 | The destruction of Troy |  |
SCENE opens, and discovers Troy Burning.
Ulyss.
Look there Achilles, see that gallant Sight;
Will that revive thee? Now in Flames thou seest
Troy burn thy Sacrifice before thou diest,
And each of all thy gallant Myrmidons
Revenge their Masters Death with slaughter of
A thousand murder'd Trojans.
Ach.
When e're I fell, thus 'twas decreed on high,
Thus shou'd be seen, thus Thetis Son shou'd die,
A Kingdoms Ruin to attend my Fall,
And burning Cities light my Funeral.—
Like the Suns Bird, the Phœnix, in her Fire,
In Flames of Gold, and Spices, I'le expire—
Come fellow Soldiers, help me to a Seat,
And lay this cursed Trojan at my Feet.—
They seat Achilles in a Chair with Paris beneath his feet. Achilles looks towards the Town.
Thus, like the King of Slaughter from my Throne,
I'le send my Guard of Fates to scourge the Town,
And thus in State, till my last wand'ring Breath,
Sit, and behold the Pageantry of Death.
[Achilles Dies.]
Aga.
He's gone, and as he always liv'd, a' dies;
The haughtiest, greatest, bravest Man on Earth.
Enter to them Diomedes, Menelaus, Ajax, Captains, and Soldiers. A Retreat Sounded.
Dio.
Sound a Retreat from all your thirst of Blood;
Our Mortal Senses can indure no more—
Brave Agamemnon, and Ulysses safe.
We come to crown you with Eternal Fame—
All Obstacles that stood before our way,
Are either drown'd in Blood, or burnt in Flame.
Men.
What, mourn you o're Achilles Body there!
Ajax.
Then is our Conquest sulli'd with Despair.
Dio.
Had we won all the World, and this to see,
It were a fatal Check to Victory.
Aga.
What are become of all the Trojan Princes?—
Here lieth Paris at Achilles Feet,
Slain by that gallant Man, who first by him,
Was in Minerva's Temple basely wounded.
Dio.
The lamentable King and Queen,
With the poor Remnant of their Friends, and Daughters,
Were all surpris'd by us, where they had fled
For Refuge to the Temple—With this hand
I Sacrific'd the bleeding Priamus,
Just bending on his knees before the Altar;
But all the Women, we took pity on,
And have secur'd them free from any harm,
Only Andromache escap'd our Care,
And to the Temple she again return'd,
Where, with her Husband's Ashes she was burnd.
Aga.
Now Brother Menelaus,
You with your beauteous Helen may repair,
And homewards bring the Price of all the War.
Ulyss.
Thus we see ended all these fatal Broils,
The Plague of War, and Ten Years constant Toils—
First lend each noble Arm to lift in State,
This gallant Corps, and mourn Achilles Fate;
Then, like a Soldier, bear him to the Fleet,
Losing no time to court inconstant Gales,
But with glad Shouts fill all our empty Sails,
Turning our Joyful Eyes upon the Plain,
Where the sad Troy in Ashes does remain.
Exeunt Omnes.
74
Look there Achilles, see that gallant Sight;
Will that revive thee? Now in Flames thou seest
Troy burn thy Sacrifice before thou diest,
And each of all thy gallant Myrmidons
Revenge their Masters Death with slaughter of
A thousand murder'd Trojans.
Ach.
When e're I fell, thus 'twas decreed on high,
Thus shou'd be seen, thus Thetis Son shou'd die,
A Kingdoms Ruin to attend my Fall,
And burning Cities light my Funeral.—
Like the Suns Bird, the Phœnix, in her Fire,
In Flames of Gold, and Spices, I'le expire—
Come fellow Soldiers, help me to a Seat,
And lay this cursed Trojan at my Feet.—
They seat Achilles in a Chair with Paris beneath his feet. Achilles looks towards the Town.
Thus, like the King of Slaughter from my Throne,
I'le send my Guard of Fates to scourge the Town,
And thus in State, till my last wand'ring Breath,
Sit, and behold the Pageantry of Death.
[Achilles Dies.]
Aga.
He's gone, and as he always liv'd, a' dies;
The haughtiest, greatest, bravest Man on Earth.
Enter to them Diomedes, Menelaus, Ajax, Captains, and Soldiers. A Retreat Sounded.
Dio.
Sound a Retreat from all your thirst of Blood;
Our Mortal Senses can indure no more—
Brave Agamemnon, and Ulysses safe.
We come to crown you with Eternal Fame—
All Obstacles that stood before our way,
Are either drown'd in Blood, or burnt in Flame.
Men.
What, mourn you o're Achilles Body there!
Ajax.
Then is our Conquest sulli'd with Despair.
Dio.
Had we won all the World, and this to see,
It were a fatal Check to Victory.
Aga.
What are become of all the Trojan Princes?—
75
Slain by that gallant Man, who first by him,
Was in Minerva's Temple basely wounded.
Dio.
The lamentable King and Queen,
With the poor Remnant of their Friends, and Daughters,
Were all surpris'd by us, where they had fled
For Refuge to the Temple—With this hand
I Sacrific'd the bleeding Priamus,
Just bending on his knees before the Altar;
But all the Women, we took pity on,
And have secur'd them free from any harm,
Only Andromache escap'd our Care,
And to the Temple she again return'd,
Where, with her Husband's Ashes she was burnd.
Aga.
Now Brother Menelaus,
You with your beauteous Helen may repair,
And homewards bring the Price of all the War.
Ulyss.
Thus we see ended all these fatal Broils,
The Plague of War, and Ten Years constant Toils—
First lend each noble Arm to lift in State,
This gallant Corps, and mourn Achilles Fate;
Then, like a Soldier, bear him to the Fleet,
Losing no time to court inconstant Gales,
But with glad Shouts fill all our empty Sails,
Turning our Joyful Eyes upon the Plain,
Where the sad Troy in Ashes does remain.
Exeunt Omnes.
| The destruction of Troy | |