University of Virginia Library

SCENE IV.

BRUTUS, MESSALA.
BRUTUS.
Messala, stay I shall not long detain thee.
A few brief words.

MESSALA.
With me?

BRUTUS.
With thee Messala!
A secret-working venom o'er my house
Hath spread its baleful influence. Tiberinus
Incensed against his brother, hath withdrawn
The veil, and all his jealous rage bursts forth.
While Titus' frenzy takes a different course,
Against the senate his audacious heart
Swells with resentment. Thus disposed, their weakness
Could not escape this Tuscan minister;
No doubt he hath observed it, and with pleasure;
Hoping by dextrous management to gain
Some profit to his cause. Thus circumstanced,
He hath address'd them both, and I suspect
A statesman's soft insinuating tongue,
Old in dissimulation, and each art
Of a corrupted court. Tho' limited
To-morrow to return, yet oft a day
Is more than should be granted to a traitor.
Think not, Messala, that I therefore fear
Aught he can do; but e'er th'approach of night,
Go thou, and tell him to depart from hence.
It is my will.

MESSALA.
Prudence no doubt requires
This step, and readily I bear your orders.

BRUTUS.
A moment longer.—In the strictest ties
Friendship hath knit my son with thee. I know
The strong prevailing power of amity
Over his heart. Without deceit himself,
He never harbour'd a mistrustful thought.
His unsuspicious youth is yielded up
To thy experience; and the more his soul
Confides in thee, the more I may expect
Form'd as thou art, with aptest talents blest,
Safe to direct his steps, not lead aside;
Thou never wilt his greener years betray,
Or take a mean advantage of his errors,
To nurse ambitious hopes, and taint his mind.

MESSALA.
That was e'en now the subject of our converse.
Thee he would wish to imitate, to serve
And gain the esteem of Rome; he blindly loves
His father, and his country.

BRUTUS.
So he ought.
But above all, the laws. Their willing slave;
Rejoiced to bear each burthen they impose.
He who would aim to violate the laws,
Can never love his country.

MESSALA.
What his arm
Hath done to serve that country we have seen
And both can witness it.

BRUTUS.
He did his duty.

MESSALA.
Rome had done hers, if haply she had graced
The citizen who claims her warmest thanks
With higher honours.

BRUTUS.
No; the consulate,
The state's first office, is a dignity
Above his age, and I refused my voice
E'en to my son. Believe me the success
Of his ambition, would have paved a way
For vile corruption; virtue's just rewards
Would have been deem'd hereditary titles;
And oft we should have seen the worthless son
Of a renowned father, sure to fill
A station which his merit ne'er could gain,
Sit careless down in luxury and sloth
Waiting his future greatness. Can we find
A more conspicuous, a more striking proof,
Than our last Tarquin gave? How rarely those
Deserve th'imperial robe, who first behold
The light inwrapp'd in purple! Oh! From Rome
This fatal partiality remove,
Kind heaven! The cradle of voluptuous softness,
The grave of virtue!—If thou lovest my son
(As I with joy persuade myself) display
Before his eyes in all its genuine charms
His real glory; stifle in his soul
Th'extravagance of pride; to serve the state,
That is his best reward. A son of mine
Is in a more peculiar manner bound
To set a bright example to the world
Of every mental excellence. The shield,
The guardian of his country, such the light
In which I view him, and the more his deeds
Deserve that character, the higher still
I rise in my demands. My thoughts thus known,
And what I wish he should be, judge, Messala,
Of the true love I bear him. Temper thou
Th'impetuous ardour of his youthful mind.
Who flatters him, supplies his mortal bane,
And injures Rome.

MESSALA.
The conduct I observe
Is limited, to follow in the field
Where Titus leads, to imitate his valour,
But not instruct him; little is my power
Over his mind! tho' would he lend an ear
To my advice, Rome soon should be convinced
That all his thoughts are fix'd upon her glory.

BRUTUS.
Go then, but scatter not upon his errors
The incense of applause; for know tho' great
My hate t'ward tyrants, I hate flatterers more.