University of Virginia Library

SCENE III.

Melampus. A large scroll, inscribed with letters of fire, appears in the air.
MELAMPUS.
Vision strange and new,
I will confront thee with a stedfast eye,
And give those characters of fire a voice.
He reads.
“Retreat in safety, ere that direful gate
“Is thrown abroad. Thy enterprise, pursu'd,
“Will end in cureless torment to thy mind.”
He speaks.
That mind, in torment exercis'd so long,
Defies the menace, and disdains retreat.
Out of my way, thou obstacle of air!
[He brandishes his spear, and the scroll vanishes.
The palace is disclos'd—th' enchantress comes!
That rod denotes her potent arm: that veil
O'ershades a visage hateful to the sun.
Yet majesty sustains her awful port,
And not unlike divinity she moves.