 | Regulus |  |
SCENE I.
Corvus, Mutius.Corvus.
Still this tumultuous Noise! this Burst of Joy,
Rending the Skies?—O Breath of publick Praise!
Short-liv'd and vain! Oft gain'd without Desert,
As often lost unmerited: Composed
But of Extreams;—thou first begin'st with Love
Enthusiastick, Madness of Affection: Then,
(Bounding o'er Moderation, and o'er Reason)
Thou turn'st to Hate as causeless, and as fierce.
Rending the Skies?—O Breath of publick Praise!
Short-liv'd and vain! Oft gain'd without Desert,
As often lost unmerited: Composed
But of Extreams;—thou first begin'st with Love
Enthusiastick, Madness of Affection: Then,
(Bounding o'er Moderation, and o'er Reason)
Thou turn'st to Hate as causeless, and as fierce.
Did'st thou behold the Patriot-Cheat proceed,
Cheek-flush'd with all the Insolence of Virtue?—
Virtue?—Pride light up into Zeal—a specious Shew,
At once himself deceiving—and Mankind:—
And in his Way, when he beheld the Temple
Sacred to Liberty, he cry'd aloud—
“Here let us sacrifice, my noble Friends,
“To this best Blessing that adorns our Rome:
“To Liberty, that makes our Name rever'd;
“To sacred Liberty—the Gift of Gods—
“To Liberty—their Gift and their Enjoyment;
“Which, did they want—they cou'd not be immortal.
He spoke—and with what Violence of Joy,
Did the base Crowd applaud!—Their fever'd Shout
Was Liberty and Regulus—I cou'd not bear it—
But breaking thro' the Throng, came here to vent
The Spleen and Indignation of my Soul.
Cheek-flush'd with all the Insolence of Virtue?—
Virtue?—Pride light up into Zeal—a specious Shew,
At once himself deceiving—and Mankind:—
And in his Way, when he beheld the Temple
Sacred to Liberty, he cry'd aloud—
“Here let us sacrifice, my noble Friends,
“To this best Blessing that adorns our Rome:
“To Liberty, that makes our Name rever'd;
“To sacred Liberty—the Gift of Gods—
“To Liberty—their Gift and their Enjoyment;
“Which, did they want—they cou'd not be immortal.
He spoke—and with what Violence of Joy,
Did the base Crowd applaud!—Their fever'd Shout
Was Liberty and Regulus—I cou'd not bear it—
But breaking thro' the Throng, came here to vent
29
Mutius.
Will you not to the Senate?
Corvus.
Mutius, I must;
My Safety urges:—didst thou not observe
With what a deep Distrust his Eye revil'd me;
And when my Salutations reach'd his Ear,
What Distance dwelt upon his haughty Brow;
Such a contemptuous Length, an Innocence,
'Twixt Guilt and her, still insolently keeps:—
Perhaps our Practices have been betray'd;—
But how?—by whom?—No—certain Carthage wou'd not:
I must be there—Absence wou'd give Advantage:—
It is the Master-piece of Villany
To smooth the Brow, and to out-face Suspicion:
Again these Shouts?—they warn us to be gone.
| Regulus | |