 | The Tragedy of Sertorius |  |
SCEN. VI.
Sertorius, Terentia, &c.
So breaks the Sun, from out the Artic Pole,
And with it Day, banishing Night from thence.
Ter.
And with it Day, banishing Night from thence.
My past misfortunes, whose obdurate Sence
Sat heavy here, now vanish at thy sight:
Long absence, wing'd by noblest Fire, sets on;
And the great extasy of flowing joys
Lethe past dangers with the present bliss.
Sert.
Thou all of excellence! how shall I pay
The mighty debt! for, by my life, I swear
The Sence of Seeing to the Center moves,
And makes a mutiny of thought, within
The Organ of my speech. Let me admire;
And by my Eye, which greedily delights
To meet each glance, judge of the pow'r of Love.
Ter.
Leave, my Sertorius, this Courtly Stile;
And, in such words with which thou won'st my brest,
Say I am welcom.
Sert.
Gods and Men, stand mute,
While, both to Heav'n and Earth, Sertorius owns
Life, Health, and Happiness, without thy sight
Dwindle to nought, and fill an Airy sound:
Not absent Gods, from their Etherial Thrones
Frightned by Typhon, did with greater joy
Again possess their Heav'n, than I my fair.
Ter.
No Musick of the Spheres could raise my Soul
Into a height like this. Gods, on my knees,
I offer up my pray'rs of Sacrifice;
Contemn the many dangers I have past:
Since, from those clouds which vail'd my happiness,
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Sert.
Heav'n has restor'd the Treasure which I sought
Given o're, as Shipwrack'd upon Sylla's Rock:
While prest with grief, beneath the mighty loss,
A happy moment makes me bless the Day,
In giving back the All that I admire;
For, by thy self, on thy fair hand I swear,
I would not change for a Celestial Seat.
Ter.
And by my life, wound up within thy Fate,
[They embrace.
The joys of Heav'n, Society of Gods,
Are not so charming as thy best-lov'd self.
Bebr.
Blest Lady, which to Lusitania brings
The peace our Country has so often sought,
So oft with piles of Incense fill'd the Air,
And with the pray'rs of Nations in the Cloud
Arriv'd, and gain'd acceptance from the Gods.
Sert.
Oh, Cassius, this noble man has spoke,
At once, her Virtue, and thy Worth. What man
Was ever blest like me, from Time and Chance,
Through the dark Labyrinths of mistic Fate,
To tast of joys like mine, and live? You Gods,
Allay the Extasy; which grows so fast,
That life, in motion, flags to keep its pace.
Ter.
I tread on Air; and view around the Days,
Which fleet, like Shadows, tho they harbor'd Death
Like Prophets, lightned by the Sacred fire,
Forget the giddy Chance, and to the God
In rapture celebrate the turns of Fate:
Thus, blest by Love, I fly into thy arms.
Where thy sight mesures, there's the blessed place;
And in that Circle joys of Heav'n are found.
Sert.
I am all Rapture; and will hence remove,
To pay the Tribute of an ardent Love;
Gaze on those eyes which do these joys create,
And view the charming object of my Fate:
Then, extasy'd, to greater bliss I'll fly;
Contemn the gaudy Mansions of the Sky,
And wrapt in thy embrace for ever lye.
[Exeunt.
| The Tragedy of Sertorius | |