University of Virginia Library

ACT II.

SCENE I.

Enter Lucius Icilius, Virginia.
Virg.
How I have suffer'd since thou left'st me, Lucius,
Heaven only knows.

L. Icil.
How thou shalt be Reveng'd, both Heaven, and Earth,
And Hell shall know.

Virg.
Left to my self, thou absent at Fidenæ,
My Father in the Camp on Hoary Algid:
Each Hour I thought dire Appius wou'd have come,
And with th'Apprehension, still I tremble.

L. Icil.
Prophetick were thy Fears, the Tyrant comes.

Virg.
Ah Gods! thou kill'st me Lucius!

L. Icil.
Perish Ten Thousand Tyrants first, like Appius.

Virg.
Didst thou not say, he comes?

L. Icil.
He comes this very moment.

Virg.
Just Heaven! for what?

L. Icil.
To die: Know here in Ambush lies his Fate,
Thou shalt see Twenty Daggers plung'd at once
Into his Impious Breast, and be reveng'd
For all the base Affronts the Tyrant offer'd.
But see my Brother Marcus comes in haste,
And in his looks a high concern appears,
His Blood flows mantling o'er his wrathful Face,
Th'avenging Genius of Majestick Rome
Shines on his dreadful Brow. The Tyrant comes.
Enter Marcus Icilius.
Is it not so, my Marcus?

M. Icil.
It is; from his accursed Gates I watch'd him,
Along the Sacred way, he hither Steals,
Attended by four Lictors, like a Thief
Who comes by Night to unhoard the precious Cash
Of some substantial Usurer.

L. Icil.
Are our Friends come, Horatius and Valerius?

M. Icil.
'Twill be yet half an hour e'er th'are ready,
But Appius in few Minutes will be here.

L. Icil.
While I endeavour to confirm Virginia,
Thou, Marcus, near the Door, his entrance watch,
and let the Bell give notice of his coming.

Virg.
Say, Dost thou Love me, Lucius?

L. Icil.
Let my Eyes answer thee.

Virg.
If e'er thou Lov'st Virginia, let me go
E'er cruel Appius comes.

L. Icil.
Appius will come before our Friends arrive,
And will be gone, unless Virginia stays him.

Virg.
My Heart is form'd of such a tender Mold,
I ne'er cou'd see the vilest Creature Die.

L. Icil.
I know thy wondrous tenderness of Nature,
But call the greatness of thy Understanding,
Call all the force of Virtue to thy Aid;
Think that the Gods, whom thou so warmly serv'st,
Have chosen thee the glorious Instrument
Of freeing Rome, that under Appius Groans,
Think, think, that by the part which thou shalt bear
In such a glorious Action, thou'lt oblige
Rome, and the Gods, who have predestin'd Rome
To be the mighty Mistress of the Universe.

Virg.
The Gods of every Virtue are possess'd,
'Tis the possessing all which makes them Gods,
Not so are Mortals, but from Heaven derive,
Those which at first the forming hand of Jove
Fitted their Earthly Organs to receive.
Thus Man in Power, and Intrepidity,
And great Revenge, the Image is of Heaven
Woman in soft Compassion, and in Mercy;
The nobler Virtues I admire, and Love,
Which shine so bright in my Icilius Soul,
But humbly am content to practise those
Which fit the softness of my Sex, and Temper.

L. Icil.
But yet the Power which form'd the Nations made
His Romans of a different Strain from all,
To Roman Women he gave nobler Souls
Than e'en to Men of other Nations, Women
Have nobly serv'd t'advance his great Design,
The boldness of Hersilia, and her Friends
Made Rome the Mistress of the Sabine Soil,
Lucretias, Virtue, Liberty restor'd,
Clelia defending it was more than Woman,
Nay more than Man of any other Nation.
And thou Virginia, art ordain'd by Heaven,
To free us from insulting Appius's Rage,
And re-establish'd Liberty for ever.
But heark! the Tyrant comes,
[Bell rings.
Now, now, Virginia, summon all thy Virtue,
Summon Rome's injur'd Genius to thy aid,
The Gods who gave thee all this wondrous Beauty,
To enslave the very Soul of the proud Wretch,
Who thinks it Great his Country to enslave,
Will, if invok'd, infuse into thy Breast,
A Spirit worthy, of that matchless Form,
And then this barb'rous Tyrant thou'lt receive,
With all that indignation and disdain
That worthy is of Rome, and worthy me.
But if at last thy sinking Spirits fail thee,
Before the purple Scene of Death begins,
Thrice shall the Larum strike thy trembling Ear,
To give thee timely notice to retire.

[Exeunt.
[Manet Virginia sola.]
Virg.
The Almighty Powers who human Nature form'd
Which at your pleasure ye can raise, or change,
Who, of so soft, so merciful a Mold
Have made me, and have made me yet a Roman,
O pour into my pure unspotted Breast,
A Beam of your great selves, that I at once
Your Terrors and your Mercies may assume,
May shew a soft, and yet a Roman Soul,
May flash such Light'ning in this Tyrant's Face,
Such horror and amazement in his Soul,
That he may have a sense of all his Crimes,
And may repent, and live.

Enter Appius, Fulvius.
App.
Fulvius!

Ful.
My Lord!

App.
Keep you without, and on your Life, be watchful,
Entering, I two audacious Slaves observ'd,
One dar'd to cast a look of Scorn upon me,
The other darted Beams of murdrous Spight,
I like it not, as thou art faithful to me,
Be diligent and watchful.

Ful.
My Lord, I will.

[Exit.
App.
Madam.

Virg.
Bless me! What are you?

App.
One who commands in every place but this.
But here I come, to obey.

Virg.
Who are you?

App.
Appius.

Virg.
Appius, they say, is insolent and fierce,
Thou hast the usage of an humble Slave.

App.
You see your Power.

Virg.
My Power!

App.
Nay, give the Slave you torture leave to groan.

Virg.
I torture you! you wrong me,
But to be falsly accus'd is usual now;
Till now I never saw you, never thought of you,
Nay see you not, and think not of you now.

App.
Confusion! Can I bear this!
Then blush Ambition at thy restless toil
T'acquire unbounded Power, of which a Girl
Has influence to deprive thee.
[aside.
Yet me you force each day, and all the day
To behold you, and for the lovely sight
I pay down all my Bliss, and all my Power,
That boundless Power which cost me so much Time,
And so much Thought, and my whole peace of Mind!
Into my presence every hour you press
Upon my intimate Retirements, press,
My Guards that keep out Death, can't keep out you.

Virg.
O wondrous Wisdom, godlike Power of Mind!
O Man deserving to command an Empire!
So absolutely thou command'st thy self,
Such divine Care thou tak'st of those thou rul'st,
Now when they're tottering on the brink of Fate.

App.
A Face less beautiful than that which now,
Compels me Empire to forsake for Love;
Has oft from Heaven allur'd the gazing Gods,
And made 'em stoop to be more happy here,
But if thy Charms before were so resistless
From thy inimitable Form alone,
Now, now be judge of their Almighty Power,
Now thy sweet Voice has blest my ravish'd Ears,
While from thy Lips flows Eloquence Divine,
Wisdom accomplish'd e'en in earliest Bloom,
As if the Gods had smish'd thee with Care,
And then instructed thee, and sent thee down,
To give Mankind, a taste of Bliss eternal:
Witness these Gods, who know the Heart of Appius;
I'd rather have Virginia mine, than Empire.

Virg.
I am Icilius's, and he is mine.
Both by indissoluble Contract bound.

App.
That Contract, I by boundless Power dissolve.

Virg.
That Contract is inforc'd by your own Laws.

App.
For others, not my self, I form'd those Laws.

Virg.
The Gods themselves are bound by their own Laws.

App.
The Gods I know not; I am bound by none.

Virg.
But I am bound by all.

App.
But I, with your Obedience, can dispence,

Virg.
With Justice, Jove himself, can ne'er dispence,
For ceasing to be Just, he ceaseth to be Jove.

App.
A Face like thine has made him oft unjust,
And oft intrench upon the marriage Vow.

Virg.
Fictions of idle Bards!

App.
Once more, I say, your Contract I'll dissolve.

Virg.
As soon you may divide our faithful Hearts,
And Love's as much above thy Power, as Fate.

App.
And are you of my Rival then, so fond,

Virg.
Like Life I Love him, for in him, I live.

App.
You must forget him.

Virg.
For him alone, I all things have forgot.

App.
You must be mine.

Virg.
I see thee not, Icilius is between us,
And interceps my sight.

App.
Come, come, you shall be mine.

Virg.
Ay, now thou shew'st thy self,
Thou art that proud, that stormy Tyrant, Appius,
All thy deformity of Mind breaks out
Upon thy cruel Face, and blasts my Eyes.

App.
Furies! Was ever Insolence like this?
But 'tis with Justice, we are us'd with scorn,
When we forego the Lordship, Nature gave us,
Basely submitting, where we ought to rule;
No whining now, no more unmanly moan,
I will command thee now, doubly command thee,
As I am Man, and as I lord it, here;
I'll humble your proud Scorn, and what's deny'd
To my soft Prayer, by boundless Power, I'll take,
To thee, like Jove to Semele, I'll come,
And will with Light'ning, and with Thunder clasp thee.

Virg.
Vain Man, is insolent, and proud, because
He's ignorant, or thoughtless of his Fate;
Say, wer't thou to expire the following Moment,
Thou know'st not but thou may'st;
Would'st thou then talk thus?

App.
Yes, well hast thou instructed me,
Since Death for ought I know this hour may come,
The dearest Joy that Life can give, I'll grasp,
And seize upon it, now.

Virg.
Ha! Have a care! thou know'st not where thou art,

App.
Where I am sovereign Lord, and uncontrolable.

Virg.
Tyrant, no!
The injur'd Genius of majestick Rome
The Gods, and this control thee.

[Holds up a Dagger.
App.
No, every where in Rome, I, I am absolute.

Virg.
Vain, wretched Man, Jove, only Jove is absolute,
And thou the very Slave and Tool of Fate.
That Jove is absolute who me inspir'd
To throw my soft, and tender Nature off,
And speak in his own Language, speak in Thunder,
To tell thee thy dire Crimes have reach'd their height,
Thy Perjuries, thy violated Vows,
Thy Rapines, thy Oppressions, and thy Murders;
And now the Hour ordain'd for Vengeance comes,
Now sovereign Justice weighs thee in the Balance;
And the astonishing Decree prepares
That's coming out against thee; hark! even now!
Hark! how the dreadful Thunder o'er thee growles,
And is about to part with hideous roar.
Ah wretched Creature, trembling on thy Knees
Implore sweet Mercy of th'offended Powers,
For Heaven and Earth, are leagu'd to thy destruction.

App.
Ha! thou art strangely mov'd! Who told thee this?
How! Fulvius pale and trembling, oh damnation!
I'll some directions to my Client give,
And in a Moment wait on you.

Enter Fulvius.
Virg.
Ye eternal Gods, who govern this great World,
And rule the Heart of Man, and thou great Jove,
To whom are sacred Hospitable Rights,
Turn, turn the Heart of this detested Tyrant,
Let his Repentance, for his Crimes atone,
That his destruction may not blast my Eyes
Nor Pierce my Ears, nor his polluting Gore
Our houshold, hospitable God's prophane.

App.
Arm'd Men within these Walls! in Vizours too!
The publick Doors made fast by Massy Bars,
Some of our noblest Romans strait expected,
With their Dependents, Clients, and their Friends.

Fulv.
To be admitted by a secret Passage,
Which where it lay, the mercenary Slave
Whose Tongue, my Gold unty'd, wou'd never tell.

App.
Unless we 'scape by Artifice, we're lost.

Fulv.
Had they not all been bound by solemn Oath
To act in Consort, we had now been dead.

App.
How soon are they expected?

Fulv.
Within an Hour at farthest.

App.
Be thy Behaviour such as nought had happen'd,
In every thing conformable to mine;
Divinest of thy Sex; thou more than Woman!
Goddess of Wisdom, who vouchsaf'st a while,
To sojourn here, in mortal Shape below,
And by the sight of thy Cœlestial Charms,
T' allure the World to Virtue;
O let me penitent, and prostrate fall,
And grov'ling on the Earth, implore Forgiveness,
Of thee whose constant Soul, the view of Empire,
Nor fear of Death, nor what is worse than Death,
Cou'd cause to swerve from Virtues strictest Paths.

Virg.
What do I see! Thy Soul is once more alter'd,
For in thy Voice, no lofty Accent's found,
No haughty Insolence is in thy Air,
Nor cruel Pride on thy presumptuous Brow,
Deplorable the Look, so terrible before,
The Gods by me have surely touch'd thy Soul.

App.
'Tis as the gracious Powers foretold it all.

Virg.
What Powers!

App.
Last Night, in the dread Silence of the Dark,
When sleep resembles most his Brother Death,
This frightful Vision shook my lab'ring Soul,
In a vast Forest, desolate, and wild,
By the dim Horrors of the dusky Moon,
Benighted, and alone, I sadly stray'd,
The frowning Heavens in fearful gloom appear'd,
About my Head a blustring Tempest roar'd.
And the Earth bellowing, underneath me shook,
And like a Sea disturb'd by Winds, it wav'd,
Then under me with monstrous Chasm it yawn'd,
And I ten thousand, thousand Fathom fell,
Nor stop't, till I the burning center reach'd,
Saw the dire Secrets of th'infernal World,
Beheld the Severe Judges of pale Ghosts,
The Furies, and th'inexorable King,
Beheld the Molten Gold of flowing Styx,
That casts a dismal Light, and scares the Damn'd.

Virg.
O Heaven and Earth! 'tis terrible, it shakes me!

App.
Millions of Ghosts, that star'd with stony Eyes,
And gnash'd with Iron Teeth, I there beheld,
Toss'd from the Banks, amidst the flaming Gold,
And plung'd by Red-hot Prongs of Snaky Furies;
'Twas in that place my Father's awful Ghost
Appear'd, and with a hollow groan, cry'd Appius!
Why Appius, hast thou sacred Rome opprest,
Why hast thou strove to tempt from Virtue's Paths,
The tenderest, faithfull'st, and the chastest Maid,
That Breaths th'Ætherial Air; for what thou hast done,
Soon shalt thou hither come a guilty Ghost,
And new unheard of Torments Hell invents
Against thy dire approach; yet one way's left
T'avoid this infinite abyss of woe;
By swift Repentance, and severe Remorse
Obtain forgiveness of offended Mercy;
For she is Mercy's self sent down from Heaven
With her sweet look, to sooth the Cares of Mortals.

Virg.
Oh! Horrour! Horrour! how had'st thou the Power,
Such impious words prophanely to pronounce,
After this dreadful Vision of the Night.

App.
I, as an empty Dream, despis'd it all.

Virg.
What makes you now regard it?

App.
The Gods by thee, convince me, that 'tis true,
I hear it in thy Voice, I see it in thy Eyes;
Divinity is in thy troubl'd Face,
And Heaven is in thy Air,
By thee, the gracious Gods, have touch'd my Soul.

[Bell Rings.
Virg.
O! all ye Powers! hark! hark! the Knell of Death,
That dreadful Larum Summons thee to Hell,
That Hell which thou so terribly describ'st;
Swear thy Repentance is sincere, or else
Thou dy'st the following moment.

App.
Sincere as is thy Virtue, or may Death;
May instant Death rush in upon my Soul,
And send me down to suffer those dire Torments,
Which now the cruel Host of Hell prepares for me.

Virg.
Swear then that Rome is from this moment free,
And thou wilt never dare t'approach me more.

App.
By my dread Father's awful Ghost, I Swear,
By all th'unutterable Powers I saw
In th'amazing Vision of the Night.

Virg.
Pass thro' that Door, then turn upon the left,
And by the glimmering of a winking Lamp
Thou'lt spy a Postern Gate, and here's the Key
Which still I have kept t'avoid thy Violence,
By this thou may'st escape.
[Bell Rings.
Ah Wretch! this Moment fly, or thou art lost.
[Exit App.
For the last time the fatal Larum Rings,
[Bell Rings.
Pray Heaven he's gone, or else I must prepare
My Ears to hear his last expiring Groans,
My Eyes to see him weltring in his Blood,
And all our Hospitable Rights prophan'd.

Enter L. Icilius, M. Icilius, Horatius, Valerius, Publius Num. Caius Num.
L. Icil.
Death and Destruction will no longer wait,
No longer will arrest their lifted Arms,
Rome and Virginia urge our Daggers home.
Ha! where is the Traytor?

Virg.
He's gone.

L. Icil.
Confusion! gone?

Hor.
The Gods forbid.

Val.
The Fate of Rome defend it.

L. Icil.
No, he's not gone, thy Tenderness wou'd save him.

Virg.
'Tis his own Virtue and Remorse have sav'd him.
For oh so mild, so humble, and so chang'd,
So Penitent is he!

L. Icil.
He Penitent! oh, damn the vile dissembler!
Suppose he were, after a thousand Crimes,
All of the fearfull'st, of the blackest hue,
After he has bound, and robb'd, and murder'd Rome,
Shall he be quit for half an Hour's remorse?
He never shall, he's in the Toils, we have him,
And every Roman here is Perjur'd, Damn'd,
Who makes not Vengeance sure.
Nor shall our Country lose the great Example;
The noble Deed which we to Night perform,
Shall blast a thousand Tyrants in the Bud;
Ambition shall but hear the dreadful Tale,
And trembling o'er the mortal sound, expire.
Come, my Virginia says but this to try me.

Virg.
He's gone, by Heaven he's gone.

L. Icil.
Impossible! for Death himself stood Centry,
And arm'd with twenty Darts, secur'd the Entrance.

Virg.
But Appius by the Postern Gate escap'd.

All.
Ha!

P. Num.
Then we are lost.

L. Icil.
All's lost!

Val.
Farewel Revenge.

Hor.
Farewel the hope of Liberty for ever.

L. Icil.
O cursed Chance! O fond Credulity!

Virg.
I tell thee, never Man was so much alter'd,
And Rome's by this time Free.

L. Icil.
Rome is for ever lost, we all are lost,
And thou, alas, the most undone of Women;
O, by the Gods I pity thee, but why,
O why hast thou reduc'd me to weak pity?

P. Num.
We must disperse, without delay disperse,
Or soon the Tyrant with his Murdering Guard
Will be upon our Lives, Icilius thou
And thou my Son must haste to old Fidenæ,
To hoary Algid, thou, O Marcus hie,
T'inform Virginius of his Daughter's Danger;
Publish thro' both the Camps the Tyrant's Dead,
And then exhort the Troops to furl their Standards,
And post away to Rome: Horatius thou,
And thou Valerius keep thy Friends in Arms,
And try to raise the murm'ring People here,
I will to Claudius, Uncle to dire Appius,
Whose grave Authority alone has Power
To turn and bend the Stubborn Tyrant's Will;
He may perhaps persuade him to desist
From his accurst attempt. Let us be gone.

All.
Let us be gone away.

Virg.
What will become of me? Icilius stay.

L. Icil.
Not for the World.

Virg.
If e'er thou lov'dst me stay, I charge thee stay.

L. Icil.
No, To preserve Virginia, I must fly.

Virg.
Have I preferr'd Icilius to the World,
And he deserts me at my extremest need?
Ah! Can'st thou leave me to the Rage of Appius?

L. Icil.
You to the Rage of Appius! Madam! you!
His Patroness! his Benefactress! you
To whom he owes his Life! his very Being,
Who sav'd him, when the World could not have sav'd him.
Who frankly sacrific'd your Country to him,
All your Relations, all your Friends at once,
And your poor Lover above all—Adieu.

Virg.
Thou shalt not go, unless thou tear'st my Limbs from me
T' attend upon my Heart.

[Embraces him.
L. Icil.
Resolve to see me murder'd in your Arms,
Who can defend you from the Tyrant then?
See, where he comes amidst his cursed Guards.

[Lets him go.
Virg.
Help, murder.
Lucius, thou hast deceiv'd me, thou unkind one.

L. Icil.
Deceiv'd you, to preserve you, which nought now
But a Revolt of all the Legions can,
I, for that purpose to Fydenæ fly,
But soon depend upon it will return.

Virg.
O stay one Moment longer.

L. Icil.
No, tho' I feel the Pangs the dying feel,
When Soul and Body part, I dare not stay,
What ho within there? See Cornelia comes.
Enter Cornelia.
To thy dear Care, Cornelia, I commit
My Life, my Soul, do thou conduct her safely.
To Numitorius House, till my return
Which shall be with the earliest Dawn of Morning.
Farewel, my Life, farewel.

[Exit.
Virg.
He's gone, and I shall never see him more,
Ne'er see the sacred Fountain of my Life,
Virginius more.

Corn.
Before to morrow's Sun has reach'd its height.
They'll both be here, your Father and your Lover,
Fidenæ lies within the Ken of Rome,
And Algidum but twelve Miles distant hence.

Virg.
The Tyrant will be here to Night; to Night,
And who shall save me from his Fury now?
Deliver me ye Gods, whom I have serv'd
With so much Zeal, or if the rest forsake me,
Come Death and save me from the Tyrant's Fury.

Corn.
Come think of Life, of Happiness, of Glory,
Think of the warm and tender Love of Lucius.

Virg.
'Tis hard indeed to dye, and think of Lucius,
And I must try to live, this dreadful Night,
I'll with my Uncle Numitorius stay,
And if my Love returns not with the Day,
To morrow to th'Asylum I'll retire
Of aweful Vesta, and augment the Choir
Of the chast Maids, who watch th'eternal Fire.

[Exeunt.