University of Virginia Library

SCENE THE FIRST.

Julian, Lorenzo.
Lo.
Brother, what boots it? Thou hast hitherto
Trusted to me: does it now seem to thee
That, by my means, our influence is diminish'd?
Thou talkest of restraining men? are these
Restrain'd? If such had met with tolerance,
Say, had we risen to our present greatness?

Ju.
'Tis true, Lorenzo, a benignant star
Shines on us hitherto. We owe in part
To fortune our advancement; but still more
To our forefather's lofty counsels owe it.
Cosmo possess'd the state, but he possess'd it
Under the semblance of a private man.
Nor are the fetters yet so rivetted,
That with the exterior of royalty
We may securely grasp them. Let us leave
To fools, who form the multitude, the vain
Appearances of their lost liberty.
In its commencement, arbitrary power,
The less it is display'd, is more confirm'd.

Lo.
We have not yet obtain'd the height of greatness:
We are summon'd by the present times, oh Julian,
Rather to greatly dare, than nicely weigh.
Cosmo already centred in himself
His universal country; and by all,
As with one voice, was welcom'd as a father.
Little or nothing to the complex scheme
Pier our father added: adverse fate
Quickly cut short the few and feeble days
That he survived his sire: he added little;
But meanwhile he to Cosmo next succeeding,
And we to Pier, something is obtain'd
In thus accustoming the citizens
To hereditary right. Our foes thenceforward
Have been each day dispersed, enfeebled, slain;
Our friends accustomed or constrained to obey;
Now that all things invite us to complete
Cosmo's magnanimous enterprize, shall we
Be self-defeated by our cowardice?

Ju.
Wisely we ought to bring it to an end;
But in a manner moderate and humane.
Where gentle measures may effect our ends
With cautious speed, inflexible, yet mild;
And, when 'tis needful, sparingly severe.
Brother, believe me, to eradicate
Those seeds of liberty, by nature placed
In every human breast, no little art,
And management, besides a length of time,
Are requisite: these seeds may be suppress'd,
By spilling human blood, but not extinguish'd.
And oftentimes from blood they shoot again
With fresh luxuriance ...

Lo.
And do I wish
To shed the blood of these? The axe in Rome
Was Scylla's instrument; but e'en the rod
Is too imposing here: my words alone
Suffice to make them tremble.

Ju.
Blind reliance!
Knowest thou not that none are to be fear'd
Like men enslaved? Scylla dismiss'd his guards,
Yet hence was he not slain; but girt with arms,
With satellites, and mercenary spies,
Nero, Domitian, and Caligula,
And thousand others that have ruled o'er slaves,
By their own minions butcher'd, fell ignobly.
Why irritate those who obey already?
Obtain thy end by other means. 'Tis true,
The people here were never wholly free;
But notwithstanding never slaves to one.—
Thou should'st benumb their minds; and utterly
Enervate their affections; each high thought
Subtly eradicate; abolish virtue,
Or wither it by making it a jest;
Install among thy creatures the most pliant;
Degrade, by honouring them, the falsely proud;
Declaim in lofty and imposing tones
Of clemency, of country, glory, laws,
And citizens; and more than aught besides
Affect equality with thy inferiors.—
Behold the mighty means, by which in each
Are changed by little and by little first
The feelings, then the customs, thence the laws;
Then the deportment of the ruler; last,
That which alone remains to change, his name.

Lo.
Our ancestors with happy auspices
Already have adopted all these measures:
The foolish quarrels of the citizens,
If now a link is wanting to the chain,
Should fabricate that link. One, only one,
Openly dares, in short, to brave our power;
And ought he to be fear'd?

Ju.
Ferocious son
Of disaffected father, Raymond gives
Just ground for apprehension ...

Lo.
Both should be,
(And for this project I address myself,)
Blasted by scorn: e'en a revenge like that
Would not be undelightful ...

Ju.
'Tis not safe.

Lo.
Great as the project is, my mind is fix'd.
I from his rank will take that turbulent youth;
And suffer him to scatter at his will
Seditious words in vain: thus all shall see
How thoroughly I scorn his menaces.

Ju.
A foe offended, and not slain? At this,
What bosom, e'en though mail'd with triple steel,
Would tremble not? Should'st thou make him a foe
Whom thou could'st extirpate? Why thus give him,
Thyself, incautiously, so many pretexts
To agitate the state? Why make him thus
The head, and leader of the malecontents?
And they are numerous; many, many more
Than thou suspectest. Open force they have not?
I trust that it is so: but who will guard
Our back from treason? Will suspicion, say,
Suffice for this? It may suffice to spoil
Our quiet, not to give security.

Lo.
Audacity will be our best defence:
Audacity to the enterprizing breast,
Which is both sword, and intellect, and shield.
A silent invitation I will give
To the rebellious and impetuous youth
To new offences. Afterwards disgraced,
But not destroy'd by him who might destroy him,
He to the multitude whom now he heads
Will thus become an object of derision.