 | The tragedy of Sophonisba |  |
SCENE I.
Sophonisba, Phoenissa.Phoenissa.
Hail queen of Masæsylia once again!
And fair Massylia join'd! This rising day
Saw Sophonisba, from the height of life,
Thrown to the very brink of slavery:
State, honours, armies vanquish'd; nothing left
But her own great unconquerable mind.
And yet, ere evening comes, to larger power
Restor'd, I see my royal friend; and kneel
In grateful homage to the Gods, and her.
And fair Massylia join'd! This rising day
Saw Sophonisba, from the height of life,
Thrown to the very brink of slavery:
State, honours, armies vanquish'd; nothing left
But her own great unconquerable mind.
And yet, ere evening comes, to larger power
Restor'd, I see my royal friend; and kneel
In grateful homage to the Gods, and her.
Ye Powers, what awful changes often mark
The fortunes of the great!
The fortunes of the great!
Sophonisba.
Phœnissa, true;
'Tis awful all, the wonderous work of fate.
But ah! this sudden marriage damps my soul;
I like it not, that wild precipitance
Of youth, that ardor, that impetuous stream
In which his love return'd. At first, my friend,
He vainly rag'd with disappointed love;
And, as the hasty storm subsided, then
To softness varied, to returning fondness,
To sighs, to tears, to supplicating vows;
But all his vows were idle, till at last
He shook my heart by Rome.—To be his queen,
Could only save me from their horrid power.
And there is madness in that thought, enough
In that strong thought alone to make me run
From nature.
43
Was it not auspicious, madam?
Just as we hop'd? just as our wishes plan'd?
Nor let your spirit sink. Your serious hours,
When you behold the Roman ravage check'd,
From their enchantment Masinissa freed,
And Carthage mistress of the world again,
This marriage will approve: then will it rise
In all its glory, virtuous, wise and great,
While happy nations, then deliver'd, join
Their loud acclaim. And, had the white occasion
Neglected flown, where now had been your hopes?
Your liberty? your country? where your all?
Think well of this, think that, think every way,
And Sophonisba cannot but exult
In what is done.
Sophonisba.
So may my hopes succeed!
As love alone to Carthage, to the public,
Led me a marriage-victim to the temple,
And justifies my vows.—Ha! Syphax here!
What would his rage with me?—Phœnissa, stay.
But this one tryal more—Heroic truth,
Support me now!
| The tragedy of Sophonisba | |