 | Agis |  |
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ACT IV.
SCENE I.
Lysander as a Prisoner, the Thracian Guards at a distance.Lysander
musing, advances and speaks.
Has virtue no prerogative on earth?
And can the Gods permit the fall of Agis?
They can. 'Tis man's own arrogance arrays him
In gorgeous titles of excelling nature,
Care of the Gods, and centre of creation.
I fear, I fear man's life is but a dream;
His soul a subtile essence of the blood,
A rainbow beauty, made to shine a space,
Then melt and vanish into air.
Ye mighty minds of sages and of heroes!
Epaminondas, Plato, great Lycurgus!
Who once with such transcendent glory shone,
Brighter than all the stars that deck the heavens,
Is your celestial fire for ever quench'd,
And nought but ashes left, the sport of chance,
Which veering winds still blow about the world?
I will not think so! Yet, alas! the while
I see and feel presages that alarm.
If they prove true. If man is like the leaf,
Which falling from the tree revives no more,
I shall be shortly dust. That will not hear
Euanthe weep, nor see the shame of Sparta!
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And, whilst I live and breathe, by heaven I'll act
As if I were immortal.
Enter Rhesus and Euxus.
Rhesus.
See where he stands! behold him!—O my brother!
The bravest and the best of human kind.—
Opprest with grief and shame, and fatal love,
Indignant virtue but augments his pain.
Will not my Euxus give his aid to heave
This noble vessel from the rock it beats on?
[Goes up to Lysander.
My lord! my leader! Oh!
Lysander.
My faithful Rhesus!
Com'st thou to share the ruin that Lysander
Has brought upon himself, his prince, his country?
Rhesus.
I come more eager and more proud to share
Thy present fortune, than thy former glory.
Alas, my lord! 'twou'd make a stranger weep,
To see the chief, whom conquest crown'd to day,
A captive.
Lysander.
Rhesus, thou hast nam'd the least
Of my calamities. I could endure,
With Spartan fortitude, my own disasters;
Bear to be hurled from meridian glory,
And, like a falling star, be seen no more.
But oh! the king!—and desolate Euanthe!—
Rhesus.
Do not despair.
Lysander.
Thou art my only hope.
This day thy generous brother sav'd my life;
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Else had Lysander like a soldier fall'n.
Thou art my friend in noble perils prov'd.
My fate, the fate of Sparta, and of Agis,
Is in the hands of Euxus—
Rhesus.
Ah! my brother!
Euxus.
O chief of Sparta! Euxus is distrest
On every side. Thy virtue, thy misfortunes
Have touch'd my heart: but here in trust I stand.
Would I had never seen the walls of Sparta!
Lysander.
The Gods, the guardian Gods of Lacedæmon,
Have brought you hither to preserve a people,
And save from traitors' hands the best of kings.
Altho' at first you rashly drew the sword
In blind obedience to a leader's will,
The gallant Euxus will not sure persist
In error known, in manifest injustice.
Thy trade is war, brave soldier; this is not
An office for thy sword.
Euxus.
True are thy words.
I was indeed deceiv'd, and came not here
To mix in Sparta's strife; but honour now—
Rhesus.
I will not hear thee plead so bad a cause.
Is there a bond in nature like the tie
Which binds the hearts of brothers? And will Euxus,
From vain ideas of fidelity
To that detested traitor, false Amphares;
His brother murder?
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No.
Rhesus.
Then let thy arms
Defend Lysander. By our country's Gods
I swear, and by our warlike father's soul,
Whose well-beloved son thou ever wert,
That with the Spartan chief thy brother dies.
Lysander.
Might you not favour the escape of Agis?
The guards are Thracians.
Euxus.
I might favour thine.
My power extends not to the guards of Agis.
Rhesus.
And wilt thou not?
Euxus.
Command thyself, my brother.
Rhesus.
How canst thou hesitate?
Euxus.
I must beware,
Inferior in command to bold Rhinalces,
And ever view'd by him with jealous eyes.
Whilst I deliberate no time is lost.
The light of day suits not with your designs;
Before the night comes on, I will determine.
Lysander.
'Tis almost night, the sun hath left the heavens,
And doubtful twilight ushers in the gloom.
Perhaps the enemies of Agis wait
The darkness of the night to cover deeds
They dare not act by day. This night I dread—
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The Ephori have sent a herald forth,
Charg'd with some solemn menace, and command
To stop the army's march.
Lysander.
If they obey,
The fane of Juno guards the king no more!
Eternal Gods! how wretched is Lysander!
From me that herald should have heard his answer.
Cannot my Rhesus find one gallant Spartan
To bear my orders to the royal band
To storm the city?
Rhesus.
I myself will bear
These orders to the camp.
Lysander.
Another task,
More difficult and dangerous, is thine.
Assume the arms and vesture of thy country,
And thro' the Thracians win thy way to Agis.
Rhesus, the generous spirit of that prince
Is of a nature that excludes all fear,
Consideration, and respect of Self:
On earth he acts as if he were a God,
Immortal, and incapable of harm.
Think how the artful falsehood of Amphares
May operate on such a royal mind.
[Enter a Thracian.
Thracian.
The Spartan lord draws near.
Euxus.
Amphares comes.
Retire, my lord, whilst I advance to meet him:
Our intercourse might-lead him to suspicion.
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Nor vigilance nor care I recommend
To thee, my Rhesus! But let caution rule
Thy forward zeal.
Rhesus.
It shall, my noble lord:
My heart beats high with hope to see thee rise
Once more, like Mars, in arms.
Lysander.
Eternal Gods!
In Thracian breasts the Spartan virtue lives.
[Lysander enters into the tower.
[Exit Rhesus.
Manet Euxus.
Enter Amphares.
How does the haughty captive brook confinement?
Euxus.
Full of inquietude he seems, and sadness.
Now in some pensive posture sits a-while,
Then smites his breast, and, starting from his seat,
Walks to and fro with a disorder'd pace.
Amphares.
Admit no Spartan of whatever sex,
Or whatsoe'er affinity they claim.
Euxus.
That strict command hath been already given.
Amphares.
'Tis needful, Euxus; for his furious mind,
In this extreme, will snatch at slight occasions
To make incredible and wild attempts.
Renew the charge; then go and search Lysander
For secret weapons. On his breast he wears
A curious gorget, rich with precious stones,
And a small portrait of surpassing beauty,
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Drawn by an artist who has vied with nature
In sweet expression of her matchless charms:
That I must have.
Euxus.
You shall without delay.
[Exit Euxus.
Manet Amphares.
Let other men deprive themselves of pleasure,
And toil for bare ambition; I'll provide
A more luxurious banquet to my taste.
What tho' as yet Euanthe loves me not,
It is the nature of her sex to change.
With wondrous ease the female kind submit
To destiny; and soon are reconcil'd
To persons and conditions once abhorr'd.
Like birds new caught, who flutter for a time,
And struggle with captivity in vain;
But by-and-by they rest; they smooth their plumes,
And to new masters sing their former notes.
This facile temper of the beauteous sex
Great Agamemnon, brave Pelides, prov'd:
They sack'd the cities, and they slew the sires,
The brothers, and the lovers of the fair,
Who weep'd awhile, then wip'd their watry eyes,
And lost their sorrows in the hero's arms.
Enter Sandane.
The herald is return'd. The royal band,
Inflam'd with rage and scorn, the mandate tore;
And to the city bend their rapid march.
Amphares.
Let them advance. They hasten to their fate.
A secret stratagem I have devis'd
To check these warriors in their bold career.
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The Ephori in resolution faint—
Amphares.
Their courage I'll restore; for Agis yields
To the fallacious counsellor I sent.
Demochares, in sacerdotal robes,
As if disguis'd t'elude the Thracian guards,
Past in by my permission, and conjur'd
Agis to quit the fane's uncertain shelter,
And seek the sure protection of the camp:
Himself he offer'd as his faithful guide.
This in Lysander's name. Agis at first,
Irresolute and doubtful, balanc'd much:
At last this thought sprung up, and turn'd the scale:
That his escape would force us to submission,
And end the strife without the shock of arms.
Demochares at midnight is appointed
To come again; and goes with an addition
That will give certain credence to his words;
The gorget of Lysander.
Sandane.
Now, Amphares,
I see the snares of death are wrapt around him;
Our hated foe stands on the verge of fate:
He who despis'd Sandane, and permitted,
With most insulting courtesy, my stay;
I would not have remain'd one day in Sparta,
But for the hope I had to work his ruin.
He is the root, with him the branches fall.
Amphares.
Altho' his son is safe in Orchomenos,
Yet there in hopeless exile he must live.
But Agesistrata—
Sandane.
Shall not survive
To travel suppliant thro' the states of Greece,
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To move compassion in the giddy Greeks.
She's old, and fit to die.
Enter a Spartan messenger.
The Thracian troops
Who guard the temple, faithful to their charge,
Have seiz'd a spy; who, cloath'd and arm'd like them,
Attempted to pass thro' their ranks to Agis.
Rhinalces for a while delay'd the doom
That martial law decrees, till you yourself
Discourse and judge the captive.
Amphares.
I approve
The vigilance and conduct of Rhinalces.
[Exit Messenger.
Sandane.
Still flows the tide of fortune; I'll dispatch
Orontes to my lord. Joyful he comes
To re-assume his sceptre and his throne.
Farewel, restraint, and laws that bind a prince.
The people's majesty, the senate's power,
Shall shrink beneath their awful monarch's sword.
Fear is the only principle of rule,
Which man, like other animals, obeys.
[Exit Sandane.
Manet Amphares.
Why tarries Euxus now?
Enter Euxus.
I must applaud
Thy countrymen for discipline and care,
As well as valour; they have seiz'd a spy,
Who' mix'd with them, disguis'd in Thracian arms.
Euxus.
In Thracian arms!
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Yes, to pass to Agis.
Some bold adventurer of the royal band.
Whose life—Why art thou troubled? Has Lysander
Escap'd the guards?
Euxus.
No. I am pale with anger,
At the reproachful terms, the bitter taunts,
Which I have suffer'd from incens'd Lysander,
In execution of thy late commands.
[Gives the gorget.
Amphares.
Is that the cause?
He soon shall be no object of thy wrath.
[Exit Amphares.
Manet Euxus.
My brother seiz'd! I hesitate no more.
The voice of nature in my breast exclaims
Against the rigour of those guilty laws,
Which bind a soldier blindly to obey.
Son of my mother! Brother of my blood!
I fly to save thee.—Now I'm thine, Lysander.
[Goes to the gate of the tower.
Chief of Sparta!
Enter Lysander.
Is Euxus yet resolv'd?
Euxus.
That thou shalt see, thy enemies are mine.
Rhesus is taken.
Lysander.
My contagious fate
Infects my friends! my brave, my generous Rhesus!
Euxus.
Friend of my brother! first I set thee free.
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At which the Thracians enter'd; haste thee thither,
Array'd like one of those whom I will send
To guide thy steps.
Lysander.
Ye guardian Gods of Greece!
Whose ways mysterious fondly I arraign'd,
Forgive my rashness! Prosper now my sword—
Where are my arms?
[Whilst Lysander speaks, Euxus beckons one of his soldiers.
Euxus.
Here enter, and obey
Without reply.
[Exeunt Lysander and the Thracian to the tower.
The soldiers hearts are mine.
Their various toils and perils I have shar'd,
And more than shar'd, the first in hard extremes,
When signal danger claims a leader's sword.
No spoil, no treasure, have I e'er reserv'd;
The wealth I covet is the soldier's love.
My bold Odrysians are a faithful band;
In this distress I'll throw myself on them,
They will support me.
Enter a Spartan messenger.
Messenger.
Leader of Thracian bands!
Amphares and the magistrates of Sparta,
Met in the senate-house, expect thy presence.
Euxus.
I will attend them.
[Exit messenger.
Surely they have learned,
That I am brother to ill-fated Rhesus.
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Lysander.
Once more at liberty! Once more in arms!
To thee, brave Thracian—
Euxus.
I am summon'd hence
To meet the Ephori. I fear, my lord,
They have discover'd Rhesus is my brother.
Lysander.
That secret in your breast and his is lodg'd:
Nor can his alter'd features now betray him.
In early youth he left his native land;
The heat of summer, and the winter's cold,
In many a hard campaign, have chas'd his bloom.
Euxus.
Indeed, I knew him not.
Lysander.
Then who could know him?
Calm and determin'd to the senate go:
Here I'll remain, and wait your quick return.
To know what they design imports us much.
Euxus.
Your stay is full of danger; risk it not.
Lysander.
All necessary dangers must be risk'd.
Perhaps I am the subject of their councils,
Perhaps I may be call'd before the senate.
If I appear not, you must be discover'd,
And my escape too soon to them be known.
Euxus.
Your reasons are of force. I am convinc'd.
Here, take my sword. Then, if we are betray'd,
My troops obey you. Now, my bold Sithontes,
[To one of his Thracians.
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And guard the person of this Spartan chief
As you would guard myself. If I'm detain'd,
Follow to death or victory Lysander.
[Exit Euxus.
Lysander.
Shall I obey the impulse of my heart,
And lead these Thracians to the tower that holds
My lost Euanthe? No, let reason rule.
Amphares will not, dares not, wrong her honour,
Whilst undecided is the fate of Agis.
'Tis night, but never shall the morning rise
On—Who can know the secret will of heaven!
Tell me, ye inextinguishable fires,
That light the counsels of eternal Jove,
Have you, since Time began his long career,
Beheld a mortal like Lysander tost?
Down, down, enthusiasm! my heart be calm!
A little while, and thou shalt beat no more.
Oft have I wish'd for perilous occasions;
And, wandring in the academic grove,
Have rous'd myself with strong imagination
Of great exploits by ardent valour done:
But ne'er did fancy's tempest match the truth,
The strong reality of such a storm.
O did I combat but for life alone,
Were Sparta and Euanthe safe spectators,
How gaily should Lysander take the field.—
Euxus draws near—Upon the insect wing
Of a small moment ride th'eternal fates.
Enter Euxus.
My fears were vain. The secret is unknown.
But Rhesus is condemn'd to die to-morrow.
Lysander.
To-morrow! Ere to-morrow men shall die
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Euxus.
'Tis true by heaven!
Mortal designs and enterprizes rise
On every side. The Ephori resolve
At midnight to surprize the royal band,
And order'd me to hold my troops prepar'd
Their forces to sustain.
Lysander.
'Tis well! 'tis wondrous well!
They urge me now, and point the line of action.
Under the high up-lifted arm of fate
I'll rush, and strike before their blow can fall.
I'll storm the city while they force the camp.
Your troops—
Euxus.
Shall join you at the gate. The word?
Lysander.
Agis. Farewel! Now I shall save thee, Agis,
Or leave my blood upon the stones of Sparta.
[Exeunt Lysander and Euxus.
End of the fourth Act.
| Agis | |