University of Virginia Library

ACT V.

SCENE I.

Castalio lying on the ground.
SONG.

Castal.
See where the Deer trot after one another,
Male, Female, Father, Daughter, Mother, Son,
Brother and Sister mingled all together;
No discontent they know, but in delightful
VVildness and freedom, pleasant Springs, fresh Herbage,
Calm Harbours, lusty health and innocence
Enjoy their portion; If they see a man
How will they turn together all and gaze
Upon the Monster—
Once in a Season too they taste of Love:
Only the Beast of Reason is its Slave,
And in that Folly drudges all the year.

Enter Acasto.
Acast.
Castalio! Castalio!

Cast.
VVho's there
So wretched but to name Castalio?

Acast.
I hope my message may succeed.

Cast.
My Father,
'Tis Joy to see you, though where sorrow's Nourisht.

Acast.
I'm come, in Beauties Cause, you'l guess the rest.

Cast.
A woman! if you love my peace of mind,
Name not a woman to me; but to think
Of woman were enough to taint my Brains,
Till they foment to madness! Oh! my Father.

Acast.
VVhat Ayles my Boy?

Cast.
A woman is the thing
I would forget, and blot from my Remembrance.

Acast.
Forget Monimia!

Cast.
She to choose: Monimia!
The very found's ungrateful to my sence.

Acast.
This might seem strange; but you I've found will
Hide your heart from me, you dare not trust to your Father.

Cast.
No more Monimia.

Acast.
Is she not your VVife?

Cast.
So much the worse, who loves to hear of VVife?
VVhen you would give all worldly Plagues a name
VVorse than they have already, call 'em VVife:
But a new married wife's a seeming mischief,
Full of her self: VVhy, what a deal of horror
Has that poor wretch to come, that wedded yesterday?

Acast.
Castalio, you must go along with me.
And see Monimia.

Cast.
Sure my Lord but mocks me,
Go see Monimia! Pray, my Lord, excuse me;
And leave the Conduct of this part of Life,
To my own Choice.

Acast.
I say, no more dispute.
Complaints are made to me, that you have wrong'd her.

Cast.
VVho has complain'd?

Acast.
Her Brother to my face proclaim'd her wrong'd,
And in such terms they've warm'd me.

Cast.
What terms? her Brother! Heaven!
Where learnt she that?
VVhat does she send her Hero with defiance?
He durst not sure affront you?

Acast.
No, not much,
But—

Cast.
Speak, what said he?

Acast.
That thou wert a Villain:
Methinks I would not have thee thought a Villain.

Cast.
Shame on the ill-manner'd Brute:
Your age secur'd him, he durst not else have said so.

Acast.
By my Sword,
I would not see thee wrong'd and bear it vilely,
Though I have past my word she shall have Justice.

Cast.
Justice! to give her Justice wou'd undo her:
Think you this Solitude I now had chosen,
Left joys just opening to my sense, sought here
A place to curse my Fate in, measur'd out
My Grave at length, wish to have grown one piece
With this cold Clay, and all without a Cause?

Enter Chamont.
Cham.
Where is the Hero famous and renown'd
For wronging Innocence, and breaking Vows;
Whose mighty spirit, and whose stubborn heart,
No woman can appease, nor man provoke?

Acast.
I guess, Chamont, you come to seek Castalio.

Cham.
I come to seek the Husband of Monimia.

Cast.
The Slave is here.

Cham.
I thought e're now to 'ave found you
Attoning for the Ills you've done Chamont:
For you have wrong'd the dearest part of him;
Monimia, young Lord, weeps in this heart;
And all the Tears thy Injuries have drawn
From her poor Eyes, are drops of Blood from hence.

Cast.
Then you are Chamont?

Cham.
Yes, and I hope no Stranger
To great Castalio.

Cast.
I've heard of such a Man
That has been very busie with my Honour:
I own I'm much indebted to you, Sir,
And here return the Villain back again
You sent me by my Father.

Cham.
Thus I'll thank you.

[Draws.
Acast.
By this good Sword, who first presumes to violence
Makes me his Foe—
[Draws and interposes.
Young Man, it once was thought
[To Castalio.
I was fit Guardian of my Houses Honour,
And you might trust your share with me—For you,
[To Cham.
Young Souldier, I must tell you, you have wrong'd me:
I promis'd you to do Monimia right,
And thought my word a Pledge I would not forfeit:
But you I find would fright us to Performance.

Cast.
Sir, in my younger years with Care you taught me,
That brave Revenge was due to injur'd Honour;
Oppose not then the Justice of my Sword,
Lest you should make me jealous of your love.

Cham.
Into thy Father's arms thou fly'st for safety,
Because thou know'st the place is sanctify'd
With the Remembrance of an ancient Friendship.

Cast.
I am a Villain if I will not seek thee
'Till I may be reveng'd for all the wrongs
Done me by that ungrateful Fair thou plead'st for.

Cham.
She wrong thee! by the Fury in my heart,
Thy Father's Honour's not above Monimia's;
Nor was thy Mother's Truth and Vertue fairer.

Acast.
Boy, don't disturb the Ashes of the dead
With thy capricious Follies: The remembrance
Of the lov'd Creature that once fill'd these Arms—

Cham.
Has not been wrong'd.

Cast.
It shall not.

Cham.
No, nor shall
Monimia, though a helpless Orphan, destitute
Of Friends and Fortune, though the unhappy Sister
Of poor Chamont, whose Sword is all his Portion,
Be opprest by thee, thou proud imperious Traytor.

Cast.
Hah! let me free.

Cham.
Come both.

Enter Serina.
Serin.
Alas! alas!
The cause of these disorders my Chamont?
Who is't has wrong'd thee?

Casta.
Now where art thou fled
For shelter?

Cham.
Come from thine, and see what safeguard
Shall then betray my fears.

Serin.
Cruel Castalio,
Sheath up thy angry Sword, and don't affright me:
Chamont let once Serina calm thy breast:
If any of thy friends have done thee injuries,
I'll be reveng'd, and love thee better for't.

Casta.
Sir, if you'd have me think you did not take
This opportunity to shew your Vanity,
Let's meet some other time, when by our selves
We fairly may dispute our wrongs together.

Cham.
Till then I am Castalio's Friend.

Cast.
Serina,
Farewell, I wish much happiness attend you.

Serin.
Chamont's the dearest thing I have on Earth;
Give me Chamont, and let the world forsake me.

Cham.
Witness the Gods, how happy I am in thee!
No beauteous Blossom of the fragrant Spring,
Though the fair Child of Nature newly born,
Can be so lovely. Angry, unkind Castalio,
Suppose I should a while lay by my passions,
And be a begger in Monimia's Cause,
Might I be heard?

Cast.
Sir, 'twas my last request
You wou'd, though you I find will not be satisfi'd:
So in a word, Monimia is my scorn;
She basely sent you here to try my fears;
That was your business.
No artful Prostitute, in Falshoods practis'd,
To make advantage of her Coxcombs Follies,
Could have done more—Disquiet vex her for't.

Cham.
Farewell.

Cast.
Farewell.—My Father, you seem troubled.

Acast.
VVould I had been absent when this boistrous brane
Came to disturb thee thus: I'm griev'd I hinder'd
Thy just resentment—But Monimia—

Cast.
Damn her.

Acast.
Don't curse her.

Cast.
Did I?

Acast.
Yes.

Cast.
I'm sorry for it.

Acast.
Methinks, as if I guess the fault's but small,
It might be pardon'd.

Cast.
No.

Acast.
What has she done?

Cast.
That she's my Wife, may Heav'n and you forgive me.

Acast.
Be reconcil'd then.

Cast.
No.

Acast.
Go see her.

Cast.
No.

Acast.
I'll send and bring her hither.

Cast.
No.

Acast.
For my sake,
Castalio, and the quiet of my age.

Cast.
Why will you urge a thing my Nature starts at?

Acast.
Prithee forgive her.

Cast.
Lightnings first shall blast me.
I tell you were she prostrate at my Feet,
Full of her Sexes best dissembled sorrows,
And all that wondrous Beauty of her own,
My heart might break, but it should never soften.

Enter Florella.
Flor.
My Lord, where are you? Oh Castalio!

Acast.
Heark.

Cast.
VVhat's that?

Flor.
Oh shew me quickly where's Castalio.

Acast.
VVhy, what's the business?

Flor.
Oh the poor Monimia!

Cast.
Hah!

Acast.
What's the matter?

Flor.
Hurry'd by despair
She flyes with fury over all the house,
Through every Room of each apartment crying,
VVhere's my Castalio? give me my Castalio:
Except she sees you, sure hee'l grow distracted.

Cast.
Hah! will she? does she name Castalio?
And with such tenderness? Conduct me quickly
To the poor lovely mourner. Oh my Father.

Acast.
Then wilt thou go? blessings attend thy purpose.

Cast.
I cannot hear Monimia's Soul's in sadness,
And be a man, my heart will not forget her,
But do not tell the world you saw this of me.

Acast.
Delay not then but haste and chear thy Love.

Cast.
Oh I will throw m'impatient Armes about her,
In her soft bosom sigh my Soul to peace,
Till through the panting breast she finds the way,
To mould my heart, and make it what she will.
Monimia! Oh!

[Ex. Acast. Cast.
Enter Monimia.
Mon.
Stand off and give me Room,
I will not rest till I have found Castalio.
My wishes Lord comely as rising day,
Amidst ten thousand eminently known.
Flowers spring where he e're treads, his Eyes
Fountains of brightness cheering all about him!
VVhen will they shine on me?—Oh stay my Soul!
I cannot dye in peace till I have seen him.

Castalio re-Enters.
Cast.
VVho talks of dying with a Voice so sweet,
That life's in love with it?

Mon.
Heark! 'tis he that answers:
So in a Camp though at the dead of night,
If but the Trumpets chearful noise is heard,
All at the signal leap from downey rest,
And every heart awakes as mine does now.
VVhere art thou?

Cast.
Here, my Love.

Mon.
No nearer, lest I vanish.

Cast.
Have I been in a Dream then all this while!
And art thou but the shadow of Monimia!
Why doest thou fly me thus?

Mon.
Oh! were it possible that we could drown
In dark Oblivion but a few past hours,
We might be happy.

Cast.
Is't then so hard, Monimia, to forgive
A fault, where humble Love, like mine, implores thee?
For I must love thee, though it prove my ruin.
Which way shall I Court thee?
What shall I do to be enough thy Slave,
And satisfy the lovely pride that's in thee?
I'll kneel to thee, and weep a flood before thee;
Yet prithee, Tyrant, break not quite my heart;
But when my task of Penitence is done,
Heal it again and Comfort me with Love.

Mon.
If I am dumb, Castalio, and want words,
To pay thee back this mighty tenderness;
It is because I look on thee with horror,
And cannot see the man I so have wrong'd.

Cast.
Thou hast not wrong'd me.

Mon.
Ah! alas, thou talk'st
Just as thy poor Heart thinks; have not I wrong'd thee?

Cast.
No.

Mon.
Still thou wander'st in the dark, Castalio;
But wilt e're long stumble on horrid danger.

Cast.
What means my Love!

Mon.
Couldst thou but forgive me?

Cast.
What?

Mon.
For my fault last night; Alas, thou canst not.

Cast.
I can, and do.

Mon.
Thus Crawling on the Earth
Would I that Pardon meet; the only thing,
Can make me view the Face of Heaven with hope.

Cast.
Then let's draw near.

Mon.
Ah me!

Cast.
So in the Fields,
When the destroyer has been out for prey,
The scatter'd Lovers of the Feather'd kind,
Seeking when danger's past to meet again,
Make moan, and call, by such degrees approach;
'Till joying thus they bill, and spread their wings,
Murmuring Love, and Joy, their fears are over.

Mon.
Yet have a care be not too fond of peace,
Lest in Pursuance of the goodly quarry,
Thou meet a disappointment that distracts thee.

Cast.
My better Angel, then do thou inform me,
What danger threatens me, and where it lyes:
Why didst thou (prithee smile and tell me why)
When I stood waiting underneath the Window,
Quaking with fierce and violent desires;
The dropping dews fell cold upon my head,
Darkness enclos'd, and the Winds whistl'd round me;
Which with my mournful sighs made such sad Musick,
As might have mov'd the hardest heart: Why wert thou
Deaf to my Cryes and senseless of my pains?

Mon.
Did I not beg thee to forbear inquiry?
Read'st thou not something in my face that speaks
Wonderful change and horror from within me?

Cast.
Then there is something yet which I've not known;
What dost thou mean by horrour, and forbearance
Of more inquiry; tell me, I beg thee, tell me;
And do not betray me to a second madness.

Mon.
Must I?

Cast.
If labouring in the pangs of death
Thou wouldst do any thing to give me ease;
Unfold this riddle e're my thoughts grow wild,
And let in fears of ugly form upon me.

Mon.
My heart won't let me speak it, but remember,
Monimia, poor Monimia tells you this,
We ne're must meet again—

Cast.
What means my destiny?
For all my good or evil Fate dwells in thee:
Ne're meet again!

Mon.
No, never.

Cast.
Where's the pow'r
On Earth, that dares not look like thee, and say so,
Thou art my hearts inheritance, I serv'd
A long and painful, faithful slavery for thee,
And who shall rob me of the dear bought blessing.

Mon.
Time will clear all, but now let this content you:
Heav'n has decreed, and therefore I've resolv'd,
(VVith Torment I must tell it thee, Castalio,)
Ever to be a stranger to thy Love,
In some far distant Country waste my life,
And from this day to see thy Face no more.

Cast.
Where am I? sure I wander midst Inchantment,
And never more shall find the way to rest;
But, oh Monimia, art th' indeed resolv'd,
To punish me with everlasting absence;
Why turn'st thou from me? I'm alone already;
Methinks I stand upon a naked beach,
Sighing to winds, and to the Seas complaining,
Whilst afar off the Vessel sailes away,
VVhere all the Treasure of my Soul's embarqu'd;
VVilt thou not turn—Oh could those eyes but speak
I shou'd know all, for Love is pregnant in 'em;
They swell, they press their beams upon me still;
VVilt thou not speak? if we must part for ever,
Give me but one kind word to think upon,
And please my self withal whilst my heart's breaking.

[Ex. Mon.
Mon.
A poor Castalio!

Cast.
Pity, by the Gods,
She pity's me; then thou wilt go Eternally?
VVhat means all this? why all this stir to plague
A single wretch? If but your word can shake
This world to Atomes, why so much ado
VVith me? think me but dead and lay me so.

Enter Polydore.
Pol.
To live, and live a Torment to my self,
VVhat Dog would bear't that knew but his Condition?
VVe have little knowledge, and that makes us Cowards.
Because it cannot tell us what's to come.

Cast.
VVho's there?

Pol.
VVhy, what art thou?

Cast.
My brother Polydore!

Polyd.
My Name is Polydore.

Cast.
Canst thou inform me?

Polyd.
Of what?

Cast.
Of my Monimia?

Polyd.
No. Good-day.

Cast.
In haste?
Methinks my Polydore appears in sadness.

Polyd.
Indeed and so to me does my Castalio.

Cast.
Do I?

Polyd.
Thou dost.

Cast.
Alas! I've wondrous reason;
I'm strangely alter'd, Brother, since I saw thee.

Polyd.
Why?

Cast.
Oh, to tell thee would but put thy heart
To pain, let me embrace thee but a little,
And weep upon thy Neck; I would repose
VVithin thy friendly bosom all my Follies,
For thou wilt pardon 'em, because th'are mine.

Polyd.
Be not too credulous, consider first,
Friends may be false. Is there no Friendship false?

Cast.
VVhy dost thou ask me that? does this appear
Like a false Friendship, when with open Arms
And streaming Eyes I run upon thy Breast?
Oh 'tis in thee alone I must have comfort.

Polyd.
I fear, Castalio, I have none to give thee.

Cast.
Dost thou not love me then?

Polyd.
Oh, more than life:
I never had a thought of my Castalio
Might wrong the Friendship we had vow'd together.
Hast thou dealt so by me?

Cast.
I hope I have.

Polyd.
Then tell me why this mourning, this disorder?

Cast.
Oh, Polydore, I know not how to tell thee;
Shame rises in my Face, and interrupts
The Story of my Tongue.

Polyd.
I grieve my Friend
Knows any thing which he's asham'd to tell me;
Or didst thou e're conceal thy thoughts from Polydore?

Cast.
Oh, much too oft.
But let me here conjure thee,
By all the kind affection of a Brother,
(For I am asham'd to call my self thy Friend)
Forgive me.

Pol.
Well, go on.

Cast.
Our Destiny contriv'd
To plague us both with one unhappy Love!
Thou like a Friend, a constant generous Friend,
In its first pangs didst trust me with thy passion,
Whilst I still smooth'd my pain with smiles before thee,
And made a Contract I ne're meant to keep.

Pol.
How!

Cast.
Still new ways I study'd to abuse thee,
And kept thee as a stranger to my Passion,
Till yesterday I wedded with Monimia.

Pol.
Ah, Castalio, was that well done?

Cast.
No, to conceal't from thee was much a fault.

Pol.
A fault! when thou hast heard
The Tale I'll tell, what wilt thou call it then?

Cast.
How my heart throbs!

Pol.
First, for thy Friendship, Traytor,
I cancel't thus; after this day, I'll ne're
Hold trust, or converse, with the false Castalio:
This, witness Heav'n.

Cast.
What will my Fate do with me?
I've lost all happiness, and know not why:
What means this, Brother?

Pol.
Perjur'd, Treacherous Wretch,
Farewell.

Cast.
I'll be thy Slave, and thou shalt use me
just as thou wilt, do but forgive me.

Pol.
Never.

Cast.
Oh! think a little what thy heart is doing;
How from our Infancy we hand in hand
Have trod the Path of Life, in Love together;
One Bed has held us, and the same desires,
The same Aversions still imploy'd our thoughts;
When-e're had I a Friend, that was not Pollydore's,
Or Polydore a Foe, that was not mine?
Ev'n in the Womb we embrac'd, and wilt thou now,
For the first Fault, abandon, and forsake me,
Leave me amidst Afflictions to my self,
Plung'd in the gulf of grief and none to help me?

Pol.
Go to Monimia, in her Arms thoul't find
Repose; She has the Art of healing sorrows.

Cast.
What Arts?

Pol.
Blind Wretch, thou Husband! there's a question;
Go to her fulsom bed, and wallow there,
Till some hot Ruffian, full of lust, and wine,
Come storm thee out, and shew thee what's thy Bargain.

Cast.
Hold there, I charge thee.

Pol.
Is she not a—

Cast.
Whore?

Pol.
Ay, Whore, I think that word needs no explaining.

Cast.
Alas, I can forgive, ev'n this to thee;
But let me tell thee, Polydore, I'm griev'd,
To find thee guilty of such low Revenge,
To wrong that Vertue which thou couldst not ruin.

Pol.
It seems I lye then.

Cast.
Should the bravest man
That e're wore Conquering Sword, but dare to whisper,
What thou proclaim'st, he were the worst of Lyars:
My Friend may be mistaken.

Pol.
Damn the Evasion,
Thou mean'st the worst, and he's a base born Villain
That said I ly'd.

Cast.
Do, draw thy Sword, and thrust it through my heart;
There's no Joy in life; if thou art lost.
A base born Villain.

Pol.
Yes, thou never camest
From old Acasto's Loyns, the Midwife put
A cheat upon my Mother, and instead
Of a true Brother, in the Cradle by me
Plac'd some course Peasants Cub, and thou art he.

Cast.
Thou art my Brother still.

Pol.
Thou ly'st.

Cast.
Nay, then:
[He draws.
Yet I am Calm.

Pol.
A Coward's always so.

Cast.
Ah—ah—that stings home: Coward?

Pol.
Ay, base born Coward, Villain.

Cast.
This to thy heart then, though my Mothore bore thee.

[Fight, Polydore drops his Sword, and runs on Castal.
Pol.
Now my Castalio is again my Friend.

Cast.
What have I done! My Sword is in thy Breast.

Pol.
So I would have it be, thou best of men,
Thou kindest Brother, and thou truest Friend.

Cast.
Ye Gods, we're taught, that all your works are Justice,
Y'are painted merciful, and Friends to innocence;
If so, then why these plagues upon my head?

Pol.
Blame not the Heav'ns, here lyes thy Fate Castalio;
Th'are not the Gods, 'tis Polydore has wrong'd thee;
I've stain'd thy Bed, thy spotless Marriage-Joys
Have been polluted by thy Brothers Lust.

Cast.
By thee!

Pol.
By me last night the horrid deed
Was done; when all things slept, but Rage, and Incest.

Cast.
Now, where's Monimia? Oh!

Enter Monimia.
Mon.
I'm here, who calls me?
Methought I heard a Voice
Sweet as the Shepherds Pipe upon the Mountains,
When all his little Flock's at feed before him:
But what means this? here's Blood.

Cast.
Ay, Brothers Bloud;
Art thou prepar'd for Everlasting pains?

Pol.
Oh let me charge thee by th' Eternal justice,
Hurt not her tender life!

Cast.
Not kill her? Rack me,
Ye Powers above, with all your choicest Torments,
Horror of mind and pains yet uninvented,
If I not practise cruelty upon her,
And treat revenge some way, yet never known.

Mon.
That task my self have finisht, I shall dye
Before we part: I've drunk a healing draught
For all my Cares, and never more shall wrong thee.

Pol.
Oh she's innocent.

Cast.
Tell me that Story,
And thou wilt make a wretch of me indeed.

Pol.
Hadst thou, Castalio, us'd me like a Friend,
This ne're had happen'd, hadst thou let me know
Thy Marriage, we had all now met in Joy;
But ignorant of that,
Hearing th' appointment made, enrag'd to think
Thou hadst out-done me in successful Love,
I in the dark went and supply'd thy place,
Whilst all the Night, midst our Triumphant Joys,
The trembling, tender, kind, deceiv'd Monimia,
Embrac'd, Carest, and call'd me her Castalio.

Cast.
And all this is the work of my own Fortune,
None but my self could e're have been so curst,
My Fatal Love, alas! has ruin'd thee,
Thou fairest, goodliest Frame the God's e're made,
Or ever humane eyes, and hearts ador'd,
I've murder'd too my Brother,
Why wouldst thou study ways to damn me further
And force the sin of Parricide upon me?

Pol.
'Twas my own Fault, and thou art innocent,
Forgive the barbarous trespass of my Tongue,
'Twas a hard violence; I cou'd have dy'd
With Love of thee, ev'n when I us'd thee worst;
Nay, at each word that my Distraction utter'd,
My heart recoyl'd, and 'twas half death to speak 'em.

Mon.
Now, my Castalio, the most dear of men,
Wilt thou receive pollution to thy Bosom,
And close the eyes of one that has betray'd thee?

Cast.
Oh I'm the unhappy wretch, whose cursed Fate
Has weigh'd thee down into destruction with him,
Why then thus kind to me?

Mon.
When I'm laid low in the Grave, and quite forgotten,
Maist thou be happy in a fairer Bride;
But none can ever love thee like Monimia.
When I am dead, as presently I shall be;
(For the grim Tyrant grasps my heart already)
Speak well of me, and if thou find ill tongues
Too busie with my fame, do'nt hear me wrong'd,
'Twill be a noble Justice to the memory
Of a poor wretch, once honour'd with thy Love.
How my head swims! Tis very dark: Good night.

[Dyes.
Cast.
If I survive thee, what a thought was that?
Thank Heav'n I go prepar'd against that Curse.

Enter Chamont disarm'd, and seiz'd by Acasto, and Servants.
Cham.
Gape, Hell, and swallow me to quick Damnation,
If I forgive your House, If I not live
An Everlasting plague to thee, Acasto,
And all thy Race. Y' have o're power'd me now;
But hear me, Heav'n! Ah, here's the Scene of Death,
My Sister, my Monimia! Breathless! Now,
Ye Powers above, if y'have Justice, strike,
Strike Bolts through me, and through the curst Castalio.

Acast.
My Polydore.

Pol.
Who calls?

Acast.
How cam'st thou wounded?

Cast.
Stand off thou hot-brain'd boistrous noisy Ruffian,
And leave me to my sorrows.

Cham.
By the love
I bore her living, I will ne're forsake,
But here remain till my heart bursts with sobbing.

Cast.
Vanish, I charge thee, or—

[Draws a Dagger.
Cham.
Thou canst not kill me,
That would be kindness, and against thy Nature.

Acast.
What means Castalio? Sure thou wilt not pull
More sorrows on thy Aged Fathers head.
Tell me, I beg you, tell me the sad cause
Of all this ruin.

Pol.
That must be my Task;
But 'tis too long for one in pains to tell;
You'l in my Closet find the story-written,
Of all our woes. Castalio's innocent,
And so's Monimia, only I'm to blame:
Inquire no farther.

Cast.
Thou unkind, Chamont,
Unjustly hast pursu'd me with thy hate,
And sought the life of him that never wrong'd thee,
Now if thou wilt embrace a noble vengeance,
Come joyn with me and curse.

Cham.
What?

Cast.
First thy self,
As I do, and the hour that gave thee birth:
Confusion and disorder seize the World,
To spoyl all trust and converse amongst men;
'Twixt Families ingender endless fewds,
In Countrys needless fears, in Cities factions,
In States Rebellion, and in Churches Schism:
Till all things move against the course of Nature;
Till Form's dissolv'd, the Chain of Causes broken,
And the Originals of Being lost.

Acast.
Have Patience.

Cast.
Patience! preach it to the Winds,
To roaring Seas, or raging Fires; the Knaves
That teach it laugh at ye, when ye believe 'em.
Strip me of all the common needs of life,
Scald me with Leprosie, let Friends forsake me,
I'll bear it all; but curst to the degree
That I am now, 'tis this must give me patience:
Thus I find rest, and shall complain no more.

[Stabs himself.
Pol.
Castalio! Oh!

Cast.
He me.
Chamont, to thee my birth-right I bequeath:
Comfort my Mourning Father, heal his griefs;
Acasto faints into the Arms of a Servant.
For I perceive they fall with weight upon him.
And for Monimia's sake, whom thou wilt find
I never wrong'd, be kind to poor Serina.
Now all I beg, is, lay me in one Grave,
Thus with my Love. Farewel, I now am—nothing.

[Dies.
Cham.
Take care of good Acasto, whilst I go
To search the means by which the Fates have plagu'd us.
'Tis thus that Heaven it's Empire does maintain,
It may Afflict, but man must not Complain.