University of Virginia Library

SCENE VI.

Enter Selene.
Æn.
Say, princess, whither dost thou haste?

Sel.
To thee,
O! hear me yet!

Æn.
If thou wouldst hope once more
To call back former love—those hopes are vain.

Sel.
What then remains for Dido?

Æn.
My departure
Will banish all her perils: while I stay,
My presence but incites her foes' resentment.
Iarbas woos her to partake his throne:
To him let Dido yield her hand, and peace
May once again be hers.

[going.
Sel.
Yet stay, Æneas—
If thus thou goest, not only Dido dies,
But, ah! Selene never can survive.

Æn.
What means Selene?

Sel.
From the day I first
Beheld Æneas, in my breast I smother'd
The growing passion, fearful to betray
A sister's trust; but now in death, I sue
To thee, O prince! if not for love, yet hear,
For pity hear, a wretched maid.

Æn.
Selene,
No more discourse to me of love, nor tell me
Of Dido's flame or thine. I am not now
The man I was; the lover's name is lost,
And all the warrior kindles in my soul:
My former self revives, and each that seeks
To oppose my glory in Æneas' foe.

[Exit.