University of Virginia Library

SCENE V.

Titus, Cælius.
CÆLIUS.
Having in vain essay'd to move the Senate,
To save their Country from impending Ruin,
Permit me here (to Virtue paying Homage)
With open Heart t'admire that generous Ardour,
That happy Hand, which still maintains this City
Against the fierce Attacks of her Assailants;
Worthy a juster Cause, another Foe!
Greater Regard, and more august Rewards!
Monarchs there are (I here may safely speak it)
Who would entrust their Empires to your Hands;
Nor view with jealous Eyes those shining Virtues,
Whose Lustre dazzles the disdainful Senate,
Tho' Rome with Wonder and Delight beholds 'em.
I pity your hard Lot to serve such Masters,
Who, deaf to Merit, insolently spurn
The valiant Friends that best deserve their Favour;
And, born t'obey, yet take a cruel Pleasure
In laying heavy Bonds on their Deliverers;
Who, did they not usurp the Royal Rights,
From You should take those Orders, which they give.

TITUS.
Cælius, I thank you for the kind Concern
Which you express for me; nor will enquire
Whether you seek by this Address so soothing,
To take Advantage of my glowing Anger,
And turn my Sword against my native Country.
Lose not your Arts on this frank open Breast;
My Heart is always naked: 'Tis true, the Senate
Have us'd me ill, and I have Right to hate 'em;
But still this Hand shall vindicate their Cause.
When Rome calls forth her faithful Sons to Battel,
They stifle in their Breasts domestic Wrongs;
At such a time they know no private Foes.
Thus I profess, and thus will ever practise.
Be it or Honour, Pride, or Prejudice,
Among the Romans born, for them I'll die!
I am the Son of Brutus; Tyrants I detest;
And on my Heart bear Liberty engrav'd!

CÆLIUS.
My Lord, you cheat yourself with specious Names.
Tho' subject to a King, I prize the Charms
Of Sacred Liberty, no less than You;
Who, for the Substance, grasp an empty Shadow.
Is not the Genius of a Commonwealth
Far more Severe than Regal Government?
Your boasted Laws are the most cruel Tyrants,
Inflexible to Interest, Rank, or Merit.
Survey a generous Prince's splendid Court!
Honours unsought attend upon Desert;
Pleasures, in circling Streams, there gaily flow;
And Beauty crowns the Hero's glorious Toils!—
They widely err, who brand, as Servitude,
The Homage paid to an indulgent King;
Since Liberty, protected by his Care,
Distributes Joy and Plenty all around!
Lov'd by your Prince, and cherish'd by his Smiles,
You serve but One; all others are Your Servants.
O! that a Soul, so greatly form'd by Heaven
To shine in Camps, or grace a polish'd Court,
Could taste th'endearing Charms of Tarquin's Friendship!
With You he might have shar'd the Sovereign Power—
Th'insulting Senate prostrate at your Feet—

TITUS.
No more—I've seen his Court, and I despise it.
I might, perhaps, if I could stoop so low,
Be his First Slave, and lord it over others.
But I abhor such Baseness. Let me perish,
If I be made the Tool of his Ambition!
A Virtuous Heart can taste no Joy in Power
Gain'd by the Ruin of a free-born People.
Thanks be to Heav'n, I've no such abject Wishes;
My Soul aspires at pure, unsullied Grandeur,
By Honour won, and fix'd on stable Justice.
I'll meet thy Kings in Battel. Thou, adore them!

CÆLIUS.
I must approve your firm and steady Conduct;
Yet still remember, in your tender Years,
Tarquin rejoic'd to strengthen and exalt
Your rising Genius by the best Instruction.
He never can forget you. Yester-morn,
As he bewail'd his Son's untimely Death,
“Titus (said he) might have sustain'd my Race;
“His Virtues would have merited my Daughter—

TITUS,
turning himself away.
His Daughter! Gods! Lucia? O hapless Vows!

CÆLIUS,
[Looking upon Titus.]
I bear her to the King whom you renounce,
At Distance far from Thee, and from her Country,
She weds Liguria's Monarch. In the mean while,
Thou may'st obey the Senate, oppress her Father,
And ravage his Demesnes with Fire and Sword.
But soon, I trust, yon' blazing Capitol,
These lofty Roofs, and all your Towers in Flames,
Shall serve as Torches to this happy Marriage,
And Funeral-Piles for Citizens and Senate!
[Exit Cælius.