University of Virginia Library

SCENE VIII.

Fulvia, Varus.
Fulv.
If ever thou didst feel a soft affection,
Have pity, Varus, on our mutual passion,
And plead the cause of an unhappy friend.

Varus.
Your love discover'd adds to my affliction;
And fain I would assist your cause; but Ætius
Is his own foe, Heaven knows! and by his speech
Incenses Cæsar.

Fulv.
Well his high demeanour
Is known to all; nor should it now, methinks,
Be deem'd in him a crime; and surely Varus
At least must own, while Ætius' tongue proclaims
His own deserts, truth gives his words a sanction.

Varus.
Sometimes 'tis virtue to conceal the truth.
And if I praise not now his ostentation,
'Tis friendship makes me silent: for his sake
I'll prove my utmost power; and grant it Heaven
The attempt may not be vain.

Fulv.
O! say not thus,
For to the wretched he denies assistance,
Who, while he gives it, doubts th' event.

Varus.
His safety
Your will determines: give your hand to Cæsar,
And every power is yours.

Fulv.
O! never, never,
Will I be other than the spouse of Ætius.

Varus.
But to preserve him from his fortune, Fulvia
Must yield a little: she alone can soften
The wrath of Valentinian; then delay not,
And if thy bosom feel not love for Cæsar,
Yet learn to feign it.

Fulv.
I'll pursue thy counsel;
With what success, Heaven knows.—Dissimulation
Is ever criminal; and O! I find
My heart abhors the trial.

Varus.
To dissemble
In such a cause is virtue; and a woman
Can ne'er repine to act what suits her sex.

Fulv.

[Exit.