 | Lucius Junius Brutus ; Father of his Country |  |
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ACT III.
SCE. I.
Collatinus, Tiberius, Vitellius, Aquilius.Col.
Th' expulsion of the Tarquins now must stand;
Their Camp to be surpris'd, while Tarquin here
Was scolded from our Walls! I blush to think
That such a Master in the art of War
Should so forget himself.
Vit.
Triumphant Brutus,
Like Jove when follow'd by a Train of Gods,
To mingle with the Fates and Doom the World,
Ascends the Brasen steps o'th' Capitol,
With all the humming Senate at his heels;
Ev'n in that Capitol which the King built
With the expence of all the Royal Treasure:
Ingrateful Brutus there in pomp appears,
And sits the Purple Judge of Tarquin's downfal.
Aquil.
But why, my Lord, why are not you there too?
Were you not chosen Consul by whole Rome?
Why are you not Saluted too like him?
Where are your Lictors? where your Rods and Axes?
Or are you but the Ape, the Mimic God
Of this new Thunderer, who appropriates
Those Bolts of Power which ought to be divided?
Tib.
Now, by the Gods, I hate his upstart pride,
His Rebel thoughts of the Imperial Race
His abject Soul that stoops to Court the Vulgar,
His scorn of Princes, and his lust to th' People,
O, Collatine, have you not eyes to find him?
Why are you rais'd, but to set off his honors?
A Taper by the Sun, whose sickly Beams
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He, like a Meteor, wades th'Abyss of light,
While your faint luster adds but to the beard
That aws the World. When late through Rome he pass'd
Fixt on his Courser, mark'd you how he bow'd
On this, on that side, to the gazing heads
That pav'd the Streets and all imboss'd the Windows,
That gap'd with eagerness to speak, but could not,
So fast their Spirits flow'd to admiration,
And that to joy; which thus at last broke forth:
Brutus, God Brutus, Father of thy Country!
Hail Genius, hail! Deliverer of lost Rome!
Shield of the Common wealth, and Sword of Justice!
Hail, scourge of Tyrants, lash for Lawless Kings!
All hail they cry'd, while the long Peal of Praises
Tormented with a thousand Ecchoing cryes
Ran like the Volly of the Gods along.
Col.
No more on't; I grow sick with the remembrance.
Tib.
But when you follow'd, how did their bellying Bodies
That ventur'd from the Casements more than half,
To look at Brutus, nay, that stuck like Snails
Upon the Walls, and from the Houses tops
Hung down like clustring Bees upon each other;
How did they all draw back at sight of you
To laze, and loll, and yawn, and rest from rapture!
Are you a man? have you the blood of Kings,
And suffer this?
Col.
Ha! is he not his Father?
Tib.
I grant he is.
Consider this, and rouz your self at home:
Commend my fire, and rail at your own slackness.
Yet more; remember but your last disgrace,
When you propos'd, with reverence to the Gods,
A King of Sacrifices should be chosen,
And from the Consuls; did he not oppose you?
Fearing, as well he might, your sure election,
Saying, It smelt too much of Royalty;
And that it might rub up the memory
Of those that lov'd the Tyrant? Nay, yet more;
That if the people chose you for the Place,
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Of one that's doubly Royal, being descended
From two great Princes that were Kings of Rome?
Col.
But, after all this, whether would'st thou drive?
Tib.
I would to Justice; for the Restauration
Of our most Lawful Prince: Yes, Collatine,
I look upon my Father as a Traytor;
I find, that neither you, nor brave Aquilius,
Nor young Vitellius, dare confide in me:
But that you may, and firmly, to the hazard
Of all the World holds precious; once again
I say, I look on Brutus as a Traytor,
No more my Father, by th'immortal Gods.
And to redeem the time, to fix the King
On his Imperial Throne, some means propos'd
That savor of a govern'd Policy,
Where there is strength and life to hope a Fortune,
Not to throw all upon one desperate chance;
I'll on as far as he that laughs at dying.
Col.
Come to my armes: O thou so truly brave
Thou may'st redeem the errors of thy race!
Aquilius, and Vitellius, O embrace him,
And ask his pardon, that so long we fear'd
To trust so rich a Virtue. But behold,
Enter Brutus and Valerius.
Brutus appears: Youngman, be satisfy'd,
I sound thy Politic Father to the bottom,
Plotting the assumption of Valerius,
He means to cast me from the Consulship:
But now, I heard how he Cajol'd the People
With his known industry, and my remissness,
That still in all our Votes, Proscriptions, Edicts,
Against the King, he found I acted faintly,
Still closing every Sentence, He's a Tarquin.
Bru.
No, my Valerius, till thou art my mate,
Joynt master in this great Authority,
However calm the face of things appear,
Rome is not safe: by the Majestic Gods,
I swear, while Collatine sits at the helm,
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I have intelligence of his Transactions,
He mingles with the young hot blood of Rome,
Gnaws himself inward, grudges my applause,
Promotes Cabals with highest Quality,
Such headlong youth as, spurning Laws and manners,
Shar'd in the late Debaucheries of Sextus,
And therefore wish the Tyrant here again:
As the inverted Seasons shock wise men,
And the most fixt Philosophy must start
At sultry Winters, and at frosty Summers;
So at this most unnatural stilness here,
This more than midnight silence through all Rome,
This deadness of discourse, and dreadful Calm
Upon so great a change, I more admire
Than if a hundred Politic heads were met,
And nodded Mutiny to one another;
More fear, than if a thousand lying Libels
Were spread abroad, nay, dropt among the Senate.
Val.
I have my self employ'd a busy Slave,
His name Vinditiuss, given him Wealth and Freedom,
To watch the Motions of Vitellius,
And those of the Aquilian Family:
Vitellius has already entertain'd him;
And something thence important may be gather'd,
For these of all the youth of Quality
Are most inclin'd to Tarquin and his Race,
By Blood and Humor.
Brut.
O, Valerius!
That Boy, observ'st thou? O, I fear, my Friend,
He is a Weed, but rooted in my heart,
And grafted to my Stock; if he prove rank,
By Mars, no more but thus, away with him:
I'll tear him from me, though the blood should follow.
Tiberius.
Tib.
My Lord?
Brut.
Sirrah, no more of that Vitellius;
I warn'd you too of young Aquilius:
Are my words wind, that thus you let 'em pass?
Hast thou forgot thy Father?
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No, my Lord.
Brut.
Thou ly'st. But tho thou scape a Fathers Rod,
The Consul's Ax may reach thee: think on that.
I know thy Vanity, and blind Ambition;
Thou dost associate with my Enemies:
When I refus'd the Consul Collatine
To be the King of Sacrifices; strait,
As if thou had'st been sworn his bosom Fool,
He nam'd thee for the Office: And since that,
Since I refus'd thy madness that preferment,
Because I would have none of Brutus Blood
Pretend to be a King; thou hang'st thy head,
Contriv'st to give thy Father new displeasure,
As if Imperial Toyl were not enough
To break my heart without thy disobedience.
But by the Majesty of Rome I swear,
If after double warning thou despise me,
By all the Gods, I'll cast thee from my blood,
Doom thee to Forks and Whips as a Barbarian,
And leave thee to the lashes of the Lictor.
Tarquinius Collatinus, you are summon'd
To meet the Senate on the instant time.
Coll.
Lead on: my duty is to follow Brutus.
[Ex. Brut. Val.
Tib.
Now, by those Gods with which he menac'd me,
I Here put off all nature; since he turns me
Thus desperate to the World, I do renounce him:
And when we meet again he is my Fo.
All Blood, all Reverence, Fondness be forgot:
Like a grown Savage on the Common wild,
That runs at all, and cares not who begot him,
I'll meet my Lion Sire, and roar defiance,
As if he ne're had nurs'd me in his Den.
Enter Vinditius, with the People, and two Fecialian Priests, Crown'nd with Laurel: two Spears in their hands; one blody and half burnt.
Vin.
Make Way there, hey, news from the Tyrant, here
come Envoys, Heralds, Ambassadors; whether in the Gods
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Fecialian Priests: well, good People, I like not these Priests;
why, what the Devil have they to do with State-affairs? what
side soever they are for, they'l have Heaven for their part, I'll
warrant you: they'l lug the Gods in whether they will or no.
1. Pri.
Hear, Jupiter; and thou, O Juno, hear;
Hear, O Quirinus; hear us all you Gods
Celestial, Terestial, and Infernal.
2. Pri.
Be thou, O Rome, our Judge: hear all you People.
Vin.
Fine Canting Rogues! I told you how they'd be hooking
the Gods in at first dash: why, the Gods are their Tools
and Tackle; they work with Heaven and Hell; and let me
tell you, as things go, your Priests have a hopeful Trade
on't.
1. Pri.
I come Ambassador to thee, O Rome,
Sacred and Just, the Legate of the King.
2. Pri.
If we demand, or purpose to require
A Stone from Rome that's contrary to Justice,
May we be ever banish'd from our Country,
And never hope to taste this vital Air.
Tib.
Vinditius, lead the Multitude away:
Aquilius, with Vitellius and my self,
Will strait conduct 'em to the Capitol.
Vin.
I go, my Lord; but have a care of 'em: sly Rogues
I warrant 'em. Mark that first Priest; do you see how he
leers? a lying Elder; the true cast of a holy Jugler. Come
my Masters, I would think well of a Priest, but that he has a
Commission to dissemble: a Pattent hypocrite, that takes pay
to forge; lyes by Law, and lives by the Sins of the People.
[Exeunt with People.
Aqu.
My life upon't, you may speak out, and freely;
Tiberius is the heart of our design.
1. Pri.
The Gods be prais'd. Thus then: the King commends
Your generous Resolves, longs to be with you,
And those you have ingag'd, Divides his heart
Amongst you; which more clearly will be seen
When you have read these Packets: as we go,
I'll spread the bosom of the King before you.
Exeunt.
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SCENE II.
The Senate.Brut.
Patricians , that long stood, and scap'd the Tyrant,
The venerable moulds of your Forefathers,
That represent the wisdom of the Dead;
And you the Conscript chosen for the People,
Engines of Power, severest Counsellors,
Courts that examine Treasons to the Head:
All hail. The Consul begs th' auspicious Gods,
And binds Quirinus by his Tutelar Vow,
That Plenty, Peace, and lasting Liberty
May be your portion, and the Lot of Rome.
Laws, Rules, and Bounds, prescrib'd for raging Kings,
Like Banks and Bulwarks for the Mother Seas,
Tho 'tis impossible they should prevent
A thousand dayly wracks and nightly ruins,
Yet help to break those rowling inundations
Which else would overflow and drown the World.
Tarquin, to feed whose fathomless ambition
And Ocean Luxury, the noblest veins
Of all true Romans were like Rivers empty'd,
Is cut from Rome, and now he flows full on;
Yet, Fathers, ought we much to fear his ebb,
And strictly watch the Dams that we have rais'd.
Why should I go about? the Roman People
All, with one voice, accuse my fellow Consul.
Coll.
The People may; I hope the Nobles will not.
The People! Brutus does indulge the People.
Bru.
Consul, in what is right, I will indulge 'em:
And much I think 'tis better so to do,
Than see 'em run in Tumults through the Streets,
Forming Cabals, Plotting against the Senate,
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As if the Gods had sent the Plague among 'em.
I know too well, you and your Royal Tribe
Scorn the good People, scorn the late Election,
Because we chose these Fathers for the People
To fill the place of those whom Tarquin murder'd:
And, tho you laugh at this, you and your Train,
The irreligious harebrain'd youth of Rome,
The Ignorant, the Slothful, and the Base;
Yet wise men know, 'tis very rarely seen,
That a free people should desire the hurt
Of Common Liberty. No, Collatine,
For those desires arise from their oppression,
Or from suspicion they are falling to it;
But put the case that those their fears were false,
Ways may be found to rectify their Errors;
For grant the People ignorant of themselves,
Yet they are capable of being told,
And will conceive a truth from worthy men:
From you they will not, nor from your adherents,
Rome's Infamous and Execrable Youth,
Foes to Religion and the Commonwealth,
To Virtue, Learning, and all sober Arts
That bring renown and profit to Mankind;
Such as had rather bleed beneath a Tyrant
To become dreadful to the Populace,
To spread their Lusts and Dissolutness round,
Tho at the daily hazard of their lives;
Than live at peace in a Free Government,
Where every man is Master of his own,
Sole Lord at home, and Monarch of his House,
Where Rancor and Ambition are extinguish'd,
Where Universal peace extends her wings,
As if the Golden Age return'd, where all
The People do agree, and live secure,
The Nobles and the Princes lov'd and Reverenc'd,
The World in Triumph, and the Gods Ador'd.
Coll.
The Consul, Conscript Fathers, saies the People,
For divers Reasons, grudge the Dignity,
Which I possess'd by general approbation,
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What they would have me do, what's their desire.
Bru.
Take hence the Royal name, resign thy Office;
Go as a Friend, and of thy own accord,
Left thou be forc'd to what may seem thy will:
The City renders thee what is thy own
With vast increase, so thou resolve to go;
For till the name, the Race and Family
Of Tarquin Be remov'd, Rome is not free.
Coll.
Brutus, I yield my Office to Valerius,
Hoping, when Rome has try'd my faith by Exile,
She will recal me: So the Gods preserve you.
[Exit.
Bru.
Welcome Publicola, true Son of Rome;
On such a Pilot in the roughest Storm
She may securely sleep and rest her cares.
[Enter Tiberius, Aquilius, Vitellius, and the Priests.
1. Pri.
Hear Jupiter, Quirinus, all you Gods,
Thou Father, Judge commission'd for the Message
Pater Patratus for the Embassy,
And Sacred Oaths which I must swear for truth,
Dost thou Commission me to seal the Peace,
If peace they choose; or hurl this bloody Spear
Half burnt in fire, if they inforce a War?
2. Pri.
Speak to the Senate, and the Alban People
The Words of Tarquin: this is your Commission.
1. Pri.
The King, to show he has more moderation
Than those that drove him from his lawful Empire,
Demands but restitution of his own,
His Royal Houshold-stuff, Imperial Treasure,
His Gold, his Jewels, and his proper State
To be transported where he now resides:
I swear that this is all the King requires;
Behold his Signet set upon the wax.
'Tis Seal'd and written in these Sacred Tables.
To this I swear; and as my Oath is Just,
Sincere and punctual, without all deceit,
May Jupiter and all the Gods reward me:
But if I act, or otherwise imagine,
Think, or design, than what I hear have sworn,
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Safe in your Country, Temples, Sepulchers,
Safe in your Laws, and proper Houshold Gods;
Let me alone be strook, fall, perish, dye,
As now this Stone falls from my hand to Earth.
Bru.
The things you ask being very controversial,
Require some time. Should we deny the Tyrant
What was his own, 'twould seem a strange injustice;
Tho he had never Reign'd in Rome; yet, Fathers,
If we consent to yield to his demand,
We give him then full power to make a War.
'Tis known to you, the Fecialian Priests,
No Act of Senate after Sun-set stands;
Therefore your offers being of great moment,
We shall defer your bus'ness till the morn:
With whose first dawn we summon all the Fathers,
To give th' affair dispatch. So Jove protect,
Guard, and Defend the Commonwealth of Rome.
[Exeunt.
[Manent Tiberius, Aquilius, Vitellius, Priests.
Tib.
Now to the Garden, where I'll bring my Brother:
Fear not, my Lord; we have the means to work him;
It cannot fail.
1. Pri.
And you, Vitellius, hast
With good Aquilius, spread the news through Rome,
To all of Royal Spirit; most to those
Young Noble men that us'd to range with Sextus!
Perswade a restitution of the King,
Give 'em the hint to let him in by night,
And joyn their Forces with th'Imperial Troops,
For 'tis a shove a push of Fate must bear it,
For you, the Hearts and Souls of enterprise,
I need not urge a reason after this:
What good can come of such a Government
Where tho two Consuls, wise and able persons,
As are throughout the World, sit at the helm,
A very trifle cannot be resolv'd;
A Trick, a Start, a Shaddow of a business,
That would receive dispatch in half a minute
Were the Authority but rightly plac'd,
In Rome's most lawful King? But now no more;
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Where more of our sworn Function will be ready
To help the Royal Plot: disperse, and prosper.
SCENE III.
The Fecialian Garden.Titus solus.
Tit.
She's gone; and I shall never see her more:
Gone to the Camp, to the harsh trade of War,
Driven from thy bed, just warm within thy brest,
Torn from her harbor by thy Father's hand,
Perhaps to starve upon the barren plain,
Thy Virgin Wife, the very blush of Maids,
The softest bosom sweet, and not enjoy'd:
O the Immortal Gods! and as she went,
How er'e she seem'd to bear our parting well,
Methought she mixt her melting with disdain,
A cast of anger through her Shining tears:
So to abuse her hopes, and blast her wishes,
By making her my Bride, but not a Woman!
[Enter Tiberius, Aquilius, Vitellius, and Priests, with Teraminta.
Tib.
See where he stands, drown'd in his Melancholy.
1. Pri.
Madam, you know the pleasure of the Queen:
And what the Royal Tullia did command
I've sworn to execute.
Ter.
I am instructed.
Since then my life 's at stake, you need not doubt
But I will act with all the Force I can:
Let me intreat you leave me here alone
Some minutes, and I'll call you to the conquest.
[Ex. Tib. Aq. Vitel. Pri.
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Choose then the gloomy'st place through all the Grove,
Throw thy abandon'd body on the ground,
With thy bare brest lye wedded to the Dew;
Then, as thou drink'st the tears that trickle from thee:
So strtech'd resolve to lye till death shall seize thee:
Thy sorrowful head hung or'e some tumbling Stream,
To rock thy griefs with melancholy sounds,
With broken murmers and redoubled groans,
To help the gurgling of the waters fall,
Ter.
Oh, Titus, Oh, what Scene of Death is this!
Tit.
Or if thy Passion will not be kept in,
As in that glass of nature thou shalt view
Thy swoln drown'd eyes with the inverted banks,
The tops of Willows and their blossoms turn'd,
With all the under Sky ten fathom down,
Wish that the shaddow of the swimming Globe
Were so indeed, that thou migh'st leap at Fate,
And hurl thy Fortune headlong at the Stars:
Nay, do not bear it, turn thy watry face
To yond' misguided Orb, and ask the Gods
For what bold Sin they doom the wretched Titus
To such a loss as that of Teraminta?
O Teraminta! I will groan thy name
Till the tir'd Eccho faint with repetition,
Till all the breathless Grove and quiet Myrtles
Shake with my sighs, as if a Tempest bow'd 'em.
Nothing but Teraminta: O Teraminta!
Ter.
Nothing but Titus: Titus and Teraminta!
Thus let me rob the Fountains and the Groves,
Thus gird me to thee with the fastest knot
Of arms and Spirits that would clasp thee through;
Cold as thou art, and wet with night's faln dews,
Yet dearer so, thus richly dress'd with sorrows,
Than if the Gods had hung thee round with Kingdoms.
Oh, Titus, O!
Tit.
I find thee Teraminta,
Wak'd from a fearful Dream, and hold thee fast:
'Tis real, and I give thee back thy joys,
Thy boundless Love with pleasures running o're;
Nay, as thou art, thus with thy trappings, come,
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Triumphing thus, and now defie our Stars.
But, oh, why do we lose this precious moment!
The bliss may yet be bar'd if we delay,
As 'twas before. Come to thy Husband's bed;
I will not think this true till there I hold thee,
Lock'd in my Arms. Leave this Contagious Air;
There will be time for talk how thou cam'st hither
When we have been before hand with the Gods:
Till then—
Ter.
Oh, Titus, you must hear me first.
I bring a Message from the Furious Queen;
I promised nay, she Swore me not to touch you,
Till I had Charm'd you to the part of Tarquin.
Tit.
Ha, Teraminta! not to touch thy Husband,
Unless he prove a Villain?
Ter.
Titus, no;
I'm Sworn to tell you that you are a Traytor,
If you refuse to Fight the Royal Cause.
Tit.
Hold, Teraminta.
Ter.
No, my Lord; 'tis plain,
And I am sworn to lay my Reasons home.
Rouze then, awake, recal your sleeping Virtue;
Side with the King, and Arm against your Father,
Take part with those that Loyally have Sworn
To let him in by Night: Vitellius,
Aquilius, and your Brother wait without;
Therefore I charge you hast, subscribe your name,
And send your vow'd obedience to the King:
'Tis Teraminta that intreats you thus,
Charms, and Conjures you; tell the Royal Heralds
You'l head their Enterprise: and then, my Lord,
My Love, my noble Husband, I'll obey you,
And follow to your bed.
Tit.
Never I swear.
O, Teraminta, thou hast broke my heart:
By all the Gods, from thee this was too much.
Farewel, and take this with thee. For thy sake,
I will not Fight against the King, nor for him:
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Forsake the haunts of Men; converse no more
With ought that's Human; dwell with endless darkness:
For, Since the sight of thee is now unwelcome,
What has the World besides that I can bear?
Ter.
Come back, my Lord. By those immortal Pow'rs
You now invok'd, I'll fix you in this virtue.
Your Teraminta did but try how strong
Your Honour stood: and now she finds it lasting,
Will dye to root you in this solid Glory.
Yes, Titus, tho the Queen has Sworn to end me,
Tho both the Fecialians have Commission
To stab me in your presence, if not wrought
To serve the King; yet by the Gods I charge you
Keep to the point your constancy has gain'd.
Tarquin, altho my Father, is a Tyrant,
A bloody black Usurper; so I beg you
Ev'n in my death to view him.
Tit.
Oh you Gods!
Ter.
Yet guilty as he is, if you behold him
Hereafter with his Wounds upon the Earth,
Titus, for my sake, for poor Teraminta,
Who rather dy'd than you should lose your Honor,
Do not you strike him, do not dip your Sword
In Tarquin's blood, because he was my Father.
Tit.
No, Teraminta, no: by all the Gods,
I will defend him, ev'n against my Father.
See, see, my Love; behold the Flight I take:
What all the Charms of thy expected bed
Could not once move my Soul to think of Acting,
Thy tears and menac'd death, by which thou striv'st
To fix me to the Principles of Glory,
Have wrought me off. Yes, yes, you cruel Gods,
Let the eternal Bolts that bind this Frame
Start from their Order: since you push me thus
Ev'n to the Margin of this wide despair,
Behold I plunge at once in this dishonor,
Where there is neither Shore, nor hope of Haven,
No Floating mark through all the dismal Vast;
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To gaze about and pause upon the ruin.
Ter.
Is then your purpos'd Honor come to this?
What now, my Lord?
Tit,
Thy death, thy death, my Love:
I'll think on that, and laugh at all the Gods.
Glory, Blood, Nature, tyes of Reverence,
The dues of Birth, respect of Parents, all,
All are as this, the Air I drive before me.
What so! Vitellius, and Aquilius, come,
And you the Fecialian Heralds, hast
I'm ready for the leap, I'll take it with you
Tho deep as to the Fiends.
Ter.
Thus hear me, Titus.
Tit.
Off from my knees, away.
What on this Theam, thy death? nay, stab'd before me!
[Enter Priests, with Tiberius, Aquilius, Vitellius.
Speak not; I will not know thee on this Subject,
But push thee from my heart, with all persuasions
That now are lost upon me. O, Tiberius,
Aquilius, and Vitellius, welcome, welcome;
I'll joyn you in the Conjuration, come:
I am as free as he that dares be formost.
Ter.
My Lord, my Husband.
Tit.
Take this woman from me.
Nay look you, Sirs, I am not yet so gon,
So headlong neither in this damn'd Design
To quench this Horrid thirst with Brutus blood:
No, by th' eternal Gods, I bar you that;
My Father shall not bleed.
Tib.
You could not think
Your Brother sure so Monstrous in his kind.
As not to make our Father's life his care.
Tit.
Thus then, my Lords, I List my self among you.
And with my Style in short Subscribe my self
The Servant to the King; my words are these.
Titus to the King,
Sir, you need only know my Brother's mind
To judge of me, who am resolv'd to serve you,
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'Tis full enough.
Tit.
Then leave me to the hire
Of this hard labor, to the dear bought prize,
Exeunt. Tib. Aquil. Vitell. and Priests.
Whose life I purchas'd with my loss of Honor:
Come to my brests, thou Tempest-beaten Flower,
Brim-full of Rain, and stick upon my heart.
O short liv'd Rose! yet I some hours will wear thee:
Yes, by the Gods, I'll smell thee till I languish,
Rifle thy sweets, and run the o're and o're,
Fall like the Night upon thy folding beauties,
And clasp thee dead: Then, like the Morning Sun,
With a new heat kiss thee to life again,
And make the pleasure equal to the pain.
| Lucius Junius Brutus ; Father of his Country | |