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15
SCENE V.
Mahomet, Cali.Mahomet.
Remote from Tumult, in th' adjoining Palace,
Thy Care shall guard this Treasure of my Soul;
There let Aspasia, since my Fair entreats it,
With Converse chase the melancholy Moments.
Sure, chill'd with sixty winter Camps, thy Blood
At Sight of female Charms will glow no more.
Cali.
These Years, unconquer'd Mahomet, demand
Desires more pure, and other Cares than Love.
Long have I wish'd, before our Prophet's Tomb,
To pour my Prayers for thy successful Reign,
To quit the Tumults of the noisy Camp,
And sink into the silent Grave in Peace.
Mahomet.
What! Think of Peace while haughty Scanderbeg
Elate with Conquest, in his native Mountains,
Prowls o'er the wealthy Spoils of bleeding Turkey?
While fair Hungaria's unexhausted Vallies
Pour forth their Legions, and the roaring Danube
Rolls half his Floods unheard through shouting Camps?
Nor couldst thou more support a Life of Sloth
Than Amurath—
Cali.
Still full of Amurath!
[Aside.
Mahomet.
Than Amurath, accustom'd to Command,
Could bear his Son upon the Turkish Throne.
16
This Pilgrimage our Lawgiver ordain'd—
Mahomet.
For those who could not please by nobler Service.—
Our warlike Prophet loves an active Faith,
The holy Flame of enterprizing Virtue,
Mocks the dull Vows of Solitude and Penance,
And scorns the lazy Hermit's cheap Devotion;
Shine thou distinguish'd by superior Merit,
With wonted Zeal pursue the Task of War,
Till every Nation reverence the Koran,
And ev'ry Suppliant lift his Eyes to Mecca.
Cali.
This Regal Confidence, this pious Ardour,
Let Prudence moderate, though not suppress.
Is not each Realm that smiles with kinder Suns,
Or boasts a happier Soil, already thine?
Extended Empire, like expanded Gold,
Exchanges solid Strength for feeble Splendor.
Mahomet.
Preach thy dull Politics to vulgar Kings,
Thou know'st not yet thy Master's future Greatness,
His vast Designs, his Plans of boundless Pow'r.
When ev'ry Storm in my Domain shall roar,
When ev'ry Wave shall beat a Turkish Shore,
Then, Cali, shall the Toils of Battle cease,
Then dream of Prayer, and Pilgrimage, and Peace.
[Exeunt.
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