 | Mariamne |  |
SCENE I.
MARIAMNE, ELISA, GUARDS.MARIAMNE.
Soldiers, retire! At least permit your queen
A moment's privacy.
[The soldiers retire to a corner of the stage.]
Hast thou survey'd,
From thy pure residence, all-righteous power!
And is this state of woe decreed by thee!—
Sprung from illustrious blood, nursed in the arms
Of purple greatness, bless'd with all which seem'd
To promise happy days, and firmly fix
The step of sure prosperity; all this
Hath but conspired to poison life, and swell
Its stream with fuller tides of deadly venom.
O birth! O Youth! And thou, whose treacherous light
Enflamed my vanity, pernicious beauty!
Flattering illusion, winding thro' my soul!
Unreal shadow of felicity!
Ah! How hast thou betray'd me with thy wiles!
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Eternal discontent, and gloomy care
Have dug the grave, which now expands before me.
In Jordan's flood I saw my brother perish,
My father, pierced by Herod's sword expire.
Doom'd by his cruel rage to fall a victim,
My virtue, my integrity remain
Still sacred, and my own; yet even these
Slander dares taint with odious spots of shame.
O Power Supreme! Whose chastisements severe
Prove guileless innocence, my prayers shall not
Invoke thy aid, or call thy vengeance down!
The bright example of my ancestors
Which I pursue, hath taught me to behold
The face of death without a single fear,
Without one conscious stain. From life's warm source
Receive my blood! But oh! Defend my fame!
Curb their wild licence, let not my oppressors
With impious tongues pollute my memory,
Or canker'd falsehood riot o'er my tomb.
Esteem, regret, the homage of the heart
Is virtue's best revenge.—Hah! What alarms!
What dreadful shrieks are these! The palace rings
With loud confusion and the din of arms!
I am the cause. Alas! For me they fight,
For me they bleed. They burst the shatter'd gates,
Hah! What do I behold!
| Mariamne | |