University of Virginia Library

Act IV.

Scene I.

Enter Adelan and Cimene.
Adel.]
I am content to bear a Lover's Pain,
Wou'd you vouchsafe a Lover's Hope.

Cime.]
Where so much Merit challenges my Love,
Without a Blush I may confess a Flame,
A Noble Passion founded on Esteem.

Adel.]
Why will you then obstruct our Happiness,
And scruple thus to gratifie that Passion?

Cime.]
The Danger frightens, not o'recomes my Love;
By Rodomond's Fate we shou'd be warn'd.

Adel.]
The Danger only shou'd enhance the Price,
And make us dearer to our selves, Cimene;
Our happier Friends will leave us in the Race,
This Night they are resolv'd to seize their Wishes,
Anticipate the King, and joyn each others Hands:
Would you consent, our Bliss wou'd equal theirs.

Cime.]
O Adelan, urge not our mutual Ruine,
I wou'd consent, and yet my Fear forbids:
See Rodomond appears; let us observe him.

Enter Rodomond.
Rodo.]
To Day a Conquerour, and to Night a Slave:
How short the Space between these vast Extreams?
If what I lose, is in it self no Good,
But on Opinion founded, and Mistake,
Opinion then, may all I've lost restore,
'Tis but to think, that I am not unhappy.

Adelan and Cimene advance.
Cim.]
When Heav'n thinks fit the Guiltless to afflict,
It gives them Vertues, Rodomond, like thine,
To bear with Patience, such a Load of Wrongs.

Rodo.]
The Gods, and God-like Kings, can do no Wrongs.
Illustrious Princess, we must then resign,
[Bowing.
And bear the Fate, which they are pleas'd to doom.

Ade.]
We must be patient, when we can't redress;
But when we've Power to repel the Wrong,
He Spirit wants, who wants Resentment.

Rodo.]
What means the generous Adelan?

Ade.]
Your Patience is Injustice to your self:
Fly to the Army, where you are ador'd;
By them supported in so just a Cause,
Demand your Mistress, and your Right.

Rodo.]
I shou'd deserve the Fate, which you bemoan,
Cou'd I be guilty of so base a Crime:
You know my Obligations to the King;
Can I revolting, break those Sacred Ties,
And draw that Sword, which honour'd once this Arm,
Against the Breast that gave it?

Ade.]
The Gift resum'd, the Obligation dies;
You are discarded, and disgrac'd.

Rodo.]
But not releas'd from the vast Debt I owe.
No, Adelan, believe me, I will dye;
Or, what is worse, will live, and lose Armida,
Before I'll stain my Honour with that Baseness,
Whatever Fortune shall attend my Love:
This Satisfaction lessens all the Pain,
That I shall not deserve it.

Ade.]
This nice romantick Honour is your Ruine,
And offers Violence to Nature.

Cim.]
Unhappy Prince, worthy a better Fate;
I share those Wrongs, I wish I cou'd redress.

[Is going.
Ade.]
Hold, bright Cimene, hold: By all our Vows,
Our mutual Vows, seal'd in the Face of Heaven,
I now conjure you to compleat our Bliss
This happy Night, by giving me that Hand.

Cim.]
My stronger Passion will surmount my Fears;
In vain depending on our Strength we strive;
Vertue, tho' arm'd, our Passions may suprize,
So weak is Prudence, when oppos'd to Love:
Since Innocence is Ignorance of Ill,
And in that Innocence our Safety lies,
'Tis better to be Ignorant than Wise.

[Exeunt Ad. Cim.
Enter Roderick.
Roder.]
Art thou that Rodomond, victorious Rodomond,
Whom this illustrious Day so glorious saw,
And now so abject and forlorn?

Rodo.]
I am that Wretch, whom proud Ravenna saw
This Day triumphant, like a God ador'd,
Now in a few revolving Hours o'rethrown,
And levell'd with the Herd of Men.

Roder.]
When Fortune or the Gods afflict Mankind,
Compassion to the Miserable's due;
But when we suffer what we may prevent,
At once we forfeit Pity and Esteem.

Rodo.]
Am I so fall'n? so miserably lost?
To be below, or not at least deserve
The Pity of my Friend?

Roder.]
Would my Compassion could your State restore;
You only to your self can Pity shew:
Rouze, rouze, my Lord; exert that God-like Mind,
And, shaking of this Lethargy of Love,
Be Man again:
Then all the past will like a Vision seem,
Whose Image's confus'd, perplex the Brain,
And with convulsive Terrors fright the Mind;
But when the chearful Morn calls up the Day,
We wake with Joy, to find it but a Dream.

Rodo.]
Would'st thou perswade me to infringe my Faith,
Renounce my Honour, and betray my Love?
That noble Passion which the Soul refines,
First made Men Heroes, and those Heroes Gods;
Whose genial Fires inform the sluggish Mass,
The Rugged soften, and the Timerous warm,
Give Wit to Fools, and Manners to the Clown:
The rest of Life is an ignoble Calm;
The Soul unmov'd by Love's inspiring Breath,
Like lazy Waters, stagnates and corrupts.

Roder.]
Mistaken Notions, of mistaken Good,
Your captive Reason led astray: The Brave
Shou'd scorn the Snares of that deluding Sex,
Nor sacrifice to such a Toy as Woman,
Their Int'rest, their Happiness and Fame;
With Women always they most Favour find,
Who have the least of Merit.

Rodo.]
The bright Armida, her whole Sex transcends,
As much in Vertue as in Beauty: O, my Friend,
Tear not those Wounds, which thou shou'dst rather heal:
Gonzalvo try'd just now, but try'd in vain,
Advice to wretched Lovers is the same,
As Drops of Water cast on conquering Flame,
Which add new Fury to their native Rage:
This Night I am resolv'd to wed Armida.

Roder.]
By Heav'n you must not.

Rodo.]
By all that's sacred, Roderick, I will;
Thy Perseverance to resist my Love,
Will disunite our Friendship.

Rod.]
I'm more your Friend than you are to your self.
But see the King.

Enter King, Gonz. Mal. Mer. Eu.
King.]
Unhappy Youth, whom I wou'd save in vain,
Thou much has wrong'd my Honour and my Love.

Rod.]
When Rodomond is guilty of that Crime,
The King and Heav'n avenge.

King.]
Attend with Patience, while I show
Thy black Ingratitude.

Rodo.]
O Royal Almerick.

King.]
With Silence first hear me, let all rerire.
[Exe' ceteri.
Did I not snatcht thee from the Jaws of Fate,
When Gondibert, thy vanquisht Father lay
Extended on the Ground? Then, thou, by Law
Of Nations, and of Arms became my Slave,
For Conquest is the first and noblest Title:
Have I not since, with a Paternal Care,
Indulg'd, and bred thy Youth? And, from a Slave,
Thy Hopes to Empire rais'd, and my Cimene,
A Gift of nobler Value than a Crown.

Rodo.]
You gave me Life when Death was all my Wish,
Tho' Benefits upbraided are dissolv'd, I own
The mighty Sum.

King.]
Must thou not blush those Benefits to own,
Thou wantest Gratitude to repay?
Adopted thus, and in my Bosom worn,
Thou sting'st that Breast, whose Warmth thy Life maintain'd.
Of all the Sex there was one beauteous Maid,
Whose Eyes in triumph lead my vanquish'd Soul,
Whom I design'd of my declining Years
To sooth the Cares, and ease the Weight of Crowns,
Her thou hast ravish'd from me.

Rodo.]
Forgetful King, survey your swelling Stream,
Stain'd with the hostile Blood that I have shed,
Thy Enemies Blood, thy Glory and thy Crown,
Both by this Sword secur'd; thus have I paid
The Debt I owe—But for Armida's Love,
To God, and Men, I will avow my Claim;
By Nature's Laws, and common Right I hold
As first Possessor, my Armidia's Heart.

King.]
Insolent young Man, thou know'st not sure
I want no Power to chastize thy Folly.

Rod.]
You may chastize, and I resign my Head,
I yield my Life, but never can Armida's.

King.]
No longer, Rodomond, trifle with my Love,
Thou know'st the gentle Temper of my Soul,
Which the mistaken World, good Nature call;
Tho' easie to be rais'd, more easie to be calm'd.
Like Heaven's Anger, my relenting Rage
Begins in Tempests, and is laid by Showers,
The swelling Drops burst thro' their lucid Orbs,
And chase each other down my flowing Cheeks,
Which blush with Shame, at the old Soldier's Weakness,
I weep for thee, whom I would save from Ruin.

Rod.]
Those moving Tears will quite dissolve my Frame,
They melt that Soul, that Threats could never shake;
My King, my Father, sheath that generous Sword
In this ungrateful Heart, I dying leave
What living I can never lose; Then, then,
Armidia's yours.

King.]
No, live, my Rodomond, restor'd to all
That Empire, Fortune, or the King can give,
Accept my Daughter, and resign my Mistress.

Rodo.]
You may as well these impious Hands command
To tear the Strings which hold my panting Heart;
And sooner I'd obey.

King.]
Like Whirlwinds then, I blow thee from my Soul,
The World's Extreams divide us two for ever:
Submit, for thy Refusal, is thy Fate.
[Exit King.

Enter at the other Door, Adel. Cimene. Armi. Roz. Euphel, disguis'd.
Adel.]
All is prepared to solemnize our Nuptials,
The Priest attends in yonder Mytle-grove,
To tye the sacred Knot.

Rodo.]
This Minute's ours, beyond the Power of Fate,
Let Fortune rage to Morrow, and destroy,
We shall have Ages liv'd to Day.
[Takes Arm. by the Hand.
Lead on my Friend:

Arm.]
Unusual Weight hangs on my labouring Soul,
Presaging inauspicious Joys.

As they are going out, Enter Albazor, Meroan, and Guards.
Alb.]
My Lords, you are my Prisoners;
I must demand your Swords.

Rodo.]
My Sword, Albazor!

Alb.]
It is the King's Command, that I
Convey you Prisoners to the Citadel.
Draw, draw, my Lord, and let us die like Men.

[Adel. draws.
Rodo.]
Put up, my Friend, the King's Commands are sacred.
My Passion had almost surpriz'd my Virtue;
Here, take my useless Sword, so often drawn
In Almerick's Defence.

[Flings his Sword.
Arm.]
O Rodomond!

Cim.]
Unhappy Adelan.

Rodo.]
To die, is nothing but to cease from Pain,
For all the Shade and Darkness of the Grave,
Is to be sever'd from Armida's Eyes;
That, that's the last convulsive Gasp,
The Separation of the Soul and Body;
Adieu, my Love.

[To Armi.
Arm.]
O Rodomond! how can I bear those killing Words,
Stay till my Sighs and Prayers make Heav'n relent
To Pity, and reverse thy Fate, thy cruel Fate,
The Guilt of every Star.

Alb.]
My Lords, your Time is short.

Rod.]
Ill boding, Reven-peace, nor dare prophane
The sacred Rites of parting Love—Oh Armida!
Must, must we thus divide?

Arm.]
No, no, like Life, I hold thee fast,
Nor shall the Hand of Death unlock my Grasp.

Rodo.]
Thus claspt in Folds of everlasting Love,
No Force can break the Circle of our Arms;
But 'tis our Fate—Armida we must yield,
Once more farewel, thou best of Womankind,
If I stay longer, I shall never go;
Lead on to Dungeons, Horrors, Chains and Death,
The Brave and Honest never are surpriz'd;
If there's a Life to come, the Good are blest,
And if there's none all have eternal Rest.

[Exeunt.
Manent Arm. Cim.
Cim.]
Stunn'd with this Shock, my Grief forgot to flow,
But now with double Violence breaks forth.

[Weeps.
Arm.]
The Sea, Cimene, cannot find us Brine
To feed the Tears proportion'd to these Woes,
I can no longer bear the sight of Heaven,
Cords, Daggers, Poisons shall thy Life dispatch,
Which Grief too slowly will destroy.

Cim.]
That impious Help, Armida, we shou'd scorn,
To kill this Wretch, there is no need of Art,
Whoever lives like me, can break her Heart.

Exeunt.

Scene II.

Enter Mal. Mero.
Mal.]
The noble Lyon's hunted to the Toil,
There let him foam, and roar and gnaw the Chain,
Which he shall never break.

Mer.]
The King this Minute has pronounc'd his Doom,
To lose his Head to Morrow in the Forum.

Mal.]
The King's so fickle and unfixt in Temper,
There's no depending on his Sentance;
To Day condemns, to Morrow will forgive;
'Tis good to be secure; Are all to mount the Guard
To Night, our Friends?

Mer.]
Your Creatures all in every Post of Trust.

Mal.]
Good Meroan, go see that all's secure,
The Time approaches to reward thy Service.
[Exit Mero.
Mal. Solus.
What is Ambition but Desire of Greatness?
And what is Greatness but Extent of Power?
If Power then's the Object of my Wish,
I vainly seek, what I possess already;
A Crown can give me nothing that I want,
Since I have all the Good, tho' not the Name;
But Lust of Power's a Dropsie of the Mind,
Whose Thirst increases, while we drink to quench it,
'Till swoln, and stretcht by the repeated Draught,
We burst, and perish.

Enter Albazar.
Alb.]
May all your Fortune thus, my Lord, succeed,
May all your Foes the Fate of Rodomond meet,
Like him secur'd, and in your Power.

Mal.]
To Morrow's Sun his headless Trunk beholds;
Then, then, Albazar, we will seize our Wishes,
The Spoils of Empire, and the Charms of Love.

Alb.]
I beg, my Lord, you wou'd vouchsafe one Boon:
Bestow on me Euphelia.

Mal.]
I am engag'd to Meroan.

Alb.]
Engag'd, my Lord?

Mal.]
Yes, Albazar, he has that Favour askt,
And I have past my Word; but be content,
There will be Spoil to gratifie thy Wishes.

Alb.]
I long have lov'd that beauteous Maid: Methinks,
My Lord, my Services shou'd not be weigh'd
With Meroan's.

Mal.]
I am engag'd, and never will recede;
You must submit; whoever thinks
His Services unpaid, will soon repent them.

[Exit.
Alb.]
If so imperious while he only hopes,
How will he swell when Master of a Crown?
He shall repent it.

Enter King, Gonz. Roder. &c.
King.]
Tho' Royal Blood flows in thy Noble Veins,
And forty Camps with Lawrels plant thy Brows,
Thy Son's Presumption merits Death, Gonzalvo;
He is not worthy of my Crown and Daughter.

Gonz.]
O, Sir, forgive the Folly of his Love;
I never did support, nor knew his Passion:
If Services, tho' past, may Mercy claim,
At once my Age commiserate, and his Youth.

King.]
His Doom be chang'd within Ravenna's Walls;
If found to Morrow, he shall dye.

Enter Armida.
Arm.]
I come, unhappy King, to save thy Guilt,
Whose fatal Love thy Reason has misled,
To pass a Sentence, that will shake thy Throne,
Destroy thy Honour, and thy Peace.

King.]
Blame not Armida, what these Eyes have forc'd:
You might have hinder'd what you now deplore,
By condescending to my Love; and you
Can only now retrieve his Fate.

Arm.]
I will revenge your Quarrel on these Eyes,
Whose inauspicious Charms have thus destroy'd
The King, my self, and what I hold more dear:
I will retire excluded from the World;
I never more my Rodomond will see,
Wou'd you his Life preserve and Liberty restore.

King.]
You to your self can your own Wishes grant;
Give me that Hand, and Rodomond shall live.

Arm.]
To save my Lover's, and my Brother's Life,
I will my Hopes of Happiness resign,
But cannot change the Object of my Love;
Consum'd to Ashes in the fragrant Nest,
My Phœnix Passion nobly shall expire,
But ne're revive the Species to renew.

King.]
Thy Coldness kills not, but preserves my Flame,
As Winter Snows the freezing North defend,
And tender Plants keep warm. O Armida!
Thy very Cruelty has all the Charm
That Kindness gives the rest of Womankind;
Disdain'd we still love on.

Arm.]
Your Passion only centers in your self,
Or you wou'd wretched be, to make me blest;
Wou'd to my Happiness devote your own,
In generous Friendship, and sublimer Love,
That part of Bliss is least which we receive,
The nobler Pleasure springs from what we give.

King.]
Return Armida, to behold thy Fate:
[Is going.
Here, Malespine, my Royal Signet take,
The Warrant of his Death; go see
The Sentence executed strait.

Arm.]
Hold, hold, inhuman Tyrant, hold;
Canst thou consent to take that precious Life,
Whose Loss will leave no Vertue among Men?

King.]
'Tis fixt as Fate, and never can be chang'd;
You may these Words remember.

[Going.
Arm.]
I yield, I yield: Here, take the curs'd Armida,
To save my Rodomond, I will live another's:
Be doom'd to Life more terrible than Death.

King.]
Armida yields; Gonzalvo, Malespine, Albazar,
Partake the Joy; I want the Strength to bear
To either Pole: Let Seas and Winds convey
The welcome Sound, and all Mankind be happy:
A thousand manumitted Slaves shall owe
Their Freedom to this Day; shall ever bless
The happy Hour Armida saw the Light.
Thou shining Excellence, thou best of Women,
[To Arm.
I leave thee to dispel these gloomy Clouds,
And to assume a brighter Face of Joy:
Prepare, Armida, for this glorious Night;
In all my Triumphs thou shalt bear a part,
Divide my Scepter, and Possess my Heart.

Manent Giv. Arm.
[Ex. Kin. Mal. Roder. &c.
Arm.]
Recal the King, for I recal my Word;
I cannot, will not, must not keep it: But then
My Rodomond dies; I will, I will;
I will be miserable, O my Father;
I cannot bear this mighty Weight of Woe;
Thou never more must see thy wretched Daughter.

Gon.]
The Gods thus punish your intemperate Love.

Arm.]
My Flame is virtuous, innocent, and pure,
And rather claims Protection.

Gon.]
All Passions in excess are Crimes;
Submit thy Fate to Heaven's indulgent Care,
Tho' all seem lost, 'tis impious to despair;
The Tracts of Providence like Rivers wind,
Here run before us, then retreat behind,
And tho' immerg'd in Earth from human Eyes,
Again break forth, and more conspicuous rise.

[Exit.