University of Virginia Library

2. SECOND PART.

Daniel.
O! whither is the Glory gone
Of Sion, once renown'd?
Our holy Place, and David's Throne,
Are levell'd with the Ground.
Alas! the slow revolving Year
Must circle seventy Times,
While we remain in Bondage here,
To languish for our Crimes.

RECITATIVE.
Nor is it all: Alas! our own
Exceed the Sins of Babylon:
Vice reigns thro' our abandon'd Tribes;
Ambition, Avarice, and Bribes.
Whence do I hear that furious Cry?

Israel.
It is Susanna, led to dye.

Daniel.
Susanna, of our royal Race?
Susanna, doom'd to this Disgrace?
Susanna, beautiful and chaste?

Israel.
Blessings, alas! but not to last.

Susanna.
Adagio.
O Pow'r Divine! to thee I call:
Behold! in Innocence I fall.

AIR.
What was, and is, and is to be,
Alike are visible to thee;
Tho' in Obscurity they lye:
And tho' by Perjuries I dye,
Yet I am spotless in thine Eye.

Captive Women.
What alas! shall Woman trust?
Youth and Beauty are but Dust:
If to noble Blood ally'd,
All is transitory Pride.
Honour, and a spotless Name,
Bubbles of uncertain Fame:
All to vanish with a Breath.
What is all this Scene beneath?

First Elder.
See! how the Beauty, false and frail,
Unmerited their Pity draws?

Second Elder.
Shall her dissembling Tears avail
Against the Justice of our Laws?

Chelcias.
O this did ever I presage?
Is this the Comfort of my Age?
Thy pious Youth! thy modest Bloom!
Unjust and impious is the Doom,
That sinks me to the silent Tomb.

Joachin.
O! cou'd my faithful Heart deceive?
Or that fair Form my Trust betray?
O! no! I never can believe ------
Together either save, or slay.

Susanna.
Thus the Falcon from above,
Shoots upon the tender Dove:
While hid in Silence lies
Her gentle Mate,
To mourn her Fate,
She trembles, bleeds and dies.

Daniel.
Witness my Hands, that you remain
Untainted with the purple Stain,
When helpless Innocence is slain.

D. C. 1st and 2d Lines.
First Elder.
Where is the Youth, who rash and bold
Usurps the Honours of the Old?

Second Elder.
If that thou hast receiv'd from Heav'n,
Authority, to the Ancients giv'n?

Daniel.
The Gifts of Heav'n are not confin'd,
An upright Heart, a searching Mind,
To young or old, or great or small:
If Heav'n the Breast of you inspires
Or Passion lead the hoary Sires,
Shall soon be visible to all.

First Elder.
Ascend the Tribune, and from thence
Thy Wisdom to the Croud dispense.

Daniel.
Then set the Witnesses aside:
Asunder; till the Cause be try'd.

Solemn Symphony.
And thou! alone supremely wise!
Unalterably just and true!
Assist me, thro' the dark Disguise
Of Falshood; to direct my View:
And all her Mazes to pursue.

Music again
Piano.
Susanna.
O Pow'r divine! attend and hear!
My Tongue is ty'd by Shame and Fear:
But when the Innocent bemoan,

Pianiss.
Ev'n Silence whispers at thy Throne.

Daniel to First Elder.
O thou! whose hoary Age can rove,
Lost in the Wilds of guilty Love!
Now heav'nly Vengeance brings to Light,
Thy Crimes; too close for human Sight:
For thou hast clear'd exalted Guilt,
And Blood of Innocence hast spilt.
Yet tell me, if thou hast beheld,
What Tree the lawless Love conceal'd?

First Elder.
Beneath a dropping Mastick; there
We both surpriz'd the guilty Pair.

Daniel.
'Tis well! thy Head shall bear the Lye:
O false and fraudulent, in vain;
The Angel of the Lord stands by;
Ordain'd to sever thee in twain.

To Second Elder.
O thou of Canaan's impious Race!
For Juda scorns a Son so base;
Since Beauty can thy Judgment blind,
And Passion over-rule thy Mind.
O'er Israel's Daughters aw'd by Fear
Your easy Victories you gain'd.
Which she of Juda scorn'd to bear;
And all your Artifice disdain'd.
Yet tell me, if thou hast beheld,
What Tree the lawless Love conceal'd?

Second Elder.
A stately Holm above them spread
The Shelter of his ample Head.

Daniel.
O Force of Truth! that uncontroll'd
Confutes the Wise, and daunts the Bold!
How little shall thy specious Tale
To murther Innocence avail?

AIR.
Thy Sentence by thyself is giv'n!
Look up and tremble with Despair!
Behold the Minister of Heav'n!
He wheels the fiery Sword in Air;
And waits to sever thee in twain.
Ye both are destin'd to be slain.

Israel.
O! bear them, bear them to their Fate;
As to another they design'd:

Second Israel.
That impious Love, and guileful Hate,
An equal Recompense may find.

First Elder.
Conscious Anguish, guilty Shame,
Pierce my Heart, and brand my Name.

Second Elder.
Hide me, Earth! that I may lye,
Safe from Scorn and Infamy.

DUO.
But unreveng'd is twice to dye.

Chelcias.
O Daniel! just is thy Decree;
The Voice of Heav'n decides in thee:

To Susanna.
Thine is the Praise of Virtue try'd;

To Joach.
And thine the Bliss of such a Bride.
The Crown of hoary Age is mine:
The Glory to the Pow'r Divine.
Present Joy for Sorrow past,
Heightens the delicious Taste.

Joachim.
Rumor base, and canker'd Spight,
Hence to everlasting Night;
There in solid Fetters bound,
Fetters which in vain you bite,
Murmur thro' the dark Profound.

Susanna.
I tremble, like the frighted Deer,
That just escapes the Tiger near.

AIR.
But, O! to him the Praise is due,
Who vindicates the Chaste and True:
The Triumph is not mine.
For who the Victory cou'd win
Unless supported from within
By Fortitude divine?

D. C.
Grand CHORUS.
Show'r thy Blessings from above,
Author of connubial Love!
On the Hearts by thee combin'd;
Sacred Harmony of Mind!
Show'r thy Blessings from above,
Author of connubial Love!