University of Virginia Library

1. PART I.

RECITATIVE.
Belemus.
Lords of the household, hail! Ye Princes, rang'd
Around the Persian throne; ye Rulers o'er
Thrice sixty and sev'n provinces, that reach
From Ganges to the Nile, and bow the knee
To great Darius, hail! The Festival,
Devoted to his Consort's birth, awaits ye.

Zorob.
Auspicious be it to our exil'd race,
Restoring what we lost when Cyrus dy'd;
For, ere he dy'd, he bade our Temple rise
On columns, stable as our Fathers faith,
Our tribes assembled, and return'd our spoils.
AIR.

RECITATIVE.
Semell.
Forbear to trample with unhallow'd feet
On Royal dust: 'tis double sacrilege.


AIR.
Arsaces , taught by sure Records,
That Sion was destroy'd before
For levying war on sov'reign Lords,
Ordain'd her tow'rs to rise no more.

CHORUS of Persians.
The stern decree was kindly meant:
He would not punish, but prevent.

RECITATIVE.
Zorob.
Peace to his shade! and honourable fame
Enbalm him; but the best of Kings may err,
Inflam'd by art with jealousies and fears.

AIR.

Treating Vassals once offending
Worse than Rebels past amending,
Leads to ruin and despair:
Cyrus grieving,
And relieving,
Saw our woe, and heard our pray'r.

CHORUS of Israelites.
Limbs alone let Tyrants bind;
Heav'n and Cyrus bound the Mind.

RECITATIVE.
Bel.
Be hush'd, ye Slaves; the King and Queen approach.

Darius.
Let All be present, while we judge the cause
Of Wine, of Kings, of Women, and of Truth;
The four pretenders to unrival'd strength.
Let Him, who laid that Writing underneath
My pillow, which exalts the pow'r of Wine,
Arise, to plead its merit. Let it flow
Profusely, as becomes the blest occasion;
And aid its Votaries to sing its praise.

AIR.
Bel.
A truce with bus'ness then, and Thinking;
The bus'ness of to-day is Drinking:
Darius gives to wine and mirth
The day that gave Apame birth.

CHORUS.
Blessings on the matchless Pair!
Fill the goblet to the brim,
For the King, and for the Fair:
Drink till we are Kings like Him.

RECITATIVE.
Bel.
The Vine's enchanting juice unlocks the wise,
Emboldens Cowards, smooths the rugged brow,
Opens the Miser's hand, and mends the heart:
It wings the fancy: To the poor 'tis wealth,
And freedom to the slave; the fool and traytor
Are rais'd to sense and loyalty by Wine.
AIR.

RECITATIVE.
Bel.
The human mind, oppress'd by native weight,
Flies from itself to action, or is bury'd
In gloomy sloth and philosophic dreams;
And happiness in most is rest from pain.
AIR.

RECITATIVE.
Semellius.
The next in order, by command, I rise,
The loyal advocate of regal power:
The mute Creation, whether earth, or air,
Or water they inhabit, serve Mankind;
And land and sea are ours; but what are We,
Compar'd with Him whom heav'n has fix'd above us,
And stamp'd its image on him, King Darius?

CHORUS.
Lord of universal sway,
Second only to Divine,
Myriads thy commands obey:
All is Man's, and Man is thine.

RECITATIVE.
Semellius.
Beware contending with the King: Obedience
To sov'reign pow'r preserves the moral world
From sure destruction, like th' eternal chain,
That links Creation to the throne above.

AIR.

Speak, Darius! and we run,
Or to kill, or to be kill'd:
Nod! and be thy pleasure done;
Look! and be thy wish fulfill'd.

CHORUS.
In the Monarch's quarrel bold,
Soldiers, for a scanty hire,
Parch'd by heat, or chill'd by cold,
Dart the jav'lin, lanch the fire,
To immortalize his name:
Theirs the toil,
His the spoil;
Theirs the danger, his the fame.

RECITATIVE.
Semell.
Behold, he frowns! the nations stand aghast!
He draws the sword of justice and revenge,
To right his people, and assert his crown:
From distant shores, and Asia's better half,
Embattled squadrons to his standard croud,
And walls, and tow'rs, and mountains overturn.

AIR.

And now the foe advances
A wood of glitt'ring lances:
The drums to combat beat;
Our hearts th' alarm repeat:
The trumpet's shrill sound
In shouting is drown'd.
To arms! the charging soldiers cry:
To arms! the foe, the hills, the rocks, reply.

CHORUS.
Hark! the thunder of the battle;
Bucklers clatter, chariots rattle:
The King our valour rouzes,
And Heav'n our cause espouses;
And heaps of heroes slain
Oppose our way in vain.

RECITATIVE.
Semell.
Yet, sure, our God the Sun would vainly roll
His flaming chariot o'er the plenteous east,
To ripen incense, on his altars laid,
And gold, to deck his shrines; and fair abundance
To feed his worshippers, and heap their stores
For tribute to the King; were Heav'n to blast
Our fruitful plains with war and desolation.
Let Princes then be deaf to wild ambition;
And War their last resource, but Peace their choice.

AIR.

Fields in vital fruits abounding,
Shady vales with herds resounding,
Flow'ry bloom and fair increase;
Soft repose, content, and pleasure,
Social love and flowing treasure,
Are the genuine boast of Peace.

AIR.

And ever be our Monarch's praise
With Olive-wreaths to twine the Bays;
Let mercy still support his throne,
And make the willing world his own;
Led by example as by law,
And govern'd more by love than awe.

CHORUS.
So shall he shine above the rest,
The greatest King, because the best;
And more than All, by blessing All, be bless'd.