University of Virginia Library

ACT IV.

Honoric and Aspar.
Asp.
You are too rash, consider well, my Lord,
And weigh the value of Eudosia's Love;
Think not the Toils of Courtship ill bestow'd,
Nor quit the glorious Chase for one Repulse,
An artful Coyness, or dissembled Frown.
Go on, my Lord, pursue the Princess close;
If Love is silent, let Ambition speak;
No less than Rome's the Purchase of your Pains.

Hon.
My warlike Soul disdains the servile Task,
And bends not to the softning Arts of Love,
Fondly to gaze upon a Woman's Face,
Fling my self prostrate at her Feet, and waste,
In Sighs and Languishments, the tedious Hours.
I cannot brook her insolent Denial.
Nor more, tho' Genseric himself commands,
Will I endure this haughty Captive's Scorn.

Asp.
Can you, my Prince, so easily resign
The tow'ring Hopes of Sov'reignty and Power,
And for the peevish Coyness of a Girl?
Forbid it all ye Gods! renounce an Empire?

Hon.
I'll find an easier Passage to a Throne.
But hold, my Brother Thrasimond appears.

Enter Thrasimond.
Thr.
My Lord, I would request your private Ear.

Hon.
Aspar, retire.—And let my Father know,
With what disdain the Princess heard my Suit.
[Aside.
[Ex. Aspar.
Now, Sir, your Will, and why this angry Brow?

Thr.
You know, young Prince, I am Sophronia's Friend;
You know those Ties that are for ever held
To Honour, Virtue, and to Justice sacred,
Plighted your mutual Faiths, and made you One.

Hon.
T'appease the wild Disorders of the State,
I know, long since, my Hand was promis'd there.

Thr.
But yet, my Lord, well-grounded Fame reports,
That you have broke those Ties,
Set Justice, Honour, and the Gods at nought;
And have abandon'd the deluded Maid,
To make an Off'ring of your Heart elsewhere.
The Roman Princess, fair Eudosia, shines
The present Object of your faithless Vows;
Her conq'ring Beauties have seduc'd your Virtue,
Misled your Fame, and prompted you to Perjury.

Hon.
Whoe'er could tell you this, was ill advis'd;
He misinterpreted my nobler Views,
And wrong'd the Greatness of my mounting Soul.
If I have stoop'd to court Eudosia's Love,
As the chief Bliss to which my hopes aspire,
Yet were her Beauties the least pow'rful Motives.

Thr.
Whate'er those Motives are, I'll term them base,
When thou pursu'st them with a perjur'd Heart.
Prince, I have undertook Sophronia's Cause;
Nor can she suffer, but when I am wrong'd:
Reflect on that, and know, tho' certain Ruin
Attend my just Resentment, I am still
Prepar'd to strike on suff'ring Honour's Side,
And take on me the Inj'ries offer'd her.

Hon.
What Right has Thrasimond to curb my Will,
Whilst Gens'ric counsels and approves my Deeds?
But this is not the first nor only Mark,
Of your fixt Hatred to the King and me.
With Eyes malevolent you view me soar,
On Eagles Wings, above thy feeble Daring;
Envy my happy State, and curse thy own;
It galls, a younger Brother stands before thee,
In a King's Favour, and a Father's Heart.

Thr.
Hence, Insolence! thou know'st that Heav'n and Nature
Have giv'n me Pow'r to scorn thy pigmy Boasts,
And, by my Birthright, plac'd me in the Rank
Of thy Superiors: Vain presumptuous Stripling!
Know, I've the Pref'rence o'er thee ev'ry way.

Hon.
Such was the Pref'rence Heav'n bestow'd on Gundric;
But Genseric, like me, his Father's Favourite,
By him supported, could with Smiles look down
On his resenting Rival's harmless Envy:
Whilst Heav'n, at length repenting of its work,
Rais'd him above that elder Brother's reach.

Thr.
Are these the Hopes that flatter thy Ambition?
No more vain Boastings; to the Field of Honour
Adjourn the Contest; let our Swords decide,
Who best deserves the Pref'rence, Thou or I?
Maintain the Glories that thy Pride assum'd;
Shew how thou soar'st above me, make it out,
Or else retract thy Error with thy Shame,
And own the Coward, and thy borrow'd Plumes:
Come, let us try if Heav'n will now repent.

Hon.
With joyful Confidence I meet the Challenge.
But see, the Princess! I avoid her now,
For certain Reasons; we may meet again.
[Ex. Hon.

Thr.
I'll follow thee; and Fate shall now determine
Whose Cause is worthiest, whose the happiest Arm?

[Going out.
Enter Eudosia.
Eud.
Oh! whither do you fly, my Thrasimond?
Turn back, turn back, and ease Eudosia's Pain:
Assure me thou art true, that still thou lov'st.

Thr.
What reason has my Princess to distrust it?

Eud.
I know I ought not to distrust thy Truth.
What tho' thy cruel Father harshly dooms,
Another should be happy in thy Arms,
Yet sure my Thrasimond can ne'er comply
With this Injustice to Eudosia's Love!
No! to suspect thee, is not to deserve thee.

Thr.
To tell my doubting Fair how much I love,
Gestures are weak, and Eloquence is cold;
Judge by his Actions, of the Man that loves you,
Let them speak for me, them confirm my Truth;
Ev'n now the Coward precious Moments fly,
That should be all laid out for Love and thee.

Eud.
Where would you run? see, see, my Mother's here!

Thr.
Gods! still another Bar to my Revenge?

Enter Empress.
Emp.
You seem displeas'd, my Lord, and in your Looks
Glares fiercest Rage: What can disquiet you?
You that are set above the rest of Men,
On a fair Mount of rich encircl'ing Honours,
As Favourite of Heav'n, and Pride of Earth:
Your Father's Africk is in full Repose,
Both foreign and intestine Dangers curb'd;
The neighb'ring Princes dread his powerful Arms,
They court his Friendship with submissive Offers,
And bribe him with the Wealth of half their Kingdoms:
With prosp'rous Gales his Vessels reach the Port,
And pour the Eastern Treasures at his Feet.
Can you, the Son of Empire, then have Cause
To frown, when such unnumber'd Glories wait you,
As Indian Monarchs on the rising Sun,
And emulate each other to adorn you?
And to compleat your Joys when Hymen's Torch
Prepares to light you to the nuptial Bed?

Thr.
Sooner let all Mankind be arm'd against me,
I'll stand the Shock; sooner shall these Hands
Tear out my Heart, and cast the Traitor from me,
Than I consent to be the Wretch they'd make me,
Blaspheme the glorious Object of my Vows,
And forfeit the rich Center of my Hopes.
Madam, I could no longer, if I would,
Conceal this Secret, of my faithful Flame,
And her who blew it up: Can you forgive
The Rashness of a Prince, that dares aspire
To your fair Daughter's Love? Or will you now
Improve this Opportunity of Vengeance,
And for the Father, crush the suffering Son?
If so, behold my Bosom, strike, my Fate
Will be too glorious, when I fall by you,
A bleeding Victim at my Princess Feet.

Emp.
To talk so, is to charge me with a Vice,
That never found Abode in Roman Breast.
Bound by an equal Duty, to repay
An Obligation, as revenge a Wrong,
I know thy Value, and have heard thy Love,
And whilst I give my Daughter to thy Wishes,
So much the Merit of thy Virtue weighs,
I scarce agree to think the Balance just,
And blush to find my self thy Debtor still.

Thr.
Oh! what Injustice do you offer here!
Who but your self could justify the Crime,
To put my blushing Merit in the Scale,
With Beauties, full Reward for sighing Gods?
What have I done, another would not do?
What have I done that's worthy of my Cause?
Such Charms t'inspire, such Glories to requite me!
Or oh! against a Father and a King,
What! can I thus a Slave to Duty dare?
Gods! were your Bonds put on by other Lords,
That Thrasimond might arm without a Guilt!

Emp.
Partake this Ardour which your self inspir'd,
Daughter, Love only is by Love repaid.

Thr.
If you obey the Empress, think you raise
A Mortal to a God: You give those Joys,
Would make me look on Perils, Toils, and Death,
With elevated Heart, and pleas'd Disdain!
Charm'd with Elyzian Paradise in view,
Vent'rous I'd dare a thousand Stygian Lakes,
And leave my Fears to shiv'ring Crowds behind;
But give me your Commands, and they are done:
What's Opposition to surmounting Love?

Eud.
Alas! 'gainst Genseric what can be done?
Arm'd with the Names of Father and of King,
The Aid Love proffers, Duty still controuls.

Thr.
My Princess, no! I'll serve you uncontroul'd;
Your Eyes that prompt, can authorize my Crimes;
Love is my God, let those who feel his Sway,
Excuse the mighty Pow'r he shews by me:
Madam, this Night your Freedom I engage;
I'll bear you from your Bonds, and Carthage too:
I'll animate my Friends to aid your Flight,
Intrepid Men, Strangers to pausing Fear,
That grudge no Toils, when Thrasimond's their Leader:
Narbal shall wait you at th'appointed Hour:
I go—mean while beware,
Our Looks prove not Betrayers of our Purpose.

[Exit.
Eud.
Oh! Thrasimond, I feel I love thee now!
By this severe Anxiety of Soul,
By all this rising Tenderness, that checks,
And spreads a chilling Damp, o'er all my Hopes,
I fear thy Danger, whilst I wish my Freedom;
And rather let me groan in Bondage still,
Than from the hazard of thy Life, derive
Unwelcome Liberty, and sully'd Joys!

Emp.
Needless Alarms! when arbitrary Fortune,
Constant in changing, shifts her fickle Scene,
Informs us, she is tired with torturing on;
To dissipate the darker Clouds she spread,
Salutes us with a fairer Prospect now.
Sophronia comes, 'tis fitting we engage
Her seasonable Aid in our Designs;
By Hon'rick slighted, by the King betray'd,
She'll join with willing Heart, in all our Schemes,
And make her Int'rest in the People ours.

Enter Sophronia.
Soph.
Forsaken as I am, I come not now
To vent the Taunts of Jealousy on you;
In spite of my Dishonours, view me still,
No fierce resenting Rival, but a Friend;
I have bewail'd your Mis'ries long, and now
Would have you take th'Advantage of your Fate;
I would assist my perjur'd Honoric's Flame,
And, for your sake, would sue in his Behalf.
Consent to make him happy, as the Means
To make your own Misfortunes short; oh! weigh
The Benefits Compliance will obtain,
The Danger a Denial will incur!
The King is ever resolute in Vengeance,
If now provok'd, I dread the dire Event!

Emp.
We owe these kind Professions of your Friendship
And Zeal to our unhappy Fortune much;
But ease your Fears, you need not, I assure you,
Distrust a Rival here; the Tyrant's Son,
Honoric, may still be faithful, and your own;
I'll ne'er degenerate below my self,
Nor, in whatever Forms they sternly menace,
Will I be aw'd by Dangers, to consent
To mix the Blood of Genseric with Cæsar's.

Soph.
Is Thrasimond a Stranger to that Blood
That makes his Brother odious? No, there is
A Difference, there is a Line that parts them
In your Affections; Thrasimond himself
Has told me all, and 'tis in vain for you
To study to conceal his plighted Joy:
Mov'd by a Flame so tender, and so true,
I swear to join in ought to set you free:
Madam, this Day shall shew how much I'll dare,
To be reveng'd on an ungrateful Man.

Emp.
If Thrasimond has told you his Success,
He told you what was true, and well deserv'd;
His Generosity of Soul spoke for him;
His Mercy on our abject State extended,
When all could spurn the wretched, but himself,
Oblig'd the scanty and too mean Reward;
All he has done for us at Rome, and here,
Declare him worthy of my Daughter's Heart:
Worthy to fill my great Forefather's Throne:
And could I with my Daughter give him that,
I'd count it as my Pride, to have reviv'd
The dwindled Glories of degenerate Rome.

Soph.
'Tis well; I know my Rival then at last!

[Aside.
Emp.
Madam, your Friends are powerful and many,
And may assist Prince Thrasimond's Designs:
This Night for our Escape.

Soph.
Then where's Sophronia?
Abandon'd, left behind, and lost for ever!
It must not be! (Aside)
Yes, Madam, you shall see
How I will use the Man that has despis'd me:
His proud Refusal of my proffer'd Love,
Shall cost him dear.

Emp.
Be silent; here's the King!

Enter Genseric, Aspar, &c.
Soph.
Silent, when barefac'd Treasons are avow'd!
I an Accomplice! You are betray'd, my Lord!
Conspiracies are brooding too too near you!
Who the Fomenters, but your beautious Captives?
And who the rebel Leader, but your Son?
This Night he vows to shake off his Allegiance,
And bear these Pris'ners from his Father's Chains.

Emp.
Distraction! all is ruin'd!

[Aside.
Eud.
Oh! my Fate!

[Aside.
Soph.
No doubt, to prove the fierceness of his Love,
And sate their Lust of Vengeance, he agreed
To ev'ry Term propos'd, with ready Guilt;
Nor in the trait'rous Consult spar'd your Life.

[Ex. Soph.
Gen.
Yes, we suppose our Life must be the Price
That your Resentments ask. We thank ye, Gods!
Who have defeated all the Villain's Hopes,
And sav'd us from the threaten'd impious Stroke!
Go, find the Traitor out, secure his Person;
And if he offers to resist, dispatch him.

[Ex. Capt. of the Guard.
Eud.
Inhuman Monster!

[Aside.
Emp.
Genseric, Is this
The suiting Conduct of so great a King,
To yield a dangerous Belief so soon,
To this mad, slighted, vengeful Woman's Tale?
No, Sir, I tell you 'tis a false Alarm,
My Daughter has a Roman Soul, like me,
And is not to be bought by him who makes
His Parricide a Merit to her Love.

Re-enter Aspar.
Asp.
Your Orders are obey'd, the Prince is seiz'd;
Chylax the Captain of your Guard surpriz'd him,
Encounter'd with his Brother.

Gen.
O the finish'd Villain!
What! do his daring Treasons spread so far,
And will he strike at all his Line at once?
But say, was Honoric safe?

Aspar.
Disarm'd, but yet unhurt.

Gen.
Thank Heav'n for that!
But for this Stain, this Blot to all our Race,
This most consummate Traitor of a Son,
The sharpest, fiercest Torments are too weak.
Load him with double Chains, and in a Dungeon
Shew him the Image of his future Hell:
(His Crimes would sully the fair Face of Day,
And make the abhorring Sun draw back his Beams;)
Whilst we in Council meditate a Sentence,
If possible, proportion'd to his Guilt:
His Execution's fixt before we sleep;
You, Madam, who seduc'd him to this height
Of Sin, and prompted his Rebellion; you
Shall be the chief Spectator of my Justice,
Assist my Vengeance with those guilty Eyes,
Sharpen each Pang, and give th'expiring Traitor,
In his last Gasps, an Earnest of Damnation.
Then learn to trifle with a Monarch's Rage.

[Ex. Gen. &c.
Emp.
Go, Monster! challenge all thy Africk round,
The glorious Range of arbitrary Brutes!
To shew a Brute more savage than thy self.
If Curses can o'ertake thee, thou hast mine,
With Rage unlimited, and ample weight.

[Ex. Emp.
Eud.