 | The destruction of Troy |  |
The SCENE draws, and discovers Polyxena weeping over the dragg'd Body of Troilus, her Hair and Garments disorder'd, a Dagger in her hand, and the Myrmidons looking on.
Ach.
The sudden dismal Object makes me start;
Something like Ice does melt about my Heart.—
Where am I Diomed? Speak; canst thou say?
Is that dead Troilus, and that Polyxena?
Or is't some Deity that's sent below
With all the Charms of Beauty, and of Woe?
Drest like the Morning Goddess she appears,
Decking her beamy Locks in Dewy Tears.
So the fair Empress of the Night, the Moon,
Mourn'd and wept o're her lov'd Endymion—
Why Villains did you do this horrid Deed?
[To the Myrm.]
Though I had not, you shou'd a' had hearts to bleed.—
Look gentle Goddess, here Achilles bends,
More aw'd, and trembling at thy dread Commands,
Than he that at the great Tribunal stands—
Ha! strike, strike where your Eyes began the smart,
[Offers to Stab her self.]
And turn your pointed dagger to my Heart—
Give me this fatal Instrument of Death—
Polyx.
What, can I in no Place be free from thee,
That haunts me with thy endless Cruelty,
Deni'st me Life, and will not give me leave to die?
Ach.
O Gods! I can no longer bear my Pain—
I am all Flame, and scorch'd through ev'ry Vein;
A thousand Furies in my Breast controll,
And lash with burning Whips my guilty Soul;
Her Eyes shoot through me with a hot Desire,
And her sad Tears pour Oyl into the Fire—
Give me thy Counsel gentle Diomed—
Yet run, and rescue, er'e it be too late,
And save the violated Hector straight;
In thine own Arms convey him to my Tent,
And bath his Limbs with rich Ambrosiack Sent;
Thy melting Cheeks to his pale Bosome lay,
And with thy Tears wash the foul Dirt away—
Fly with a Thought, a Moment is Delay.
Exit Diomedes.
Now all ye Gods assist me from the Skyes,
Draw all your dropping Clouds into my Eyes;
Neptune lend me the Sea to bath in here:
For whole great Rivers will not wash me clear—
Here by thy Side for ever I'le remain
Close, till Iv'e hatch'd thee into Life again.
[Lies down by Troilus.]
Polyx.
O Gods! What i'st I see! Or do I dream?
Ach.
Is there no help, nor cann't I follow him?
Why was I made Immortal thou great Jove,
If I am less than any God above?
That for the thousand Mortals I have slain
Cannot obtain the pow'r to make one Man—
Look injur'd Beauty, cast your Eyes on me,
If you the Man through so much Guilt can see;
Beneath thy dear wrong'd Brothers Ghost he lies,
For ever fix'd till you shall bid him rise.
Polyx.
Rise then and go—I pity thy remorse;
I have no strength to rail, nor power to curse,
And freely do forgive you from my heart,
But only beg that we may never part.
[Meaning the Body.]
And that you'd suffer welcome Death to come,
And lay us both together in one Tomb.
Ach.
May I be blest, and now believe my Sense!
O Sacred Joy! O heav'nly Excellence!
[Rises from the Body.]
Come Pluto from thy dark and dreadful Mansion,
For I deserve not in this place to dwell—
Take me, and sink me to the Depth of Hell—
Achilles sits down in a passion, and holds out his Arms and Legs to the Myrmidons.
Come Myrmidons—
Come all of you, and do as I command—
Quick, quickly bind me, bind each hated Hand,
And tie these Legs to fiery Horses Tails—
Make hast, you murd'ring Dogs, you Slaves, you Snails.
Let her in a Triumphant Chariot ride;
Drag me, as I did Troilus, by her side,
From whence she may behold the crimson'd Road,
And ev'ry Stone dy'd with Achilles Blood.
Polyx.
What means this Madness, now it is too late.
Ach.
Then I will live to be reveng'd on Fate.
[Ach. rises.]
Rise Goddess from this horrid Spectacle—
Pity a Love whose pains no tongue can tell.
[Polyx. rises.]
Polyx.
Then wretched art thou more than I can wish,
And I am surely curst in hearing this—
Love thee! The Gods defend me with their Care!
Thy Soul is the Epitome of War;
The raging Sea disturb'd with furious Wind,
Is not so ruff, as thy tempestuous mind;
I wou'd as soon embrace, within these Arms,
The baited Panther, or the hunted Lion.
Ach.
The Sea by Tempests made so dreadful, wild;
Yet when the Sun appears, grows calm, and mild;
Do thou serenely look, and kindly smile,
'Twill teach me how my roughness to beguile.
Like the curl'd Lion, with thy Beauty charm'd,
I'le softly lay me down, and kiss thy Feet,
And never stir from thy dear pretious sight,
But follow thee all Day, and watch by thee all Night;
There's far more dread in cruel Beauty lies,
And all my Strength is weaker than thy Eyes.
Polyx.
Is't possible that Love can thee control,
When Pity never yet cou'd reach thy Soul?
When I beneath thy Feet with sorrow lay,
A Dragon wou'd as soon have heard me pray.
Ach.
O save these heav'nly falling Tears—
Richer than th'Essence of an April Show'r,
Whose each rare Pearl creates a gawdy Flow'r.
Less pretious Drops than these the Sun has shed,
Which on obdurate Rocks have Diamonds bred:
But I, inhumane, worse than Tygers bent,
Heard all thy Prayers, and yet cou'd not relent;
Threw off thy Tears, which slid from my hard Heart,
As Drops from unrelenting Marble, loath to part.
Polyx.
Speak, speak no more—Behold these gaping wounds.
Ach.
Remove the dreadful Cause of all her Woe,
[To the Myr.]
Deck him with all that Sweets, or Hands can do,
Buckle a rich, and sable Armour on,
Then, in a Hearse, convey him to the Town,
Mourn in sad Sighs, and weep you all the way,
Till you have left him in his Mother's Arms.
Tell her, that henceforth just Achilles swears,
He'le ne're more stain his Sword with Blood of hers,
But make the Grecians quit their Siege with speed,
If she'l reward him with Polyxena.
[They carry off the Body.]
Reenter Ulysses, and Menelaus, Soldiers, with Paris Prisoner.
Ulyss.
Why stands the brave Achilles here so long?
Paris is taken, and Hector thou hast slain.
Men.
Their Soldiers are with Slaughter all cut off,
And few are left at home to guard the Town.
Ulyss.
Hast, to their sad forsaken Walls repair,
And Greece to Day shall end this tedious War.
Ach.
I thank thee Love, that thou hast shew'd the way,
How I may now oblige Polyxena.
Paris, thy Sister gives thee Liberty.
[Unbinds Paris.]
Ulyss.
What dares Achilles set my Pris'ner free?
Ach.
Ulysses, dare! That Breath shou'd be thy last,
By Hector's Soul, that livest to question me;
But Love has charm'd all Rage within my Breast—
O that I cou'd call Troilus, and Hector back
So soon, I'de give a thousand lives with Joy.
Par.
What wond'rous happy change is this!
Ach.
Know, Menelaus,
That I alone have gorg'd thy greedy Vengeance,
With blood of all the Trojan Sons, but this:
Nay have done more than the whole War beside,
Enough to satisfie the angry Gods.
Let Peace be offer'd then before to Morrow,
Or I'le no more against the Trojans fight—
If you refuse, then leave me to my Choice;
This Arm shall soon rejoyce their drooping Hearts
And turn the Scale; which with my strength I poys'd.—
Divine Polyxena
I'le send a Guard to wait you to the Town.—
Will you kind Paris, be my Advocate?
Par.
Why shou'd the great and brave Achilles doubt it?
No longer than to Morrow you'l expect,
When you, and the poor Trojans you have sav'd,
Shall happy be.
Ach.
Then Troy look up above the envious Fates,
Achilles now, and Beauty guards thy Gates,
Whilst Love upon thy batter'd Walls does stand,
And shoots swift Darts from his Immortal Hand.
Exeunt Ach. Paris, Polyxena, and Myrm.
Men.
O horrid Traytor!
Ulyss.
I am the Traytor—Kill me, torture me
That first deceiv'd you, when I brought this Man,
This furious, fickle, and tempestuous Devil,
To be a Plague to our Designs and Hopes.
Reenter to them Agam. Ajax, Diom. with Guards.
Aga.
I met Achilles, as I came this way,
Heedless, and in his Hand Polyxena.
Ulyss.
Paris, a Pris'ner taken in the Fight,
'A has releas'd, and cowardly bewitch'd
With Beauties Charms, has vow'd to fight for Greece
No more, and if you w'on't to Peace incline,
He'le run from us, and with the Trojans join.
Aga.
Hast, sound a quick Retreat through all the Army;
Let ev'ry Prince draw up his Men together;
Then instantly surprise, as in a Ring,
His Myrmidons, and kill 'em ev'ry one.
Ulyss.
Hold Agamemnon—Take this last Advice,
And if it prove not to your Hopes, successful,
Then all your Rage light on Ulysses Head—
Achilles knows not yet of our Design
Of the prodigious Engin of the Horse;
Then let's go in, and call him straight to Council;
Tell him we gladly shall embrace the Peace,
That we'l remove the Camp to Tenedos,
And leave this Statue to be plac'd in Ilium,
As a perpetual Pledge of Faith between us;
So, whilst your self, and others grace his Wedding,
You Ajax, Diomed, and Menelaus,
With some selected Troops close lock'd within,
Shall hurry forth, aided with Midnight Silence,
And so surprise both Trojans and Achilles.
Omnes.
There spoke the God, the Oracle of Greece.
Ajax.
In, in and prosecute this great Device.
Aga.
Quick, let's embrace the Counsel of the wise.
Exeunt Omnes.
Ach.
The sudden dismal Object makes me start;
Something like Ice does melt about my Heart.—
Where am I Diomed? Speak; canst thou say?
Is that dead Troilus, and that Polyxena?
Or is't some Deity that's sent below
With all the Charms of Beauty, and of Woe?
Drest like the Morning Goddess she appears,
Decking her beamy Locks in Dewy Tears.
So the fair Empress of the Night, the Moon,
Mourn'd and wept o're her lov'd Endymion—
Why Villains did you do this horrid Deed?
[To the Myrm.]
Though I had not, you shou'd a' had hearts to bleed.—
Look gentle Goddess, here Achilles bends,
More aw'd, and trembling at thy dread Commands,
Than he that at the great Tribunal stands—
Ha! strike, strike where your Eyes began the smart,
[Offers to Stab her self.]
And turn your pointed dagger to my Heart—
Give me this fatal Instrument of Death—
Polyx.
What, can I in no Place be free from thee,
That haunts me with thy endless Cruelty,
Deni'st me Life, and will not give me leave to die?
55
O Gods! I can no longer bear my Pain—
I am all Flame, and scorch'd through ev'ry Vein;
A thousand Furies in my Breast controll,
And lash with burning Whips my guilty Soul;
Her Eyes shoot through me with a hot Desire,
And her sad Tears pour Oyl into the Fire—
Give me thy Counsel gentle Diomed—
Yet run, and rescue, er'e it be too late,
And save the violated Hector straight;
In thine own Arms convey him to my Tent,
And bath his Limbs with rich Ambrosiack Sent;
Thy melting Cheeks to his pale Bosome lay,
And with thy Tears wash the foul Dirt away—
Fly with a Thought, a Moment is Delay.
Exit Diomedes.
Now all ye Gods assist me from the Skyes,
Draw all your dropping Clouds into my Eyes;
Neptune lend me the Sea to bath in here:
For whole great Rivers will not wash me clear—
Here by thy Side for ever I'le remain
Close, till Iv'e hatch'd thee into Life again.
[Lies down by Troilus.]
Polyx.
O Gods! What i'st I see! Or do I dream?
Ach.
Is there no help, nor cann't I follow him?
Why was I made Immortal thou great Jove,
If I am less than any God above?
That for the thousand Mortals I have slain
Cannot obtain the pow'r to make one Man—
Look injur'd Beauty, cast your Eyes on me,
If you the Man through so much Guilt can see;
Beneath thy dear wrong'd Brothers Ghost he lies,
For ever fix'd till you shall bid him rise.
Polyx.
Rise then and go—I pity thy remorse;
I have no strength to rail, nor power to curse,
And freely do forgive you from my heart,
But only beg that we may never part.
[Meaning the Body.]
And that you'd suffer welcome Death to come,
And lay us both together in one Tomb.
56
May I be blest, and now believe my Sense!
O Sacred Joy! O heav'nly Excellence!
[Rises from the Body.]
Come Pluto from thy dark and dreadful Mansion,
For I deserve not in this place to dwell—
Take me, and sink me to the Depth of Hell—
Achilles sits down in a passion, and holds out his Arms and Legs to the Myrmidons.
Come Myrmidons—
Come all of you, and do as I command—
Quick, quickly bind me, bind each hated Hand,
And tie these Legs to fiery Horses Tails—
Make hast, you murd'ring Dogs, you Slaves, you Snails.
Let her in a Triumphant Chariot ride;
Drag me, as I did Troilus, by her side,
From whence she may behold the crimson'd Road,
And ev'ry Stone dy'd with Achilles Blood.
Polyx.
What means this Madness, now it is too late.
Ach.
Then I will live to be reveng'd on Fate.
[Ach. rises.]
Rise Goddess from this horrid Spectacle—
Pity a Love whose pains no tongue can tell.
[Polyx. rises.]
Polyx.
Then wretched art thou more than I can wish,
And I am surely curst in hearing this—
Love thee! The Gods defend me with their Care!
Thy Soul is the Epitome of War;
The raging Sea disturb'd with furious Wind,
Is not so ruff, as thy tempestuous mind;
I wou'd as soon embrace, within these Arms,
The baited Panther, or the hunted Lion.
Ach.
The Sea by Tempests made so dreadful, wild;
Yet when the Sun appears, grows calm, and mild;
Do thou serenely look, and kindly smile,
'Twill teach me how my roughness to beguile.
Like the curl'd Lion, with thy Beauty charm'd,
I'le softly lay me down, and kiss thy Feet,
And never stir from thy dear pretious sight,
But follow thee all Day, and watch by thee all Night;
There's far more dread in cruel Beauty lies,
And all my Strength is weaker than thy Eyes.
57
Is't possible that Love can thee control,
When Pity never yet cou'd reach thy Soul?
When I beneath thy Feet with sorrow lay,
A Dragon wou'd as soon have heard me pray.
Ach.
O save these heav'nly falling Tears—
Richer than th'Essence of an April Show'r,
Whose each rare Pearl creates a gawdy Flow'r.
Less pretious Drops than these the Sun has shed,
Which on obdurate Rocks have Diamonds bred:
But I, inhumane, worse than Tygers bent,
Heard all thy Prayers, and yet cou'd not relent;
Threw off thy Tears, which slid from my hard Heart,
As Drops from unrelenting Marble, loath to part.
Polyx.
Speak, speak no more—Behold these gaping wounds.
Ach.
Remove the dreadful Cause of all her Woe,
[To the Myr.]
Deck him with all that Sweets, or Hands can do,
Buckle a rich, and sable Armour on,
Then, in a Hearse, convey him to the Town,
Mourn in sad Sighs, and weep you all the way,
Till you have left him in his Mother's Arms.
Tell her, that henceforth just Achilles swears,
He'le ne're more stain his Sword with Blood of hers,
But make the Grecians quit their Siege with speed,
If she'l reward him with Polyxena.
[They carry off the Body.]
Reenter Ulysses, and Menelaus, Soldiers, with Paris Prisoner.
Ulyss.
Why stands the brave Achilles here so long?
Paris is taken, and Hector thou hast slain.
Men.
Their Soldiers are with Slaughter all cut off,
And few are left at home to guard the Town.
Ulyss.
Hast, to their sad forsaken Walls repair,
And Greece to Day shall end this tedious War.
Ach.
I thank thee Love, that thou hast shew'd the way,
How I may now oblige Polyxena.
Paris, thy Sister gives thee Liberty.
[Unbinds Paris.]
Ulyss.
What dares Achilles set my Pris'ner free?
Ach.
Ulysses, dare! That Breath shou'd be thy last,
By Hector's Soul, that livest to question me;
58
O that I cou'd call Troilus, and Hector back
So soon, I'de give a thousand lives with Joy.
Par.
What wond'rous happy change is this!
Ach.
Know, Menelaus,
That I alone have gorg'd thy greedy Vengeance,
With blood of all the Trojan Sons, but this:
Nay have done more than the whole War beside,
Enough to satisfie the angry Gods.
Let Peace be offer'd then before to Morrow,
Or I'le no more against the Trojans fight—
If you refuse, then leave me to my Choice;
This Arm shall soon rejoyce their drooping Hearts
And turn the Scale; which with my strength I poys'd.—
Divine Polyxena
I'le send a Guard to wait you to the Town.—
Will you kind Paris, be my Advocate?
Par.
Why shou'd the great and brave Achilles doubt it?
No longer than to Morrow you'l expect,
When you, and the poor Trojans you have sav'd,
Shall happy be.
Ach.
Then Troy look up above the envious Fates,
Achilles now, and Beauty guards thy Gates,
Whilst Love upon thy batter'd Walls does stand,
And shoots swift Darts from his Immortal Hand.
Exeunt Ach. Paris, Polyxena, and Myrm.
Men.
O horrid Traytor!
Ulyss.
I am the Traytor—Kill me, torture me
That first deceiv'd you, when I brought this Man,
This furious, fickle, and tempestuous Devil,
To be a Plague to our Designs and Hopes.
Reenter to them Agam. Ajax, Diom. with Guards.
Aga.
I met Achilles, as I came this way,
Heedless, and in his Hand Polyxena.
Ulyss.
Paris, a Pris'ner taken in the Fight,
'A has releas'd, and cowardly bewitch'd
59
No more, and if you w'on't to Peace incline,
He'le run from us, and with the Trojans join.
Aga.
Hast, sound a quick Retreat through all the Army;
Let ev'ry Prince draw up his Men together;
Then instantly surprise, as in a Ring,
His Myrmidons, and kill 'em ev'ry one.
Ulyss.
Hold Agamemnon—Take this last Advice,
And if it prove not to your Hopes, successful,
Then all your Rage light on Ulysses Head—
Achilles knows not yet of our Design
Of the prodigious Engin of the Horse;
Then let's go in, and call him straight to Council;
Tell him we gladly shall embrace the Peace,
That we'l remove the Camp to Tenedos,
And leave this Statue to be plac'd in Ilium,
As a perpetual Pledge of Faith between us;
So, whilst your self, and others grace his Wedding,
You Ajax, Diomed, and Menelaus,
With some selected Troops close lock'd within,
Shall hurry forth, aided with Midnight Silence,
And so surprise both Trojans and Achilles.
Omnes.
There spoke the God, the Oracle of Greece.
Ajax.
In, in and prosecute this great Device.
Aga.
Quick, let's embrace the Counsel of the wise.
Exeunt Omnes.
| The destruction of Troy | |