 | Rinaldo and Armida |  |
35
ACT IV.
SCENE, The Country before the Enchanted Palaces.Enter Phenissa, and Nisroe.
Nis.
Why am I call'd with so much eager haste?
Phen.
Oh, I want time to tell thee, Haste, Be gone,
Fly, fly, this very moment,
Swift as a Storm, Impetuous as the Lightning,
To execute Armida's Dreadful Will.
Nis.
Rinaldo—
Phen.
Is gone, with Vengeance, and with Death o'retake him;
Go, bid th'avenging Ministers of Fate
Rush thro the inmost Chambers of the Earth,
And shake the World's Foundations.
Bid the Tempestuous Powers that rule the Air
Let loose th'unbridled, Fury of the Winds,
To overthrow their Empire.
And let the Furies with Infernal Horrours
Affright, astonish and confound the Traytour.
What! stand'st thou pausing now the Queen's betray'd?
Nis.
I do not pause, this moment thou'rt obey'd.
Behold that grisly Form which there ascends,
[Spirits ascends.
The Dire forerunner of Confusion;
As in this Western Main a small black Cloud
Lifting its threatning Head above the Horizon.
The Signal of the Warring Winds
Foreruns the Dreadful Hurricane—
This Rising Fantome by its black appearance
Alarms Millions of Immortal Spirits,
To raise up Tumults that will shake all Nature.
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Let us be gone then, Thou to Hell,
And to the Queen, my Mistress, I,
To tell her what thou hast done.
[Exeunt.
Thunder and Lightning; Spirit comes forward and sings.
Spir.
Ye Spirits that dwell in Earth, Fire, and Air,
Hither, Hither, Hither, Hither, hurrying repair;
Behold your great Mistress, Armida's betray'd,
Hither, hither, hither, Hurry all to her Aid.
Cho.
Lo, from Earth, from Hell, and from Sky,
With Vengeance laden we fly.
Spir.
Ye Fiends that are lurking in Graves,
Or gliding in Vaulted Caves,
All working amain in your Holes,
Heave, Heave up the Crumbling Earth like Moles.
Till the Mountain shakes,
And the Rock its Basis forsakes,
And the Heart of the Traytor quakes.
Cho.
'Tis done, see the Mountain shakes,
And the Rock its Basis forsakes.
Spir.
Ye Pow'rs who govern the Air,
Let nought but Confusion be there;
Haste to send forth
The stormy North,
And unbind the Deep Mouth
Of the Blustring South:
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And ambitious old Ocean disdains the Shore.
Chor.
Hark how they blow! Hark how they blow!
If they go on, thro' the Void they will sweep
The Heav'ns, the Earth, and the Deep,
And the World into Chaos will throw!
Spir.
Now flying in Crowds,
Charge, Charge all your Clouds,
Charge them all with Destructive Thunder,
Let it roar, till it rends the Vast all asunder.
Let the Lightning fearfully blaze,
Till Mortals who gaze,
Fall Dead at the terrible Wonder.
Cho.
'Tis done, 'tis done, and we shake
At the dire Confusion we make.
Spir.
Ye Furies who Reign in Unquenchable Fires,
To the sound of your Yells tune your Horrible Lyres;
And give us that Musick by which you Redouble
The Horrors of Hell, and unspeakable Trouble.
Cho.
'Tis done.
Spir.
Now add to the Symphony clinking of Chains.
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'Tis done.
Spir.
Add the Howls of the Damn'd, in the height of their Pains;
Cho.
'Tis done.
Spir.
Add their Scream and their Roar, and their Serpentine Hiss;
Cho.
'Tis done.
Spir.
Let Lucifer's Thunder now answer to this,
And Bellow alternately thro' the Abyss.
Cho.
'Tis done, and 'tis past our pow'r to know,
Whither this be Chaos or no?
Enter Armida and Phenissa.
Phen.
At length you have mov'd his mighty Soul.
Arm.
But 'tis with Anger not with Fear, he's mov'd,
See where transported with a Noble Fury,
Lovelily dreadful as a Warring Angel,
He drives the Infernal Fantomes all before him.
Phen.
Redouble your Efforts.
Arm.
That certainly destroys him.
Phen.
No matter, since you cannot shake him, crush him.
Arm.
Thus Godlike! Thus insensible of Fear!
Phen.
Think He's insensible of Love too.
Arm.
Perhaps He may relent. He comes this way,
And I will make the Tryal.
Phen.
Relent! What can you hope? What can you do?
When Furies can't prevail?
Arm.
Shew him a greater.
Phen.
A greater? What greater?
Arm.
A Woman,
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VVrong'd in her Love, and Raging for Revenge.
Phen.
Be VVise, and let him perish.
Arm.
Yes, he shall perish if he dares persist;
But thou the giver of bold fatal Counsels,
Assure thy self that thou shalt perish with him.
But see, he comes, and to my VVish alone,
Divided by the Tempest from his Friends,
VVithout Reply, be gone.
[Exit. Phen.
Enter Rinaldo; Thunder and Lightning, and Horrid Musick alternately.
Arm.
Be still, at my Command be still, ye Furies,
And ye, Restrain your Roaring Mouths, ye Thunders,
For I am to be heard.
Rin.
Ha! The Queen!
The only Object which I would avoid!
Ay, here's the sight at which my Genius shrinks.
Now, all ye Motives to my great Proceeding,
Thou the Remembrance of my former Triumphs,
And Thou the Hope of Future, Thou, O Glory,
That Day and Night in my aspiring Mind
Ragest with inextinguishable Fire;
United aid me in this Dreadful Conflict.
And thou, too conscious of thy great Original,
Rowze, Rowze each nobler Faculty, my Soul,
Exert thy utmost force in thy Defence,
For dreadful is the Danger.
Armida!
Arm.
Traytour!
Rin.
Traytour!
Armida has had kinder thoughts of me.
Arm.
Ungrateful VVretch! Am I at last reproach'd with it?
I have, and therefore doubly thou'rt a Traytour.
Have I selected thee from all Mankind,
To heap upon thee Obligations!—
And basely after all to steal away!
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You wrong me.
Are not your Centinels in ev'ry Corner?
Have not your Airy Scouts or'e spread the Island?
How could I hope then to depart unknown?
Arm.
Confusion? Am I then defy'd? Hark!
Th'Impatient Thunder grumbles to be at thee;
Ten thousand Raging Fiends around thee wait,
Watching the sign to spring and to devour thee,
At my least Nod most certain Death attends thee.
Rin.
I go to seek him in the search of Glory,
And if I find him here,
There's a long Voyage sav'd.
Arm.
Then you will go?
Rin.
Will! Have you not urg'd it?
Arm.
Oh, Confusion! What do I hear?
Audacious Fool to tempt thy certain Ruine,
And basely to presume to that degree
Upon the poor Remains of Tenderness,
Which to this moment have preserv'd thee,
I urg'd it?
Rin.
Yes, Urg'd it by your Impotent Attempts,
To fright me from departure.
Arm.
Oh, Patience yet a Moment!
Rin.
The greatness of my Mind is now concern'd,
And tho I had no other Call then that,
I would be gone. Gods! that you should descend
So far beneath your self,
To think that you could love a Man so base,
As to be sway'd by Fear.
Arm.
By my Remaining Hopes of great Revenge,
I ne're design'd to fright thee, but destroy thee;
I know thy Soul incapable of Fear,
Ev'n of the Fear of doing basest Wrongs.
Rin.
Whom have I wrong'd?
Arm.
Whom hast thou sworn Eternally to Love?
Rin.
Armida! And that Hour I cease to Love her,
Hear me, ye Gods! pierce me with all your Bolts;
But from this Hour I will ne're see her more.
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Hell and Confusion! Dar'st thou mock my misery?
Rin.
I dare not do a thing so much beneath
The Greatness of my Soul.
Arm.
Didst thou not say that thou Resolv'st to Love me?
Rin.
Eternally.
Arm.
And yet resolv'st to Leave me?
Rin.
By Heav'ns for ever.
Arm.
O vile Dissembler!
Rin.
Madam I must be gone, for I am call'd
With such a Voice as Man dares not resist.
Arm.
By whom?
Rin.
By Victory, by Fame, by Heav'n.
Arm.
To do a Barbarous thing? Impossible!
Rin.
'Twas but this moment that th'Immortal Pow'rs,
Call'd loudly from above Begone Rinaldo,
Without delay Begone, 'tis We command Thee;
Fortune, and Victory, and Fame attend Thee;
This very night Begone or stay for ever.
Arm.
Meer Vapour! and Deluding vision all!
Rin.
'Tis reall all by Heav'n, this very moment
I heard th'Ætherial Trump upon the Mountain,
While the Hill trembled with th'eternal clangour;
Urania too, and Carlo and Ubaldo
With Messages from Godfrey are arriv'd.
Arm.
They must return.
Rin.
Without me?
Arm.
Fate has by me pronounc'd it.
Rin.
What will th'Army? what will all Asia think?
Arm.
The greatest and most glorious of them all,
Will envy thy Transcendent Happiness.
Rin.
But envy always stirs up Base born minds,
To blacken whom they Envy.
I shall become the common talk of Slaves.
Arm.
They can but talk, while in Revenge wee'l live.
Rin.
Nay, then I leave you as my Mortal Enemy.
Arm.
Your Mortal Enemy! Provoking wretch!
On ev'ry side avoidless Fate surrounds thee.
To whom then doest thou owe the very Breath,
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Is it thy Mortal Enemy preserves thee?
Rin.
Yes, 'Tis my Mortal Enemy who e're
Preserves me from a glorious Death,
To see me live a cursed Life with Infamy.
Think of my purple Rivals of the East.
What will they say? That they were all disdain'd for—
Gods! I want patience to support the Thoughts of it.
But if no sense of my dishonour moves thee,
Think of thy own; what will they say of thee?
That you so far beneath your self descended,
To give a wretch possession of your Soul,
Who vilely could renounce eternal Fame,
To squander an Inglorious Life away
In a fond Woman's Arms.
If thou so little art concern'd for me,
I who Love thee beyond all bounds, must leave thee,
To vindicate thy Fame from bold Blasphemers;
And carrying Terrour to the very Courts
Of my Imperial Rivals, make them know
That he alone was worthy of thy choice,
Who had the pow'r when Duty call'd to Leave thee.
Oh! wouldst but thou Armida do thy part,
And shew by bearing this Departure greatly,
That she of all her Sex was worthy me;
Who in the Furious Height of all her Love,
To glory could resign me.
Arm.
Ay, Here's another cause for my detaining thee,
My Fame as well as Love requires thy stay;
What would those Monarchs say shouldst thou Desert me?
How would they Scorn the weakness of my choice,
Or meanness of my Beauty?
Rin.
Then to secure that Fame loe here I Swear,
The memory of what has past between us
Shall in this corner of the World lie Buried:
In Europe and in Asia unrecorded:
And that of all the Actions of my life,
Alone shall be forgotten.
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Me wouldst thou have give faith to thy False Oaths?
The very Breath that swears, declares thee perjur'd?
Am I to be forgot, as well as left?
Rin.
You mistake me.
Arm.
Fate ne're mistakes, and Traitour is at Hand.
Thunder and Spirits approach.
Rin.
I thank thee; since for glorious death I leave thee,
How could I ever hope to fall more greatly,
Than dauntless, in this dreadful wrack of Nature?
Arm.
So brave! His greatness shakes my Soul, He frowns
With congregated clouds about his brows,
As if he were the God who threw these Thunders;
And he commanded Nature.
Yes, thou shalt die, but not with so much pleasure
As fondly thou believ'st, for thou shalt die
Convicted, and Remorse shall plague that soul
Which fear of danger never could disturb.
Canst thou thy self believe thou art not Perjur'd?
Rin.
Perjur'd!
Arm.
Yes Perjur'd!
Hast thou not sworn eternally to Love me?
Rin.
Well!
Arm.
And yet hast sworn to leave me too for ever?
Rin.
That is to say, I Love thee with a Passion
That Hopeless and in absence will endure.
Arm.
But thou art call'd alas! and by whom call'd?
By Victory, by Fame, by Heav'n; fine Visions!
By thy Satiety thour't call'd, false man,
By the base lightness of thy changing temper.
Rin.
You wrong me.
Arm.
I do not; Had Heav'n enjoyn'd thee to Depart,
Wou'd it command thee to appear Inhuman;
Sprung from a Rock and by a Tygress Nurst?
For hast thou, say, fetch'd one Reluctant groan?
Have not thy unrelenting Eyes been dry,
Yet seen my poor Distracted Heart weep Blood?
Hast thou so much as cast one Pitying glance,
On my Hard Fortune? On my Fortune said I?
My dreadful Fate, my Everlasting ruine,
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Doest thou not now Convicted fall a Traytor?
Be gone, and meet the Fate which there attends thee.
Rin.
Farewell.
Arm.
What I have done? He goes to certain Death.
Stay; Hast thou not one word t'excuse thy crime?
Rin.
Yes, yes, 'tis in my power to justifie my self,
To your confusion too, of that be certain.
Arm.
Do it then.
Rin.
No.
Arm.
You must.
Rin.
I'll die a thousand Deaths first.
Arm.
By Heav'ns I feel I am a very Woman.
Aside.
Rinaldo, if ever I was Dear to thee;
If e're I gave thee high and Perfect pleasure,
Here by its dear Remembrance I conjure thee,
That thou wouldst satisfie this last request,
Let me but know thou art not false,
And I shall die with pleasure.
Rin.
O urge it not, if e're thou Lov'st Rinaldo,
Arm.
Why?
Rin.
In pitty to us Both.
Arm.
Ha! now by Heav'n I long, I die to know it.
Rin.
Yet, if tho lov'st Rinaldo, let it die with me,
Thou hast alas! endur'd too much already,
Why shouldst thou strive to know a thing which known,
Will break thy wretched Heart?
Arm.
To break my heart you must continue silent,
If I persist to think thee false I die;
Then speak and let me live.
Rin.
Thou hast o'recome, but dread the fatal consequence,
Here I relax the Violent effort;
Which has thus far supprest the strugling Passion,
That tore my very Vitals to get free,
I told thee That I Lov'd thee my Armida,
I told thee not how far, that thou shalt see;
Then with those Eyes that thro' the Stars see Fate,
Look upon mine and thro' them view my Soul;
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Arm.
Prodigious alteration in a moment!
Thou doest not only Love, but thou art Love;
Come to my Heart, and feel it leap to meet thee.
Rin.
Why wouldst thou urge me to this fatal Weakness
That has undone us both? and why return it
With that bewitching softness, which afresh
Must plunge me in the Torments of the Damn'd?
Why wouldst thou sharpen thus the cruel Sting
Of that severe necessity, which now
Breaks from her.
O cursed Hour! Eternally devides us?
Arm.
Ah Gods! Ah wretch! Ah Curst perfidious wretch!
Blast him ye Lightnings, and ye Furies tear him;
The Traytor has dissembled Tenderness,
To torture me the more.
Rin.
Now, now O all ye Heavenly Pow'rs defend me
In this first dreadful moment of my Life,
Not from the Danger of her potent art,
But from my self, y' Eternal Powers defend me!
Arm.
Now, now Tartarean Deities Revenge me,
But hold, what Fury want I but my own;
Mine is the wrong, the Vengeance shall be mine:
Die Traytor.
Holds up her Dagger.
Rin.
Do strike and pierce thy Image here, so fix'd,
That nothing but a Dagger can Remove it.
Presenting his Breast.
Arm.
What has he said? And canst thou pierce him now?
I can for his is a perfidious Tongue,
But then his Eyes, his Lovesick Eyes speak Truth;
I cannot hurt him with that melting Look:
Love in his Eyes defends him. Curse on thy Tenderness
Then pierce thy self, then Stab him here.
Stabs her self.
Rin.
Oh Heaven's!
What has thou done? The Dagger's in thy Bosom.
Arm.
Could I oblige thee more?
Now I prevent thy Barbarous design;
This was the only way, I had to abandon thee.
Rin.
I have a Soul that Loves and Dares like yours,
And thus.
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Ah Hold, Rinaldo Hold, if I am Dear to thee,
By that Dear Love I here conjure thee Hold!
Throw down that Cursed Instrument of Death,
I can with constancy support my Wound;
I die to think of thine.
Rin.
Ho, there, Phænissa, Help Ubaldo, Carlo?
Arm.
Alas! thou call'st in vain, I die Rinaldo.
Rin.
What will become of me, thou bleedst to Death,
And yet no succours nigh.
Let me support thy Lovely Fainting Limbs,
Back to the Palace where Phænissa waits thee;
Now where's Ambition.
Arm.
If I wou'd Live, I want no mortal aid;
A Thousand powerful Spirits round me wait,
Hark! how they groaning all deplore my Fate!
Hark! how their Lyres resound a Rueful Strain,
Which shews them sensible of all my pain.
Rin.
O Grief! O Infinite excess of woe!
That makes the very Damn'd with Piercing moan
Lament our Sorrows, and forget their own.
The End of the Fourth Act.
| Rinaldo and Armida | |