMON. No. + + CYPRIAN. Why doubt further? + Let not this sharp sword rest idly + In my hand, but swiftly cutting + Through my breast, become the willing + Instrument of mine own murder. + But what say I? He who could + Snatch Justina from thy clutches, + Can He not, too, rescue me? + + DEMON. No. By choice thou wert a culprit, + And He does not favour crimes, + Virtues only. + + CYPRIAN. If the summit + Of all power He be, to pardon + Is as easy as to punish. + + DEMON. He rewardeth by His power, + He chastiseth from His justice. + + CYPRIAN. One who yields He'll not chastise. + I am one, since I am humbled. + + DEMON. Thou art mine, my slave: no master + Canst thou have but me. + + CYPRIAN. I trust not. + + DEMON. How, when still in my possession + Is that bond of thine, that bloody + Scroll inscribed by thine own hand? + + CYPRIAN. He who is supreme and sovereign, + And depends not on another, + Will yet bear me through triumphant. + + DEMON. In what way? + + CYPRIAN. He is all sight, + And will see the fitting juncture. + + DEMON. It I hold. + + CYPRIAN. He is all hands, + And will burst my bonds asunder. + + DEMON. Ere that comes I'll see thee dead: + Thus my clasping arms shall crush thee. + + [They struggle together. + + CYPRIAN. Thou great God, the Christians' God, + Oh, assist me in this struggle! + + DEMON [flinging CYPRIAN from his arms]. + It is He who has saved thy life. + + CYPRIAN. More He'll do since I seek Him humbly. + [Exeunt. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XVII. + + HALL IN THE PALACE OF THE GOVERNOR. + + The Governor, FABIUS, and Soldiers. + + GOVERNOR. How then was the capture made? + + FABIUS. In their church, as we suspected, + We discovered them collected, + Where before their God they prayed. + With an armed guard I traced them + To this secret sacred hall, + Made them prisoners one and all, + And in different prisons placed them. + But, your patience not to tire, + The chief point I may declare,-- + Captured is Justina fair, + And Lysander her old sire. + + GOVERNOR. If for gold, a fair pretence, + If for rank, you would not miss, + Wherefore bring me news like this + And not claim your recompense? + + FABIUS. If you deign to value thus + My poor service you may pay it. + + GOVERNOR. How? + + FABIUS. With great respect I say it, + Florus free, and Lelius. + + GOVERNOR. Though I seemed austere and cold, + Them chastising without pity + To strike terror through the city, + Yet if the whole truth were told, + Then the cause were plain why they + Have been prisoned a whole year. + It is this, a father's fear + Lelius would preserve this way. + Florus was his rival, he + Had a host of powerful friends, + Each was jealous, and his ends + Would attain whate'er might be. + I was fearful a collision + Would ensue if they should meet, + So I thought it more discreet + Not to come to a decision. + So with this intent I sought + Some pretext, Justina's face + To expel from out this place, + But I could discover nought. + But since this event to-day, + With her damaged character, + Gives a right to banish her, + Nay, to take her life away, + Let them be released. No fear + Need you have about their fate; + Go, and Lelius liberate, + Go, and Florus bring me here. + + FABIUS. Myriad times I kiss thy feet + For a favour so immense. + [Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XVIII. + + The Governor and Soldiers. + + GOVERNOR. And since now this fair pretence, + This hypocritical deceit, + In my power at last doth lie, + Wherefore my revenge postpone + For the sorrows I have known + Through her fault? Yes, she shall die + By the bloody headsman's hand. + [To a Soldier. + Bring her hither in my name. + Let her punishment and shame + Be a terror to the land. + Let the palace she thought sweet + But her scaffold scene present. + [Exit the Soldier with others. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XIX. + + FABIUS, LELIUS, and FLORUS.--THE SAME. + + FABIUS. Sir, the two for whom you sent + Here are kneeling at your feet. + + LELIUS. I, whose wish it is to be + Welcomed as thy son this time, + With no consciousness of crime + Do not see a judge in thee, + I an angry sire may see + With a son's respectful fear + And obedience. + + FLORUS. Being here, I infer that it must be + (Though no guilt can I discern) + Thy chastising hand to feel. + See. Submissive here I kneel. + + GOVERNOR. Lelius, Florus, I was stern, + Justly stern against ye two, + For as judge or father I + Could not unchastised pass by + Your offence. But then I knew + That in noble hearts the feeling + Of resentment does not last, + And as now the cause is past, + I resolved, to both appealing, + Friends to make of you once more. + So to consecrate the tie + Now embrace in amity. + + LELIUS. I am glad that, as of yore, + Florus is my friend to-day. + + FLORUS. That thou'rt mine this act may show. + Here's my hand. + + GOVERNOR. This being so, + You are free to go or stay:-- + When I tell you of the sad + Fall of her you once admired, + Northing further is required. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XX. + + The Demon, a crowd of People.--THE SAME. + + DEMON [within]. Ware! beware! He's mad! he's mad! + + GOVERNOR. What is this? + + LELIUS. I'll go and see. + [He goes to the door, and after a pause returns. + + GOVERNOR. In this palace hall these cries, + From what cause can they arise? + + FLORUS. Something serious it must be. + + LELIUS. This confusion is occasioned + (Hear a singular adventure), + Sir, by Cyprian, who being absent + Many days again has entered* + Antioch completely mad. + + + [footnote] *Asonante in e-e which continues to the end. + + + FLORUS. It was doubtless the fine essence + Of his mind that thus has brought him + To this lamentable ending. + + PEOPLE [within]. Ware the madman! ware the madman! + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XXI. + + CYPRIAN, half naked; People.--THE SAME. + + CYPRIAN. Never was I more collected; + It is you yourselves are mad. + + GOVERNOR. Cyprian, what is all this ferment? + + CYPRIAN. Governor of Antioch, + Viceroy of great Caesar Decius, + Florus, Lelius, my young friends, + Whom I valued and respected, + Proud nobility, great people, + To my words be all attentive: + I am Cyprian, I am he + Once so studious, and so learned, + I the wonder of the schools, + Of the sciences the centre. + What I gained from all my studies + Was one doubt, a doubt that never + Left my wildered mind a moment, + Ever troubling and perplexing. + I Justina saw, and seeing, + To her charms my soul surrendered, + And for soft voluptuous Venus + Left the wise and learn'd Minerva. + Baffled by Justina's virtue, + I, pursuing though rejected, + And from one extreme to another + Passing on as passion led me, + To my guest, who from the sea + Found my feet a port of shelter, + For Justina pledged my soul, + Since at once he charmed my senses + And my intellect, by giving + Love its hopes, and thought its treasures. + From that hour, as his disciple + Lived I in these lonely deserts, + And to his laborious teaching + I am for a power indebted, + By which I can move even mountains + And in different places set them: + Yet although these mighty wonders + I can do to-day, I'm helpless + By the voice of my desire + To draw towards me one fair vestal. + And the cause why I am powerless + To subdue that beauteous virgin + Is that by a God she's guarded, + Whom, now knowing by His blessed + Grace bestowed, I come to acknowledge + As the Infinite, the Eternal. + Yes, the great God of the Christians + I now openly confess here. + And though true it is I am + Still of hell the slave and servant, + Having with my very blood + Signed a certain secret cedule, + Yet my blood that blood may blot out + In the martyrdom I'm expecting. + If you are a judge, if Christians + You pursue with bloody vengeance, + I am one: for in these mountains + A grave venerable elder + The first sacrament conferring + With its sacred sign impressed me. + This being so, why wait? Your orders + Give unto the bloody headsman, + Tell him here to strike this neck + And from it my head dissever. + Try my firmness as you will, + For I, resolute and determined, + Will endure a thousand deaths + Since this truth at last I've learned, + That without the great God, whom + Now I seek, adore, and reverence, + Human glories are but ashes, + Dust, smoke, wind, delusive, empty. + [He falls as if in a swoon, with his face to the ground. + + GOVERNOR. So absorbed, so lost in wonder, + Cyprian, has thy daring left me, + That considering modes of torture + I have yet not one selected. + Rise. Bestir thee. + [Spurns him with his foot. + + FLORUS. As a statue + Formed of ice he lies extended + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XXII. + + Soldiers, JUSTINA.--THE SAME. + + A SOLDIER. Here, your Highness, is Justina. + + GOVERNOR [aside]. I must go, her face unnerves me.-- + With this living corse here lying + [Aside to his retinue. + Let us leave her for the present. + For the two being here confined, + It may alter their intentions, + Seeing that they are condemned + Both to die: if not, 'tis certain, + That unless they adore our gods + Frightful torments soon shall end them. + + LELIUS [aside]. I remain 'twixt love and fear + Quite bewildered and suspended. + + FLORUS [aside]. So affected have I been, + I scarce know what most affects me. + + [Exeunt all, except JUSTINA. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XXIII. + + JUSTINA; CYPRIAN, insensible on the ground. + + JUSTINA. What! without a word you leave me? + When I come here, calm, contented, + Even to die. Ah! wishing death, + Am I then of death prevented?-- + [She perceives CYPRIAN. + But my punishment is, doubtless, + Thus locked up to face the terrors + Of a slow and lingering death, + With the body of this wretch here + Left alone, my sole companion + Being a corse. O thou, re-entered + Into thy original earth, + Happy wert thou, if thy sentence + Was passed on thee for the faith + I adore! + + CYPRIAN [recovering consciousness]. O proud avenger + Of your gods, why wait, the thread + Of my life to cut?... + [He perceives JUSTINA, and rises. + Heaven bless me!-- + [Aside. + Can I trust my eyes? Justina! + + JUSTINA [aside]. Cyprian, do I see? O Heaven! + + CYPRIAN [aside]. No, it is not she, my thought + Fills the void air with her presence. + + JUSTINA [aside]. No, it is not he, the wind + Forms this phantom to divert me. + + CYPRIAN. Shadow of my fantasy... + + JUSTINA. Of my wish, delusive spectre... + + CYPRIAN. Terror of my startled senses... + + JUSTINA. Horror of my heart's dejection... + + CYPRIAN. What, then, wouldst thou? + + JUSTINA. What, then, wouldst thou? + + CYPRIAN. I invoked thee not. What errand + Has thou come on? + + JUSTINA. Why thus seek me? + I to thee no thought directed. + + CYPRIAN. Ah! I sought thee not, Justina. + + JUSTINA. Nor here at thy call I entered. + + CYPRIAN. Then why here? + + JUSTINA. I am a prisoner.-- + Thou? + + CYPRIAN. I, too, have been arrested. + But, Justina, say what crime + Could thy virtue have effected? + + JUSTINA. It is not for any crime, + It is from their deep resentment, + Their abhorrence of Christ's faith, + Whom I as my God confess here. + + CYPRIAN. Thou dost owe Him that, Justina, + For thy God was thy defender, + He watched o'er thee in His goodness. + Get my prayers to Him accepted. + + JUSTINA. Pray with faith, and He will listen. + + CYPRIAN. Then with that I will address Him. + Though a fear, that's not despair, + Makes me for my great sins tremble. + + JUSTINA. Oh! have confidence. + + CYPRIAN. My crimes are + So immense. + + JUSTINA. But more immense are + His great mercies. + + CYPRIAN. Then, will He + Pardon have on me? + + JUSTINA. 'Tis certain. + + CYPRIAN. How, if my soul surrendered + To the Demon's self, as purchase + Of thy beauty? + + JUSTINA. Oh, there are not + Stars as many in the heavens, + Sands as many on the shore, + Sparks within the fire as many, + Motes as many in the beam, + On the winds so many feathers, + As the sins He can forgive. + + CYPRIAN. I believe it, and am ready + Now a thousand lives to give Him.-- + But I hear some people enter. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XXIV. + + FABIUS, leading in MOSCON, CLARIN, and LIVIA, as prisoners; CYPRIAN + and JUSTINA. + + FABIUS. With your master and your mistress + Here remain confined together. + [Exit. + + LIVIA. If THEY fancy to be Christians, + What have WE done to offend them? + + MOSCON. Much: 'tis crime enough for us + That we happen to be servants. + + CLARIN. Flying peril in the mountain, + I find here a greater peril. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XXV. + + A Servant.--THE SAME. + + SERVANT. The Lord Governor Aurelius + Summons Cyprian to his presence, + And Justina. + + JUSTINA. Ah! how happy, + If 'tis for the wished-for ending. + Do not, Cyprian, be disheartened. + + CYPRIAN. Faith, zeal, courage, all possess me: + For if life must be the ransom + Of my slavery to the devil, + He who gave his soul for thee, + Will he not give God his person? + + JUSTINA. I once said that I could love thee + But in death, and since together, + Cyprian, we now must die, + What I promised I present thee. + + [They are led out by the Servant. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XXVI. + + MOSCON, LIVIA, and CLARIN. + + MOSCON. How contentedly to die + They go forth. + + LIVIA. Much more contented + Are we three to remain alive. + + CLARIN. Not much more; for we must settle + Our account now, though I own + The occasion might be better, + And the place too, still 'twere wrong + To neglect the time that's present. + + MOSCON. What account pray? + + CLARIN. I have been + Absent. + + LIVIA. Speak. + + CLARIN. The whole of a twelvemonth, + When without my intermission + Moscon in possession held thee. + Now my quota in the business, + If we both have equal measure, + Is that I must have my year. + + LIVIA. Can it be that I'm suspected + Of thus wronging thee so basely? + Why, I wept whole days together + When it was the day for weeping. + + MOSCON. Yes, for I myself was present: + Every day that was not mine + She thy friendship quite respected. + + CLARIN. That's a bounce; for not a tear, + When this day her house I entered, + Did she shed, and there I found thee + Sitting with her quite contented. + + LIVIA. But this day is not a fast. + + CLARIN. Yes, it is; for I remember + That the day I went away + Was my day. + + LIVIA. Oh! that's an error. + + MOSCON. Yes, I see how that arises, + This year is a year bissextile, + And our days are now the same. + + CLARIN. Well, I'm satisfied, 'tis better + That a man should not too deeply + Pry into such things.--Good heavens!-- + + [The sound of a great tempest is heard. + + + + * * * * * + + + SCENE XXVII. + + The Governor, a crowd of People; then FABIUS, LELIUS, and FLORUS, all + astonished; afterwards The Demon. + + LIVIA. Sure the house is tumbling down. + + MOSCON. How terrific! what a tempest! + + GOVERNOR. Doubtless in disastrous ruin + Topple down the walls of heaven + + [The tempest is renewed, and enter FABIUS, LELIUS, and FLORUS. + + FABIUS. Scarcely on the public scaffold + Had the headsman's hand dissevered + Cyprian and Justina's necks, + When the earth, even to its centre, + Seemed to tremble. + + LELIUS. And a cloud, + From whose burning womb extended + The wild lightnings, the loud thunders, + Awful embryos were projected, + Fell upon us. + + FLORUS. From which issued + A most horrid, most repelling + Shape, who on the scaly shells + Of a mailed and mighty serpent, + O'er the scaffold made a sign + Motioning silence and attention. + + [The Scene opens, and a scaffold with the heads and bodies of JUSTINA + and CYPRIAN is seen. Over it in the air, upon a winged serpent, is + The Demon. + + DEMON. Hear, O mortals, hear what I, + By the orders of high Heaven, + For Justina's exculpation, + Must declare to all here present. + I it was, who to dishonour + Her pure fame, in form dissembled + For the purpose, scaled her house, + And her very chamber entered. + And in order that her fame + Should not by that fraud be lessened, + I come here her injured honour + To exhibit pure and perfect. + Cyprian, who with her lieth + On a happy bier at rest there, + Was my slave. But he effacing, + With the blood his neck outsheddeth, + The red signature, the linen + Is now spotless and unblemished. + And the two, in spite of me, + Having to the spheres ascended + Of the sacred throne of God, + Live there in a world far better.-- + This, then, is the truth, which I + Tell, because God makes me tell it, + Much against my will, my practice + Not being great as a truth-teller. + [He falls swiftly, and sinks into the earth. + + LIVIA. Oh! what horror! + + FLORUS. What confusion! + + LIVIA. What a prodigy! + + MOSCON. What terror! + + GOVERNOR. These are all but the enchantments + Which this sorcerer effected + At his death. + + FLORUS. I am in doubt + To believe them or reject them. + + LELIUS. The mere thought of them confounds me. + + CLARIN. If magician, it is certain, + As I hold, he must have been + The magician then of heaven. + + MOSCON. Leaving our partitioned love + In a rather odd dilemma, + For "The Wonderful Magician" + Ask the pardon of its errors. + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Wonder-Working Magician, by +Pedro Calderon de la Barca + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN *** + +***** This file should be named 6372.txt or 6372.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/7/6372/ + +Produced by Sue Asscher + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: The Wonder-Working Magician + +Author: Pedro Calderon de la Barca + +Release Date: August, 2004 [EBook #6372] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on December 2, 2002] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN *** + + + + +Produced by Sue Asscher asschers@bigpond.com + + + + + +CALDERON'S DRAMAS. + + + +THE WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN + + + +NOW FIRST TRANSLATED FULLY FROM THE SPANISH IN THE METRE +OF THE ORIGINAL. + +BY + +DENIS FLORENCE MAC-CARTHY. + + + +LONDON: HENRY S. KING & CO., +65 CORNHILL, AND 12, PATERNOSTER ROW. +1873. + + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + +Two of the dramas contained in this volume are the most celebrated of +all Calderon's writings. The first, "La Vida es Sueno", has been +translated into many languages and performed with success on almost +every stage in Europe but that of England. So late as the winter of +1866-7, in a Russian version, it drew crowded houses to the great +theatre of Moscow; while a few years earlier, as if to give a signal +proof of the reality of its title, and that Life was indeed a Dream, +the Queen of Sweden expired in the theatre of Stockholm during the +performance of "La Vida es Sueno". In England the play has been much +studied for its literary value and the exceeding beauty and lyrical +sweetness of some passages; but with the exception of a version by +John Oxenford published in "The Monthly Magazine" for 1842, which +being in blank verse does not represent the form of the original, no +complete translation into English has been attempted. Some scenes +translated with considerable elegance in the metre of the original +were published by Archbishop Trench in 1856; but these comprised only +a portion of the graver division of the drama. The present version +of the entire play has been made with the advantages which the +author's long experience in the study and interpretation of Calderon +has enabled him to apply to this master-piece of the great Spanish +poet. All the forms of verse have been preserved; while the +closeness of the translation may be inferred from the fact, that not +only the whole play but every speech and fragment of a speech are +represented in English in the exact number of lines of the original, +without the sacrifice, it is to be hoped, of one important idea. + +A note by Hartzenbusch in the last edition of the drama published at +Madrid (1872), tells that "La Vida es Sueno", is founded on a story +which turns out to be substantially the same as that with which +English students are familiar as the foundation of the famous +Induction to the "Taming of the Shrew". Calderon found it however in +a different work from that in which Shakespeare met with it, or +rather his predecessor, the anonymous author of "The Taming of a +Shrew", whose work supplied to Shakespeare the materials of his own +comedy. + +On this subject Malone thus writes. "The circumstance on which the +Induction to the anonymous play, as well as to the present Comedy +[Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew"], is founded, is related (as +Langbaine has observed) by Heuterus, "Rerum Burgund." lib. iv. The +earliest English original of this story in prose that I have met with +is the following, which is found in Goulart's "Admirable and +Memorable Histories", translated by E. Grimstone, quarto, 1607; but +this tale (which Goulart translated from Heuterus) had undoubtedly +appeared in English, in some other shape, before 1594: + +"Philip called the good Duke of Burgundy, in the memory of our +ancestors, being at Bruxelles with his Court, and walking one night +after supper through the streets, accompanied by some of his +favourites, he found lying upon the stones a certaine artisan that +was very dronke, and that slept soundly. It pleased the prince in +this artisan to make trial of the vanity of our life, whereof he had +before discoursed with his familiar friends. He therefore caused +this sleeper to be taken up, and carried into his palace; he commands +him to be layed in one of the richest beds; a riche night cap to be +given him; his foule shirt to be taken off, and to have another put +on him of fine holland. When as this dronkard had digested his wine, +and began to awake, behold there comes about his bed Pages and +Groomes of the Duke's Chamber, who drawe the curteines, make many +courtesies, and being bare-headed, aske him if it please him to rise, +and what apparell it would please him to put on that day. They bring +him rich apparell. This new Monsieur amazed at such courtesie, and +doubting whether he dreamt or waked, suffered himselfe to be drest, +and led out of the chamber. There came noblemen which saluted him +with all honour, and conduct him to the Masse, where with great +ceremonie they give him the booke of the Gospell, and the Pixe to +kisse, as they did usually to the Duke. From the Masse they bring +him back unto the pallace; he washes his hands, and sittes down at +the table well furnished. After dinner, the Great Chamberlain +commands cards to be brought with a great summe of money. This Duke +in imagination playes with the chief of the Court. Then they carry +him to walke in the gardein, and to hunt the hare, and to hawke. +They bring him back into the pallace, where he sups in state. +Candles being light the musitions begin to play; and the tables taken +away, the gentlemen and gentlewomen fell to dancing. Then they +played a pleasant comedie, after which followed a Banket, whereat +they had presently store of Ipocras and pretious wine, with all sorts +of confitures, to this prince of the new impression; so as he was +dronke, and fell soundlie asleepe. Hereupon the Duke commanded that +he should be disrobed of all his riche attire. He was put into his +old ragges, and carried into the same place, where he had been found +the night before; where he spent that night. Being awake in the +morning, he began to remember what had happened before; he knewe not +whether it were true indeede, or a dream that had troubled his +braine. But in the end, after many discourses, he concludes that ALL +WAS BUT A DREAME that had happened unto him; and so entertained his +wife, his children, and his neighbours, without any other +apprehension." + +It is curious to find that the same anecdote which formed the +Induction to the original "Taming of a Shrew", and which, from a +comic point of view, Shakespeare so wonderfully developed in his own +comedy, Calderon invested with such solemn and sublime dignity in "La +Vida es Sueno". He found it, as Senor Hartzenbusch points out in the +edition of 1872 already quoted, in the very amusing "Viage +Entretenido" of Augustin de Rojas, which was first published in 1603. +Hartzenbusch refers to the modern edition of Rojas, Madrid, 1793, +tomo I, pp. 261, 262, 263, but in a copy of the Lerida edition of +1615, in my own possession, I find the anecdote at folios 118, 119, +120. There are some slight differences between the version of Rojas +and that of Goulart, but the incidents and the persons are the same. +The conclusion to which the artizan arrived at, in the version of +Goulart, that all had been a dream, is expressed more strongly by the +Duke himself in the story as told by Rojas. + +"Y dijo entonces el Duque: 'veis aqui, amigos, "Lo que es el Mundo: +Todo es un Sueno", pues esto verdaderamente ha pasado por este, como +habeis visto, y le parece que lo ha sonado.'" -- + +The story in all probability came originally from the East. Mr. Lane +in his translation of the Thousand and One Nights gives a very +interesting narrative which he believes to be founded on an +historical fact in which Haroun Al Raschid plays the part of the good +Duke of Burgundy, and Abu-l-Hasan the original of Christopher Sly. +The gravity of the treatment and certain incidents in this Oriental +story recall more strongly Calderon's drama than the Induction to the +"Taming of the Shrew". "La Vida es Sueno" was first published either +at the end of 1635 or beginning of 1636. + +The "Aprobacion" for its publication along with eleven other dramas +(not nine as Archbishop Trench has stated), was signed on the 6th of +November in the former year by the official licenser, Juan Bautista +de Sossa. The volume was edited by the poet's brother, Don Joseph +Calderon. So scarce has this first authorised collection of any of +Calderon's dramas become, that a Spanish writer Don Vicente Garcia de +la Huerta, in his "Teatro Espanol" (Parte Segunda, tomo 3o), denies +the existence of this volume of 1635, and states that it did not +appear until 1640. As if to corroborate this view, Barrera in his +"Catalogo del Teatro antiguo Espanol" gives the date 1640 to the +"Primera parte de comedias de Calderon" edited by his brother Joseph. + +There can be no doubt, however, that the volume appeared in 1635 or +1636 as stated. In 1637 Don Joseph Calderon published the "Second +Part" of his brother's dramas containing like the former volume +twelve plays.* In his dedication of this volume to D. Rodrigo de +Mendoza, Joseph Calderon expressly alludes to the First Part of his +brother's comedies which he had "printed." "En la primera Parte, +Excellentissimo Senor, de las comedias que imprimi de Don Pedro +Calderon de La Barca, mi hermano," etc. This of course settles the +fact of the prior publication of the first Part. It is singular, +however, to find that the most famous of all Calderon's dramas should +have been frequently ascribed to Lope de Vega. So late as 1857 it is +given in an Italian version by Giovanni La Cecilia, under the title +of "La Vita e un Sogno", as a drama of Lope de Vega, with the date +1628. This of course is a mistake, but Senor Hartzenbusch, who makes +no allusion to this circumstance, admits that two dramas of Lope de +Vega, which it is presumed preceded the composition of Calderon's +play turn on very nearly the same incidents as those of "La Vida es +Sueno". These are "Lo que ha de ser", and "Barlan y Josafa". He +gives a passage from each of these dramas which seem to be the germ +of the fine lament of Sigismund, which the reader will find +translated in the present volume. + +[footnote] *In the library of the British Museum there is a fine copy +of this "Segunda Parte de Comedias de Don Pedro Calderon de la Barca" +Madrid, 1637. Mr. Ticknor mentions (1863) that he too had a copy of +this interesting volume. + +Senor Hartzenbusch, in the edition of Calderon's "La Vida es Sueno", +already referred to (Madrid, 1872), prints the passages from Lope de +Vega's two dramas, but in neither of them, he justly remarks, can we +find anything that at all corresponds to this "grandioso caracter de +Segismundo." + +The second drama in this volume, "The Wonderful Magician", is perhaps +better known to poetical students in England than even the first, +from the spirited fragment Shelley has left us in his "Scenes from +Calderon." The preoccupation of a subject by a great master throws +immense difficulties in the way of any one who ventures to follow in +the same path: but as Shelley allowed himself great licence in his +versification, and either from carelessness or an imperfect knowledge +of Spanish is occasionally unfaithful to the meaning of his author, +it may be hoped in my own version that strict fidelity both as to the +form as well as substance of the original may be some compensation +for the absence of those higher poetical harmonies to which many of +my readers will have been accustomed. + +"El Magico Prodigioso" appeared for the first time in the same volume +as "La Vida es Sueno", prepared for publication in 1635 by Don Joseph +Calderon. The translation is comprised in the same number of lines +as the original, and all the preceding remarks on "Life is a Dream", +whether in reference to the period of the first publication of the +drama in Spain, or the principles I kept in view while attempting +this version may be applied to it. As in the Case of "Life is a +Dream", "The Wonderful Magician" has previously been translated +entire by an English writer, ("Justina", by J.H. 1848); but as +Archbishop Trench truly observes, "the writer did not possess that +command of the resources of the English language, which none more +than Calderon requires." + +The Legend on which Calderon founded "El Magico Prodigioso" will be +found in Surius, "De probatis Sanctorum historiis", t. V. (Col. Agr. +1574), p. 351: "Vita et Martyrium SS. Cypriani et Justinae, autore +Simeone Metaphraste", and in Chapter cxlii, of the "Legenda Aurea" of +Jacobus de Voragine "De Sancta Justina virgine". + +The martyrdom of the Saints took place in the year 290, and their +festival is celebrated by the Church on the 26th of September. + +Mr. Ticknor in his History of Spanish Literature, 1863, volume ii. p. +369, says that the Wonder-working Magician is founded on "the same +legend on which Milman has founded his 'Martyr of Antioch.'" This is +a mistake of the learned writer. "The Martyr of Antioch" is founded +not on the history of St. Justina but of Saint Margaret, as Milman +himself expressly states. Chapter xciii., "De Sancta Margareta", in +the "Legenda Aurea" of Jacobus de Voragine contains her story. + +The third translation in this volume is that of "The Purgatory of St. +Patrick". This, though perhaps not so famous as the two preceding +dramas, is intended to be given by Don P. De la Escosura, in a +selection of Calderon's finest "comedias", now being edited by him +for the Spanish Academy, as the representative piece of its class -- +namely, the mystical drama founded on the lives of Saints. Mr. +Ticknor prefers it to the more celebrated "Devotion of the Cross," +and says that it "is commonly ranked among the best religious plays +of the Spanish theatre in the seventeenth century." + +In all that relates to the famous cave known through the middle ages +as the "Purgatory of Saint Patrick", as well as the Story of Luis +Enius -- the Owain Miles of Ancient English poetry -- Calderon was +entirely indebted to the little volume published at Madrid, in 1627, +by Juan Perez de Montalvan, entitled "Vida y Purgatorio de San +Patricio". This singular work met with immense success. It went +through innumerable editions, and continues to be reprinted in Spain +as a chap-book, down to the present day. I have the fifth impression +"improved and enlarged by the author himself," Madrid, 1628, the year +after its first appearance: also a later edition, Madrid, 1664. As +early as 1637 a French translation appeared at Brussels by "F. A. S. +Chartreux, a Bruxelles." In 1642 a second French translation was +published at Troyes, by "R. P. Francois Bouillon, de l'Ordre de S. +Francois, et Bachelier de Theologie." Mr. Thomas Wright in his +"Essay on St. Patrick's Purgatory," London, 1844, makes the singular +mistake of supposing that Bouillon's "Histoire de la Vie et +Purgatoire de S. Patrice" was founded on the drama of Calderon, it +being simply a translation of Montalvan's "Vida y Purgatorio," from +which, like itself, Calderon's play was derived. Among other +translations of Montalvan's work may be mentioned one in Dutch +(Brussels, 1668) and one in Portuguese (Lisbon, 1738). It was also +translated into German and Italian, but I find no mention of an +English version. For this reason I have thought that a few extracts +might be interesting, as showing how closely Calderon adhered even to +the language of his predecessor. + +In all that relates to the Purgatory, Montalvan's work is itself +chiefly compiled from the "Florilegium Insulae Sanctorum, seu vitae +et Actae sanctorum Hiberniae," Paris, 1624, fol. This work, which +has now become scarce, was written by Thomas Messingham an Irish +priest, the Superior of the Irish Seminary in Paris. No complete +English version appears to have been made of it, but a small tract in +English containing everything in the original work that referred to +St. Patrick's Purgatory was published at Paris in 1718. As this +tract is perhaps more scarce than even the Florilegium itself, the +account of the Purgatory as given by Messingham from the MS. of Henry +of Saltrey is reprinted in the notes to this drama in the quaint +language of the anonymous translator. Of this tract, "printed at +Paris in 1718" without the name of author, publisher or printer, I +have not been able to trace another copy. In other points of +interest connected with Calderon's drama, particularly to the +clearing up of the difficulty hitherto felt as to the confused list +of authorities at the end, the reader is also referred to the notes. + +The present version of "The Purgatory of Saint Patrick" is, with the +exception of a few unimportant lines, an entirely new translation. +It is made with the utmost care, imitating all the measures and +contained, like the two preceding dramas, in the exact number of +lines of the original. One passage of the translation which I +published in 1853 is retained in the notes, as a tribute of respect +to the memory of the late John Rutter Chorley, it having been +mentioned with praise by that eminent Spanish scholar in an elaborate +review of my earlier translations from Calderon, which appeared in +the "Athenaeum", Nov. 19 and Nov. 26, 1853. + +It only remains to add that the text I have followed is that of +Hartzenbusch in his edition of Calderon's Comedias, Madrid, 1856 +("Biblioteca de Autores Espanoles"). His arrangement of the scenes +has been followed throughout, thus enabling the reader in a moment to +verify for himself the exactness of the translation by a reference to +the original, a crucial test which I rather invite than decline. + +CLAPHAM PARK, Easter, 1873. + + + * * * * * + + + +THE + +WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN. + + +TO THE MEMORY OF +SHELLEY, +WHOSE ADMIRATION FOR +"THE LIGHT AND ODOUR OF THE FLOWERY AND STARRY AUTOS" +IS THE HIGHEST TRIBUTE TO THE BEAUTY OF +CALDERON'S POETRY, + +THIS DRAMA +IS INSCRIBED. + + + + * * * * * + + + +PERSONS. + + +CYPRIAN. +THE DEMON. +LELIUS, The Governor of Antioch's Son. +FLORUS, friend of Lelius. +MOSCON, Servant of Cyprian. +CLARIN, Servant of Cyprian. +THE GOVERNOR OF ANTIOCH. +FABIUS, his Servant. +LYSANDER, the reputed Father of Justina. +JUSTINA. +LIVIA, her Maid. +A Servant. +A Soldier. +ATTENDANTS, Soldiers, People. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE -- Antioch and its environs. + + +THE WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN. + + * * * * * + + +ACT THE FIRST. + +SCENE I. + +A WOOD NEAR ANTIOCH. + +Enter CYPPRIAN in a Student's gown, followed by CLARIN and MOSCON, as +poor Scholars, carrying books. + +CYPRIAN. In the pleasant solitude +Of this tranquil spot, this thicket +Formed of interlacing boughs, +Buds, and flowers, and shrubs commingled, +You may leave me, leaving also, +As my best companions, with me, +(For I need none else) those books +Which I bad you to bring hither +From the house; for while, to-day, +Antioch, the mighty city, +Celebrates with such rejoicing +The great temple newly finished +Unto Jupiter, the bearing +Thither, also, of his image +Publicly, in grant procession, +To its shrine to be uplifted;-- +I, escaping the confusion +Of the streets and squares, have flitted +Hitherward, to spend in study +What of daylight yet may glimmer. +Go, enjoy the festival, +Go to Antioch and mingle +In its various sports, returning +When the sun descending sinketh +To be buried in the waves, +Which, beneath the dark clouds' fringes, +Round the royal corse of gold, +Shine like sepulchres of silver. +Here you'll find me. + +MOSCON. Sir, although +Most decidedly my wish is +To behold the sports, yet I +Cannot go without a whisper +Of some few five thousand words, +Which I'll give you in a jiffy. +Can it be that on a day +Of such free, such unrestricted +Revelry, and mirth, and fun, +You with your old books come hither +To this country place, rejecting +All the frolic of the city? + +CLARIN. Well, I think my master's right; +For there's nothing more insipid +Than a grand procession day, +Half fandangos, priests, and fiddles. + +MOSCON. Clarin, from the first to last, +All your life you've been a trickster, +A smart temporizing toady, +A bold flatterer, a trimmer, +Since you praise the thoughts of others, +And ne'er speak your own. + +CLARIN. The civil +Way to tell a man he lies +Is to say he's wrong:-- you twig me, +Now I think I speak my mind. + +CYPRIAN. Moscon, Clarin, both I bid ye +Cease this silly altercation. +It is ever thus betwixt ye, +Puffed up with your little knowledge +Each maintains his own opinion. +Go, and (as I've said) here seek me +When night falls, and with the thickness +Of its shadows veils from view +This most fair and wondrous system +Of the universe. + +MOSCON. How comes it, +That although you have admitted +'Tis not right to see the feast, +Yet you go to see it? + +CLARIN. Simple +Is the answer: no one follows +The advice which he has given +To another. + +MOSCON [aside]. To see Livia, +Would the gods that I were winged. +[Exit. + +CLARIN [aside]. If the honest truth were told +Livia is the girl that gives me +Something worth the living for. +Even her very name has in it +This assurance: 'Livia', yes, +Minus 'a', I live for 'Livi'.* +[Exit. + + +[footnote] *This, of course, is a paraphrase of the original, which, +perhaps, may be given as an explanation. + "Ilega, 'Livia'. + Al 'na', y se, Livia, 'liviana'." + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE II. + +CYPRIAN. Now I am alone, and may, +If my mind can be so lifted, +Study the great problem which +Keeps my soul disturbed, bewilder'd, +Since I read in Pliny's page +The mysterious words there written. +Which define a god; because +It doth seem beyond the limits +Of my intellect to find +One who all these signs exhibits. +This mysterious hidden truth +Must I seek for. +[Reads. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE III. + +Enter the DEMON, in gala dress. CYPRIAN. + +DEMON [aside]. Though thou givest +All thy thoughts to the research, +Cyprian, thou must ever miss it, +Since I'll hide it from thy mind. + +CYPRIAN. There's a rustling in this thicket. +Who is there? who art thou? + +DEMON. Sir, +A mere stranger, who has ridden +All this morning up and down +These dark groves, not knowing whither, +Having lost my way, my horse, +To the emerald that encircles, +With a tapestry of green, +These lone hills, I've loosed, it gives him +At the same time food and rest. +I'm to Antioch bound, on business +Of importance, my companions +I have parted from; through listless +Lapse of thought (a thing that happens +To the most of earthly pilgrims), +I have lost my way, and lost +Comrades, servants, and assistants. + +CYPRIAN. I am much surprised to learn +That in view of the uplifted +Towers of Antioch, you thus +Lost your way. There's not a single +Path that on this mountain side, +More or less by feet imprinted, +But doth lead unto its walls, +As to its one central limit. +By whatever path you take, +You'll go right. + +DEMON. It is an instance +Of that ignorance which in sight +Even of truth the true goal misses. +And as it appears not wise +Thus to enter a strange city +Unattended and unknown, +Asking even my way, 'tis fitter +That 'till night doth conquer day, +Here while light doth last, to linger; +By your dress and by these books +Round you, like a learned circle +Of wise friends, I see you are +A great student, and the instinct +Of my soul doth ever draw me +Unto men to books addicted. + +CYPRIAN. Have you studied much? + +DEMON. Well, no; +But I've knowledge quite sufficient +Not to be deemed ignorant. + +CYPRIAN. Then, what sciences know you? + +DEMON. Many. + +CYPRIAN. Why, we cannot reach even one +After years of studious vigil, +And can you (what vanity!) +Without study know so many? + +DEMON. Yes; for I am of a country +Where the most exalted science +Needs no study to be known. + +CYPRIAN. Would I were a happy inmate +Of that country! Here our studies +Prove our ignorance more. + +DEMON. No figment +Is the fact that without study, +I had the superb ambition +For the first Professor's chair +To compete, and thought to win it, +Having very numerous votes. +And although I failed, sufficient +Glory is it to have tried. +For not always to the winner +Is the fame. If this you doubt, +Name the subject of your study, +And then let us argue on it; +I not knowing your opinion, +Even although it be the right, +Shall the opposite view insist on. + +CYPRIAN. I am greatly gratified +That you make this proposition. +Here in Plinius is a passage +Which much anxious thought doth give me +How to understand, to know +Who's the God of whom he has written. + +DEMON. 'Tis that passage which declares +(Well I know the words) this dictum: +"God is one supremest good, +One pure essence, one existence, +Self-sustained, all sight, all hands." + +CYPRIAN. Yes, 'tis true. + +DEMON. And what is in it +So abstruse? + +CYPRIAN. I cannot find +Such a god as Plinius figures. +If he be the highest good, +Then is Jupiter deficient +In that attribute; we see him +Acting like a mortal sinner +Many a time,-- this, Danae, +This, Europa, too, doth witness. +Can then, by the Highest Good, +All whose actions, all whose instincts, +Should be sacred and divine, +Human frailty be committed? + +DEMON. These are fables which the learned +First made use of, to exhibit +Underneath the names of gods +What in truth was but a hidden +System of philosophy. + +CYPRIAN. This reply is not sufficient, +Since such awe is due to God, +None should dare to Him attribute, +None should stain His name with sins, +Though these sins should be fictitious. +And considering well the case, +If the highest good is figured +By the gods, of course, they must +Will what is the best and fittest; +How, then, can some gods wish one thing, +Some another? This we witness +In the dubious responses +Which are by their statues given. +Here you cannot say I speak of +Learned abstractions of the ideal. +To two armies, if two shrines +Promise give of being victors, +One, of course, must lose the battle: +The conclusion is so simple,-- +Need I say it? that two wills, +Mutually antagonistic, +Cannot lead unto one end. +They being thus in opposition, +One we must consider good, +One as bad we must consider. +But an evil will in God +Would imply a contradiction: +Then the highest good can dwell not +Among gods who know division. + +DEMON. I deny your major, since +These responses may be given, +By the oracles, for ends +Which our intellectual vision +Cannot reach: 'tis providence. +Thus more good may have arisen +To the loser in that battle +Than its gain could bring the winner. + +CYPRIAN. Granted; but that god ought not, +For the gods are not malicious, +To have promised victory;-- +It would have been quite sufficient, +Without this most false assurance, +The defeat to have permitted. +Then if God must be all sight, +Every god should see distinctly +With clear vision to the end; +Seeing THAT, he erred in fixing +On a false conclusion; then +Though the deity may with fitness +Be divided into persons, +Yet His essence must be single +In the smallest circumstance. + +DEMON. It was needful for this business, +That the oracle should rouse +The two hosts alike. + +CYPRIAN. If fitting, +There were genii that could rouse them +(Good and bad, as they're distinguished +By the learned), who are, in fact, +Spirits who among us mingle, +And who good and evil acts, +Evil thoughts, suggest and whisper, +A convincing argument +For the immortal soul's existence: +Of these ministers could God +Have made use, nor thus exhibit +He was capable of a lie +To effect his ends? + +DEMON. Consider, +That these seeming contradictions +Cannot our firm faith diminish +In the oneness of the gods, +If in things of higher import +They know naught of dissonance. +Take man's wondrous frame, for instance, +Surely that majestic structure +Once conception doth exhibit. + +CYPRIAN. If man's maker then were one +He some vantage must have given him +O'er the others; and if they +All are equal,--'tis admitted +That they are so, from the fact +Of their mutual opposition +To each other,-- when the thought +Of creating man was hinted +By one god, another could +Say, "No, no, I do not wish it." +Then if God must be all hands, +Time might come when they would differ, +One creating, one undoing, +Ere the other's work was finished, +Since the power of each was equal, +But unequal were their wishes. +Which of these two powers would conquer? + +DEMON. On impossible and false issues +There can be no argument;-- +But your premises admitting, +Say what then? + +CYPRIAN. That there must be +One sole God, all hands, all vision, +Good Supreme, supreme in grace, +One who cannot err, omniscient, +One the highest, none can equal, +Not beginning, yet the Beginner, +One pure essence, one sole substance, +One wise worker, ozone sole willer;-- +And though He in one or two +Or more persons be distinguished, +Yet the sovereign Deity +Must be one, sublime and single, +The first cause of every cause, +The first germ of all existence. + +DEMON. How can I deny so clear, +[They rise. +So conclusive a position? + +CYPRIAN. Do you feel it? + +DEMON. Who would not +Feel to find another quicker +In the rivalry of wit?-- +And though I am not deficient +In an answer, I restrain it, +Hearing steps approaching hither +Through the wood; besides 'tis time +I proceeded to the city. + +CYPRIAN. Go in peace. + +DEMON. Remain in peace.-- +[Aside. +So involved in study IS he, +That I now must wean him from it, +Weaving round him the bewitchment +Of rare beauty. Since I have leave +To attempt my fires to kindle +In Justina's breast, one stroke, +Thus, two vengeances shall give me. +[Exit. + +CYPRIAN. Never saw I such a man. +But since still my people linger, +I, the cause of so much doubt, +Will now strive to reconsider. +[He resumes his reading, without perceiving the approach of those who enter. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE IV. + +Enter LELIUS and FLORUS.-- CYPRIAN. + +LELIUS. Further let us not proceed; +For these rocks, these boughs so thickly +Interwoven, that the sun +Cannot even find admittance, +Shall be the sole witnesses +Of our duel. + +FLORUS. Then, this instant +Draw your sword; for here are deeds, +If in words elsewhere we've striven. + +LELIUS. Yes, I know that in the field, +While the tongue is mute, the glitter +Of the sword speaks thus. +[They fight. + +CYPRIAN. What's this? +Hold, good Florus! Lelius, listen!-- +Here until your rage is calmed, +Even unarmed I stand betwixt ye. + +LELIUS. Thus to interrupt my vengeance, +Whence, O Cyprian, have you risen +Like a spectre? + +FLORUS. A wild wood-god, +Have you from these tree-trunks issued? + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE V. + +Enter MOSCON and CLARIN. + +MOSCON. Yonder, where we left our master, +I hear sword-strokes; run, run quickly. + +CLARIN. Well, except to run away, +I am anything but nimble;-- +Truly a retiring person. + +MOSCON and CLARIN. Sir . . . . + +CYPRIAN. No more: your gabble irks me.-- +How? What's this? Two noble friends, +Who in blood, in birth, in lineage, +Are to-day of Antioch all +Its expectancy, the city's +Eye of fashion, one the son +Of the Governor, of the princely +House Colalto, one the heir, +Thus to peril, as of little +Value, two such precious lives +To their country and their kindred? + +LELIUS. Cyprian, although respect +Which on many grounds I give thee, +Holds my sword suspended thus +In due deference for an instant,-- +To the scabbard's calm repose +It hath got no power to win it. +Thou of science knowest more, +Than the duel, pretermitting +This, that when two nobles meet +In the field, no power can link them +Friends again, save this, that one +Must his life give as a victim. + +FLORUS. This I also say, and ask thee, +With thy people, that thou quittest, +Leaving us to end our quarrel +Without any help or hindrance. + +CYPRIAN. Though it seems to you my calling +Makes me know the laws but little +Of the duel -- that strict code +Valour and vain pride have written, +You are wrong, for I was born +With the obligations fitting +Rank like yours, to know in truth +Infamy and honour's limits. +The devotion to my studies +Has my courage not diminished, +For they oftentimes shake hands +Arms and letters as though kinsmen. +If to meet here in the field +Was the quarrel's first condition, +Having met and fought, its lies +Calumny can never whisper. +And the cause you thus can tell me +Of the feud that brings you hither; +For I promise, if, on hearing +What to me is thus committed, +I perceive that satisfaction +Must on either side be given, +Here to leave you both alone, +Unobserved by any witness. + +LELIUS. Then on this condition solely, +That you leave us, when the bitter +Truth is told, to end our quarrel, +I to tell the cause am willing. +I a certain lady love, +The same lady as his mistress +Florus also loves; now see, +How incompatible are our wishes!-- +Since betwixt two jealous nobles +No mediation is admitted. + +FLORUS. I this lady love so much, +That the sunlight I would hinder +From beholding her sweet face. +Since then all interposition +Is in vain, pray stand aside, +And our quarrel let us finish. + +CYPRIAN. Stay, for one more thing I'd know. +Tell me this of your fair mistress, +Is she possible to your hopes, +Or impossible to your wishes?-- + +LELIUS. Oh: she is so good and wise, +That if even the sun enkindled +Jealousy in the heart of Florus, +It was jealousy pure and simple, +Without cause, for even the sun +Dare not look upon her visage. + +CYPRIAN. Would you marry with her, then? + +FLORUS. This is all my heart's ambition. + +CYPRIAN. And would you? + +LELIUS. Ah, would to heaven, +I were destined for such blisses!-- +For although she's very poor, +Virtue dowers her with its riches. + +CYPRIAN. If you both aspire to wed her, +Is it not an act most wicked, +Most unworthy, thus beforehand +Her unspotted fame to injure? +What will say the world, if one +Of you two shall marry with her +After having killed the other +For her sake? The supposition +Is not probable in fact, +To imagine it is sufficient. +I by no means say you should +Each your chances try to win her +At one time, for I would blush +Such a craven proposition +Came from me, because the lover +Who could keep his jealousy hidden, +Would condone even shame thereafter, +Were the opportunity given; +But I say that you should learn +Which of you it is your mistress +Gives the preference to, then . . . . + +LELIUS. Stay!-- +For it were an act too timid, +Too faint-hearted thus to ask +Of a lady such admission +As the choosing him or me. +For if me she chose, more fixed +Is my call for satisfaction; +For his fault has this addition, +He loves one who loves but me. +If to him the choice is given, +This intensifies my anger +All the more, that she, my mistress, +Whom I love, should love another. +Her selection could do little +In the matter, which at last +To our swords should be committed,-- +The accepted for his honour, +The refused for his dismissal. + +FLORUS. I confess that I adopt +Altogether that opinion, +Still the privilege of selection +May to ladies be permitted; +So to-day I mean to ask her +Of her father. 'Tis sufficient +To have come here to the field, +And my naked sword uplifted, +(Specially as one is by +Who the further fight resisteth,) +For my honour;-- so to sheathe, +Lelius, my sword I'm willing. +[Sheathes his sword. + +LELIUS. By your argument and action, +Florus, you have half convinced me; +I forego the remaining half -- +True or false, I thus act with you. +[Sheathes his sword. +I to-day will seek her father. + +CYPRIAN. On, of course, the supposition, +That this lady you pay court to +Suffers naught by the admission, +Since you both have spoken proudly +Of her virtue and her strictness, +Tell me who she is; for I, +Who am held throughout the city +In esteem, would for you both +Speak to her at first a little +That she thus may be prepared +When her father tells your wishes. + +LELIUS. You are right. + +CYPRIAN. Her name? + +FLORUS. Justina, +Daughter of Lysander. + +CYPRIAN. Little, +Now that I have heard her name, +Seem the praises you have given her; +She is virtuous as she's noble. +Instantly I'll pay my visit. + +FLORUS [aside]. May heaven grant that in my favour +Her cold heart be moved to pity! +[Exit. + +LELIUS. Love, my hopes with laurels crown +When they are to her submitted! +[Exit. + +CYPRIAN. Further mischief or misfortune, +Grant me, heaven, that I may hinder! +[Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE VI. + +MOSCON, CLARIN. + +MOSCON. Has your worship heard our master +Now is gone to pay a visit +To Justina? + +CLARIN. Yes, my lord. +But what matter if he didn't? + +MOSCON. Matter quite enough, your worship; +He has no business there. + +CLARIN. Why, prithee? + +MOSCON. Why? because I die for Livia, +Who is maid to this Justina, +And I wouldn't have even the sun +Get a glimpse of her through the window. + +CLARIN. Well, that's good; but, for a lady, +To contend were worse than silly, +Whom I mean to make my wife. + +MOSCON. Excellent, faith! the fancy tickles +Quite my fancy. Let her say +Who it is that annoys or nicks her +To a nicety. Let's go see her, +And she'll choose. + +CLARIN. A good idea!-- +Though I fear she'll pitch on you. + +MOSCON. Have you then that wise suspicion? + +CLARIN. Yes; for always these same Livias +Choose the worst, th'ungrateful minxes.* +[Exeunt. + + +[footnote] *The 'asonante' versification in 'i-e', which has been +kept up through these six scenes, ends here. The seventh scene +commences in rhymed five-line stanzas, which change to the asonante +in e-e, at the beginning of Lysander's long speech. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE VII. + +A HALL IN THE HOUSE OF LYSANDER. + +Enter JUSTINA and LYSANDER. + +JUSTINA. Consolation, sir, is vain, +After what I've seen to-day: +The whole city, madly gay, +Error-blinded and insane, +Consecrating shrine and fane +To an image, which I know, +Cannot be a god, although +Some demoniac power may pass, +Making breathe the silent brass +As a proof that it is so. + +LYSANDER. Fair Justina, thou indeed, +Wert not who thou art, if thou +Didst not weep as thou dost now, +Didst not in thy pure heart bleed +For what Christ's divinest creed +Suffers on this sinful day. + +JUSTINA. Thus my lineage I display:-- +For thy child I could not be, +Could I without weeping see +This idolatrous display. + +LYSANDER. Ah, my good, my gentle maid! +Thou art not my daughter, no, +'Twere too happy, if 'twere so. +But, O God! what's this I've said?-- +My life's secret is betrayed! +'Twas my soul that spoke aloud. + +JUSTINA. What do you say, sir? + +LYSANDER. Oh! a crowd +Of old thoughts my heart hath stirred. + +JUSTINA. Many times methought I heard +What but now you have avowed, +And yet never wished to hear, +At the risk perchance of paining, +A more accurate explaining +Of your sorrow and my fear; +But since now it doth appear +Right that I should be possess'd +Of the whole truth half confess'd, +Let me say, though bold appearing,-- +Trust your secret to my hearing, +Since it hath escaped your breast. + +LYSANDER. Ah! Justina, I have long +Kept this secret from your ears, +Fearing from your tender years +That the telling might be wrong; +But now seeing you are strong, +Firm in thought, in action brave, +Seeing too, that with this stave, +I go creeping o'er the ground, +Rapping with a hollow sound +At the portals of the grave, +Knowing that my time is brief, +I would not here leave you, no, +In your ignorance; I owe +My own peace, too, this relief: +Then attentive to my grief +Let your pleasure list. + +JUSTINA. A fear +Struggles in my breast. + +LYSANDER. Severe +Is the test my duty pays. + +JUSTINA. From this most perplexing maze +Oh, sir, rescue me. + +LYSANDER. Then hear. +I, most beautiful Justina, +Am Lysander . . . . This commencement +With my name need not surprise you; +For though known to you already, +It is right, for all that follows, +That it should be well remembered, +Since of me you know no more +Than what this my name presenteth. +Yes, I am Lysander, son +Of that city which on Seven +Hills a hydra seems of stone, +Since it seven proud heads erecteth; +Of that city now the seat +Of the mighty Roman empire, +Cradle of Christ's wider realm,-- +Boon that Rome alone could merit. +There of poor and humble parents +I was born, if "poor" expresses +Well their rank who left behind them +Virtues, not vain earthly treasures. +Both of them by birth were Christians, +Joyful both to be descended +From brave sires who with their blood +Happily life's page had reddened, +Terminating the dull scroll +With death's bright emblazoned letters. +In the Christian faith well grounded +I grew up, and so well learnt it, +That I would, in its defence, +Even a thousand lives surrender. +I was young still, when to Rome, +In disguise and ill attended, +Came our good Pope Alexander, +Who then prudently directed +The high apostolic see, +Though its place there was not settled; +For, as the despotic power +Of the stern and cruel gentiles +Satisfies its thirst with blood +From the martyrs' veins that shed it, +So must still the primitive church +Keep concealed its sons and servants; +Not that they decline to die, +Not that martyrdom is dreaded +But that rebel rage should not, +At one stroke, one hour of vengeance, +Triumph o'er the ruined church, +So that no one should be left it +Who could preach and teach the word, +Who could catechise the gentile. +Alexander being in Rome, +I was secretly presented +To him there, and from his hand +Which was graciously extended, +With his blessing I received +Holy Orders, which the seraphs +Well might envy me, since man +Only such an honour merits. +Alexander, as my mission, +Unto Antioch then sent me, +Where the law of Christ in secret +I should preach. With glad contentment +I obeyed, and at their mercy, +Through so many nations wending, +Came at length to Antioch; +And when I, these hills ascending, +Saw beneath me in the valley +All its golden towers and temples, +The sun failed me, and down sinking +Drew with him the day, presenting +For my solace a companion, +And a substitute for his presence +In the light of stars, a pledge +That he'd soon return to bless me. +With the sun I lost my way, +And then wandering dejected +Through the windings of the forest, +Found me in the dim recesses +Of a natural bower, wherein +Even the numerous rays that trembled +Downward from each living torch +Could in noways find an entrance, +For to black clouds turned the leaves +That by day were green with freshness. +Here arranging to await +The new sun's reviving presence, +Giving fancy that full scope, +That wide range which it possesses, +I in solitude indulged +Many and many a deep reflection. +Thus absorbed was I in thought +When there came to me the echo +Of a sigh half heard, for half +To its owner retroverted. +Then collecting in mine ear +All my senses joined together, +I again heard more distinctly +That weak cry, that faint expression, +That mute idiom of the sad, +Since by it they're comprehended. +From a woman came that groan +To whose sigh so low and gentle +Followed a man's deeper voice, +Who thus speaking low addressed her: +"Thou first stain of noblest blood +By my hands this moment perish, +Ere thou meetest with thy death +'Neath the hands of infamous headsmen."-- +Then the hapless woman said +In a voice that sobbed and trembled, +"Ah, lament for thine own blood, +But for me do not lament thee!"-- +I attempted then to reach them, +That the stroke might be prevented, +But I could not, since the voices +At that moment ceased and ended, +And a horseman rode away +'Mong the tree-trunks undetected. +Loadstone of my deep compassion +Was that voice which still exerted +All its failing powers to speak +Amid groans and tears this sentence,-- +"Dying innocent and a Christian +I a martyr's death may merit."-- +Following the polar-star +Of the voice, I came directly +Where the gloom revealed a woman, +Though I could not well observe her, +Who in life's despairing struggle, +Hand to hand with death contended. +Scarcely was I heard, when she +Summoning up her strength addressed me,-- +"Blood-stained murderer mine, come back, +Nor in this last hour desert me +Of my life." -- "I am," said I, +"Only one whom chance hath sent here, +Guided it may be by heaven, +To assist you in this dreadful +Hour of trial." -- "Vain," she said, +"Is the favour that your mercy +Offers to my life, for see, +Drop by drop the life-stream ebbeth, +Let this hapless one enjoy it, +Who it seems that heaven intendeth, +Being born upon my grave, +All my miseries should inherit."-- +So she died, and then I . . . + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE VIII. + +LIVIA, JUSTINA, and LYSANDER. + +Enter LIVIA. + +LIVIA. Sir, +The same tradesman who so presses +To be paid, comes here to seek you, +By the magistrate attended. +That you were not in, I told him: +By that door you have an exit. + +JUSTINA. This untimely interruption +By their coming, how it frets me! +For upon your tragic story +Life, soul, reason, all depended!-- +But retire, sir, lest the justice +Should here meet you, if he enters. + +LYSANDER. Ah! with what indignities +Poverty must be contented! +[Exit. + +JUSTINA. They are coming here, no doubt, +Outside I can hear some persons. + +LIVIA. No, they are not they. I see +It is Cyprian. + +JUSTINA. How? what sendeth +Cyprian here? + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE IX. + +Enter CYPRIAN, CLARIN, and MOSCON. + +CYPRIAN. A wish to serve you +Is the sole cause of my presence. +For on seeing the officials +Issuing from your house, the friendship +Which I owe unto Lysander +Made me bold herein to enter; +But to know ([Aside.] Disturbed, bewildered +Am I.) if by chance ([Aside.] What gelid +Frost is freezing up my veins!) +I in any way could help you. +([Aside.] Ah, how badly have I spoken!-- +Fire not frost my blood possesses!) + +JUSTINA. May heaven guard you many years, +Since in his more grave concernments, +Thus you honour my dear father +With your favours. + +CYPRIAN. I shall ever +Be most gratified to serve you. +([Aside.] What disturbs me, what unnerves me?) + +JUSTINA. He is not just now at home. + +CYPRIAN. Thus then, lady, I can better +Tell you what is the true cause +That doth bring me here at present; +For the cause that you have heard +Is not that which wholly led me +Here to see you. + +JUSTINA. Then, what is it? + +CYPRIAN. This, which craves your brief attention.-- +Fair Justina, beauty's shrine,* +To whose human loveliness +Nature, with a fond excess, +Adds such marks of the divine, +'Tis your rest that doth incline +Hither my desire to-day: +But see what the tyrant sway +Of despotic fate can do,-- +While I bring your rest to you, +You from me take mine away. +Lelius, of his passion proud, +(Never less was love to blame!) +Florus, burning with love's flame, +(Ne'er could flame be more allowed!) +Each of them by vows they vowed +Sought to kill his friend for you: +I for you disturbed the two, +(Woe is me!) but see the end; +While from death I saved my friend, +You my own death give in lieu. +Lest the scandal-monger's hum +Should be buzzed about your name, +Here to speak with you I came, +(Would that I had never come!) +That your choice might strike it dumb, +Being the umpire in the cause, +Being the judge in love's sweet laws;-- +But behold what I endure, +While I their sick hearts may cure, +Jealousy mine own heart gnaws. +Lady, I proposed to be +Their bold spokesman here, that you +Might decide betwixt the two +Which you would select (ah, me!) +That I might (oh, misery!) +Ask you of your father: vain +This pretence. No more I'll feign:-- +For you see while I am speaking +About them, my heart is seeking +But a vent for its own pain. + + +[footnote] * The five-lined rhymed stanza here recommences, and +continues to the end of the scene. + + +JUSTINA. Half in wonder and dismay +At the vile address you make me, +Reason, speech, alike forsake me, +And I know not what to say. +Never in the slightest way +Have your clients had from me +Encouragement for this embassy -- +Florus never -- Lelius no:-- +Of the scorn that I can show +Let then this a warning be. + +CYPRIAN. If I, knowing that you loved +Some one else, would dare to seek +Your regard, my love were weak, +And could justly be reproved. +But here seeing you stand unmoved, +Like a rock mid raging seas, +No extraneous miseries +Make me say I love you now. +'Tis not for my friends I bow, +So your warning hear with ease. -- +To Lelius what shall I say? + +JUSTINA. That he +Well may trust the boding fears +Of his love of many years. + +CYPRIAN. To Florus? + +JUSTINA. Not my face to see. + +CYPRIAN. And to myself? + +JUSTINA. Your love should be +Not so bold. + +CYPRIAN. Though a god should woo? + +JUSTINA. Will a god do more for you +Than for those I have denied? + +CYPRIAN. Yes. + +JUSTINA. Well then, I have replied +To Lelius, Florus, and to you. +[Exeunt JUSTINA and CYPRIAN at opposite sides. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE X. + +CLARIN, MOSCON, and LIVIA. + +CLARIN. Livia, heigh! + +MOSCON. And Livia, ho!-- +List good lass. + +CLARIN. We're here, we two. + +LIVIA. Well, what WANT you, sir? and YOU, +What do you want? + +CLARIN. We both would show, +If perchance you do not know, +That we love you to distraction. +On a murderous transaction +We came here, to kill each other:-- +So to put an end to the bother, +Just choose one for satisfaction. + +LIVIA. Why the thing that you're demanding +Is so great, it hath bereft me +Of my wits. My grief hath left me +Without sense or understanding. +Choose but one! My heart expanding, +Beats so hard a strait to shun! +I one only! 'Tis for fun +That you ask me so to do. +For with heart enough for two, +Why require that I choose one? + +CLARIN. Two at once would you have to woo? +Would not two embarrass you, pray? + +LIVIA. No, we women have a way +To dispose of them two by two. + +MOSCON. What's the way? do tell us, do;-- +What is it? speak. + +LIVIA. You put one out!-- +I would love them, do not doubt . . . . + +MOSCON. How? + +LIVIA. ALTERNATIVELY. + +CLARIN. Eh, +What's ALTERNATIVELY? + +LIVIA. 'Tis to say, +That I would love them day about. +[Exit. + +MOSCON. Well, I choose to-day: good-bye. + +CLARIN. I, to-morrow, the better part. +So I give it with all my heart. + +MOSCON. Livia, in fine, for whom I die, +To-day love me, and to-day love I. +Happy is he who so much can say. + +CLARIN. Hearken, my friend: you know my way. + +MOSCON. Why this speech? Does a threat lie in it? + +CLARIN. Mind, she is not yours a minute +After the clock strikes twelve to-day. +[Exeunt. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XI. + +THE STREET BEFORE LYSANDER'S HOUSE: NIGHT + +Enter FLORUS and LELIUS at opposite sides, not seeing each other. + +LELIUS [aside]. Scarcely has the darksome night +O'er the brow of heaven extended* +Its black veil, when I come hither +To adore this sacred threshold; +For although at Cyprian's prayer, +I my sharp sword have suspended, +I have not my love, for love +Cannot be suspended ever. + + +[footnote] *Asonante in e-e, to the end of the Act. + + +FLORUS [aside]. Here the dawn will find me waiting:-- +Here, because 'tis force compels me +To go hence, for I, elsewhere, +Am away from my true centre. +Would to love the day had come, +And with it the dear, expected +Answer Cyprian may bring me, +Risking all upon that venture. + +LELIUS [aside]. I have surely in that window +Heard a noise. + +FLORUS [aside]. Some sound descends here +From that balcony. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XII. + +The Demon appears at a window in the house of LYSANDER. + +LELIUS [aside]. A figure +Issues from it, whose dim presence +I distinguish. + +FLORUS [aside]. Through the darkness +I can there perceive some person. + +DEMON [aside]. For the many persecutions +O'er Justina's head impending, +Her pure honour to defame +Thus I make a bold commencement. +[He descends by a ladder. + +LELIUS [aside]. But, O woe! what's this I witness!-- + +FLORUS [aside]. What do I see! Oh, wretched! wretched!-- + +LELIUS [aside]. From the balcony to the ground +The dark figure has descended. + +FLORUS [aside]. From her house a man comes forth!-- +Jealousy kill me not, preserve me, +'Till I discover who he is. + +LELIUS [aside]. I will try to intercept him +And find out at once who thus +Tastes the bliss I've lost for ever. +[They advance with drawn swords to recognise the person who has descended. + +DEMON [aside]. Not alone Justina's fame +Do I by this act discredit, +But dissensions, perhaps murders, +Thus provoke. Ope, earth's dark centre, +And receive me, leaving here +This confusion +[He disappears between FLORUS and LELIUS, who meet together. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XIII. + +FLORUS and LELIUS. + +LELIUS. Sir, whoever +You may be, it doth import me +To know who you are directly; +So at every risk I come here, +On this resolute quest determined. +Say who are you. + +FLORUS. If the accident +Of my having been the observer +Of your secret love, compels you +To this valorous aggression, +More than it can you concern +Me to know, it doth concern me +To know you; for to be curious +Is far less than to be jealous. +Yes, by Heaven! for who is master +Of the house have I to learn here, +Who it is at such an hour, +By this balcony ascending, +Gaineth that which I lose weeping +At these gratings. + +LELIUS. This excelleth, +Good, in faith, is it thus to dim +The clear light of my resentment, +By attributing to me +That which solely your offence is!-- +Who you are I have to know, +Death to give to him who has left me +Dead with jealousy here, by coming +From this balcony. + +FLORUS. How excessive +How superfluous is this caution, +Proving what it would dissemble! + +LELIUS. Vainly would the tongue untangle +That which the keen sword can better +Thus cut through. + +FLORUS. With it I answer. +[They fight. + +LELIUS. In this way I'll know for certain +Who is the admitted lover +Of Justina. + +FLORUS. My intention +Is the same. I'll die or know you. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XIV. + +Enter CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + +CYPRIAN. Gentlemen, I pray you let me +Interpose in this your quarrel, +Since by accident I am present. + +FLORUS. You cannot oblige me more +Than by letting the fight be ended. + +CYPRIAN. Florus? + +FLORUS. Yes, for sword in hand, +I my name deny not ever +To who asks. + +CYPRIAN. I'm at your side, +Death to him who would offend you. + +LELIUS. You produce in me less fear, +Both of you thus joined together, +Than did he alone. + +CYPRIAN. What! Lelius? + +LELIUS. Yes. + +CYPRIAN. I am prevented +[To Florus. +Now from standing at your side, +Since between you I present me. +How is this? In one day twice +Have I your disputes to settle!-- + +LELIUS. Then this time will be the last, +For we've settled them already; +Since in knowing who is he +Who Justina's heart possesses, +Now no more my hope remaineth, +Even the thought of it hath left me. +If you have not to Justina +Spoken yet, do not address her; +This I ask you in the name +Of my wrongs and my resentments, +Having seen her secret favours +Florus' happier fate deserveth. +From this balcony I saw him, +From my lost delight descending; +And my heart is not so base +As to meanly love, in presence +Of such jealousies so well proved, +Of disillusions, ah! so certain. +[Exit. + +FLORUS. Stay. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XV. + +CYPRIAN. You must not follow him, +[Aside. (Oh, this news with death o'erwhelms me!) +Since if he who is the loser +Of what you have gained, expressly +Says he would forget it, you +Should not try his patient temper. + +FLORUS. Both by you and him at once +Has mine own been too well tested. +Speak not now unto Justina +About me; for though full vengeance +I propose to take for being +Thus supplanted and rejected, +Every hope of her being mine +Now has ceased, for shameful were it, +In the face of such proved facts, +To persist in my addresses. +[Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XVI. + +CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + +CYPRIAN [aside]. What is this, O heavens! I hear? +Can it be the two are jealous +Of each other at one time? +And I too of both together?-- +Doubtless from some strange delusion +The two suffer, which I welcome +With a sort of satisfaction, +For to it I am indebted +For the fact of their desisting +From their suit and their pretension.-- +Moscon, have for me by morning +A rich court-suit; sword and feathers, +Clarin, be thy care; for love +In a certain airy splendour +Takes delight; for now no longer +Books or studies give me pleasure;-- +Love they say doth murder mind, +Learning dies when he is present. +[Exeunt. + + + +ACT THE SECOND. + +SCENE I. + +THE STREET IN FRONT OF LYSANDER'S HOUSE. + +Enter CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN, in gala dresses. + +CYPRIAN [aside]. Where, presumptuous thoughts, ah! where, +Would you lead me, whither go? +If for certain now you know +That the high attempts you dare +Are delusive dreams of bliss, +Since you strive to scale heaven's wall, +But from that proud height to fall +Headlong down a dark abyss? +I Justina saw . . . . . So near +Would to God I had not seen her, +Nor in her divine demeanour +All the light of heaven's fourth sphere. +Lovers twain for her contend, +Both being jealous each should woo, +And I, jealous of the two, +Know not which doth most offend. +All I know is, that suspicion, +Her disdain, my own desires, +Fill my heart with furious fires -- +Drive me, ah! to my perdition. +This I know, and know no more, +This I feel in all my strait; +Heavens! Justina is my fate! +Heavens! Justina I adore!-- +Moscon. + +MOSCON. Sir. + +CYPRIAN. Inquire, I pray, +If Lysander's in. + +MOSCON. I fly. + +CLARIN. No, sir, no. On me rely,-- +Moscon can't go there to-day. + +CYPRIAN. Ever wrangling in this way, +How ye both my patience try! +Why can he not go? Say why? + +CLARIN. Because to-day is not his day. +Mine it is, sir, to his sorrow. +So your message I will bear. +Moscon can't to-day go there; +He will have his turn to-morrow. + +CYPRIAN. What new madness can this be +Which your usual feud doth show? +But now neither of you go, +Since in all her brilliancy +Comes Justina. + +CLARIN. From the street +To her house she goes. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE II. + +Enter JUSTINA and LIVIA, veiled. -- CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + +JUSTINA. Ah, me! +Cyprian's here. [Aside to her.] See, Livia, see! + +CYPRIAN [aside]. I must strive and be discreet, +Feigning with a ready wit, +Till my jealousy I can prove. +I will only speak of love, +If my jealousy will permit. +Not in vain, senora sweet,-- +Have I changed my student's dress, +The livery of thy loveliness, +As a servant at thy feet, +Thus I wear. If sighs could move thee +I would labour to deserve thee; +Give me leave at least to serve thee, +Since thou wilt not let me love thee. + +JUSTINA. Slight effect, sir, as I see, +Have my words produced on you, +Since they have not brought . . . . + +CYPRIAN. Too true! + +JUSTINA. A forgetfulness of me. +In what way must I explain +Clearer than I have done before, +That persistence at my door +Is and ever must be vain? +If a day, a month, a year, +If for ages there you stay, +Naught but this that now I say +Ever can you hope to hear. +As it were my latest breath, +Let this sad assurance move thee,-- +Fate forbids that I should love thee, +Cyprian, except in death. +[She moves towards the house. + +CYPRIAN. At these words my hopes revive:-- +Sad! no, no, to joy they move me, +For if thou in death canst love me, +Soon for me will death arrive. +Be it so; and since so nigh +Comes the hour your words to prove -- +Ah! even now begin to love, +Since I now begin to die. + +[JUSTINA enters. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE III. + +CYPRIAN, MOSCON, CLARIN, and LIVIA. + +CLARIN. Livia, while my master yonder, +Like a living skeleton, +Life and motion being gone, +On his luckless love doth ponder, +Give me an embrace. + +LIVIA. Stay, stay. +Patience, man! until I see, +For I like my conscience free, +If to-day is your right day.-- +Tuesday, yes, and Wednesday, no. + +CLARIN. What are you counting there? Awake! +Moscon's mum. + +LIVIA. He might mistake, +And I wish not to act so. +For, desiring to pursue +A just course betwixt you both, +Turn about, I would be loth +Not to give you each his due. +But I see that you are right, +'Tis your day. + +CLARIN. Embrace me, then. + +LIVIA. Yes, again, and yet again. + +MOSCON. Hark to me, my lady bright, +May I from your ardour borrow +A good omen in my case; +And as Clarin you embrace, +Moscon you'll embrace to-morrow! + +LIVIA. Your suspicion is, in fact, +Quite absurd; on me rely. +Jupiter forbid that I +Should commit so bad an act +As to be cool in any way +To a friend. I will to thee +Give an embrace in equity, +When it is your worship's day. +[Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE IV. + +CYPRIAN, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + +CLARIN. Well, I'll not be by to see, +That's a comfort. + +MOSCON. How? why so? +Need I be chagrined to know, +If the girl's not mine, that she +Thus to you her debt did pay. + +CLARIN. No. + +MOSCON. This makes my point more strong, +Since to me it were no wrong +If it chanced not on my day. +But our master yonder, see, +How absorbed he seems. + +CLARIN. More near, +If he speaks I'd like to hear. + +MOSCON. And I, too, would like. + +CYPRIAN. Ah me! +[As MOSCON and CLARIN approach CYPRIAN from opposite sides, he +gesticulates with his arms, and accidentally strikes both. +Love, how great thy agonies!-- + +CLARIN. Ah! ah, me! + +MOSCON. Ah, me! I bawl. + +CLARIN. Well, I think that we may call +This the land of the 'sigh-ah-mes'! + +CYPRIAN. What! and have you both been here? + +CLARIN. I, at least, was here, I'll swear. + +MOSCON. And I, also. + +CYPRIAN. O, despair +End at once my sad career! +Ah, what human heart to woe +Like to mine has given a home? + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE V. + +THE COUNTRY. + +CYPRIAN, CLARIN, and MOSCON. + +CLARIN. Whither Moscon, do we roam? + +MOSCON. When we've reached the end, we'll know. +Leagues behind us lies the town, +Still we go. + +CLARIN. A strange proceeding!-- +Little time have we for reading, +Idly pacing up and down. + +CYPRIAN. Clarin, get thee home. + +MOSCON. And I? + +CLARIN. Sly-boots, would you rather stay? + +CYPRIAN. Go: here leave me both; away! + +CLARIN. Mind, he tells us both to fly. + +[Exeunt CLARIN and MOSCON. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE VI. + +CYPRIAN. Memory of a maddened brain, +Do not with such strong control +Make me think another soul +Is what in my heart doth reign. +Blind idolator I have been -- +Lost in love's ambitious flight, +Since such beauty met my sight, +Since a goddess I have seen. +Yet in such a maze of woe +Rigorous fate doth make me move, +That I know but whom I love, +And of whom I am jealous -- no. +Yet this passion is so strong -- +Ah, so sweet this fascination, +Driving my imagination +With resistless force along -- +That I would (I know too well +How this madness doth degrade me) +To some devilish power to aid me, +Were it even to rise from hell, +Where some mightier power hath kept it,-- +Sharing all its pains in common,-- +I would, to possess this woman, +Give my soul. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE VII. + +The Demon and CYPRIAN. + +Demon [within]. And I accept it. + +[A great tempest is heard, with thunder and lightning. + +CYPRIAN. What's this, ye heavens so pure? +Clear but a moment hence and now obscure, +Ye fright the gentle day! +The thunder-balls, the lightning's forked ray, +Leap from its riven breast -- +Terrific shapes it cannot keep at rest; +All the whole heaven a crown of clouds doth wear, +And with the curling mist, like streaming hair, +This mountain's brow is bound. +Outspread below, the whole horizon round +Is one volcanic pyre. +The sun is dead, the air is smoke, heaven fire. +Philosophy, how far from thee I stray, +When I cannot explain the marvels of this day! +And now the sea, upborne on clouds the while, +Seems like some ruined pile, +That crumbling down the wind as 'twere a wall, +In dust not foam doth fall. +And struggling through the gloom, +Facing the storm, a mighty ship seeks room +On the open sea, whose rage it seems to court, +Flying the dangerous pity of the port. +The noise, the terror, and that fearful cry, +Give fatal augury +Of the impending stroke. Death hesitates, +For each already dies who death awaits. +With portents the whole atmosphere is rife, +Nor is it all the effect of elemental strife. +The ship is rigged with tempest as it flies.* +It rushes on the lee, +The war is now no longer of the sea; +Upon a hidden rock +It strikes: it breaks as with a thunder shock. +Blood flakes the foam where helpless it is tost. + + +[footnote] *Hartzenbusch remarks that there is no corresponding rhyme +for this line in the original, and that both the sense and the +versification are defective. --'Comedias de Calderon', t. 2, p. 178. + + +[The sound of the tempest increases, and voices are heard within. + +VOICES WITHIN. We sink! we sink! we're lost! + +DEMON [within]. For what I have in hand, +I'll trust this plank to bear me to the land. + +CYPRIAN. As scorning the wild wave +One man alone his life attempts to save. +While lurching over, mid the billows' swell, +The great ship sinks to where the Tritons dwell; +There, with its mighty ribs asunder rent, +It lies a corse of the sea, its grave and monument. + +[Enter The Demon, dripping with wet, as if escaped from the sea. + +DEMON [aside]. For the end I wish to gain +It was of necessity +That upon this sapphire sea +I this fearful storm should feign, +And in form unlike that one +Which in this wild wood I wore, +When I found my deepest lore +By his keener wit outdone, +Come again to assail him here, +Trusting better now to prove +Both his intellect and his love.-- +[Aloud. +Earth, loved earth, O mother dear, +From this monster, this wild sea, +Give me shelter in thy arms. + +CYPRIAN. Lose, my friend, the dread alarms, +And the cruel memory +Of thy peril happily past; +Since we learn or late or soon, +That beneath the inconstant moon +Human bliss doth never last. + +DEMON. Who are thou, at whose kind feet +Has my fortune cast me here? + +CYPRIAN. One who with a pitying tear, +For a ruin so complete, +Would alleviate your woe. + +DEMON. Ah, impossible!-- for me +Never, never, can there be +Any solace. + +CYPRIAN. How, why so? + +DEMON. All my priceless wealth I've lost . . . +But I'm wrong to thus complain, +I'll forget, nay, think it gain, +Since my life it hath not cost. + +CYPRIAN. Now that the wild whirl malign +Of this earthquake storm doth cease, +And the sky returns to peace, +Quiet, calm, and crystalline, +And the bright succeeds the dark +With such strange rapidity, +That the storm would seem to be +Only raised to sink thy bark, +Tell me who thou art, repay +Thus a sympathy so sincere. + +DEMON. It has cost me to come here +More than you have seen to-day, +More than I can well express; +Of the miseries I recall +This ship's loss is least of all. +Would you see that clearly? + +CYPRIAN. Yes. + +DEMON. I am since you wish to know it, +An epitome, a wonder* +Of all happiness and misfortune, +One I have lost, I weep the other. +By my gifts was I so glorious, +So conspicuous in my order, +Of a lineage so illustrious, +With a mind so well informed, +That my rare endowments feeling, +A great king (in truth the noblest +King of Kings, for all would tremble +If he looked in anger on them,) +In his palace roofed with diamonds +And with gems as bright as morning, +(If I called them stars, 'tis certain +The comparison were too modest,) +His especial favourite called me. +Which high epithet of honour +So enflamed my pride, as rival +For his royal seat I plotted, +Hoping soon my victor footsteps +Would his golden thrones have trodden. +It was an unheard-of daring, +THAT, chastized I must acknowledge, +I was mad; but then repentance +Were a still insaner folly. +Obstinate in my resistance, +With my spirit yet unconquered, +I preferred to fall with courage +Than surrender with dishonour. +If the attempt was rash, the rashness +Was not solely my misfortune, +For among his numerous vassals +Not a few my standard followed. +From his court, in fine, thus vanquished, +Though part victor in the contest, +I went forth, my eyes outflashing +Flames of anger and abhorrence, +And my lips proclaiming vengeance +For the public insult offered +To my pride, among his people +Scattering murder, rapine, horror. +Then a bloody pirate, I +The wide plains of the sea ran over, +Argus of its dangerous shallows, +Lynx-eyed where the reefs lay covered; +In that vessel which the wind +Bit by bit so soon demolished, +In that vessel which the sea +As a dustless ruin swallowed, +I to-day these fields of crystal +Eagerly ran o'er, my object +Being stone by stone to examine, +Tree by tree to search this forest:-- +For a man in it is living, +Whom it is of great importance +I should see, this day expecting +The fulfilment of a promise +Which he gave and I accepted. +This infuriate tempest stopped me. +And although my powerful genius +Could chain up east, south, and north wind, +I cared not, as if despairing +Of success, with other objects, +Other aims in view, to turn them +To the west wind's summer softness.-- +[Aside. +(I have said I could, but did not, +For I note the dangerous workings +Of his mind, and thus to magic +Bind him by these hints the stronger.) +Let not my wild fury fright thee, +Nor be at my power astonished, +For I could my own death give me, +If I were by rage so prompted, +And so great that power, the sunlight, +By my science could be blotted. +I, in magic am so mighty, +That I can describe the orbits +Of the stars, for I have travelled +Through the farthest and beyond them. +And in order that this boasting +May not seem to you mere bombast, +Look, if at this very instant +You desire it, this untrodden +Nimrod of rude rocks more savage +Than of Babylon is recorded, +Shall without a leaf being shaken, +Show the most horrific portents. +I am, then, the orphan guest here +Of these ash-trees, of these poplars, +And though what I am, assistance +At thy feet here I ask from thee: +And I wish the good I purchase +To repay thee with the product +Of unnumbered years of study, +Though it now slight effort costs me, +Giving to your wildest wishes +[Aside. +(Here I touch his love,) the fondest +Longings of your heart, whatever +Passion can desire or covet. +If through courtesy or caution +You should not accept my offer, +Let my good intentions pay you, +If from greater acts you stop me. +For the pity that you show me, +Which I thankfully acknowledge, +I will be a friend so faithful, +That henceforth the changeful monster +Of events and acts, called Fortune, +Which 'twixt flattering words and scornful, +Generous now, and now a miser, +Shows a friendly face or hostile, +Neither it nor that laborious +Ever flying, running worker, +Time, the loadstone of the ages, +Nor even heaven itself, heaven proper, +To whose stars the dark world oweth +All its most divine adornment, +Will have power to separate me +From your side a single moment, +Since you here have given me welcome. +And even this is almost nothing +When compared with what my wishes +Hope hereafter to accomplish. + + +[footnote] *Asonante in 1-3, to the end of the speech. + + +CYPRIAN. Well to the sea, my thanks are due, that bore +You struggling to the shore, +And led you to this grove, +Where you will quickly prove +The friendly feelings that inflame my breast, +If happily I merit such a guest. +Then let us homeward wend, +For I esteem you now as an old friend. +My guest you are, and so you must not leave me +While my house suits you. + +DEMON. Do you then receive me +Wholly as yours? + +CYPRIAN [embracing him]. This act doth prove it true, +That seals an eternal bond betwixt us two.-- +[Aside. +Oh! if I could win o'er +This man to instruct me in his magic lore! +Since by that art my love might gain +Some solace for its pain; +Or yielding to its mighty laws +My love at length might win my love's sweet cause -- +The cause of all my torment, madness, rage. + +DEMON [aside]. The working of his mind and love I gauge. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE VIII. + +CLARIN and MOSCON enter running from opposite sides. CYPRIAN and The Demon. + +CLARIN. Oh! are you sir, alive? + +MOSCON. My friend, do you +Speak civilly for once as something new? +That he's alive requires no demonstration. + +CLARIN. I struck this lofty note of admiration, +Thou noble lackey, to express my wonder, +How from this storm of lightning, rain, and thunder, +Without a miracle he could survive. + +MOSCON. Will you stop wondering, now you see him alive? + +CYPRIAN. These are my servants, sir.-- +What brings you here? + +MOSCON. Your spleen once more to stir. + +DEMON. They have a pleasant humour. + +CYPRIAN. Foolish pair, +Their weary wit is oft too hard to bear. + +MOSCON. This man, sir, waiting here, +Who is he? + +CYPRIAN. He's my guest, so do not fear. + +CLARIN. Wherefore have guests at such a time as this? + +CYPRIAN [to The Demon]. Your worth is lost on ignorance such as his. + +MOSCON. My master's right. Are you, forsooth, his heir? + +CLARIN. No; but our new friend there, +Looks like a guest, unless I deceive me, who +Will honour our poor house a year or two. + +MOSCON. Why? + +CLARIN. When a guest soon means to go away, +Well, he'll not make much smoke in the house, we say. +But this . . . . + +MOSCON. Speak out. + +CLARIN. Will make, I do not joke . . + +MOSCON. What? + +CLARIN. In the house a deuced deal of smoke. + +CYPRIAN. In order to repair +The danger done by the rude sea and air, +Come thou with me. + +DEMON. [Aside.] I'm thine, while thou hast breath. + +CYPRIAN. I go to prepare thy rest. + +DEMON [aside]. And I thy death:-- +An entrance having gained +Within his breast, and thus my end obtained; +My rage insatiate now without control +Seeks by another way to win Justina's soul. +[Exit. + +CLARIN. Guess, if you can, what I am thinking about. + +MOSCON. What is it? + +CLARIN. That a new volcano has burst out +In the late storm, there's such a sulphur smell. + +MOSCON. It came from the guest, as my good nose could tell. + +CLARIN. He uses bad pastilles, then; but I can +Infer the cause. + +MOSCON. What is it? + +CLARIN. The poor gentleman +Has a slight rash on his skin, a ticklish glow, +And uses sulphur ointment. + +MOSCON. Gad! 'tis so. +[Exeunt. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE IX. + +THE STREET. + +LELIUS and FABIUS. + +FABIUS. You return, then, to this street. + +LELIUS. Yes; the life that I deplore +I return to seek once more +Where 'twas lost. Ah! guide my feet, +Love, to find it!-- + +FABIUS. That house there +Is Justina's; come away. + +LELIUS. Wherefore, when I will to-day +Once again my love declare. +And as she, I saw it plain, +Trusted some one else at night, +'Tis not strange, in open light, +That I try to soothe my pain. +Leave me, go; for it is best +That I enter here alone. +My rank in Antioch is known, +My father Governor; thus drest +In his robe as 'twere, my strong +Passion listening to no mentor, +I Justina's house will enter +To protest against my wrong. +[Exeunt. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE X. + +A HALL IN THE HOUSE OF LYSANDER. + +JUSTINA, and afterwards LELIUS. + +JUSTINA. Livia . . . . But a step! who's there? + +[LELIUS enters +LELIUS. It is I. + +JUSTINA. What novelty, +What extreme temerity, +Thus, my lord, compels you? . . . + +LELIUS. Spare +Your reproaches. Jealous-grown, +I can bear that you reprove. +Pardon me, for with my love +My respect has also flown. + +JUSTINA. Why, at such a perilous cost +Have you dared . . . + +LELIUS. Because I'm mad. + +JUSTINA. To intrude . . . . + +LELIUS. Heart-broken, sad. + +JUSTINA. Here . . . . + +LELIUS. Because, in truth, I'm lost. + +JUSTINA. Nor perceive how scandal views +Such an act as now you do +'Gainst . . . . + +LELIUS. Be not so moved, for you +Little honour now can lose. + +JUSTINA. Lelius, spare at least my fame. + +LELIUS. Ah, Justina, it were best +That this language you addressed +Unto him who nightly came +Down here from this balcony;-- +'Tis enough for me to show +All your lightness that I know, +That less coy and cold to me +Your pretended honour prove. +If I am disdained, displaced, +'Tis another suits your taste, +Not that you your honour love. + +JUSTINA. Silence, cease, your words withhold. +Who with insult e'er before +Dared to pass my threshold's door? +Are you then so blind and bold, +So audacious, so insane, +As my pure light to eclipse, +Through the libel of your lips, +By chimeras false and vain?-- +In my house a man? + +LELIUS. 'Tis so. + +JUSTINA. From my balcony? + +LELIUS. With shame +I repeat it. + +JUSTINA. O, my fame, +O'er us twain your Aegis throw. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XI. + +THE SAME. + +The Demon appears at the door which is behind JUSTINA. + +DEMON [aside]. For the deep design I handle, +For my double plot I come +Raging to this simple home, +Now to work the greatest scandal +Ever seen. Here, brooding o'er him, +This wild lover mad with ire, +I will fan his jealous fire, +I will place myself before him, +Catch his eye, and then as fleeing, +In invisible gloom array me. +[He affects to come in, and being seen by LELIUS muffles himself in +his cloak, and re-enters the inner apartment. + +JUSTINA. Man, do you come here to slay me? + +LELIUS. No, to die. + +JUSTINA. What object seeing +Paralyses thus your senses? + +LELIUS. What I see is your untruth. +Tell me now, the wish, forsooth, +Has invented my offences. +From that very chamber there +Came a man, I turned my head, +When he saw my face he fled +Back into the room. + +JUSTINA. The air +Must this phantasy display -- +This illusion. + +LELIUS. Oh, that sight! + +JUSTINA. Is it not enough by night, +Lelius, but in open day +Thus fictitious forms to see? + +LELIUS. Phantom shape or real lover, +Now the truth I will discover. +[He goes into the room where The Demon had disappeared. + +JUSTINA. I no hindrance offer thee, +For my innocence, a way, +At the cost of this permission, +Thus finds out the night's submission +To correct by the light of day. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XII. + +LYSANDER and JUSTINA; LELIUS, within. + +LYSANDER. My Justina. + +JUSTINA [aside]. Woe is me! +Ah, if here before Lysander* +Lelius from that room comes forth! + + +[footnote] *Asonante in a-i to the end of Scene XVII. + + +LYSANDER. My misfortunes, my disasters +Fly to be consoled by thee. + +JUSTINA. What can be the grief, the sadness, +That your face betrays so plainly? + +LYSANDER. And no wonder, when the pallor +Springs even from the heart. This sobbing +Stops my weak words in their passage. + +[LELIUS appears at the door of the apartment. +LELIUS [aside]. I begin now to believe, +Since he is not in this chamber, +Jealousy can cause these spectres. +He, the man I saw, has vanished, +How I know not. + +JUSTINA [aside to Lelius]. Come not forth, +Lelius, here before my father. + +LELIUS. Convalescent in my sickness +I will wait till he is absent. +[Retires. + +JUSTINA. Why this weeping? why this sighing? +What, sir, moves thee, what unmans thee? + +LYSANDER. I am moved by a misfortune, +I'm unmanned by a disaster, +Greater far than tender pity +Ever wept,-- the dread example +Cruelty has sworn to make +In the innocent blood of martyrs. +To the Governor of this city +Decius Caesar a strict mandate +Has despatched . . . I can speak no more. + +JUSTINA [aside]. What position e'er was harder? +Moved with pity for the Christians +Hither comes to me Lysander +The sad news to tell, not knowing +Lelius to his words may hearken,-- +Lelius, the Governor's son. + +LYSANDER. So Justina . . . + +JUSTINA. Sir, no farther, +Since you feel it so acutely, +Speak upon this painful matter. + +LYSANDER. Let me, for I'll feel some solace +When to thee it is imparted. +In it he commands . . . + +JUSTINA. Proceed not +Further now, when you should rather +Cheat your years with more repose. + +LYSANDER. How? when I, to make you partner +In those lively fears whose bodings +Are sufficient to despatch me, +Would inform you of the edict, +The most cruel that the margin +Of the Tiber ever saw +Writ in blood to stain its waters, +Do you stop me? Ah, Justina, +You were wont in another manner +Once to listen to me. + +JUSTINA. Sir, +Different were the circumstances. + +LELIUS [at the door, aside]. I can hear but indistinctly +Half-formed words and broken accents. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XIII. + +FLORUS enters. -- JUSTINA and LYSANDER; LELIUS, peeping at the door +of the inner room. + +FLORUS [aside]. Licence has a jealous lover, +Who but enters to unmask here +A pretended purity, +To forego politer manners. +I come here with that intention . . . +But as she is with her father +I will wait a new occasion. + +LYSANDER. Who is there? Some footstep passes. + +FLORUS [aside]. Ah! 'tis now impossible +Without speaking to get back here. +Some excuse I'll try to offer:-- +I am . . . + +LYSANDER. You here, sir? + +FLORUS. Your pardon. +I ask leave, sir, to speak with you +On a most important matter. + +JUSTINA [aside]. Oh! take pity on me, fortune, +For these trials are too many. + +LYSANDER. Well, sir, speak. + +FLORUS [aside, at the door]. Florus in Justina's house +Leaves and enters like a master!-- +These are not unfounded jealousies, +These are real and substantial. + +LYSANDER. You grow pale, you change your colour. + +FLORUS. Do not wonder, be not startled, +For I came to give a warning, +To your life of utmost value, +Of an enemy that you have, +Who your swift destruction planneth. +What I've said is quite sufficient. + +LYSANDER [aside]. Florus, doubtless, must have gathered +Somehow that I am a Christian, +And thus comes in kindliest manner +Of my danger to apprise me.-- +[Aloud. +Speak, hide nothing in this matter. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XIV. + +LIVIA enters. -- JUSTINA, LYSANDER, and FLORUS; LELIUS at the door of the room. + +LIVIA. Sir, the Governor, who is waiting +At the door of the house, commanded +Me to call you to his presence. + +FLORUS. Best I wait for his departure:-- +[Aside. +(Meantime my excuse I'll think of.) +So 'tis well that you despatch him. + +LYSANDER. I appreciate your politeness. +Here I will return instanter. +[Exeunt LYSANDER and LIVIA. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XV. + +JUSTINA and FLORUS; LELIUS at the door. + +FLORUS. Are you then that virtuous maiden, +Who, the very breeze that flatters +With its soft and sweet caresses, +You would call rude, bold, unmannered? +How then is it you surrendered +Even the very keys of the casket +Of your honour? + +JUSTINA. Hold, hold, Florus, +Do not dare to throw a shadow +On that honour which the sun +After the most strict examen +Has proved bright and pure. + +FLORUS. Too late +Comes this idle boast. It happens +That I know to whom you have given +Free access . . . + +JUSTINA. You dare this scandal?-- + +FLORUS. By a balcony . . . + +JUSTINA. Do not say it. + +FLORUS. To your honour. + +JUSTINA. Thus will you blast me? + +FLORUS. Yes, for hypocritical virtue +Merits something even harsher. + +LELIUS [at the door, aside]. Florus was not then the hero +Of the balcony; some more happy +Lover than us twain she welcomes. + +JUSTINA. Oh! defame not noble damsels, +Since you noble blood inherit. + +FLORUS. Noble damsel, dar'st thou call thee, +When thy very arms received him, +And from thy balcony he departed? +Power subdued thee; from the fact +That the Governor is his father, +Vanity led thee on to show +That in Antioch he commanded . . . + +LELIUS [aside]. Here he speaks of me. + +FLORUS. Not seeing +Any graver defect of manner, +Than what in his birth and breeding +Rank may cover with its mantle, +But not so . . . . + +[LELIUS enters. +LELIUS. Be silent, Florus, +Nor attack me in my absence; +For of a rival to speak ill, +Is the act but of a dastard. +'Tis to stop this I come forward, +Angry after so many passes +Which my sword has had with thine, +That I have not yet dispatched thee. + +JUSTINA. Who, not guilty, ever saw her +In such dangerous straits entangled? + +FLORUS. What behind your back was spoken, +I before you will establish, +Truth is truth where'er 'tis uttered. +[They grasp their swords. + +JUSTINA. Florus! Lelius! what would you have then. + +LELIUS. I would have full satisfaction +Where I heard th'insulting language. + +FLORUS. I'll maintain what I have said +Where I said it. + +JUSTINA. From so many +Strokes of fortune, free me, Heaven!-- + +FLORUS. And I'll learn to chastise your rashness. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XVI. + +The Governor enters with LYSANDER and attendants. -- JUSTINA, LELIUS, +and FLORUS. + +[All who enter]. Hold! stand back! + +JUSTINA. Unhappy me! + +GOVERNOR. What is this? But empty scabbards, +Naked swords, are quite sufficient +To inform me what has happened. + +JUSTINA. What misfortune! + +LYSANDER. What affliction!-- + +LELIUS. Ah, my lord . . . + +GOVERNOR. Enough, no farther. +Lelius, thou a son of mine, +A disturber? Thou a scandal +To all Antioch through my favour? + +LELIUS. Think, my lord . . . + +GOVERNOR. Arrest, disarm them, +Take them hence. Make no distinction +On account of blood or rank here. +Let them suffer both alike, +Since in guilt alike they acted. + +LELIUS [aside]. I came jealous, and go outraged. + +FLORUS [aside]. To my pains new pains are added. + +GOVERNOR. In distinct and separate prisons, +And with watchful eyes to guard them, +Place the two. -- And you, Lysander, +Is it possible you have tarnished +Such a noble reputation, +Suffering . . . . + +LYSANDER. No; let not these dazzling +False appearances mislead you, +For Justina in what happened +Was quite blameless. + +GOVERNOR. In her house here, +Would you have her live regardless +Of the fact that they were young, +And that she was fair; My anger +I restrain, lest people say, +I, an interested party, +Sentence passed as partial judge.-- +But of you who caused this quarrel, +Now that maiden shame has left you, +Well I know that you will glad me +With the occasion I desire, +Of exposing, of unmasking, +In the light of actual vices, +The false virtuous part you've acted. +[Exeunt The Governor and his attendants; LELIUS and FLORUS follow as prisoners. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XVII. + +JUSTINA and LYSANDER. + +JUSTINA. I reply but with my tears. + +LYSANDER. Tears as vain as they are tardy. +What an act was mine, Justina, +When to thee my lips imparted +Who thou art! Oh, would I never +Told thee, that upon the margin +Of a rivulet in this forest, +A dead mother's womb here cast thee! + +JUSTINA. I . . . . + +LYSANDER. Do not attempt excuses. + +JUSTINA. Heaven will make them, then, hereafter + +LYSANDER. When too late, perhaps. + +JUSTINA. No limit +Can be late here while life lasteth. + +LYSANDER. For the punishment of crimes. + +JUSTINA. Injured truth to re-establish. + +LYSANDER. I, from what I have seen, condemn thee. + +JUSTINA. I thee, from what thou knowest not, rather. + +LYSANDER. Leave me; I go forth to die +Where my grief will soon dispatch me. + +JUSTINA. At thy feet I would lose my life; +But do not reject me, father. +[Exeunt. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XVIII. + +A HALL IN CYPRIAN'S HOUSE. +At the end is an open gallery, through which is seen the country. + +CYPRIAN, the Demon, MOSCON, and CLARIN. + +DEMON. Since the hour that I have been +In your house a guest, you ne'er +Show a gay and cheerful air. +Sadness in your face is seen. +It is wrong your cure to shun, +Seeking to mislead mine eyes, +Since I would unsphere the skies, +Shake the stars, and shroud the sun, +For the least desire you feel +That more pleasantly you might live. + +CYPRIAN. Magic has no power to give +The impossible I conceal, +Though the misery I betray. + +DEMON. Come, confess the longed-for bliss. + +CYPRIAN. I love a woman. + +DEMON. And is this +The impossible that you say? + +CYPRIAN. If you knew her, you'd agree. + +DEMON. Well, describe her, I'm resigned; +Though I can't but smile to find +What a coward you must be. + +CYPRIAN. The fair cradle of the skies, +Where the infant sun reposes, +Ere he rises, decked with roses, +Robed in snow, to dry heaven's eyes. +The green prison-bud that tries +To restrain the conscious rose, +When the crimson captive knows +April treads its gardens near, +Turning dawn's half frozen tear +To a smile where sunshine glows. +The sweet streamlet gliding by, +Though it scarcely dares to breathe +Softest murmurs through its teeth, +From the frosts that on it lie. +The bright pink, in its small sky +Shining like a coral star. +The blithe bird that flies afar, +Drest in shifting shades and blooms -- +Soaring cithern of plumes +Harping high o'er heaven's blue bar. +The white rock that cheats the sun +When it tries to melt it down, +What it melts is but the crown +Which from winter's snow it won. +The green bay that will not shun, +Though the heavens are all aglow, +For its feet a bath of snow,-- +Green Narcissus of the brook, +Fearless leaning o'er to look, +Though the stream runs chill below +In a word, the crimson dawn, +Sun, mead, streamlet, rosebud, May +Bird that sings his amorous lay, +April's laugh that gems the lawn, +Pink that sips the dews up-drawn, +Rock that stands in storm and shine, +Bay-tree that delights to twine +Round its fadeless leaves the sun, +All are parts which met in one +Form this woman most divine. +For myself, in blind unrest, +(Guess my madness if you can) +I, to seem another man, +In these courtly robes am drest, +Studious calm I now detest, +Fame no longer fires my mind, +Passion reigns where thought refined, +I my firmness fling to tears, +Courage I resign to fears, +And my hopes I give the wind. +I have said, and so will do, +That to some infernal sprite +I would offer with delight +(And the pledge I now renew) +Even my soul for her I woo. +But my offer is in vain, +Hell rejects it with disdain, +For my soul, it may allege, +Is a disproportionate pledge +For the interest I would gain. + +DEMON. Is this, then your boasted courage, +In the footsteps of dejected* +Swains to follow, who grow timid +When their first assault's rejected? +Are examples then so distant +Of fair ladies who surrender +All their vanities to entreaties, +All their pride to fond addresses? +Would you make your breast the prison +Of your love, your arms her fetters? + + +[footnote] *Asonante in e-e to the end of the Act. + + +CYPRIAN. Can you doubt it? + +DEMON. Then command them +To retire, those two, your servants, +So that we remain here only. + +CYPRIAN. Go: both leave me for the present. + +MOSCON. I obey. +[Exit. + +CLARIN. And I as well.-- +[Aside, concealing himself. +Such a guest must be the devil. + +CYPRIAN. They are gone. + +DEMON [aside]. That Clarin's hiding, +Is to me of small concernment. + +CYPRIAN. What more wish you now? + +DEMON. First fasten +Well this door. + +CYPRIAN. Yes; none can enter. + +DEMON. For the possession of this woman, +With your lips you have asserted +You would give your soul. + +CYPRIAN. 'Tis so. + +DEMON. Then the contract is accepted. + +CYPRIAN. What do you say? + +DEMON. That I accept it. + +CYPRIAN. How? + +DEMON. So much have I effected +By my science, that I will teach you +How by it to get possession +Of the woman that you worship; +For I (though so wise and learned) +Have no other means to win her. +Let us now in writing settle +What we have resolved between us. + +CYPRIAN. Do you wish by new pretences +To prolong the pains I suffer? +In my hand is what I tender, +But in yours is not the offer +That you make me; no, for never +Conjurations or enchantments +Can free will control or fetter. + +DEMON. Give me, on the terms you spoke of, +Your signed bond. + +CLARIN. [peeping]. The deuce! This fellow +Is no fool, I see. No greenhorn +In his business is this devil. +I give him my bond! No, truly, +Though my lodgings wanted a tenant +For the space of twenty ages, +I wouldn't do it. + +CYPRIAN. Sir, much jesting +May with merry friends be pastime, +Not with those who are dejected. + +DEMON. I, in proof of what I am able +To effect, will now present you +With an example, though it faintly +Shows the power my art possesses. +From this gallery what is seen? + +CYPRIAN. Much of sky, and much of meadow, +Wood, a rivulet, and a mountain. + +DEMON. Which to you doth seem most pleasant? + +CYPRIAN. The proud mountain, for in it +Is my adored one represented. + +DEMON. Proud competitor of time, +Rival of the years for ever, +Who as king of fields and plains +Crown'st thee with the cloud and tempest, +Move thyself, change earth and air; +Look, see who I am that tell thee.-- +And, look thou, too, since a mountain +I can move, thou mayest a maiden. + +[The mountain moves from one side to the other in the perspective of +the theatre. + +CYPRIAN. Never saw I such a wonder! +Ne'er a sight of so much terror! + +CLARIN [peeping]. With the fright and with the fear, +I enjoy a twofold tremble. + +CYPRIAN. Mighty mountain bird that fliest, +Trees for wings replacing feathers, +Boat, whose rocks supply the tackle, +As thou furrowest through the zephyr, +To thy centre back return thee, +And so end this fear, this terror. + +[The mountain returns to its original position. + +DEMON. If one proof is not sufficient, +I will give you then a second. +Do you wish to see the woman +You adore? + +CYPRIAN. Yes. + +DEMON. Then, thy entrails +Ope, thou monster, to whose being +The four elements are servants. +Show to us the perfect beauty +That thou hidest in thy centre. +[A rock opens and JUSTINA is seen sleeping. +Is this she whom you adore? + +CYPRIAN. Whom I idolize beyond measure. + +DEMON. But since I have power to give her, +I can take her too, remember. + +CYPRIAN. Now impossible dream of mine, +Now thy arms will be the centre +Of my love, thy lips the sun, +Burning, brimming as with nectar. + +DEMON. Stay; for till the word you gave me +Is affirmed, and well attested, +You can touch her not. + +[CYPRIAN rushes towards the rock, which closes. +CYPRIAN. Oh, stay +Cloud that hides the most resplendent +Sun, that on my bliss e'er dawned!-- +But 'tis air my void arm presses.-- +I believe your art, acknowledge +Now I am your slave for ever. +What do you wish I do for thee? +What do you ask? + +DEMON. To be protected +By your signature here written +In your blood, at the foot of a letter. + +CLARIN [peeping]. Oh! I'd give my soul that I +To stay here had not been tempted. + +CYPRIAN. For my pen I use this dagger, +Paper let this white cloth serve for, +And the ink wherewith I write it, +Be the blood my arm presents me. +[He writes with the point of a dagger upon a piece of linen, having +drawn blood from one of his arms. + +CYPRIAN [Aside]. Oh! I freeze with fear, with horror! +I, great Cyprian, say expressly +I will give my immortal soul, +(Oh! what lethargy, what frenzy!) +Unto him whose art will teach me +(What confusion! what strange terror!) +How I may of fair Justina, +Haughty mistress mine, possess me. +I have signed it with my name. + +DEMON [aside]. Now to my deceits is rendered +Valid homage, when such reason, +When discourse like his must tremble +Even when my help is sought for.-- +Have you written? + +CYPRIAN. And signed the letter. + +DEMON. Then the sun you adore is thine. + +CYPRIAN. Thine too, for the years eternal, +Is the soul I offer thee. + +DEMON. Soul for soul I pay my debtors, +Then for thine I give to thee +Thy Justina's + +CYPRIAN. In what term then, +Think you you can teach to me +All your magic art? + +DEMON. A twelvemonth; +But on this condition . . . . + +CYPRIAN. Speak. + +DEMON. That within a cavern buried, +Without any other study, +We may live there both together, +In our service having no one +For us two but this attendant, +[Drags out CLARIN. +Who being curious hid him here;-- +By securing thus his person +That our secret is well kept, +We, I think, may be quite certain. + +CLARIN [aside]. Oh, that I had never waited! +How does it happen though, so many +Neighbours prone to pry, as I am, +Are not caught thus by the devil? + +CYPRIAN. So far well. My love, my genius +Have this happy end effected: +First Justina will be mine, +Then by my new lights, new learning, +I will wake the world's surprise. + +DEMON. I have gained what I intended. + +CLARIN. I not so. + +DEMON. You come with us.-- +[Aside. +O'er my great foe I've got the better. + +CYPRIAN. Ah, how happy my desires, +If I reach to such possession!-- + +DEMON [aside]. Never will my envy rest +Till I gain both souls to serve me.-- +Let us go, and in the deepest +Cavern this wild world presenteth +You to-day will learn in magic +Your first lesson. + +CYPRIAN. Let us enter, +For my mind with such a master, +For my love with such incentive, +Will the sorcerer Cyprian's name +Live before the world for ever. + + + + * * * * * + + +ACT THE THIRD. + +SCENE I. + +A WOOD; AT THE EXTREMITY A GROTTO. + +CYPRIAN. + +CYPRIAN. Ungrateful beauty mine, +At length the day, the happy day doth shine -- +My hope's remotest range, +The limits of my love and of thy change, +Since I to-day will gain +At last my triumph over thy disdain. +This lofty mountain nigh, +Raised to the star-lit palace of the sky, +And this dark cavern's gloom, +Of two that live, so long the dismal tomb, +Are the rough school wherein +From magic art its mystic lore I win, +And such perfection reach +That I can now my mighty master teach. +Seeing, that on this day, since I came here +The sun completes its course from sphere to sphere, +I from my prison cell come forth to view +What in the light I now have power to do. +Ye skies of cloudless day +List to my magic spell-words and obey; +Swift zephyrs that rejoice +In heaven's warm light, stand still and hear my voice; +Stupendous mountain rock +Shake at my words as at an earthquake shock; +Ye trees in rough bark drest +Be frightened at the groanings of my breast; +Ye flowers so fair and frail +Faint at the echoing terror of my wail; +Ye sweet melodious birds +Hush all your songs before my awful words; +Ye cruel beasts of prey +See the first fruits of my long toil to-day; +For blinded, dazzled, dazed, +Confused, disturbed, astonished and amazed, +Ye skies and zephyrs, rocks, and trees, and flowers, +And birds, and beasts, behold my magic powers, +And thus to all make plain +Cyprian's infernal study is not vain. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE II. + +The Demon and CYPRIAN. + +DEMON. Cyprian! + +CYPRIAN. Wise friend and master still! + +DEMON. Why, how is this, that using your free-will +More than my precept meant, +Say for what end, what object, what intent, +Through ignorance or boldness can it be, +You thus come forth the sun's bright face to see? + +CYPRIAN. Seeing that now my spell +Can fill with fear, with horror even hell, +Since I, with so much care +Have studied magic and its depths laid bare, +So that yourself can scarcely tell +Whether 'tis I or you that most excel, +Seeing that now there is no place or part +That I with study, diligence and art, +have not attained, +Since necromancy's secret I have gained, +That art whose lines of gloom +Can ope to me the dark funereal tomb, +And bring before mine eyes +Each corpse that in it lies, +Regaining them, as 'twere by a new birth +From the hard avarice of the grasping earth. +The pale ghosts, one and all, +Rise and respond my call;-- +And seeing that at length the sun +My goal of life had won, +Since from its innate force +Swift-speeding on its course, +Climbing the heavens each day, +It turns as 'twere reluctantly away, +And with a natural fear +Completes to-day the lifetime of a year, +I wish to attain the scope +To last of all my dreams, of all my hope. +To-day the rare, the beautiful, the divine +Justina will be mine, +Here summoned by my charms, +Here lured by love she'll come unto my arms, +For you from me no longer can require +Postponement of my hope's, my heart's desire. + +DEMON. Nor do I wish to do it, no, +Since thus so earnestly you wish it so. +Now trace upon the ground +Mute mystic symbols, and the deep profound +Of air, with powerful incantations move +Obedient to your hope and to your love. + +CYPRIAN. For that I will retire; +You soon shall see the heaven and earth admire. +[Exit. + +DEMON. I give you leave to go, +Because our science being the same, I know +That the abyss of hell +Obedient to your spell +Will yield through me, this way, +The fair Justina to your arms to-day: +For, though my mighty power +Cannot enslave free-will even for an hour, +It may present +The outward show of rapture and content, +Suggesting thoughts impure:-- +If force I cannot use, at least I lure. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE III. + +CLARIN and The Demon. + +CLARIN. Ungrateful fair, who still my heart doth hold, +Not burning Libya sure, but Livia cold, +The time is come to show +Whether in love you have been true or no, +Whether, since I within this cave was placed, +Not chased by me you have yourself been chaste; +For I have studied here +At second hand some magic for a year, +Just to find out (alack! I can't but wince) +Whether with Moscon you have wronged me since:-- +Ye watery skies (some people call them pure) +List to my conjurations I conjure, +Mountains . . . . + +DEMON. How, Clarin? + +CLARIN. Oh! my master wise! +By the concomitance of my hands and eyes, +I've learned some magic, and would know by it +If Livia, that ungrateful little chit, +Has played me false since I have been away, +Embracing that rogue Moscon on my day. + +DEMON. Have done with these buffooneries: leave me, go. +And 'mid these intricate rocks whose paths you know, +Assist your master, who will let you see +(If you would witness such a prodigy) +The end of all his woe. +I wish to be alone. + +CLARIN. And I not so. +I now perceive +Why to use magic I have not your leave, +The fault was mine, neglecting to attest +My bond, and sign it with the blood of my breast.-- +[He takes out a soiled pocket-handkerchief. +Upon this linen handkerchief +(None cleaner he can have who cries for grief) +I'll sign it now, the method I propose +Is but to give myself a box on the nose, +For there is little harm +Whether the blood is drawn from nose or arm. +[He writes with his finger on the handkerchief, after having drawn some blood. +I, the great Clarin, say, if I can level +Pert Livia's cruel pride, whom I give to the devil . . . . + +DEMON. Leave me, I say again, +Go seek your master and with him remain. + +CLARIN. Yes, I will do so, don't get angry though. +The reason you reject my bond I know: +'Tis this, because you see, +Do what I will that you are sure of me. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE IV. + +The Demon. + +DEMON. Abyss of hell prepare! +Thyself the region of thine own despair.-- +From out each dungeon's dark recess +Let loose the spirits of voluptuousness, +To rain and o'erthrow +Justina's virgin fabric pure as snow. +A thousand filthy phantoms with thee brought +So people her chaste thought +That all her maiden fancies may be filled +With their deceits; let sweetest notes be trilled +From every tuneful grove, +And all, birds, plants, and flowers, provoke to love. +Let nothing meet her eyes +But spoils of love's delicious victories, +Let nothing meet her ears +But languid sighs that listening passion hears: +That thus unguarded by the faith, and weak, +She here may Cyprian seek +Invoked by his strong spell, +And by my blinding spirit lured as well. +Begin, in silence I will here remain +Unseen, that you may now begin the strain. +[Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE V. + +JUSTINA; music within. [They sing within.] + +A VOICE. What is the glory far above, +All else that life can give? + +CHORUS OF VARIOUS VOICES. Love love. + +A VOICE. No creature lives on which love's flame +Has not impressed its burning seal, +The man feels more who love doth feel +Than when Life's breath first warmed his frame. +Love owns one universal claim,-- +To Love, it only needs To Be,-- +Whether a bird, a flower, a tree: +Then the chief glory, far above +All else in life must be . . . . + +CHORUS [within]. Love, love. + +JUSTINA [alarmed and restless]. Fancy, flatter that thou art, +Though thou should'st be sad to-day, +When did I to thee impart, +In this strange and sudden way, +Licence to afflict my heart? +What thus makes my pulses move? +What strange fire is this I prove +Which each moment doth increase? +Ah! this pain that ends my peace, +This sweet unrest, ah, what? + +CHORUS. Love, love. + +JUSTINA [more composed]. 'Tis that enamoured nightingale +Who thus gives me the reply:-- +To his partner in the vale +Listening on a bough hard by +Warbling thus his tuneful wail. +Cease, sweet nightingale, nor show +By thy softly witching strain +Trilling forth thy bliss and woe, +How a man might feel love's pain, +When a bird can feel his so. +No: it was that wanton vine +That in fond pursuit has sought +The tall tree it doth entwine, +Till the green weight it hath brought +Makes the noble trunk decline. +Green entwining boughs that hold +What you love in your embrace, +Make my fancy not too bold:-- +Ah, if boughs thus interlace, +How would clasping arms infold!-- +And if not the vine, 'twill be +That bright sunflower which we see +Turning with its tearful eyes +To its sun-god in the skies, +Whatsoe'er his movements be. +Flower thy watch no longer keep, +Drooping leaflets fold in sleep, +For the fond thought reappears, +Ah, if leaves can shed such tears, +What are those that eyes can weep! +Cease then, lyrist of the grove, +Leafy vine, unclasp thy arms, +Fickle flower, no longer move, +And declare, these poisoned charms +That you use, what yields? + +CHORUS [within]. Love, love. + +JUSTINA. Love! it cannot be. Its chain +Have I ever worn for man? +No, the fond deceit is vain. +All received a like disdain, +Lelius, Florus, Cyprian. +Lelius did I not despise? +Florus did I not detest? +Cyprian, the good and wise, +[She pauses at Cyprian's name and resumes for a time her unquiet manner. +Spurn with such a haughty breast, +That he vanished from my eyes, +As if frightened by their ire?-- +Where he went I do not know. +But save this, the faintest fire +Love e'er lit, ne'er dared to glow +In the depths of my desire. +Yes, for since I said that he +Should submit without appeal +Never more my face to see, +Ah, I know and what I feel!-- +[She grows calmer. +Pity it must surely be, +That a man so widely known +Should through love of me be lost, +When he pays at such a cost +For the preference he has shown. +[She becomes troubled again. +Were it pity though, 'tis true, +The same pity I should give +Lelius and to Florus too, +Who in separate dungeons live, +Ah! for daring me to woo. +[She grows calmer. +But my thoughts, ye mutinous crew, +If my pity is enough +It should not be clogged by you. +Still your promptings press me so, +That I feel in my despair, +Where he is, if I could know, +I to seek him now would go. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE VI. + +The Demon and JUSTINA. + +DEMON. Come, and I will tell thee where. + +JUSTINA. Who art thou who has procured +Entrance to this lone retreat, +Though the entrance is secured? +Or, my senses being obscured, +Art thou but delusion's cheat? + +DEMON. No, not so; but having known +How this passion pressed thee so, +I have sought thee here alone, +Having promised thee to show +Whither Cyprian has flown. + +JUSTINA. Then thou'lt reach not thy intent; +For this passion, this strange pain, +Which my thought doth so torment, +Though my fancy it may gain, +It will never my consent. + +DEMON. But in thought to enter in +Shows that half the deed is done; +Since accomplished is the sin:-- +Stop not halfway, ere is won +What the wish desired to win. + +JUSTINA. Even in this desponding hour, +Though to think may taint the flower, +Thy suggestion comes to nought,-- +In my power is not my thought +But my act is in my power. +I can follow to the brink, +Free to pause or to pursue, +Move my foot, or backward shrink, +For it is one thing to do, +And another thing to think. + +DEMON. If a stronger power than thine, +Drawn from a profounder source, +With thine own desires combine, +How resist the double force +Which with force thy steps incline? + +JUSTINA. I will trust a safer spell:-- +My free will suffices me. + +DEMON. But my power will it excel. + +JUSTINA. Then the will no more were free +If a force could it compel. + +DEMON. Come where every bliss thou'lt meet. +[Attempts to draw her with him, but cannot move her. + +JUSTINA. Ah! the bliss were bought too dear. + +DEMON. It is peace, serene and sweet. + +JUSTINA. 'Tis a slavery most severe. + +DEMON. Life, 'tis joy. + +JUSTINA. 'Tis death, deceit. + +DEMON. Thy defence, what can it be, +If my power thus forces thee? +[Drags her with more force. + +JUSTINA. In my God it doth consist. + +DEMON. By persisting to resist, +[Releases her. +Woman, thou has conquered me. +Thy defence to God is due, +And my counsel is disdained; +Yes, but raging I'll renew +My attempt and have thee feigned, +If I cannot have thee true. +To a spirit I will give +Shape like thine though fugitive, +It will counterfeit thy form, +As with seeming life be warm, +And in it disgraced thou'lt live. +Thus two triumphs at one time +I am sure to win by this, +Be thy virtue so sublime, +Since through an ideal bliss +I will consummate a crime. +[Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE VII. + +JUSTINA. + +JUSTINA. 'Gainst the clouds that round me lower +I appeal to heaven's high power; +Let this spectre of my fame -- +As before the wind the flame -- +As before the frost the flower, +Vanish, die . . . . But woe is me! +Who is here to heed my moan? +Was there not a man with me? +Yes. But no: I am alone: +No. But yes: for I could see. +Where so quickly could he fly? +Was he born of my unrest? +Oh! my danger's manifest . . . +Father! friend! Lysander! I +Call . . . . + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE VIII. + +LYSANDER and LIVIA enter from opposite doors. -- JUSTINA. + +LYSANDER. My child? + +LIVIA. What means this cry? + +JUSTINA. Saw you not a man (ah, me!) +Who but left me instantly? +I can scarce express my thought. + +LYSANDER. A man here? + +JUSTINA. You saw him not? + +LIVIA. No, senora. + +JUSTINA. I could see. + +LYSANDER. Saw a man here? That is hard, +When the place was locked and barred. + +LIVIA [aside]. Moscon sure she must have seen, +Whom I have contrived to screen +In my changer. + +LYSANDER. I regard +What you saw but as the play +Of your fancy and your fear. +Melancholy surely may +Have, the man that you saw here, +Formed from atoms of the day. + +LIVIA. Yes, I think my master's right. + +JUSTINA. No, 'twas no defect of sight, +No illusion: since my heart,-- +Ah! too well I feel the smart -- +Has been broken by the fright. +Some strange witchery of my will +Must have been effected here. +And with such consummate skill, +That if God had not been near +I might have pursued my ill. +He who at such timely hour +Helped me to resist the power +Of this fearful violence, +Will my humble innocence +Guard, whatever dangers lower.-- +Livia, my cloak: whene'er +[Exit LIVIA. +Overwhelming griefs oppress, +I to holy church repair, +Where we secretly confess +The true faith. +[LIVIA returns with the cloak, which she places on JUSTINA. +LIVIA. 'Tis this you wear. + +JUSTINA. There perchance I may appease +This strange fire that burns me so. + +LYSANDER. I desire with thee to go. + +LIVIA [aside]. I will breathe much more at ease +When they're out of the house, I know. + +JUSTINA. Since I wholly trust to thee +Heaven, thy hold to me afford. +Save me . . . . + +LYSANDER. Come: so it may be. + +JUSTINA. Since the cause is thine, O Lord! +Oh, defend Thyself and me! +[Exeunt JUSTINA and LYSANDER. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE IX. + +MOSCON and LIVIA. + +MOSCON. Have they gone? + +LIVIA. They're gone: all right. + +MOSCON. Why, I'm almost dead with fright. + +LIVIA. Were you of your sense bereft +When but now my room you left +And appeared before her sight? + +MOSCON. Left your room? Be seen by her? +Why, I swear it, Livia dear, +Not one moment did I stir. + +LIVIA. Who then was it she saw here? + +MOSCON. Well, the devil, as I infer. +How know I? But then do not +Take it so to heart, my soul. + +LIVIA. Oh! that's not the cause. +[She weeps. + +MOSCON. Then what? + +LIVIA. Such a question, when the whole +Of a day it was his lot +With me here locked up to stay? +For his comrade far away +Must I not a tear then shed, +Though I take this day instead, +Having wept not yesterday? +Would I have him think of me +As a woman who could be +So forgetful and so frail, +As for half a year to fail +In what we did both agree? + +MOSCON. Half a year? It is above +One whole year since he went away. + +LIVIA. Quite an error, as I'll prove. +Mind, I cannot count a day +When I Clarin could not love. +This being so, if I to thee +Gave up half the year (ah me!), +I would give a false amount +To place all to his account. + +MOSCON. Ah, ungrateful! can it be +When my heart on thee depends +For its peace, that thine attends +To such trifles? + +LIVIA. Moscon, yes, +For I find, I must confess, +Short accounts make longest friends. + +MOSCON. Such being then thy constancy, +Livia, I must say good-bye, +Till to-morrow. Ah! if he +Is thy two-day fever, I +Hope he's not thy syncope. + +LIVIA. Well, my friend, from this you know +I no malice bear. + +MOSCON. Just so. + +LIVIA. See me then no more to-day, +But to-morrow, sir, you may: +I'll not need to send. Heigho! +[Exeunt. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE X. + +A WOOD. + +CYPRIAN, as frightened; CLARIN, stealthily after him. + +CYPRIAN. Doubtless something must have happened +'Mong the stars; imperial clusters,* +Since I find their influences +To my wishes so repugnant. +Up from the profound abysses +Some dark caveat must be uttered, +Which prohibits the obedience +Which they owe me as my subjects. +I, a thousand times, with spell-words +Made the winds of heaven to shudder, +I, a thousand times, the bosom +Of the earth with symbols furrowed, +Yet mine eyes have not been gladdened +By the human sun refulgent +That I seek, nor in mine arms +Hold that human heaven. + + +[footnote] *'Asonante' in 'u-e' to the end of Scene XV. + + +CLARIN. What wonder? +When a thousand times have I +Scraped the earth as if for nuggets, +When a thousand times the wind +By my screeching was perturbed, +And yet Livia was oblivious. + +CYPRIAN. Once again then I am humbled +To invoke her thus. Oh, listen, +Beautiful Justina . . . . + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XI. + +A phantom Figure of JUSTINA appears. + +The Figure, CYPRIAN, and CLARIN. + +FIGURE. Summoned, +As I wander through these mountains, +I obey a call so urgent. +What, then, wouldst thou? what, then, wouldst thou, +Cyprian, with me? + +CYPRIAN. Oh, I shudder! + +FIGURE. And since now . . . . + +CYPRIAN. I am astonished! + +FIGURE. I have come . . . . + +CYPRIAN. What thus disturbs me? + +FIGURE. To this place . . . . + +CYPRIAN. What makes me tremble? + +FIGURE. Where . . . . + +CYPRIAN. Oh! whence this doubt that numbs me? + +FIGURE. Love doth call me . . . . + +CYPRIAN. Why, this terror? + +FIGURE. And the powerful spell thou workest +Thus complied with, to this forest's +Deepest depths I fly to shun thee. +[Exit, covering her face with the cloak. + +CYPRIAN. Listen, hear me, stay, Justina! +But why linger spell-bound, stunned here? +I'll pursue her, and this forest, +Whither by my spells conducted +She has flown, will be the leafy +Theatre, the rude-constructed +Bride-bed of the strangest bridal +Heaven e'er witnessed. +[Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XII. + +CLARIN. Stop: Renuncio +Bride like this who smells of smoke +Stronger than a blacksmith's furnace. +But perhaps the incantation, +Being so extremely sudden, +Caught her leaning o'er the lye-tub, +If not cooking tripe for supper. +No. Thus cloaked and in a kitchen! +That excuse won't do: another +Let me try. (I have it now, +For an honourable woman +Never smells then any sweeter,) +She with fright must have been flustered.-- +He has overtaken her now, +And from that rude vale uncultured, +Struggling in closed clasping arms, +(For I think when lovers struggle, +Open arms are not the weapon +Even for the lustiest lover,) +To this very spot they come: +I will watch them under cover, +For I wish for once to witness +How young women are abducted. +[Conceals himself. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XIII. + +CYPRIAN embracing the Figure of JUSTINA, which he carries in his arms. + +CYPRIAN. Now, O beautiful Justina, +In this sweet and secret covert, +Where no beam of sun can enter, +Nor the breeze of heaven blow roughly, +Now the trophy of thy beauty +Makes my magic toils triumphant, +For here folding thee, no longer +Have I need to fear disturbance. +Fair Justina, thou hast cost me +Even my soul. But in my judgment, +Since the gain has been so glorious, +Not so dear has been the purchase. +Oh! unveil thyself, fair goddess, +Not in the clouds obscure and murky, +Not in vapours hide the sun, +Show its golden rays refulgent. +[He draws aside the cloak and discovers a skeleton. +But, O woe! what's this I see! +Is it a cold corse, mute, pulseless, +That within its arms expects me? +Who, in one brief moment's compass, +Could upon these faded features, +Pallid, motionless, and shrunken, +Have extinguished the bright beauties +Of the blush rose and the purple? + +THE SKELETON. Cyprian, such are all the glories +Of the world that you so covet. +[The Skeleton disappears. CLARIN rushes in frightened, and embraces CYPRIAN. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XIV. + +CLARIN and CYPRIAN. + +CLARIN. Fear, for any one who wants it, +Wholesale or retail I'll furnish. + +CYPRIAN. Stay! funereal shadow, stay! +Now for other ends I urge thee. + +CLARIN. I am a funereal body:-- +Don't you see it by my bulk here? + +CYPRIAN. Ah! who are you? + +CLARIN. Who I am, sir, +Or am not, myself doth puzzle. + +CYPRIAN. Did you in the air's void spaces, +Or earth's caverns yawning under, +See an icy corse here vanish, +See to dust and ashes turning +All the freshness and the beauty +That it promised in its coming? + +CLARIN. Do you take me, sir, for one +Of those pitiful poor lurkers +Men call spies? + +CYPRIAN. What could it be? + +CLARIN. And not be, in such a hurry. + +CYPRIAN. Let us seek it. + +CLARIN. Let's not seek it. + +CYPRIAN. I must sift this matter further. + +CLARIN. I would rather not. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XV. + +The Demon, CYPRIAN, and CLARIN. + +DEMON [aside]. Just heavens, +If my nature, in conjunction, +Once possessed both grace and science, +When 'mongst angels I was numbered, +Grace alone is what I've lost, +Science no. Then why unjustly, +If 'tis so, deprive my science +Of its proper power and function? + +CYPRIAN. Lucifer, wise master mine. + +CLARIN. Pray don't call him: for he'll come here +In another corse, I warrant. + +DEMON. Speak, what would you? + +CYPRIAN. The annulling, +The redemption of those pledges, +At whose very thought I shudder. + +CLARIN. As I don't redeem my pledges, +I'll slip off here through the bushes. +[Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XVI. + +CYPRIAN and The Demon. + +CYPRIAN. Scarcely o'er earth's wounded bosom +Had I the true spell-word uttered, +When in the ensuing action, +She, of all my dreams the subject, +My adored, divine Justina . . . . +But why take the useless trouble, +That to tell you know already? +I embraced her, would unmuffle +Her fair face, when (woe is me!) +In her beauty I discovered +A gaunt skeleton, a statue, +A pale image, a sepulchral +Show of death, which in these measured +Words thus spoke (even yet I shudder), +"Cyprian, such are all the glories +Of the world that you so covet."-- +To assert, that on thy magic +As expressed by me, the burden +Of the fault should lie, is vain, +For I, point by point, so worked it, +That of all its silent symbols +There was not a line but somewhere +Had its place, of all its spell-words +Not one word that was not uttered. +Then, 'tis plain thou has deceived me, +For though acting as instructed, +I but found an empty phantom +Where I sought a blissful substance. + +DEMON. Cyprian, this defect from thee, +Nor from me, in truth, resulted: +Not from thee, because the magic +Thou didst exercise with subtle +Thought and skill; and not from me, +For I could not teach thee further. +From a higher cause, believe me, +Came this injury thou hast suffered. +But be not cast down: for I, +Who in tranquil rest would lull thee, +Will to thee unite Justina, +By a different way and juster. + +CYPRIAN. That is not my intention now. +For this strange event has struck me +With such terror and confusion, +That thy ways I do not covet. +And since thou has not complied with +The conditions, the assumptions +Of my love, I only ask thee, +Now that from thy face I'm rushing, +As the contract is annulled, +That my bond thou shouldst return me. + +DEMON. What I promised was to teach thee, +By a course of secret study, +How to draw to thee Justina +By the potent power impulsive +Of thy words: and since the wind +Here Justina hath conducted, +I have then fulfilled my contract, +I have kept my plighted word then. + +CYPRIAN. What was offered to my love +Was that I should surely pluck here +The sweet fruit whose seeds my hope +Had to these wild wastes entrusted. + +DEMON. Cyprian, I was only bound +Her to bring here. + +CYPRIAN. A mere shuffle: +To my arms you swore to give her. + +DEMON. In thy arms I saw her struggle. + +CYPRIAN. 'Twas a phantom. + +DEMON. 'Twas a portent. + +CYPRIAN. Worked by whom? + +DEMON. By one who worked it +To protect her. + +CYPRIAN. Who was he? + +DEMON [trembling]. I don't wish the name to utter. + +CYPRIAN. I will turn my magic science +'Gainst thyself. By its compulsion +Speak, inform me who he is. + +DEMON. Well, a god who takes this trouble +For Justina. + +CYPRIAN. What's one God, +When of gods there's such a number? + +DEMON. All their power in Him is centred. + +CYPRIAN. Then One only, sole and sovereign, +Must He be, whose single will +Their united wills outworketh. + +DEMON. I know nothing, I know nothing. + +CYPRIAN. I renounce then with my utmost +Power the pact that I made with thee; +What compelled Him (this I urge thee +In that God's great name) to guard her? + +DEMON [after having struggled ineffectually not to say it]. To +preserve her pure, unsullied. + +CYPRIAN. Then He is the sovereign goodness +Since a wrong He will not suffer. +But if she remained here hidden +Say what loss would have resulted? + +DEMON. Loss of honour, if the secret +Leaked out to the gossiping vulgar. + +CYPRIAN. Then that God must be all sight, +Since he could foresee these trouble. +But, why could not thy enchantment +Be as potent and consummate? + +DEMON. Ah! His power is ampler, fuller. + +CYPRIAN. Then that God must be all hands, +Since whate'er He wills He worketh. +Tell me then who is that God, +Whom to-day I have discovered +The supreme of good to be, +The Creator, the Annuller, +The Omniscient, the All-seeing, +Whom I've sought for years unnumbered? + +DEMON. Him I know not. + +CYPRIAN. Speak, who is He? + +DEMON. As I speak it, how I shudder! +He -- He is the God of the Christians. + +CYPRIAN. Say what moved Him to obstruct me +In my wish? + +DEMON. Her Christian faith. + +CYPRIAN. Does He guard so those who love Him? + +DEMON. Yes; but now too late, too late, +Dost thou hope to gain His succour, +Since, in being my slave, thou canst not +Claim the privilege of His subject. + +CYPRIAN. I thy slave? + +DEMON. In my possession +Is thy signature. + +CYPRIAN. I'll struggle +To regain it from thee, since +'Twas conditional at the utmost. +I don't doubt I will get it. + +DEMON. How? + +CYPRIAN. In this way. +[He draws his sword, strikes at The Demon, but cannot touch him. + +DEMON. Although the lunges +Of thy naked sword against me +Are well aimed, thou hast not struck me, +Fierce as were thy blows. And now, +Even in more despair to plunge thee, +I would have thee learn at least +That the Devil is thy instructor. + +CYPRIAN. What do you say? + +DEMON. That I am he. + +CYPRIAN. Oh! to hear thee how I shudder!-- + +DEMON. Not alone a slave art thou, +But MY slave; be that thy comfort. + +CYPRIAN. I the slave of the Devil! I +Own a master so unworthy? + +DEMON. Yes; for since thy soul thou gav'st me, +Thenceforth it to me was subject. + +CYPRIAN. Is there then no gleam of hope, +No appeal, no aid, no succour, +By which I so great a crime +Can blot out? + +DEMON. No. + +CYPRIAN. Why doubt further? +Let not this sharp sword rest idly +In my hand, but swiftly cutting +Through my breast, become the willing +Instrument of mine own murder. +But what say I? He who could +Snatch Justina from thy clutches, +Can He not, too, rescue me? + +DEMON. No. By choice thou wert a culprit, +And He does not favour crimes, +Virtues only. + +CYPRIAN. If the summit +Of all power He be, to pardon +Is as easy as to punish. + +DEMON. He rewardeth by His power, +He chastiseth from His justice. + +CYPRIAN. One who yields He'll not chastise. +I am one, since I am humbled. + +DEMON. Thou art mine, my slave: no master +Canst thou have but me. + +CYPRIAN. I trust not. + +DEMON. How, when still in my possession +Is that bond of thine, that bloody +Scroll inscribed by thine own hand? + +CYPRIAN. He who is supreme and sovereign, +And depends not on another, +Will yet bear me through triumphant. + +DEMON. In what way? + +CYPRIAN. He is all sight, +And will see the fitting juncture. + +DEMON. It I hold. + +CYPRIAN. He is all hands, +And will burst my bonds asunder. + +DEMON. Ere that comes I'll see thee dead: +Thus my clasping arms shall crush thee. + +[They struggle together. + +CYPRIAN. Thou great God, the Christians' God, +Oh, assist me in this struggle! + +DEMON [flinging CYPRIAN from his arms]. It is He who has saved thy life. + +CYPRIAN. More He'll do since I seek Him humbly. +[Exeunt. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XVII. + +HALL IN THE PALACE OF THE GOVERNOR. + +The Governor, FABIUS, and Soldiers. + +GOVERNOR. How then was the capture made? + +FABIUS. In their church, as we suspected, +We discovered them collected, +Where before their God they prayed. +With an armed guard I traced them +To this secret sacred hall, +Made them prisoners one and all, +And in different prisons placed them. +But, your patience not to tire, +The chief point I may declare,-- +Captured is Justina fair, +And Lysander her old sire. + +GOVERNOR. If for gold, a fair pretence, +If for rank, you would not miss, +Wherefore bring me news like this +And not claim your recompense? + +FABIUS. If you deign to value thus +My poor service you may pay it. + +GOVERNOR. How? + +FABIUS. With great respect I say it, +Florus free, and Lelius. + +GOVERNOR. Though I seemed austere and cold, +Them chastising without pity +To strike terror through the city, +Yet if the whole truth were told, +Then the cause were plain why they +Have been prisoned a whole year. +It is this, a father's fear +Lelius would preserve this way. +Florus was his rival, he +Had a host of powerful friends, +Each was jealous, and his ends +Would attain whate'er might be. +I was fearful a collision +Would ensue if they should meet, +So I thought it more discreet +Not to come to a decision. +So with this intent I sought +Some pretext, Justina's face +To expel from out this place, +But I could discover nought. +But since this event to-day, +With her damaged character, +Gives a right to banish her, +Nay, to take her life away, +Let them be released. No fear +Need you have about their fate; +Go, and Lelius liberate, +Go, and Florus bring me here. + +FABIUS. Myriad times I kiss thy feet +For a favour so immense. +[Exit. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XVIII. + +The Governor and Soldiers. + +GOVERNOR. And since now this fair pretence, +This hypocritical deceit, +In my power at last doth lie, +Wherefore my revenge postpone +For the sorrows I have known +Through her fault? Yes, she shall die +By the bloody headsman's hand. +[To a Soldier. +Bring her hither in my name. +Let her punishment and shame +Be a terror to the land. +Let the palace she thought sweet +But her scaffold scene present. +[Exit the Soldier with others. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XIX. + +FABIUS, LELIUS, and FLORUS. -- THE SAME. + +FABIUS. Sir, the two for whom you sent +Here are kneeling at your feet. + +LELIUS. I, whose wish it is to be +Welcomed as thy son this time, +With no consciousness of crime +Do not see a judge in thee, +I an angry sire may see +With a son's respectful fear +And obedience. + +FLORUS. Being here, I infer that it must be +(Though no guilt can I discern) +Thy chastising hand to feel. +See. Submissive here I kneel. + +GOVERNOR. Lelius, Florus, I was stern, +Justly stern against ye two, +For as judge or father I +Could not unchastised pass by +Your offence. But then I knew +That in noble hearts the feeling +Of resentment does not last, +And as now the cause is past, +I resolved, to both appealing, +Friends to make of you once more. +So to consecrate the tie +Now embrace in amity. + +LELIUS. I am glad that, as of yore, +Florus is my friend to-day. + +FLORUS. That thou'rt mine this act may show. +Here's my hand. + +GOVERNOR. This being so, +You are free to go or stay:-- +When I tell you of the sad +Fall of her you once admired, +Northing further is required. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XX. + +The Demon, a crowd of People. -- THE SAME. + +DEMON [within]. Ware! beware! He's mad! he's mad! + +GOVERNOR. What is this? + +LELIUS. I'll go and see. +[He goes to the door, and after a pause returns. + +GOVERNOR. In this palace hall these cries, +From what cause can they arise? + +FLORUS. Something serious it must be. + +LELIUS. This confusion is occasioned +(Hear a singular adventure), +Sir, by Cyprian, who being absent +Many days again has entered* +Antioch completely mad. + + +[footnote] *Asonante in e-e which continues to the end. + + +FLORUS. It was doubtless the fine essence +Of his mind that thus has brought him +To this lamentable ending. + +PEOPLE [within]. Ware the madman! ware the madman! + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XXI. + +CYPRIAN, half naked; People. -- THE SAME. + +CYPRIAN. Never was I more collected; +It is you yourselves are mad. + +GOVERNOR. Cyprian, what is all this ferment? + +CYPRIAN. Governor of Antioch, +Viceroy of great Caesar Decius, +Florus, Lelius, my young friends, +Whom I valued and respected, +Proud nobility, great people, +To my words be all attentive: +I am Cyprian, I am he +Once so studious, and so learned, +I the wonder of the schools, +Of the sciences the centre. +What I gained from all my studies +Was one doubt, a doubt that never +Left my wildered mind a moment, +Ever troubling and perplexing. +I Justina saw, and seeing, +To her charms my soul surrendered, +And for soft voluptuous Venus +Left the wise and learn'd Minerva. +Baffled by Justina's virtue, +I, pursuing though rejected, +And from one extreme to another +Passing on as passion led me, +To my guest, who from the sea +Found my feet a port of shelter, +For Justina pledged my soul, +Since at once he charmed my senses +And my intellect, by giving +Love its hopes, and thought its treasures. +From that hour, as his disciple +Lived I in these lonely deserts, +And to his laborious teaching +I am for a power indebted, +By which I can move even mountains +And in different places set them: +Yet although these mighty wonders +I can do to-day, I'm helpless +By the voice of my desire +To draw towards me one fair vestal. +And the cause why I am powerless +To subdue that beauteous virgin +Is that by a God she's guarded, +Whom, now knowing by His blessed +Grace bestowed, I come to acknowledge +As the Infinite, the Eternal. +Yes, the great God of the Christians +I now openly confess here. +And though true it is I am +Still of hell the slave and servant, +Having with my very blood +Signed a certain secret cedule, +Yet my blood that blood may blot out +In the martyrdom I'm expecting. +If you are a judge, if Christians +You pursue with bloody vengeance, +I am one: for in these mountains +A grave venerable elder +The first sacrament conferring +With its sacred sign impressed me. +This being so, why wait? Your orders +Give unto the bloody headsman, +Tell him here to strike this neck +And from it my head dissever. +Try my firmness as you will, +For I, resolute and determined, +Will endure a thousand deaths +Since this truth at last I've learned, +That without the great God, whom +Now I seek, adore, and reverence, +Human glories are but ashes, +Dust, smoke, wind, delusive, empty. +[He falls as if in a swoon, with his face to the ground. + +GOVERNOR. So absorbed, so lost in wonder, +Cyprian, has thy daring left me, +That considering modes of torture +I have yet not one selected. +Rise. Bestir thee. +[Spurns him with his foot. + +FLORUS. As a statue +Formed of ice he lies extended + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XXII. + +Soldiers, JUSTINA. -- THE SAME. + +A SOLDIER. Here, your Highness, is Justina. + +GOVERNOR [aside]. I must go, her face unnerves me.-- +With this living corse here lying +[Aside to his retinue. +Let us leave her for the present. +For the two being here confined, +It may alter their intentions, +Seeing that they are condemned +Both to die: if not, 'tis certain, +That unless they adore our gods +Frightful torments soon shall end them. + +LELIUS [aside]. I remain 'twixt love and fear +Quite bewildered and suspended. + +FLORUS [aside]. So affected have I been, +I scarce know what most affects me. + +[Exeunt all, except JUSTINA. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XXIII. + +JUSTINA; CYPRIAN, insensible on the ground. + +JUSTINA. What! without a word you leave me? +When I come here, calm, contented, +Even to die. Ah! wishing death, +Am I then of death prevented?-- +[She perceives CYPRIAN. +But my punishment is, doubtless, +Thus locked up to face the terrors +Of a slow and lingering death, +With the body of this wretch here +Left alone, my sole companion +Being a corse. O thou, re-entered +Into thy original earth, +Happy wert thou, if thy sentence +Was passed on thee for the faith +I adore! + +CYPRIAN [recovering consciousness]. O proud avenger +Of your gods, why wait, the thread +Of my life to cut? . . . +[He perceives JUSTINA, and rises. + Heaven bless me!-- +[Aside. +Can I trust my eyes? Justina! + +JUSTINA [aside]. Cyprian, do I see? O Heaven! + +CYPRIAN [aside]. No, it is not she, my thought +Fills the void air with her presence. + +JUSTINA [aside]. No, it is not he, the wind +Forms this phantom to divert me. + +CYPRIAN. Shadow of my fantasy . . . + +JUSTINA. Of my wish, delusive spectre . . . + +CYPRIAN. Terror of my startled senses . . . + +JUSTINA. Horror of my heart's dejection . . . + +CYPRIAN. What, then, wouldst thou? + +JUSTINA. What, then, wouldst thou? + +CYPRIAN. I invoked thee not. What errand +Has thou come on? + +JUSTINA. Why thus seek me? +I to thee no thought directed. + +CYPRIAN. Ah! I sought thee not, Justina. + +JUSTINA. Nor here at thy call I entered. + +CYPRIAN. Then why here? + +JUSTINA. I am a prisoner.-- +Thou? + +CYPRIAN. I, too, have been arrested. +But, Justina, say what crime +Could thy virtue have effected? + +JUSTINA. It is not for any crime, +It is from their deep resentment, +Their abhorrence of Christ's faith, +Whom I as my God confess here. + +CYPRIAN. Thou dost owe Him that, Justina, +For thy God was thy defender, +He watched o'er thee in His goodness. +Get my prayers to Him accepted. + +JUSTINA. Pray with faith, and He will listen. + +CYPRIAN. Then with that I will address Him. +Though a fear, that's not despair, +Makes me for my great sins tremble. + +JUSTINA. Oh! have confidence. + +CYPRIAN. My crimes are +So immense. + +JUSTINA. But more immense are +His great mercies. + +CYPRIAN. Then, will He +Pardon have on me? + +JUSTINA. 'Tis certain. + +CYPRIAN. How, if my soul surrendered +To the Demon's self, as purchase +Of thy beauty? + +JUSTINA. Oh, there are not +Stars as many in the heavens, +Sands as many on the shore, +Sparks within the fire as many, +Motes as many in the beam, +On the winds so many feathers, +As the sins He can forgive. + +CYPRIAN. I believe it, and am ready +Now a thousand lives to give Him.-- +But I hear some people enter. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XXIV. + +FABIUS, leading in MOSCON, CLARIN, and LIVIA, as prisoners; CYPRIAN +and JUSTINA. + +FABIUS. With your master and your mistress +Here remain confined together. +[Exit. + +LIVIA. If THEY fancy to be Christians, +What have WE done to offend them? + +MOSCON. Much: 'tis crime enough for us +That we happen to be servants. + +CLARIN. Flying peril in the mountain, +I find here a greater peril. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XXV. + +A Servant. -- THE SAME. + +SERVANT. The Lord Governor Aurelius +Summons Cyprian to his presence, +And Justina. + +JUSTINA. Ah! how happy, +If 'tis for the wished-for ending. +Do not, Cyprian, be disheartened. + +CYPRIAN. Faith, zeal, courage, all possess me: +For if life must be the ransom +Of my slavery to the devil, +He who gave his soul for thee, +Will he not give God his person? + +JUSTINA. I once said that I could love thee +But in death, and since together, +Cyprian, we now must die, +What I promised I present thee. + +[They are led out by the Servant. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XXVI. + +MOSCON, LIVIA, and CLARIN. + +MOSCON. How contentedly to die +They go forth. + +LIVIA. Much more contented +Are we three to remain alive. + +CLARIN. Not much more; for we must settle +Our account now, though I own +The occasion might be better, +And the place too, still 'twere wrong +To neglect the time that's present. + +MOSCON. What account pray? + +CLARIN. I have been +Absent. + +LIVIA. Speak. + +CLARIN. The whole of a twelvemonth, +When without my intermission +Moscon in possession held thee. +Now my quota in the business, +If we both have equal measure, +Is that I must have my year. + +LIVIA. Can it be that I'm suspected +Of thus wronging thee so basely? +Why, I wept whole days together +When it was the day for weeping. + +MOSCON. Yes, for I myself was present: +Every day that was not mine +She thy friendship quite respected. + +CLARIN. That's a bounce; for not a tear, +When this day her house I entered, +Did she shed, and there I found thee +Sitting with her quite contented. + +LIVIA. But this day is not a fast. + +CLARIN. Yes, it is; for I remember +That the day I went away +Was my day. + +LIVIA. Oh! that's an error. + +MOSCON. Yes, I see how that arises, +This year is a year bissextile, +And our days are now the same. + +CLARIN. Well, I'm satisfied, 'tis better +That a man should not too deeply +Pry into such things. -- Good heavens!-- + +[The sound of a great tempest is heard. + + + + * * * * * + + +SCENE XXVII. + +The Governor, a crowd of People; then FABIUS, LELIUS, and FLORUS, all +astonished; afterwards The Demon. + +LIVIA. Sure the house is tumbling down. + +MOSCON. How terrific! what a tempest! + +GOVERNOR. Doubtless in disastrous ruin +Topple down the walls of heaven + +[The tempest is renewed, and enter FABIUS, LELIUS, and FLORUS. + +FABIUS. Scarcely on the public scaffold +Had the headsman's hand dissevered +Cyprian and Justina's necks, +When the earth, even to its centre, +Seemed to tremble. + +LELIUS. And a cloud, +From whose burning womb extended +The wild lightnings, the loud thunders, +Awful embryos were projected, +Fell upon us. + +FLORUS. From which issued +A most horrid, most repelling +Shape, who on the scaly shells +Of a mailed and mighty serpent, +O'er the scaffold made a sign +Motioning silence and attention. + +[The Scene opens, and a scaffold with the heads and bodies of JUSTINA +and CYPRIAN is seen. Over it in the air, upon a winged serpent, is +The Demon. + +DEMON. Hear, O mortals, hear what I, +By the orders of high Heaven, +For Justina's exculpation, +Must declare to all here present. +I it was, who to dishonour +Her pure fame, in form dissembled +For the purpose, scaled her house, +And her very chamber entered. +And in order that her fame +Should not by that fraud be lessened, +I come here her injured honour +To exhibit pure and perfect. +Cyprian, who with her lieth +On a happy bier at rest there, +Was my slave. But he effacing, +With the blood his neck outsheddeth, +The red signature, the linen +Is now spotless and unblemished. +And the two, in spite of me, +Having to the spheres ascended +Of the sacred throne of God, +Live there in a world far better.-- +This, then, is the truth, which I +Tell, because God makes me tell it, +Much against my will, my practice +Not being great as a truth-teller. +[He falls swiftly, and sinks into the earth. + +LIVIA. Oh! what horror! + +FLORUS. What confusion! + +LIVIA. What a prodigy! + +MOSCON. What terror! + +GOVERNOR. These are all but the enchantments +Which this sorcerer effected +At his death. + +FLORUS. I am in doubt +To believe them or reject them. + +LELIUS. The mere thought of them confounds me. + +CLARIN. If magician, it is certain, +As I hold, he must have been +The magician then of heaven. + +MOSCON. Leaving our partitioned love +In a rather odd dilemma, +For "The Wonderful Magician" +Ask the pardon of its errors. + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Wonder-Working Magician +by Pedro Calderon de la Barca + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WONDER-WORKING MAGICIAN *** + +This file should be named wwmgn10.txt or wwmgn10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, wwmgn11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, wwmgn10a.txt + +Produced by Sue Asscher asschers@bigpond.com + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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