 | Timanthes |  |
SCENE, The palace.
Enter Adrastus and Orcanes.
ORCANES.
Timanthes is arriv'd.
ADRASTUS.
The setting sun
Gilds his returning ensigns.—Great Demophoon
Prepares to welcome home his conquering son,
And meet him with a father's love.
ORCANES.
And yet
Amidst this hour of triumph, sorrow clouds
The splendor of a victor's arms: this eve
Fore-runs a day of sad solemnity.
ADRASTUS.
Orcanes, yes—that sun, whose chearful light
Smiles on the harmless swain, that piping leads
His flock to fold, must, ere to-morrow's noon,
Behold his altar stain'd with guiltless blood.
Thou know'st long since the oracle requir'd
A virgin's life in annual sacrifice;
And every year, on this returning day,
In solemn rites our weeping Thrace gives up
The melancholy victim.
ORCANES.
Have the priests
Receiv'd the virgins yet, whose names must stand
To-morrow's dreadful chance?
ADRASTUS.
Not yet—and thence
I fear new evils may arise: 'tis whisper'd,
I know not what, of something that portends
Contest and tumult to the state: Mathusius,
The hoary chief, beneath whose softering care
Our young Timanthes learn'd the trade of war,
Grown old in toils, an alien to the court,
Now lives sequester'd, since the king displeas'd
Recall'd him from command, and in his stead
Left his brave son to guide the Thracian files:
Retir'd he dwells, where on the city's skirts
The sea in tempests breaks; or where, in calms,
Its glassy waves reflect the trembling towers;
With him resides his daughter fair Ismena.
ORCANES.
The coldness 'twixt Demophoon and Mathusius
Has reach'd the public notice; born to shine
In camps alone, Mathusius has not learnt
The soft address to rise in courts.
ADRASTUS.
'Tis true,
And bred with him, Timanthes has imbib'd
His temper's warmth, which oft, by youth inflam'd,
Flies to extremes—Cherinthus, his young brother,
Is form'd of softer mould; yet both possess
Demophoon's heart; and born of different queens,
He in Timanthes seems to prize the gifts
Of manly fortitude, while in Cherinthus
He loves the milder virtues that revive
His queen Serena's memory.
ORCANES.
Cherinthus
Is now expected from the Phrygian land,
Sent by Demophoon on some embassy
Of high concern—but see the king approaches.
Enter Demophoon attended.
DEMOPHOON.
'Tis well—Manthusius' absence on the eve
Of this important day, when he should meet
My conquering son, the pupil of his arms,
Argues a stubbornness and disregard
A sovereign ill can brook: we own his deeds,
His years of service for the state;—but tell
The all-presuming man, that merit, self
O'er-rated, cancels its reward—Adrastus,
Ought hears't thou of Cherinthus?
ADRASTUS.
No, my liege,
But to the Thracian port, the fav'ring winds
Must bring his vessel, ere the close of eve.
Forgive a subject's freedom, but you seem
Oppress'd with secret care.
DEMOPHOON.
The time, Adrastus,
Now calls for meditation, and how few
Are a king's hours of peace, whose every day
Teems with some counsel for the public weal.
ADRASTUS.
Yet this auspicious day my king must own
Sets not with common lustre, when your son,
The brave Timanthes, from the Scythian land,
Adds to his father's brow new wreaths of fame,
And to his people gives the palms of peace.
No, sacred sir, the hardy sons of Thrace
Did never celebrate with greater joy
A conquering chief's return.
DEMOPHOON.
Well pleas'd I hear
My faithful people's shouts ascend the sky;
And sympathize in those exulting sounds,
That to the much-lov'd name of my Timanthes,
Join every wish—but hark! the victor comes.
Enter Timanthes attended.
TIMANTHES.
Royal sir!
To whom Timanthes owns the double tie
Of son and subject; see him now return'd
From Scythia's kingdom with success and conquest
To grace a father's throne—
DEMOPHOON.
Timanthes, rise:
The king and father give thee double welcome,
And treble praise to Mars the armipotent,
That gives Demophoon in his darling son
His kingdom's best defender.
TIMANTHES.
Thanks to heaven,
Whose smiles have grac'd my unexperienc'd arms,
I may, without a blush, confess my deeds:
Yes, we have conquer'd; never view'd the sun
A more extensive slaughter: 'midst the tumult
Of fear and rage, were blended undistinguish'd
The brave, the base, the victor and the vanquish'd.
The day at length was ours; if you demand
A proof of this, behold yon' captive bands,
Behold yon' shatter'd arms and streaming ensigns.
DEMOPHOON.
'Tis not alone o'er the stern Scythian foe
Thou spread'st thy trophies; by subduing him,
Thou triumph'st in Demophoon's breast—mean time
In this embrace receive my pledge of love:
Thy father welcomes thee—proceed, my son,
Urge on thy course to honour's furthest goal,
Till verging on the extreme of age, Demophoon
Beholds thy fame eclipse his own—but toils
Demand refreshment, and the weary'd arm
Of valour gains new vigour from repose.
But I have that requires thy private ear;
Let all, except Timanthes, leave the presence.
[Exeunt attendants.
Manent Demophoon and Timanthes.
DEMOPHOON.
Come near, my son—thou little think'st how much
Thy happiness employs my careful breast.
While in the distant fields of fame Timanthes
Encounter'd dangers for his father's honour,
Demophoon's thoughts were all employ'd at home,
To bless his glad return with halcyon days.
TIMANTHES.
Have I not felt your goodness? since the time
Of early childhood to the ripening age
Of manly life, a father has prevented
My every wish.—
DEMOPHOON.
Thou know'st Argea dy'd
Ere twice six moons had taught thy tongue to lisp
A mother's name—two years elaps'd, once more
I try'd the nuptial band: Cherinthus crown'd
This second union—but his birth, alas!
Was fatal to Serena; and with her,
In me the husband dy'd; and now the father
Engrosses all my soul.
TIMANTHES.
Still may Timanthes
With filial duty sooth your days in peace,
And oft as war shall call your banners forth
Return with conquest home.
DEMOPHOON.
Thou canst not tell
How dear I hold thee—to the toil of arms
Love gives its soft relief, and beauty best
Smooths the rough front of war: tho' now my years
Roll forward, and the summer of my life
Yields to declining autumn, well I know
What youth has been, and what befits the age
When jocund spring leads up the laughing hours.
TIMANTHES.
Alas! my lord, let not your goodness task
Timanthes' gratitude, I ask no more
To crown my labours than Demophoon's smiles.
What bliss is wanting to that chief, whose arms
Defend his sovereign's crown and guard his people?
DEMOPHOON.
Yes, my lov'd son, Cephisa's virgin charms,
Cephisa, daughter to the Phrygian king,
Shall be thy valour's great reward.
TIMANTHES.
Cephisa!
DEMOPHOON.
What mean'st thou? Wherefore hangs this sudden gloom
O'er thy chang'd features? Can Cephisa's beauties
Whom sighing kings—nay more—
TIMANTHES.
Yet hear me, sir,
Be not displeas'd with your Timanthes—Heav'n's
My witness, gladly would I yield my life,
If such a sacrifice could aught avail
To insure Demophoon's peace—but I confess
Repugnance here.—
DEMOPHOON.
Timanthes!—
TIMANTHES.
Tho' I own,
(What fame has loudly spoken) every virtue
That decks the royal virgin, yet if aught
My deeds have merited—
DEMOPHOON.
Where can we find
Another partner for Timanthes' bed,
Unless a subject born?—Think not, my son,
The shades of our great ancestors shall blush
To see their line disgrac'd—from them we hold
The statute, that condemns to death the subject
Who weds with royal blood; and whilst I live
I'm guardian of the laws, and will enforce them
Even with severest rigour.
TIMANTHES.
Sacred sir—
Enter Orcanes.
ORCANES.
The Phrygian ships, my lord, are now descry'd
Full steering to the port, their spreading sails
Swell in the winds that waft them to the shore.
DEMOPHOON.
'Tis well—go thou, my son, to meet thy brother,
And bid the princess welcome to the land:
Myself would with thee, but the priests demand
My presence at the temple, to consult
To-morrow's mournful rites.
TIMANTHES.
[aside.]
Doubts rise on doubts!
This dreadful sacrifice—yet stay, my father—
DEMOPHOON.
What would'st thou?—speak—
TIMANTHES.
Alas! I know not what—
Fain would I utter—but—
DEMOPHOON.
No more, I cannot
Prolong the precious time in vain debate:
The terms are settled, prince—then summon all
Thy virtue to respect a parent's will,
And dress thy looks in smiles to meet Cephisa.
[Exeunt Demophoon and Orcanes.
Timanthes
alone.
Ha! dress my looks in smiles to meet Cephisa!
What have I heard!—O! where's Ismena now,
That once could sooth my cares! whose beauty best
Smooth'd the rough task of war—Methinks ev'n now
She chides the lingering hours—then let me fly,
Steal unperceiv'd upon the beauteous mourner,
And with Timanthes' love relieve her sorrows!
[Exit.
Enter Adrastus and Orcanes.
ORCANES.
Timanthes is arriv'd.
ADRASTUS.
The setting sun
Gilds his returning ensigns.—Great Demophoon
Prepares to welcome home his conquering son,
And meet him with a father's love.
ORCANES.
And yet
Amidst this hour of triumph, sorrow clouds
The splendor of a victor's arms: this eve
Fore-runs a day of sad solemnity.
ADRASTUS.
Orcanes, yes—that sun, whose chearful light
Smiles on the harmless swain, that piping leads
2
Behold his altar stain'd with guiltless blood.
Thou know'st long since the oracle requir'd
A virgin's life in annual sacrifice;
And every year, on this returning day,
In solemn rites our weeping Thrace gives up
The melancholy victim.
ORCANES.
Have the priests
Receiv'd the virgins yet, whose names must stand
To-morrow's dreadful chance?
ADRASTUS.
Not yet—and thence
I fear new evils may arise: 'tis whisper'd,
I know not what, of something that portends
Contest and tumult to the state: Mathusius,
The hoary chief, beneath whose softering care
Our young Timanthes learn'd the trade of war,
Grown old in toils, an alien to the court,
Now lives sequester'd, since the king displeas'd
Recall'd him from command, and in his stead
Left his brave son to guide the Thracian files:
Retir'd he dwells, where on the city's skirts
The sea in tempests breaks; or where, in calms,
Its glassy waves reflect the trembling towers;
With him resides his daughter fair Ismena.
ORCANES.
The coldness 'twixt Demophoon and Mathusius
Has reach'd the public notice; born to shine
In camps alone, Mathusius has not learnt
The soft address to rise in courts.
ADRASTUS.
'Tis true,
And bred with him, Timanthes has imbib'd
3
Flies to extremes—Cherinthus, his young brother,
Is form'd of softer mould; yet both possess
Demophoon's heart; and born of different queens,
He in Timanthes seems to prize the gifts
Of manly fortitude, while in Cherinthus
He loves the milder virtues that revive
His queen Serena's memory.
ORCANES.
Cherinthus
Is now expected from the Phrygian land,
Sent by Demophoon on some embassy
Of high concern—but see the king approaches.
Enter Demophoon attended.
DEMOPHOON.
'Tis well—Manthusius' absence on the eve
Of this important day, when he should meet
My conquering son, the pupil of his arms,
Argues a stubbornness and disregard
A sovereign ill can brook: we own his deeds,
His years of service for the state;—but tell
The all-presuming man, that merit, self
O'er-rated, cancels its reward—Adrastus,
Ought hears't thou of Cherinthus?
ADRASTUS.
No, my liege,
But to the Thracian port, the fav'ring winds
Must bring his vessel, ere the close of eve.
Forgive a subject's freedom, but you seem
Oppress'd with secret care.
DEMOPHOON.
The time, Adrastus,
Now calls for meditation, and how few
4
Teems with some counsel for the public weal.
ADRASTUS.
Yet this auspicious day my king must own
Sets not with common lustre, when your son,
The brave Timanthes, from the Scythian land,
Adds to his father's brow new wreaths of fame,
And to his people gives the palms of peace.
No, sacred sir, the hardy sons of Thrace
Did never celebrate with greater joy
A conquering chief's return.
DEMOPHOON.
Well pleas'd I hear
My faithful people's shouts ascend the sky;
And sympathize in those exulting sounds,
That to the much-lov'd name of my Timanthes,
Join every wish—but hark! the victor comes.
Enter Timanthes attended.
TIMANTHES.
Royal sir!
To whom Timanthes owns the double tie
Of son and subject; see him now return'd
From Scythia's kingdom with success and conquest
To grace a father's throne—
DEMOPHOON.
Timanthes, rise:
The king and father give thee double welcome,
And treble praise to Mars the armipotent,
That gives Demophoon in his darling son
His kingdom's best defender.
TIMANTHES.
Thanks to heaven,
Whose smiles have grac'd my unexperienc'd arms,
5
Yes, we have conquer'd; never view'd the sun
A more extensive slaughter: 'midst the tumult
Of fear and rage, were blended undistinguish'd
The brave, the base, the victor and the vanquish'd.
The day at length was ours; if you demand
A proof of this, behold yon' captive bands,
Behold yon' shatter'd arms and streaming ensigns.
DEMOPHOON.
'Tis not alone o'er the stern Scythian foe
Thou spread'st thy trophies; by subduing him,
Thou triumph'st in Demophoon's breast—mean time
In this embrace receive my pledge of love:
Thy father welcomes thee—proceed, my son,
Urge on thy course to honour's furthest goal,
Till verging on the extreme of age, Demophoon
Beholds thy fame eclipse his own—but toils
Demand refreshment, and the weary'd arm
Of valour gains new vigour from repose.
But I have that requires thy private ear;
Let all, except Timanthes, leave the presence.
[Exeunt attendants.
Manent Demophoon and Timanthes.
DEMOPHOON.
Come near, my son—thou little think'st how much
Thy happiness employs my careful breast.
While in the distant fields of fame Timanthes
Encounter'd dangers for his father's honour,
Demophoon's thoughts were all employ'd at home,
To bless his glad return with halcyon days.
TIMANTHES.
Have I not felt your goodness? since the time
Of early childhood to the ripening age
6
My every wish.—
DEMOPHOON.
Thou know'st Argea dy'd
Ere twice six moons had taught thy tongue to lisp
A mother's name—two years elaps'd, once more
I try'd the nuptial band: Cherinthus crown'd
This second union—but his birth, alas!
Was fatal to Serena; and with her,
In me the husband dy'd; and now the father
Engrosses all my soul.
TIMANTHES.
Still may Timanthes
With filial duty sooth your days in peace,
And oft as war shall call your banners forth
Return with conquest home.
DEMOPHOON.
Thou canst not tell
How dear I hold thee—to the toil of arms
Love gives its soft relief, and beauty best
Smooths the rough front of war: tho' now my years
Roll forward, and the summer of my life
Yields to declining autumn, well I know
What youth has been, and what befits the age
When jocund spring leads up the laughing hours.
TIMANTHES.
Alas! my lord, let not your goodness task
Timanthes' gratitude, I ask no more
To crown my labours than Demophoon's smiles.
What bliss is wanting to that chief, whose arms
Defend his sovereign's crown and guard his people?
DEMOPHOON.
Yes, my lov'd son, Cephisa's virgin charms,
Cephisa, daughter to the Phrygian king,
Shall be thy valour's great reward.
7
Cephisa!
DEMOPHOON.
What mean'st thou? Wherefore hangs this sudden gloom
O'er thy chang'd features? Can Cephisa's beauties
Whom sighing kings—nay more—
TIMANTHES.
Yet hear me, sir,
Be not displeas'd with your Timanthes—Heav'n's
My witness, gladly would I yield my life,
If such a sacrifice could aught avail
To insure Demophoon's peace—but I confess
Repugnance here.—
DEMOPHOON.
Timanthes!—
TIMANTHES.
Tho' I own,
(What fame has loudly spoken) every virtue
That decks the royal virgin, yet if aught
My deeds have merited—
DEMOPHOON.
Where can we find
Another partner for Timanthes' bed,
Unless a subject born?—Think not, my son,
The shades of our great ancestors shall blush
To see their line disgrac'd—from them we hold
The statute, that condemns to death the subject
Who weds with royal blood; and whilst I live
I'm guardian of the laws, and will enforce them
Even with severest rigour.
TIMANTHES.
Sacred sir—
8
ORCANES.
The Phrygian ships, my lord, are now descry'd
Full steering to the port, their spreading sails
Swell in the winds that waft them to the shore.
DEMOPHOON.
'Tis well—go thou, my son, to meet thy brother,
And bid the princess welcome to the land:
Myself would with thee, but the priests demand
My presence at the temple, to consult
To-morrow's mournful rites.
TIMANTHES.
[aside.]
Doubts rise on doubts!
This dreadful sacrifice—yet stay, my father—
DEMOPHOON.
What would'st thou?—speak—
TIMANTHES.
Alas! I know not what—
Fain would I utter—but—
DEMOPHOON.
No more, I cannot
Prolong the precious time in vain debate:
The terms are settled, prince—then summon all
Thy virtue to respect a parent's will,
And dress thy looks in smiles to meet Cephisa.
[Exeunt Demophoon and Orcanes.
Timanthes
alone.
Ha! dress my looks in smiles to meet Cephisa!
What have I heard!—O! where's Ismena now,
That once could sooth my cares! whose beauty best
Smooth'd the rough task of war—Methinks ev'n now
She chides the lingering hours—then let me fly,
9
And with Timanthes' love relieve her sorrows!
[Exit.
| Timanthes | |