University of Virginia Library

SCENE XIV.

Enter Ætius.
Æt.
Heavens! what do I see!
[entering he sees Fulvia, and stops.
In Fulvia such inconstancy!

Fulv.
Be firm
My breaking heart!

[aside.
Val.
Leader, approach.

Æt.
Who now
Is judge of Ætius? Does my fate depend
On Cæsar or on Fulvia?

Val.
I and Fulvia,
Are but one judge: for since by nuptial ties
I call her mine, she reigns a sovereign here.

Æt.
O faithless woman!

[aside.
Fulv.
Could I but assure him
That Fulvia now dissembles!

[aside.
Val.
Ætius, hear,
And learn awhile to curb the native pride
That can no more avail thee. Secret treason
Is aim'd at me, and each in thee believes
The treason's author: all bespeaks thy guilt:
Thy proud refusal of Honoria's hand;
Thy insolence in conquest; thy permission
Of Attila's escape; thy jealousy;
Thy rash presumptuous love; thy open threats,
Of which thou know'st myself so late was witness.
Think how to clear thy fame, or merit pardon.

Max.
Now, fate, betray me not.

[aside.
Æt.
Cæsar, 'tis true
The charge is specious. Where's the assassin hid,
Whose hand assail'd thee? Who accuses Ætius
As author of the treason? Cæsar, thou,
Thou art the accuser of the guilt of Ætius,
At once the judge and witness.

Fulv.
Heavens! he's lost.

Val.
And shall I bear such insolence?

Æt.
Howe'er
The crime is true, why is it charg'd on me?
Because I have refus'd to wed Honoria?
And have I thus with toil preserv'd for Cæsar
His liberty, that he should now forbid me
To own my heart's affection? Am I guilty
From Attila's late flight? And should I then
Have made him prisoner, that all Europe freed
From fear of him, who bound their arms to ours.
Might join their force against imperial Rome?
Seek out some other warrior. I am guilty
Because I know myself, and freely speak,
What conscious worth approves.—The ignoble mind
Shrinks from itself, nor dares review its deeds.

Fulv.
O might I yet retire!

[aside.
Val.
This rash defence
Adds to thy former guilt—Hast thou ought else
To plead in thy behalf?

Æt.
Let this suffice:
For what remains, let Cæsar ask no more.

Val.
What canst thou further say?

Æt.
That he whose arm
Defends the ungrateful, fosters tyranny;
That valour in the subject still excites
Envy in him who reigns; that Cæsar scorns
To owe his all to Ætius; that he fears
In me that treason, which he knows too well
The deed, that robs me of my love, deserves.

Val.
Dost thou insult me thus! presumptuous man!

Fulv.
O! Heavens!

[aside.
Val.
I yet can punish thee—

Fulv.
Ah! Cæsar,
If you love Fulvia, let her now depart,
My presence but disturbs you.

[rises.
Val.
Yet remain;
Thou see'st my just resentment. Sit, and mark
How proofs shall yet confound this stubborn traitor.

Æt.
O faithless woman!

[aside.
Fulv.
Could I but assure him
My cruelty is feign'd!

[aside, sits again.
Max.
All yet goes well.

[aside.
Val.
Ætius, be innocent of every crime;
And let Augustus, envious of thy glory,
Invent this calumny; yet from thy heart
Declare without reserve, (at least in this
Be Ætius his own judge,) is not the subject,
Who dares in love contend with him who reigns,
A rebel to his prince?

Æt.
And is not he
Who dares in love invade another's right,
A tyrant to his subject?

Val.
Think'st thou then
That Fulvia loves thee?

Fulv.
O my breaking heart!

[aside.
Val.
Relieve him, dearest Fulvia, from the vain
And fond deception: say if Valentinian
Was thy first love, and ever still remains
Sole partner of thy heart.

Fulv.
What Cæsar speaks,
That Fulvia must confirm.

[to Val.
Æt.
O! perjur'd woman!
This stroke indeed has baffled all my firmness.

Val.
See how thy hopes deceive thee.

[to Æt.
Æt.
Do not triumph,
Nor trust the faith of an inconstant woman;
To her I leave my vengeance;—yes, I feel
A secret hope, that Cæsar, for my wrongs,
Will prove the faith of Fulvia.

Fulv.
Must I still
Conceal my anguish!

[aside.
Max.
Fulvia, yet be constant.

[aside.
Æt.
Scarce Ætius knows himself; before her presence
My heart is rent. O! never, Maximus,
Since first I breath'd this air, my soul has felt
Such pangs of warring passion!

[to Max.
Fulv.
'Tis too much;
I cannot bear the thought—

[going, weeps.
Val.
What do'st thou, Fulvia?

Fulv.
I must retire—such trial far outweighs
My sex's constancy.

Val.
Yet stay, and punish
This rival's insolence.

Fulv.
In pity, Cæsar,
Permit me to retire.

Val.
It must not be,
Once more, for Cæsar's sake, declare thy love
Is only mine, that I am all to Fulvia,
And that she sees with joy the pangs of Ætius.

Fulv.
But say 'twere false, and Ætius all my happiness.

Val.
What say'st thou?

Max.
Ha!

Æt.
I breathe again.

Fulv.
How long
Must I dissemble? Yes, to appease your anger,
Cæsar, I veil'd my thoughts: I hop'd to save
The guiltless Ætius—'twas for him alone
I bore these struggles—know the love of Cæsar
Ne'er touch'd this faithful bosom; if my lips
Could speak to you of love, believe them not,
Augustus, they deceiv'd you.

Æt.
Joyful sounds!

Val.
Where am I! Did I hear thee right? Ingrate!
Presumptuous Fulvia?

Æt.
Now, whose hopes deceive him!

[to Val.
Val.
Rash man! ungrateful Fulvia! Guards! remove
That traitor from my presence: plunge him deep
In some most horrid dungeon, there reserv'd
For my revenge.

[rises.
Æt.
Thy rage is Ætius' glory.
What bliss can equal mine? for this I yield
The palms of every conquest: I despise
Thy boast of empire: nothing now remains
To crown my vows; not Attila subdu'd
Gave equal transport to this hour of triumph.

[Exit, guarded.