University of Virginia Library

ACT IV.

Enter Creon and Eteocles.
Eteoc.
This is the Place assign'd, and here we'll wait
His coming, but bear Witness that I swear
He shall gain nothing by this Interview.
I know what Polynices is, I know
The settl'd Malice of his canker'd Mind:
And as for me, I'm parallel with him
In Hatred, tho' he was compos'd of Gall.

Cre.
But should his Reason condescend to yield
The uncontested Scepter to your Hands,
You can't but cease your Anger in return.

Eteoc.
I cannot answer that my Heart will then
Lessen its own Resentment; 'tis eternal.
'Tis less his Pride than Person that I hate:
Our near Alliance is the Bane we curse;
No short-liv'd Rage. Reciprocal Abhorrence,
Drawn from the Spirits of consummate Spleen,
And rivetted by long revolving Years,
Works in our Souls, and flashes mutual Vengeance.
Our Cradles knock'd each other, and our Nurses,
As stung with Scorpions, quarrel'd at their Tasks.
But now the Infant Malice is Mature,
And shall perhaps continue in the Tomb.
I'm sorry that he quits the Empire now;
No, no, I'd have him fly, and not retire.
Creon, I would not hate him thus by halves.
Nay, if my Skill foresees, you'll find that still
He keeps a Vulture's Eye upon the Throne.

Cre.
If his ill-founded Hopes still that way soar,
Tame him, great Sir, and learn him his Mistake.
Proud of himself and furious as he seems,
Insensible to Right, or Reason's Call,
Shew him the pointed Steel, and lifted Arm,
Can reason best. Fond as I am of Peace,
I'll be the first to re-assume the Sword;
And tho' I gave my Vote to close the War,
My Vote is that the Scepter should be yours.
For ever let the War be re-inflam'd,
Never, Oh! never let the Sword be sheath'd,
Till Peace with Polynices is confirm'd
On Terms less cruel to ourselves or you.
His Presence would envenom all our Joys;
Give us your Sight, great Sir, and give us War,
More grateful than the Charms of such a Peace.
The People have made me their Oracle,
My Words are theirs, and I'm the Mouth of Thebes.
Submit not at this ignominious Price
To give to Thebes a Peace she scorns to take:
Maintain the Throne for her and for yourself,
And let us have the Monarch we desire.

Enter Attalus.
Eteoc.
Well, Attalus, my Brother is arriv'd.

Attal.
Yes, with the Queen and Princess he attends you.

Eteoc.
Let 'em then enter. How my boiling Rage
Heaves my indignant Heart at his Approach!

[Aside.
Cre.
Ah, here he is. Fortune compleat my Scheme!

Enter Jocasta, Polynices, Phocias, Antigona.
Joc.
My Wishes have their full Enjoyment now,
From the propitious Stars I'll ask no more,
Since they have granted me my Age's Prayer,
In the restoring both of you together.
You see, Eteocles, you see your Brother
After the Absence of two Years return'd
To the same Palace where you both were born;
And I, by a peculiar Turn of Fate,
And Kindness of the Gods beyond my Hopes,
Can now embrace you both, and both together.
Begin, begin, my Son, begin th'Embrace.
Whence come these cloudy Brows and gloomy Looks?
The one attends till the other will begin;
And in the Affectation of the Honour
Of taking and not giving the Embrace,
Both hesitate, and neither will be first.
Strange Folly, unaccountable Ambition!
Where the most Surly passes for a Brave;
Tho' he that conquers in this foolish Struggle,
Instead of an Applause should blush at such a Conquest.
He that's first conquer'd is the generous Hero,
Merits by being vanquish'd—Let us see
Which has the greatest Courage, who's the first
That can subdue his Spleen, and give th'Embrace.
What, neither stir? Your Duty's to advance,
[to Eteocles.
And since he comes from far you should begin.
Come, Polynices, then do you begin,
And shew him how—

Eteoc.
Why this mysterious Talk?
Madam, all these Embraces shew no more
Than bending Poppies, or the bowing Reeds,
That only take their Motions from the Wind;
Or couchant Flatterers, that mean no good
When they caress you, and the Ponyard's hid.
E'en let him speak, explain himself, and leave
Me to repose and canvass what he says.

Pol.
What need I farther to explain my Thoughts?
They may be known by what has pass'd already.
War, Tumults, Battles, such a Sea of Blood,
Sufficiently declare the Throne's my Due.

Eteoc.
This War, these Tumults, Battles, and this Blood
That has so often purpl'd Theban Ground,
All these sufficiently declare the Throne
Is mine, and while I breathe, shall not be thine.

Pol.
Thou know'st that thou unjustly art possess'd.

Eteoc.
Injustice pleases if I chase but you.

Pol.
If you would pull me down, you too may fall.

Eteoc.
And if by thy curs'd Hands the Gods should plague me,
Yourself shall share the Ruin you create.

Joc.
How cruelly have you deceiv'd me, Gods!
Have I not press'd this fatal Interview,
And is't to disunite 'em still for ever?
Ah, Children, ah, is this your Method, thus
To talk of Peace, and to cement your Feuds?
Quit, in the Name of Jove, your tragic Thoughts;
Rekindle not those Discords that are past;
You are not here as in an hostile Field;
Am I the Cause of your reviving Quarrels?
Think on the Place where first you drew your Breath,
Has not its Sight some Awe upon you Minds?
'Tis here, 'tis here you first beheld the Sun,
And enter'd in the Catalogue of Princes;
All this speaks nothing here but Peace and Love;
These other Princes, and your Sister too,
Abhor you for a Hatred so unmatch'd.
And even I myself, who for you both
Beyond maternal Agonies sustain'd;
I, who would die to re-unite you. Ah,
They turn their Heads aside, disdain to hear,
And no more listen to the Voice of Nature.
And you, whom I esteem'd of softer Soul.

to Pol.
Pol.
I seek for nought but what himself engag'd;
And without Perjury he can't detain
The Throne, and longer bar me of my Right.

Joc.
Extremity of Justice sometimes is
Extremity of Injury. The Throne
Is, I confess, your Due; but you, we fear,
In mounting would o'erturn it. Will you ne'er
Cease from pursuing this unnatural War,
Will you without Compassion ravage all;
Destroy the Realm with a Pretence to gain it?
And would your Reign begin on Carcasses?
Thebes dreads with Reason such a scepter'd Hand;
That fills her City with her slaughter'd Sons,
Will she obey your arbitrary Laws,
Who was her Tyrant e'er you was her King!
And came not clad in Purple, but in Blood.
Gods, if 'tis usual thus when Greatness comes,
The Dignity attracts a Train of Crimes;
If Virtue sinks, the more they rise in Grandeur,
Ah, what will you be, when you come to reign,
Since you're so cruel ev'n before the Crown?

Pol.
Well, if I'm cruel, 'tis not my Desire;
Others Injustice 'tis that makes me so.
Of my own Actions I'm not Master, they
Who force me to this Ravage, bear the Guilt.
The People view me with unjust Abhorrence;
I know 'tis fit my Country should be eas'd,
My sympathizing Bosom shares her Wounds,
And pants for her Redemption: Guiltless Blood
Has been already too profusely shed,
And I, to stem the fatal Current, here
Address me to the Author of her Woes,
And vow their Period from thy Blood or mine.

Joc.
What, from your Brother's!

Pol.
Madam, yes, from his.
'Tis thus, and only thus the War can end:
For this I ask'd the Interview. Prepare,
Prepare, Usurper, to maintain the Wrong
That thou hast done me; let thy Courage speak thee
(Whilst from our single Swords Thebes waits her Doom)
Worthy the Empire thy Injustice holds.

Eteoc.
With Transport I accept the glorious Offer,
Nay, if 'twas possible my Nature could
Admit of such a Change, I almost love thee
For bearing Thoughts so suited to my own;
Nearer ally'd by Hatred than by Birth!
I now believe thee worthy to dispute
The Sceptre that becomes the Hand that's us'd
To Steel, and I'll present you with its Edge.

Joc.
With the same speed, ye Brace of Vipers, come,
And in the Breasts you suck'd first plunge your Swords.
Have you no Awe, that tells you I'm your Mother?
And trace you not from that Relation, Ties
As near to Polynices? Would you break 'em?
Will you persist in thirsting for his Blood?
Begin, and search it to its Source in me:
I am the common Enemy of both;
Death must be shar'd betwixt us. Strike, strike home;
Your Vengeance must to both or neither reach;
No single Guilt is worthy of your Aim,
Destroy your Mother, or preserve your Foes.
If Honour swells your Veins, or Virtue charms,
Barbarians, blush at this infernal Phrenzy:
Or if you are resolv'd to mate with Devils,
Blush that your Folly only sins by Halves;
Call it not Duty that restrains your Hands,
In sparing me; take care of doing that,
For I may have my Fit of Vengeance too.
Is't thus, O Polynices, that you treat
Your Mother?

Pol.
'Tis my Country that I spare.

Joc.
And kill your Brother?

Pol.
'Tis a Villain only
That I would punish.

Joc.
And his Death, alas!
Will render you more culpable than he.

Pol.
What, would you have me league against myself,
Sign to my own Dishonour, give Consent
That he should shine with the imperial Beams,
A proud, terrestrial Sun, from Court to Court
Whilst I must stray, to hospitable Princes,
A pensionary Burthen? Shall I prove
So conscientious and so meekly good,
To be a Slave to Laws that he disdains!
Sink Thought of utmost Horror and Disgrace!

Joc.
But if the King of Argos should bestow
A Crown upon you?

Pol.
Must I search a Crown
From foreign Hands, when Fate allots me this?
In my Alliance to that generous Prince,
Shall I shew nothing but an empty Title,
The Shadow of a King? Or shall I owe
To his sole Bounty a precarious Throne?
I won't debase the Blood from whence I sprang;
Madam, in Justice to your own Renown,
Where I derive my Birth, I'll owe my Sceptre.

Joc.
Whether a Marriage, or a Natural Father
Presents you this, the Value is the same.

Pol.
Madam, the Difference would be vastly wide;
One would pronounce me Slave, the other King.
What, must my Grandeur from a Female Spring
Result, the Purchase of a Woman's Smile?
It is beneath my Honour to admit
A Title so effeminate: A Crown
From Cupid's Hand is despicably worn,
The sordid Consequence of an Embrace,
And must on each Love-Quarrel be withdrawn.
I'll ope' myself a Passage to a Throne,
Or never mount one; and if e'er I should,
I'll fill it uncontroul'd. As for my Subjects,
They shall be Subjects in the strictest Sense,
No Law, no Arbitrator but their King:
For I myself will govern all myself.
Madam, I'll either be no King at all,
Or I'll exert him in th'unbounded View:
If my Blood's Title gives me not the Crown,
I will appeal to nothing but my Sword.

Joc.
From your own Courage then derive one, blaze
Above th'unactive Worth of common Sovereigns,
A Monarch of your own Advancement; wreathe
Your Brow a Crown of Worth from brave Exploits,
And let your Actions shine amidst its Gems.
Display a Diadem of Laurels, won
By your illustrious Merit; intertwine
The Monarch's Purple, and the Hero's Fame.
Must this Ambition which bespeaks you born
To Ends more glorious, thus to Limits bend,
And deign t'accept an Empire of a Year?
Seek, seek a Throne you only may ascend;
A thousand Sceptres glitter to your Sword,
Without polluting 'em with Royal Blood,
Or mounting to 'em over Theban Carcasses.
Such Triumphs I myself will first extol;
And ev'n your Brother will unite his Arms
To aid such honourable Conquests.

Pol.
You'd have me busy'd in a Fairy Dance
After imaginary Crowns, resign,
To this base Rival of my Royal Hopes,
The sweet Possession of one certain here.

Joc.
If you would wish him such a Cloud of Woes,
If you would seek Revenge, you have it here.
Yourself advance him to the thorny Height:
This Throne was always an Abyss of Horror;
Ten Thousand circling Precipices shew
Repenting Royalty its rash Mistake:
Your Father, and the Kings his Ancestors,
No sooner mounted, but with headlong Ruin
Fell sudden Victims to Ambition's Guilt.

Pol.
Tho' I should meet the Thunder of the Sky;
I'd thither rather mount than creep on Earth.
My Heart, as emulous of those Royal Wretches,
Would bravely raise itself, and join their Fall.

Eteoc.
I'll spare you such a notional Distress,
And so renown'd a Fall.

Pol.
Thy Ruin first
Shall learn me to regret my own the less.

Joc.
My Son, his Reign is grateful to the Thebans.

Pol.
Yet, Madam, 'tis detestable to me.

Joc.
He numbers all the People on his side.

Pol.
And I the Gods on mine.

Eteoc.
The Gods decreed
To give your vain Pretensions to the Wind;
Since they have led me up to th' Empire first.
Well they foresaw when they had made this Choice,
That those who once possess'd the Reins of State,
Are deaf to all Persuasions to descend.
Ne'er saw we but one Master on the Throne;
Howe'er extensive, 'tis too streight for two.
Judge then if all the Hurricane of War
This Wretch has cost me, does not amply shew
The Crown can ne'er become the Heads of both.

Pol.
And as for me, thy Person's so abhorr'd,
I'd not partake with thee the common Air.

Joc.
Go, Wretches, go,
And execute your meditated Murthers.
Since then I can't dissuade, I'll shew the way:
To this infernal Duel lead two Fiends,
That are my Sons. Why hesitate you? Go,
And strive t' outdo your hellish Ancestors;
Shew, in your mutual Madness, shew you're Brothers:
The blackest Crime did introduce you both
To the abhorring Sun, and frighten'd Nature.
No longer I'll condemn the horrid Fury
That spreads its Venom thro' your fester'd Veins:
No longer have I Pity or Remorse,
For any Branch of my corrupted Blood:
By your Example I'm become a Tygress,
Into a Savage turn'd; I've shook off Nature,
And I, I'll point you out your way to Death.

[Exit.
Ant.
Ye Stars, what farther Woes do I behold!

Pho.
Alas! can nothing move 'em? Princes!

Ant.
Brothers!

Eteoc.
Let's name the Place for this decisive Combat.

Pol.
Thou shalt not have Occasion to upbraid
My tardy Rage. Let's fly. Farewel Sister.

Eteoc.
Farewel Princess.

[Ex. Pol. and Eteoc.
Ant.
Guards, stop 'em, force 'em to return,
Join your Entreaties and your Woes with mine.
'Tis cruel now to pay 'em your Obedience.

Pho.
Madam, there's nothing can retard their Fury.

Ant.
Ah! generous Phocias, 'tis to you alone
That I am suppliant now. I beg, conjure you,
If Virtue is your Aim, if still undone
Antigona has Share within your Heart;

[Exeunt.