University of Virginia Library

SCENE III.

Enter Valentinian.
Val.
My sister, hast thou aught obtain'd from Ætius?
Does he relent?

Hon.
O no! he's still unshaken.

Val.
This I foresaw: then let him bear the forfeit;
'Twere now beneath my dignity to save him.

Hon.
And yet I cannot think him criminal:
Such firmness argues sure a mind unspotted.

Val.
It rather proves his guilt; the traitor trusts
In popular opinion—he shall die.

Hon.
Think better, Cæsar, Ætius dead may prove
A foe more to be fear'd than Ætius living.

Val.
What would'st thou counsel then?

Hon.
Seek out some way
To bend his stubborn temper; try by mildness
To wrest his secret from him.

Val.
Say, what means
Have I not prov'd?

Hon.
The only certain means.
Ætius I see in love is vulnerable:
You must assail him there: he dotes on Fulvia;
Make him this sacrifice; resign her to him.

Val.
How easy 'tis to give to others counsel
Which pains not the adviser.

Hon.
Sir, my counsel
Holds forth my own example: know I love
No less than thee: with thee I lose my all:
Thy heart is Fulvia's, and I sigh for Ætius.

Val.
Dost thou love Ætius?

Hon.
O! too well I love him:
Judge if I gave thee then so lightly counsel.

Val.
Hard is the task my sister now enjoins.

Hon.
Thy courage and thy virtue both united
Shall shame thy fortune. Let a woman teach
Augustus fortitude.

Val.
O Heaven!

Hon.
Be now
The victor o'er thyself, and let thy subjects
Learn hence the heart of Cæsar.

Val.
'Tis enough:
Send Fulvia hither—this shall too be tried.
O! didst thou know the struggle of my soul,
How hard the contest!

Hon.
From my own too well
I feel thy sufferings: yet submit to bear them:
'Tis some relief to know, that not alone
We feel those pangs, in which another shares.

[Exit.