University of Virginia Library

ACT III.

SCENE, The Enchanted Wilderness.
Soft Musick, Rinaldo solu.
Rin.
Were then those glorious Voices but Delusions,
That call'd me with that Pomp of noble Harmony?
Fortune they cried, and Fame attended here,
But all things here as soft as Lovers VVishes,
This Magick Symphony with sweetness sooths me,
And ev'ry thing around me Breaths Desire,
Which passes thro my Senses to my Soul,
And to Armida's Beauteous Image there
Imparts fresh force and new Divinity.
That Image to perpetually torments me,
Reflecting on th'Exstatick Joys,
Which I must loose for ever.

Enter Armida and Phenissa.
Arm.
See where he walks in gloomy Contemplation!
Summon th'Aerial Spirits to their Duty,
While I unseen observe him.

Rin.
Could'st thou resolve, then should Heav'n send th'occasion
To leave this lovely Master-piece of Nature;
To leave her in this fulness of Desire,
This height of all thy Furious Wishes;
When each succeeding Hour
Adds to her Graces, and sublimes thy Pleasure.
Can'st thou resolve to see that Face no more;
And never more to hear that Voice,
Whose Musick Charms above the Magick Songs
Ev'n of th'Immortal Ministers who serve her.
Can'st thou Resolve? Ay, There's the Dreadful Question!
For what can be so terrible to Nature
As to fall all at once from blissful Rapture
To the Curst State of Wishing without Hope?
Can'st thou make this Effort and live? No matter,
Life's not the thing in Question now, 'tis Glory.

Arm.
See how the Tempest of his Passion tears him!
But can'st thou hear him thus contrive thy Ruine,
And yet stand tamely by?
Thou who can'st crush him in a moment!
Since thou hast cloy'd him with thy softness,
What if he heard thee thunder in his Ears,
With that terrible Voice that untunes Nature,
And makes th'Inverted Sphears fall into discord?
But something tender in my Soul restrains me,
Is it Compassion? No, 'tis something softer,
Thou lov'st the Traytor still; Lov'st him to madness.
I do, I will, I must. Can ever Woman
Behold that Form without a bleeding Heart?
That Meen that claims the Empire of the Universe?
With which he may give Laws to Human Kind.
May the High place with Dignity maintain
Of Heav'n's great Viceroy for this Under-World,
And Represent Immortal Majesty.
Once more I'le try Endearments.

[She comes forward.
Rin.
Ha! The Queen!
[Perceiving her.
Now, where are all thy feeble Resolutions?
One Glance has humbled thy Aspiring Thoughts,
Pleasure flows streaming from those Lovely Eyes,
And with it's sweetness overcomes my Soul.
If 'tis a Crime to look and be Transported,
Why was I made thus sensible to Pleasure?
Why was she form'd with that surpassing Beauty,
That might transport an Angel from his Sphear,
And fix him by Divine Resemblance here?
Armida! My Queen! My Mistress!

Arm.
Yes, she is here, and still the same she has been,
Unless that to her self she's alter'd;
That I must see,
[Pulls out a Glass, and looks in it.
At least I'm sure she is the same to thee;
But thou art alter'd to thy self and me,
And thou art lost to both.

Rin.
So lost indeed I was, while I
From thee, the dearer part of me, was absent;
But I shall find my self again in thee.
[To her looking in the Glass.
Why dost thou vainly seek thy likeness there?
Can the frail Crystal represent Divinity?
Would'st thou behold these Eyes in all their Glories?
To see the force of their Celestial Fire,
Turn them on mine all flaming with desire;
Or look upon the Crystal of the Skies,
And view thy own in the World's flaming Eyes;
Those Eyes which vast Intelligences move
Minds made like thine, all Knowledge and all Love.

Arm.
By all my Hopes of Happiness and Him,
His Heart's once more my own. Rinaldo sit,
To drive away all Sorrow from thy Soul
I'le give thee Musick that may lull Despair,
And tempt the Dire Tormentours of the Damn'd,
With lifted Brands to listen to its Air.
Aerial Spirits who attend me, Hear,
And shap'd like Gods whom Greece Ador'd, appear.

Symphony of Flutes, Venus, Cupid, and a Chorus of Loves and Graces.
Ven.
Cupid, come to the Relief
Of thy Mother's piercing Grief;
Hither quickly, Cupid, fly;
With thee bring thy keenest Dart,
To subdue a Rebel Heart,
Thou art Scorn'd as well as I.

Ritornelle.
Cho.
Come Cupid, on thy Golden Wing,
And in thy sounding Quiver bring
Pernicious Arrows, wing'd with Fire,
T'inflict incurable Desire.

Symphony.
Cupid
flying down
Thus flying thro' the Balmy Air,
To my great Parent I repair;
And tho' the World's maintain'd by me,
Yet, Mother, to attend on thee,
I leave the mighty Care.

Ven.
A Mortal in this Fragrant Bow'r,
Presumes that he's above our Pow'r.

Cup.
I'll make that Mortal know,
That none too Great for Love can grow:
I tame the mighty Pow'rs above,
And cruel Gods below.
Ritornelle.
Great Jove, whose Arms the Lightning fling,
Has felt my fierces Fire,
And Hell's Inexorable King
Has yielded to Desire.

Cho.
Great Jove, whose Arms the Lightning fling,
Has felt thy fiercer Fire, &c.

Cup.
Now quickly thro' th'Enchanted Grove,
Let all my nimble Brethren Rove.

Dance
Ven.
Let Earth, and Air, and Flood, and Fire,
And ev'ry thing around conspire
To breath forth soft and sweet Desire.

Cho.
Let Earth, and Air, &c.

Enter Urania, Ubaldo, Carlo.
Ur.
Thus we unseen have past the winding Mazes
Of this Enchanted Labyrinth, and now
Stand here invisible to Mortal sight,
To all unless Rinaldo's.
See where the wanton Lovers lie reclin'd
In all the soft and pleasing Pomp of Luxury.
But now tis Heav'ns High will that I Retire,
And the remaining Task consign to you:
[To Carlo.
To you, I Delegate this Sacred wand,
This wand whose pow'rful touch no Impious Spirit,
Whether of Earth, or Air, or Fire can Bear,
With which thou shalt expel these shining Fantoms.
Then waiting the Departure of the Enchantress,
Ubaldo, thou shalt first approach Rinaldo,
And to his Eyes presenting that bright Orb,
Shew him himself, the only form can shake him.

[Exit.
Carlo goes round waving his Wand and the Spirits Vanish.
Arm.
What? All upon the Wing? And undismiss'd too!
All Starting with amazement from their Stations,
Like watchful Fowl, that spring upon descrying
The Fowler's sly approach.
What can this mean, that neither is in Nature,
Nor in the Compass of my pow'rful Art;
That Hell or cannot, or else dare not Speak!
Rinaldo too, seems strangely discomposed;
What ails my Love? What means that furious Start?
Why do thy lovely Eyes appear thus Terrible?
And threatning shoot their fiery glances that Way?

Rin.
VVhy have you done this?

Arm.
What have I done? Thou art not well my Love.

Rin.
Why have you rais'd these Fantoms to delude me,
In that provoking Posture?

Arm.
These Fantoms are within thee, I see nothing;
I who a hundred times a Day view Beings,
That are to thee Invisible.
Sure, 'tis th'effect of his distempred Mind;
But then my Spirits who are fled unlicens'd:
The more I think, the more I grow Confounded.
My Genius seems to whisper me within,
Armida! Fate approaches.
An icy Horrour strikes thro' all my Veins,
And Freezes as it runs; not far from hence,
There is a dismal Cave, the Mouth of Hell,
Out of the which, the old ugly Beldame Night,
With Twenty thousand fiends, her fearful Equipage,
Each Evening Rushes to usurp the Sky,
And in her hideous flight Deform
Th'afflicted face of Nature; Straight, Phenissa,
Into its monstrous Caverns shall Descend
And thither Summoning Hell's blackest Furies,
Fiends too abominable to behold
The face of Heav'n or mine,
Shall there Compel them to unfold my Destiny.

Ubaldo and Carlo go up to Rinaldo, who had been all this while observing them.
Rin.
Ha! What are you,
That in this posture of Defiance,
Thus dare t'explore the Secrets of a Solitude,
That's Sacred to th'Immortal Pow'rs and me?
What are you? Speak or—

Carlo.
Men.

Ub.
Soldiers.

Carl.
Friends.

Ub.
Ubaldo,

Carl.
Carlo.

Ub.
Now, what art thou? Look there and satisfie thy self.

[Presents the Adamantine shield to him
Rin.
Damnation, what indeed? For 'tis Impossible
That thou canst be Rinaldo. Oh, Dishonour!
Earth open quick, and take me to the Centre!
Ye Cedars fall and Crush me to Conceal me!
But what Retreat can hide me from my thoughts?
For I have seen my shame, and that's to me
As much as if the assembled VVorld beheld it.
What Godlike Forms are those, compar'd to mine?
Off ye vile Trappings of soft Syrian Slaves,
[Tears of his Ghirlands.
The Pride of little base Effeminate wretches,
That want the very outside of Humanity.

Carl.
Now He begins to be once more Rinaldo,
Throws off the Captive, and resumes the Demy-god,
We come to free thee from inglorious Thraldom,
Follow us.

Rin.
Whither.

Ub.
To Jerusalem.

Rin.
Ha!

Ub.
Godfrey Invites thee.

Carl.
The universal Camp demands thee,
Victory on her Eagles Wings attends thee.

Ubal.
Fortune, and everlasting Fame expect thee.
Art thou not Fir'd? When Europe and when Asia
Contending for the Empire of the World,
In dreadful Conflict meet, Is this a place;
This soft Retreat for that aspiring Soul,
That once was foremost in the Race of Glory?

Rin.
Great Deeds are oft in Solitude perform'd.

Ubal.
Of all created Spirits, is there one
So Covetous of Deathless Fame as thine?
Then where are thy Applauders here?

Rin.
The Brave can never be without Applauders,
The Gods, and I my self approve my Actions.

Ubald.
Canst thou Desert the darling Cause of Heav'n,
And yet affirm that Heav'n approves thy Actions?
What wants there but thy Sword, O Fatal Warriour,
To finish this Croisade with glorious Victory?
T'extinguish that abominable Sect,
And put an end to all their Impious Rites?
Break forth, and be thy God-like self once more,
The matchless Champion of the Christian Cause,
Who art now th'Egregious Champion of a VVoman;
Break from her Influence, whose malignant Aspect
Eclipses all thy glory.

Rin.
Have neither of you seen this VVoman,
Whom thus disdainfully you mention?

Ubald.
Thou know'st we have

Rin.
Did you unmov'd behold her? No, you Lov'd her,
Ev'n to the loss of Reason, both you lov'd her,
Contemn'd and us'd like Slaves, you Doted on her;
I met you led in Triumph both, and Bound,
Bound in Ignobler Bonds than those of Love;
I met you, and deliver'd you, unmann'd
To that degree, you grumbl'd at your Freedom,
Because your Baseness had excuse no longer.
Have I a Soul so little Sensible,
That I should leave the soft, the kind Armida,
When her Disdain and her Imperious fierceness
Could so engageing prove to you?
Me she yet never gave just cause to leave her,
Unless because for me She left an Empire.
And the Addresses of all Asia's Monarchs.

Ub.
Our Actions ought not to be Rules for yours,
You have a Soul of a Superiour Order.

Rin.
Could you perswade my Vanity to that,
Great Souls by Mighty'st Passions are tormented,
Besides, Armida has Ten thousand Charms,
Of which you never can have any Notion.
Could Cruelty have binding force for you,
And am I urg'd to leave the last Endearments?
That only by their sweet Remembrance pierce
My Inmost Soul, and Rowze up sleeping Raptures.

Ub.
A Heroe nere can want a worthier Mistress.

Rin.
Thou talk'st, but Ah! thou do'st not think, Ubaldo.
For him who has Enjoy'd Armida,
There is no other Mistress.
Thou hast beheld her Angel Form,
And Frowning, it has Ravish'd thee.
Thou know'st her Science, and her wondrous Wit too,
But Ah, thou nere can'st know with how much Art,
She makes that Wit subservient to her Happiness,
When she designs to bless the Man she Loves,
And raise him to a God, with height of Rapture
Were you that happy Man, would you forsake her?
At least, thou should'st not Carlo.
Thy languid Eyes, that glow with humid Fires,
Declare too well thy Soul.

Carl.
I must confess, I should not.

Ub.
Nay, then all's lost. Heaven's darling Cause is lost,

Rin.
Ubaldo, No,
What I have said, has been design'd to show,
That the great thing I now shall do is owing,
Not to the Influence of your frail perswasion,
Who stand Convicted both, and both Confounded;
But the full Force of my own Reasoning Virtue.
Tho Dearer than my Life I Love Armida;
I Love my Duty and my Honour more.
And since they call, Rinaldo will obey.
But Oh, thou Tyrant, Glory, How much gentler,
And how much Lovelier in the Field I found thee,
When stain'd with Human Gore, from far thou beckon'st,
And I while Death and Horror stalk'd before me,
Broke thro' the whole Arabian Horse to joyn thee,
And Mow'd my passage thro' the Syrian Infantry.

Ub.
There spoke the very first, and best of Heroe's

[Entring
Ur.
Nay, then Appear Urania.

Rin.
The blest Urania here!

Ur.
Yes, now you purge your stains by such Contrition,
Urania dares appear,
She has with transport, and with wonder heard thee.
Thou hast assum'd a god-like Resolution.

Rin.
Yes, I will leave my very Life, my Soul.
Farewell thou Dearer part of me, and with thee,
Pleasure farewel, a long farewel ye Raptures,
That have so often in this blissful Bow'r,
Rais'd me above the height of mortal Happiness.

Enter Phenissa.
Phen.
My Lord, the Queen your Mistress, Ha!
Bless me, what shapes are those?

Ur.
Tell her, she is no more Rinaldo's Mistress,
And he no more a Slave.

Phen.
What's this I hear? Nay then assist me Hell;
Flie Nisroe, flie, and on the Wings of Lightning,
Convey this News I charge thee.
This certainly must turn her Love to Hate,
To mortal Hate; and force her to destroy him.

[Exit.
Rin.
Now all ye separated Souls of Heroes,
Who in this happy Isle, enjoy Immortal Pleasures;
Who hovering in the Balmy Air around me.
Beheld the dreadful Conflict in my Breast,
And saw me with a bleeding Heart, a Victor;
Say all, if I deserve a place
In your Illustrious Roll?

Ur.
No Roman ere did half so much for Glory.
True, they resign'd their Lives for Glory,
But soon their pangs were over.
Thou art contented to Live greatly miserable,
But quickly let us fly, thou know'st Armida,
And know'st how far her dreadful pow'r Extends;
That pow'r that sets Earth, Hell, and Heav'n in uproar,
While Chaos Hush'd, stands listning to the noise,
And wondring at Confusion, not his own;
And tho' she should not hurt us, she may shake us.
But hark, already she begins, already,
Hells grizly Tyrant takes the dire Alarm
[The Serpent and Bases softly under the Stage.
In Frantick haste ev'n now the Furies Arm,
Th'Infernal Trumpet thro' the Abiss profound,
Horribly Rumbles with its dreary Sound.
Hark!
[Here the Musick plays out.
In that Roar Hells dreadful Mounds it past.
Hark!
[Here the Alarm plays out again.
Now the vaulted Heaven's restore the dismal Blast.

Ub.
I stiffen with Astonishment,

Carl.
And I grow Chill with Horrour.
Bless me, what hideous Forms are those,
That threatning Nod their ghastly skulls,
And Stalk t'oppose our passage,

Rin.
Why? those are Creatures whom their Crimes have thrown
So far below us, we to them are Gods
In Scorn of all their empty threats I'll on.
Are we not Spirits too? Immortal Beings,
Whom only we our selves have pow'r to hurt?
[Alarm again.
I fear the fair Armida's softness more
Than all these ghastly shapes, and all this dreadful Roar.

The foresaid Alarm is repeated for the Act Tune.