University of Virginia Library

1. PART I.

PHARNACES, SORANUS.
PHARNACES.
Yes!—I have noted, with a jealous eye,
The pow'r of this new fav'rite! Daniel reigns,
And not Darius! Daniel guides the springs
Which move this mighty empire! High he sits,
Supreme in favour both with prince and people!
Where is the spirit of our Median lords,
Tamely to crouch and bend the supple knee
To this new god? By Mithras, 'tis too much!
Shall great Arbaces' race to Daniel bow?
A foreigner, a Hebrew, and a slave?
Something must be devis'd, and that right soon,
To shake his credit.

SORANUS.
Rather hope to shake
The mountain pine, whose twisting fibres clasp
The earth, deep rooted! Rather hope to shake
The Scythian Taurus from his central base!
No—Daniel sits too absolute in pow'r,
Too firm in favour, for the keenest shaft
Of nicely-aiming jealousy to reach him.

PHARNACES.
Rather he sits too high to sit securely.
Hast thou then liv'd in courts? hast thou grown grey
Beneath the mask a subtil statesman wears
To hide his secret soul, and dost not know
That, of all fickle Fortune's transient gifts,
Favour is most deceitful? 'Tis a beam
Which darts uncertain brightness for a moment!
The faint, precarious, sickly shine of pow'r;
Giv'n without merit, by caprice withdrawn.
No trifle is so small as what obtains,
Save that which loses it. It is a breath
Which hangs upon a smile! A look, a word,
A frown, the air-built tow'r of favour shakes,
And down the unsubstantial fabric falls!
Darius, just and clement as he is,
If I mistake not, may be wrought upon
By prudent wiles, by Flattery's pleasant cup,
Administer'd with caution.

SORANUS.
But the means?
For Daniel's life (a foe must grant him that)
Is so replete with goodness, so adorn'd
With every virtue, so exactly squar'd
By wisdom's nicest rules, that 'twere most hard
To charge him with the shadow of offence.
Pure is his fame, as Scythia's mountain snows,
When not a breath pollutes them! O Pharnaces!
I've scann'd the actions of his daily life
With all th' industrious malice of a foe;
And nothing meets mine eye but deeds of honour!
In office pure; for equitable acts
Renown'd: In justice and impartial truth,
The Grecian Themis is not more severe.

PHARNACES.
By yon' bright sun, thou blazon'st forth his praise,
As if with rapture thou didst read the page
Where these fair deeds are written!

SORANUS.
Thou mistak'st.
I only meant to shew what cause we have
To hate and fear him. I but meant to paint
His popular virtues, and his dang'rous merit.
Then for devotion, and religious zeal,
Who so renown'd as Daniel? Of his law
Observant in th' extreme. Thrice ev'ry day
With prostrate rev'rence he adores his God:
With superstitious awe his face he turns
Tow'rds his belov'd Jerusalem, as if
Some local, partial God might there be found
To hear his supplication. No affair
Of state; no business so importunate;
No pleasure so alluring; no employ
Of such high import, to seduce his zeal
From this observance due!

PHARNACES.
There, there he falls!
Enough, my friend! His piety destroys him.
There, at the very footstool of his God,
Where he implores protection, there I'll crush him!

SORANUS.
What means Pharnaces?

PHARNACES.
Ask not what I mean!
The new idea floating in my brain,
Has yet receiv'd no form. 'Tis yet too soon
To give it body, circumstance, or breath.
The seeds of mighty deeds are lab'ring here,
And struggling for a birth! 'Tis near the hour,
The king is wont to summon us to council.
E'er that, this big conception of my mind
I'll shape to form and being. Thou, meanwhile,
Convene our chosen friends; for I shall need
The aid of all your counsels, and the weight
Of grave authority.

SORANUS.
Who shall be trusted?

PHARNACES.
With our immediate motive, none, except
A chosen band of friends, who most repine
At Daniel's exaltation. But the scheme
I meditate, must be disclos'd to all
Who bear high office; all our Median rulers,
Princes and captains, presidents and lords;
All must assemble! 'Tis a common cause;
All but the young Araspes, he inclines
To Daniel and his God. He sits attent,
With ravish'd ears, to listen to his lore:
With rev'rence names Jerusalem, and reads
The volume of the law! No more he bows,
To hail the golden ruler of the Day;
But looks for some great Prophet, greater far,
So they pretend, than Mithras! From him, therefore,
Conceal whate'er of injury is devis'd
'Gainst Daniel. Be it too thy care to-day,
To keep him from the council.

SORANUS.
'Tis well thought.
'Tis now about the hour of Daniel's pray'r,
Araspes too is with him, and to-day
They will not sit in council. Haste we then!
Designs of high importance, once conceiv'd,
Shou'd be accomplish'd. Genius to discern,
And courage to atchieve, despise the aid
Of ling'ring circumspection. The keen spirit
Seizes the prompt occasion, and at once
Plans and performs, resolves and executes!