University of Virginia Library

2. PART II.

RECITATIVE.
Zorobabel.
Mine is the double province, to defend
The strength of Woman first, and then of Truth;
For neither Wine, nor yet the great Darius,
Surrounded by his Multitudes, excells;
But Woman, in a sphere above them both.
Apame, fairest of thy kind, inspire me
To vindicate a cause so much thy own,
And vouch the King himself, who kneels before thee.
AIR.

RECITATITE.
Darius.
With pride I wear my dear Apame's chain;
Look on her face, and read my reason there:
The charms of mutual love have bound me to her,
Her Virtue's Convert, and her Beauty's Slave.
AIR.

RECITATIVE.
Apame.
The Virgin quickly won can ne'er depend
On constancy untry'd; but had I treated
My gracious Lord with rigour or caprice,
Proud of my pow'r, and pleas'd to see him languish—

Darius.
My persevering love, repaid with scorn,
Ev'n then had witness'd thy superior charms.

AIR.

The worst that Love can feel or fear,
What is it, balanc'd with the blessing?
To make the pain a pleasure here,
Add but the thought of once possessing.

CHORUS.
Pain the vulgar mind annoys;
Courage scorns it, Love enjoys;
Love can all extremes sustain;
Life the venture, heav'n the gain.

[Apame, taking the Crown off the King's head, places it on her own.
RECITATIVE.
Darius.
How kindly my Apame's hands have eas'd
My anxious head of empire's galling badge,
To place it on her own! it suits her well,
And borrows lustre from her brighter eyes:
But sits it not too heavy?

Apame.
Be not jealous,
My Royal Master: I have worn too long
What I shall now restore.

[Offering the Crown.
Darius.
What means my Love?
[Refusing it.
Restore it no! or first restore your grace;
The toy without it is not worth my care,
And still sits heavy when Apame frowns.

[Apame replaces the Crown on the King's head.
Zorob.
She smiles! and Persia has her Lord again!
Ye Pow'rs! the joy that kindles in his cheeks,
Pants at his heart, and dances in his eyes,
That fix upon her their insatiate beams.

AIR.
Darius.
Thus my eyes my heart obeying,
Never from Apame straying,
How can years her face invade?
I, who see it not decaying,
Shall not fancy it decay'd.

AIR.
Zorob.
These are raptures not uncommon
To the morning-stage of life;
But, to crown the strength of Woman,
Let the Friend complete the Wife.

RECITATIVE.
Darius.
Such is the strength of Her, and Her alone,
Who true, and gentle, and discreet, maintains
Her empire, unimpair'd by time and favours;
And not by one extreme atones another,
Too harsh a Mistress, and too fond a Bride.
AIR.

AIR.
Apame.
Be my endeavour to excell,
As you, my Royal Love, foretell;
And teach the World its Sov'reign's will,
By my example, to fulfill.

AIR.
Zorob.
Or lead him by a silken band,
And learn by yielding to command.

AIR.
Apam.
The load of your imperial care
I fain would ease, but never share;
To secrets and to failings blind,
And to my native sphere confin'd.

CHORUS.
So shall the Fates to your extended sway
Add glory and content, while beauty steals away.

RECITATIVE.
Zorob.
The King and Princes, looking at each other
In silent approbation, seem inclin'd
To vote the conquest Woman's. Great Darius,
Permit me to perform the better part
Of what I undertook.

Darius.
Thy writing mentions
The Strength of Truth: Proceed, Zorobabel,
And say, what is it?

Zorob.
Woman sure is strong;
But Truth is stronger. The Divine Ideas,
Eternal as the Mind in which they dwell,
Are Truth; the standard, counter-part, and source,
Of all created things! Is He not great
Who rounded earth? extended heav'n's expanse?
And wing'd the sun's career from east to west?
Unequall'd therefore is the strength of Truth.

CHORUS.
The Truth, by native light confess'd,
And sought below, above is bless'd.
Ye wicked, tremble at her name,
For true and righteous are the same.

RECITATIVE.
Zorob.
Let Truth unmask her rivals: She is righteous,
And They too oft are wicked. Wine's excess
Is wicked in itself; and worse by far,
Big as it is with dire events, which speak
Its strength, alas! too fatally: For, hark!
The trumpet and the lute, the melting voice,
And, sweeter yet, the harmony of hearts,
Are lost in uproar, from a cause unknown:
And scoffs, and threats, and wounds, ensue; and blood,
Promiscuous with the wine that drew it, floats
The pavement. See! the reveller, who swill'd
The midnight cup in jollity, has stain'd
His wedding garment with the vital stream,
Pierc'd thro' the heart, and breathless on the floor.
AIR.

RECITATIVE.
Dar.
Deplorable effect of gen'rous Wine
Perverted to abuse! Nay, pause not, youth;
But, bold in Truth's behalf, arraign the King:
For how can Kings, whose presence makes the Court,
Where She so seldom enters, stand her test?

Zorob.
Truth may be frank; but should be cautious too,
And only whisper, when she mentions Kings;
The best are wonders, and the worst are men.

Dar.
But what am I? We know the royal ermine
Too soon is soil'd: Speak freely, and be thank'd.
AIR.

RECITATIVE.
Zorob.
How gladly Truth would triumph in the praise
Of Kings and Women, were all Kings like You,
All Women like the Queen! But some offend;
And, being best, if good; are worst, if bad.
Let history record the crimes of Kings
Deceas'd: While yet they live, those crimes demand
Our awful silence. Publishing the faults
Of Monarchs weak or wicked, oft may wound
A kingdom deeper than the faults themselves.

CHORUS.
The Sun, the spring of life and light,
Rejoices its adorers sight;
But, should he gaze its spots to find,
Strikes the presumptuous mortal blind.