University of Virginia Library

SCENE IX.

Valentinian, Maximus.
Val.
Let Ætius know that I expect him here.
[to an attendant.
Yes, friend, his glory now begins to cast
A shade o'er Valentinian: every one
Dwells in my presence on th' exploits of Ætius:
Rome stiles him her deliverer: he himself
Knows his own power too well: I must, to ensure
His faith, exalt him to Honoria's bed;
So shall the marriage-bond be his reward,
And my security.

Max.
Indeed the people
Have idoliz'd him to excess: they seem
As if unmindful of their sovereign's name,
And may if he command—but I have done—
Ætius I think is true, and doubts are vain;
But were he not, methinks to exalt him thus
Would ill secure his faith.

Val.
A gift so mighty
Must quench ambition in the soul.

Max.
Will rather
Excite it: when the conflagration rises,
The stream but adds new fuel to the flame.

Val.
How shall I better hope to bind him to me?
Wouldst thou I should pursue a tyrant's steps,
And grow the mark of universal hatred?

Max.
The earliest art of reigning is to bear
The hatred of mankind: a monarch still
Must exercise dominion o'er offenders;
And hatred more secures the throne than love.

Val.
No, Maximus, the man who makes himself
Too much the object of another's fear,
Thence adds to his own terrors: all extremes
Together meet; and on some future day,
The headstrong vulgar, from excess of fear,
May gather boldness.

Max.
You, my lord, best know
The arts of reigning; monarchs have a light
Unknown to subjects: zeal for your repose
Urg'd me thus far. I meant but to remind you
That it becomes us with preventive care,
While danger threatens, to provide for safety.

[Exit.