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ACT THE THIRD.
SCENE THE FIRST.
Agis.Agis.
Leonidas yet comes not: he perchance
Disdains the challenge? He dare not: here shame,
If nothing else, should bring him now. Erewhile
The people heard the generous invitation,
That I, by Anpharus, dispatch'd to him:
Many considerations yet restrain him,
Many and powerful; many apprehensions,
Though he be victor, lurk within his heart.
Ah, could I, could I, by his fears promote
The interest of Sparta! ... But at length
He comes; oh! does he thus appropriate
A royal retinue? It fits him well.
SCENE THE SECOND.
Agis, Leonidas, Soldiers.Agis.
Oh king, or ere another task begins,
Thou com'st to hear me? ...
Le.
Yes, I come to hear thee ...
Agis.
Then, I demand to speak to thee alone ...
Le.
Withdraw. —I am alone: I listen to thee.
Agis.
I speak not to thee as thy daughter's husband:
Though, beyond all expression, I adore
A wife who is the paragon of daughters.
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She was, 'tis true, a powerful tie betwixt us,
Ere thou from Sparta drov'st me into exile.
Agis.
I know it: nor should I now mention it,
Since I refrain'd from speaking of it then.
Not that I then forgot it, this thou knowest;
But thoughts of Sparta then my speech inspired,
Whose bidding silenced, and still silences,
In me all other impulses.—Thou, king
Of Sparta, art my foe: but if thou art
Not so of Sparta, I to-day demand,
And from the gods, protectors of my country,
Hope to obtain, an eloquence so strong,
So true, and lofty, that thou may'st by me
The prompt and certain method now be taught,
Whence to obtain perchance beyond thy wishes ...
Le.
Beyond my wishes? Know'st thou what I wish?
Agis.
Vengeance on me, before all other things
Thou wishest, and shalt have it; I to thee
Will give it thoroughly. Thy second wish
Is lasting power, and I will point to thee
Its certain source. Nor satisfied with this;
A method, lofty and infallible,
I offer to thee, whence thou may'st acquire
Another blessing, to which perhaps thy thoughts
Have ne'er aspired: and it is such, that thou
(Provided it be easy to obtain)
Canst not despise it. Permanent, immense,
This will I gain thee yet ...
Le.
And it is? ...
Agis.
Fame.—
Le.
Thou art rather fitted to prevent, than give it.—
With me the throne thou filledst; never then
Didst thou concur with me for Sparta's good,
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Thought'st of thy private interest, and to make
Thyself a name upon the wreck of mine:
Hence Sparta to extremity, and me
To exile, thou didst goad. I do not mean
To take revenge for this; I ought, indeed,
To exact it now for lacerated Sparta;
But a true love of peace checks me in this:
Peace, which thy colleagues in iniquity,
Although in vain, are ready to disturb.
The love of peace, in short, induces me
To offer to thee now, in Sparta's name,
Pardon entire ...
Agis.
Entire? It is too much.—
Come, no one hears us here; what boots deceit?
Thou thinkest that I do not read thy heart;
Thou canst not make me think that heart is changed.
I think, however, that to take from me
The power and sceptre, would not now suffice
To make thee fully on the throne secure.
Thou knowest well that while I live thou canst not
Install another colleague thy liege vassal:
But neither dar'st thou at the same time slay me,
Because thou'rt well aware that in the hearts
Of many still I reign. Behold thy true,
And most-conceal'd reflections: now hear mine.—
Within th'asylum I inclosed myself
Against my will; spontaneously I quit it;
And force to force, if I were so inclined,
I might oppose: art to oppose to art,
I neither have the skill, nor will to do it.
That to defend my cause, I will not spill
A drop of Spartan blood, thou shouldest now
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I in thy power am placed: behold me now
A suppliant for my country. I am ready
To yield to thee for her not life alone,
But also fame.
Le.
Hast thou this fame of thine
Unspotted, which thou dar'st to offer me?
Agis.
Unspotted, yes, throughout; and worthy Agis;
And too illustrious for thy envious eyes.
Me thou abhorrest; Sparta I adore:
Now hear how thou at once may'st gratify
Thy hatred and my love. I undertook,
By equalizing all the citizens,
In Sparta to revive true liberty,
Greatness, and virtue. With the most depraved
Thou never ceasedst to oppose thyself,
Although in vain; and not that thou in this
Didst never see the common benefit,
Immense and unalloy'd; not that pure truth,
With her divine resplendence, did not find,
Alas! without inflaming it, a passage
To thy resisting heart: but in that heart,
The love of gold, and arbitrary power,
Wither'd at once all patriotic thoughts,
Baffled the cry of truth, the vital warmth,
And permeating influence of virtue.
The universal, genuine voice of Sparta
Removed thee from thy throne, proclaiming thee
Thy country's foe: nor didst thou even try
T'impugn the insupportable reproach.
In exile afterwards, proscribed, and wandering,
Thou knowest well thou hadst been vilely slain;
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To thee upbraidingly, but to afford
No dubious evidence, that not thy ruin,
But lofty Spartan actions were indeed
Alone the object of my lofty schemes.
Le.
And of a fatal inadvertency
Must thou reproach thyself in saving me.
Agis.
And thou wilt make for this, by slaying me,
Ample atonement. Only do thou learn
Of me the means for this.—To liberty,
More that to tyranny, is Sparta inclined:
Of this be thou assured, though for the present
Thou hast imposed on her the kingly yoke.
A transient indignation of the many
Against the infamous Agesilaus,
Hath now replaced thee on the throne, and driven
Him from the ephori: there are who now
Deem me a partner in his crimes, and not
Entirely without cause, while I am silent.
Do not thou goad me on to clear myself
Of such reproach effectually; 'twould be
Most easy to demonstrate, that the king
Betray'd at once both Sparta and myself:
If I make this to all men clear, then thou
Canst not, without much injury to thyself,
Use violence towards me.
Le.
Thou thinkest so?
Agis.
Thou knowest it. But do not fear. I wish'd
To be the Spartan monarch of true Spartans;
Thee I leave king of these. No force of thine
Avails to make me guilty: I will, I,
Make myself culpable before all Sparta;
Will yield thee the entire ascendancy
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Against thy will, provided thou aspire
To greatness.
Le.
Thou in vain insultest me ...
Agis.
Do thou thyself, yes now, accomplish that
For Sparta, and her glory's sake, which I
Audaciously attempted. From the throne
Do thou once more promulgate not my laws,
But the free, sacred, lofty, manly ones
Of great Lycurgus: banish poverty
At once with wealth; she is the child of wealth:
Resign thy riches; equalize the people;
Become thyself a Spartan, and at once
Spartans create: ... this purposed I to do;
Do thou accomplish it, and snatch from me
Th'eternal glory of the enterprise.—
If thou wilt swear to me to accomplish this,
Thou before Sparta as a criminal
May'st drag me now; and say I made a plea
Of public good to screen my private views;
And say, that though my purposes were guilty,
My laws were not so. Thou shalt add to this,
That thou thyself, with a more upright mind,
And greater singleness of heart, once more
The glory of thy city wilt renew.
Then in the presence of collected Sparta
Shall I confess myself deserving death;
Shall I confess that the enormities,
The wrongs Agesilaus dared commit,
From me derived their origin; that I
In him a harbinger of tyranny
Dared to create; that I, by his means, sought
To make a trial of degenerate Sparta.
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Except by treachery, now inflict on me,
(Thou seest,) from my fellow citizens
Thou wilt obtain it thus, and it will seem
To them most just. I thus divest myself
Of that same fame which thou canst not take from me,
Which gives thee umbrage, and to thee resign it.
I die, thou reignest; both will be contented.
The throne will not invalidate thy fame;
Though to the tomb I carry infamy,
Still unimpair'd to that tomb shall I bear
My only hope, that Sparta by that means
Shall rise again to renovated life.
Le.
Dost deem me so corrupt?
Agis.
I deem thee great;
Since I account thee fit to consummate
My mighty projects ...
Le.
Shall I lend a hand
To thy pernicious, impious designs? ...
Agis.
Thou wilt be utterly from envy freed
When I am dead; and thou may'st then fulfil,
To thy advantage, and to that of Sparta,
My mighty purposes. Oh, do thou dare
T'appear thyself exalted in my greatness:
Envious wert thou; now do thou wholly hide
Thy own original baseness with my blood.
Lift up thy soul to an unhoped-for greatness,
And make thyself the equal of thy throne.
Le.
The acclamation of the citizens
Already has abundantly raised me
Above thyself; but, pardoning thee, if this
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Fuller ascendancy o'er thee. Meanwhile
Let me present thee now, for needs I must,
To Sparta.—Hast thou aught else to impart?
Agis.
This only, that thou know'st not how to be
Vicious, nor know'st how to dissemble virtue.
Le.
Now that thou hast imparted all thy thoughts,
Or ere th'asylum once more rescue thee
From Sparta's reach, I think myself constrain'd
To drag thee to a prison.—Guards, advance.
Agis.
I in a prison more securely feel
Than thou upon a throne. By Sparta, we
Shall both be heard; nor face to face canst thou
Before me stand.—Thou ruinest thyself
If thou in prison kill me; this thou knowest.
Oh think, and think again; to save thyself,
And murder me, no means to thee remain,
Save those which heretofore I pointed out.
SCENE THE THIRD.
Leonidas.Le.
At last I've caught him. Many obstacles,
'Tis true, and mighty dangers, I confront:
Yet will I, yes, though even at the risk
Of my own detriment, yet will I slay
This haughty importuning demagogue.
But by his death I shall accomplish nothing,
If first I do not rob him of his fame:
This can alone perpetuate my sway.—
Alas! I feel it e'en to agony!—
Nor can I give it utterance; when he speaks,
A permeating ray of genuine truth
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Ah no! it tears and maddens my vex'd heart,
That insupportable and stern parade
Of hated virtue! Let him die; yes, perish ...
E'en if t'extinguish him my life I forfeit.
SCENE THE FOURTH.
Agiziade, Leonidas, Agesistrata.Agi.
Father, and is it true? ... by treacherous wiles
Hast thou to soldiers hands my spouse ...
Ages.
Is this
Thy promised faith, Leonidas?
Le.
What faith?
What have I promised? I have pledged my faith
To Sparta, but to Agis never.
Agi.
Ah!
Beloved father, to thy daughter grant ...
Alas! ...
Ages.
Spontaneously did he not quit
The place of refuge? Did he not come forth,
Alone, unarm'd, and of his own accord,
To treat with thee of peace? And thou, meanwhile,
Dost instigate thy parasites to drag him
Within a prison? violating thus
The honour of a king, and, more than this,
The express will of Sparta? ... Infamous ...
Le.
Oh ladies, to divert me from my will,
Tears and reproaches equally are vain.
I am the first of Sparta's magistrates,
And not her tyrant. The ephori and Sparta
Should now pass judgment on the guilty Agis;
The ephori and Sparta should restore him,
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Ne'er would it have been possible to prove him
Guilty or innocent, if he persisted
To seek th'interposition of the people,
Or an asylum in the temple's walls.
'Tis time, high time, that Sparta should be freed
From the distraction of suspense, produced
By knowing not, if she does, as she ought,
Possess two monarchs, or if one is wanting.
Agi.
Ah father! ... Agis rescues thee from death,
And thou that Agis draggest to a prison?
On him hast thou bestow'd thy daughter's hand,
And yet would'st rob him of his fame? Though guilty,
(Which he is not,) thou shouldest be the first
To interpose in his behalf. I gave
To thee no dubious trial of my love
In thy adversity: and now from Agis
Nothing, in his adversity, can wrest me:
To doom thy daughter with thy son-in-law
To chains, or to release him from those chains,
Art thou constrain'd: nor menaces, nor prayers,
Shall e'er persuade me to abandon him.
Nor canst thou wreak a vengeance on his head,
Which shall not equally rebound on me:
Thou, thou must shed that very daughter's blood,
Who, to accompany thee in banishment,
Her husband, and her children, and her throne,
And her beloved country, sacrificed.
Ages.
Oh thou indeed not his, but my true daughter!
Thou Spartan wife and daughter, thou in vain
Appealest to a father not a Spartan.—
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Close both his heart and lips.—What could'st thou say? ...
Thou, oh Leonidas, within thy heart
Hast sworn th'entire destruction of my son,
I know thou hast; and equally I know
All, all thy impious stratagems. But yet
If thou on both of us should'st death inflict,
(For my existence and my son's are one,)
In vain thou hopest to destroy our fame.
Thine own by this means ... but what do I say?
Art thou possess'd of fame?—No other object
Did thy heart e'er propose, than to preserve
And to augment thy riches by the throne.
Thou in Seleucus' court becam'st at once
Accomplish'd in the art of avarice,
And that of wasting blood. A Persian thou,
Reignest in Sparta: hence thou dost abhor
The equality of citizens, from whence
New virtues soon would rise; whence thou once more
Would'st be for ever from the throne expell'd:
Nor dare thy heart aspire beyond that throne.
Le.
Nor thy reproaches can exasperate,
Nor thy just sorrows mollify my soul.
Sparta, and not myself, impeaches Agis,
And summons him to exculpate himself.
Towards him no other force will I adopt,
(Nor could I if I would,) except to take
From him all means by which he would evade
Just chastisement ...
Ages.
Just?—Tell me, would'st thou dare
To all-assembled Sparta, in this forum,
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Of thy arm'd satellites? ...
Le.
I know not yet
The judgment of the ephori; but ...
Ages.
Thine
Is too well known to me! Let Agis be
Brought to the presence of collected Sparta,
Not of the mercenary ephori,
Or to his presence Sparta will repair.
If thou destroy me not before my son,
Although a powerless defenceless lady,
This I protest to thee shall be accomplish'd.
SCENE THE FIFTH.
Leonidas, Agiziade.Agi.
I will not, father, from thy side depart,
Nor at thy footsteps will I cease to kneel,
Nor to embrace thy knees, till thou once more
Restore to me my husband; or till thou
With thy own hand join me with him in death.
Le.
Beloved daughter, rise! oh never more
Do thou depart from me, I wish nought else.
Thou hast with me magnanimously shared
The many outrages of adverse fortune;
Hence is it just, that thou a partner be
In my prosperity: no one shall be
Over my heart more prevalent than thou:
Thee, as my representative, I make
The arbitress of Sparta:—nor without thee ...
Agi.
What words are these? 'Tis Agis I demand
Agis, and nought besides. Thou gav'st him to me
And thou canst never take him from me, no,
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From Sparta take him, without dreadful stain
Of violence as a king, and as a man,
Of a denaturalized and cruel heart.
Le.
How canst thou thus be wilfully deceived?
That he is guilty, art thou not convinced?
But grant that he is guiltless, thou know'st well,
In either case, he is not in my power.
Th'ephori ought to hear him, ought to judge him:
Nor, for his detriment, or his advantage,
Can I, unaided, any thing perform.
Agi.
Thou art a father; and thou lovest me;
Thou hast already seen my filial love
Brought to a cruel test; and can it be
That thou would'st now dissemble with thy daughter?—
By treacherous arts erewhile hadst thou the power
Unaided, to immure him in a prison?
And, being innocent, canst thou not save him?
Ah, force me not to think thee ...
Le.
What avails it?
In this I can do nothing: furthermore,
'Tis needful that without delay I give
To th'ephori, not only an account
Of my own actions, but of those of Agis.
Agi.
Ah no! I will not quit thee: nor canst thou
A cruel order give, that will not fall,
At least in part, upon thy daughter ...
Le.
Cease;
Return thou to my palace ...
Agi.
I go with thee.
All wilt thou do, all oughtest thou to do,
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Who saved thy life ... Ah, no! thou canst not slay him,
If first thou wilt not murder thy own daughter.
| Agis | |