That your imperious lords, that never fail'd
To punish with severity petty slips
In your neglect of labour, may be won
To pardon those licentious outrages
Which noble enemies forbear to practise
Upon the conquer'd? What have you omitted,
That may call on their just revenge with horror,
And studied cruelty? We have gone too far
To think now of retiring; in our courage,
And daring, lies our safety: If you are not
Slaves in your abject minds, as in your fortunes,
Since to die is the worst, better expose
Our naked breasts to their keen swords, and sell
Our lives with the most advantage, than to trust
In a forestall'd remission, or yield up
Our bodies to the furnace of their fury,
Thrice heated with revenge.
Cimb. And 'tis but justice you should bring us off.
Grac. And we expect it.
Pisan. Hear then, and obey me; And I will either save you, or fall with you: Man the walls strongly, and make good the ports; Boldly deny their entrance, and rip up Your grievances, and what compell'd you to This desperate course: If they disdain to hear Of composition, we have in our powers Their aged fathers, children, and their wives, Who, to preserve themselves, must willingly Make intercession for us. 'Tis not time now To talk, but do: a glorious end, or freedom, Is now proposed us; stand resolved for either, And, like good fellows, live or die together.
SCENE IV.-The Camp of TIMOLEON.
Enter LEOSTHENES and TIMAGORAS,
Timag. I am so far from envy, I am proud
You have outstripped me in the race of honour.
Oh! 'twas a glorious day, and bravely won!
Your bold performance gave such lustre to
Timoleon's wise directions, as the army
Rests doubtful, to whom they stand most engaged
For their so great success..
Leost. The gods first honoured,
The glory be the general's; 'tis far from me
To be his rival.
Timag. You abuse your fortune,
To entertain her choice and gracious favours
With a contracted brow; plumed victory
Is truly painted with a cheerful look,
Equally distant from proud insolence,
And base dejection.
You only are acquainted with the cause,
That loads my sad heart with a hill of lead;
Whose ponderous weight, neither my new-got
honour,
Assisted by the general applause
The soldier crowns it with, nor all war's glories,
Can lessen or remove: and, would you please,
With fit consideration, to remember,
How much I wronged Cleora's innocence
With my rash doubts; and what a grievous pe
She did impose upon her tender sweetness,
To pluck away the vulture jealousy,
That fed upon my liver, you cannot blame me,
But call it a fit justice on myself,
Though I resolve to be a stranger to
The thought of mirth or pleasure.
Timag. You have redeemed
The forfeit of your fault with such a ransom
Of honourable action, as my sister
Must of necessity confess her sufferings
Weighed down by your fair merits; and, when
she views you,
Like a triumphant conqueror, carried through
The streets of Syracusa, the glad people
Pressing to meet you, and the senators
Contending who shall heap most honours on you;
The oxen, crowned with garlands, led before you,
Appointed for the sacrifice; and the altars
Smoaking with thankful incence to the gods;
The soldiers chaunting loud hymns to your praise;
The windows filled with matrons and with virgins,
Throwing upon your head, as you pass by,
The choicest flowers, and silently invoking
The queen of love, with their particular vows,
To be thought worthy of you; can Cleora,
(Though in the glass of self-love she behold
Her best deserts) but with all joy acknowledge,
What she endured was but a noble trial
You made of her affection? and her anger,
Rising from your too amorous cares, soon drenched
In Lethe, and forgotten.
You so set forth, were mine, they might plead for
But I can lay no claim to the least honour
Which you with foul injustice ravish from her.
Her beauty in me wrought a miracle,
Taught me to aim at things beyond my power,
Which her perfections purchased, and gave to me
From her free bounties; she inspired me with
That valour which I dare not call mine own;
And, from the fair reflection of her mind,
My soul received the sparkling beams of courage.
She, from the magazine of her proper goodness,
Stocked me with virtuous purposes; sent me forth
To trade for honour: and, she being the owner
Of the bark of my adventures, I must yield her
A just account of all, as fits a factor:
And, howsoever others think me happy,
And cry aloud, I have made a prosperous
One frown of her dislike at my return,
(Which, as a punishment for my fault, I look for)
Strikes dead all comfort.
Timag. Tush! these fears are needless; She cannot, mist not, shall not be so cruel. A free confession of a fault wins pardon, But, being seconded by desert, commands it. The general is your own, and sure my father Repents his harshness: for myself, I am Ever your creature; one day shall be happy In your triumph and your marriage.
Leost. May it prove so, With her consent and pardon.
Without disturbance seize on what's your
On that harsh string? she is your own, and you
Pol. Cheerfully yet; they do refuse no labour,
SCÈNE I.-Syracuse. A Room in ARCHIDA- And seem to scoff at danger: 'Tis your presence
Have you acquainted her with the defeature Of the Carthaginians, and with what honours Leosthenes comes crowned home with?
Timan. With all care.
Pis. And how does she receive it?
Timan. As I guess,
With a seeming kind of joy; but yet appears not
Transported, or proud of his happy fortune.
But when I tell her of the certain ruin
You must encounter with at their arrival
In Syracusa, and that death with torments
Must fall upon you, which you yet repent not,
Esteeming it a glorious martyrdom,
And a reward of pure unspotted love,
Preserved in the white robe of innocence,
Though she were in your power; and, still spur-
red on
By insolent lust, you rather chose to suffer
The fruit untasted, for whose glad possession
You have called on the fury of your lord,
Than that she should be grieved or tainted in
Her reputation-
Pis. Doth it work compunction? Pities she my misfortune?
Timan. She expressed
All signs of sorrow, which, her vow observed, Could witness a grieved heart. At the first
She fell upon her face, rent her fair hair,
Her hands held up to heaven, and vented sighs,
In which she silently seemed to complain
Of heaven's injustice.
Pis. 'Tis enough. Wait carefully,
And, on all watched occasions, continue
Speech and discourse of me : 'Tis time must work
her.
Timan. I'll not be wanting; but still strive to
That must confirm them; with a full consent
You're chosen to relate the tyranny
Of our proud masters; and what you subscribe to
They gladly will allow of, or hold out
To the last man.
Pis. I'll instantly among
If we prove constant to ourselves, good fortune
Will not, I hope, forsake us.
Pol. 'Tis our best refuge.
SCENE II.-Before the Walls of Syracuse. Enter TIMOLEON, ARCHIDAMUS, DIPHILUS, LEOSTHENES, TIMAGORAS, and others. Timol. Thus far we are returned victorious; crowned
With wreaths triumphant, (famine, blood, and death,
Banished your peaceful confines) and bring home
Security and peace. 'Tis therefore fit
That such as boldly stood the shock of war,
And with the dear expence of sweat and blood
Have purchased honour, should with pleasure reap
The harvest of their toil; and we stand bound
Out of the first file of the best deservers,
(Though all must be considered to their merits)
To think of you, Leosthenes, that stand,
And worthily, most dear in our esteem,
For your heroic valour.
Arch. When I look on
The labour of so many men and ages,
This well-built city, not long since designed
To spoil and rapine, by the favour of
The gods, and you their ministers, preserved,
I cannot, in my height of joy, but offer
These tears for a glad sacrifice.
Diph. Sleep the citizens?
Or are they overwhelmed with the excess
Of comfort that flows to them?
Leost. We receive
A silent entertainment. Timag. I long since
Expected that the virgins and the matrons,
The old men striving with their age, the priests,
Carrying the images of their gods before them,
Should have met us with procession. Ha! the
gates
Are shut against us!
Arch. And upon the walls
Armed men seem to defy us!
Enter above, PISANDER, POLIPHRON, CIMBRIO, GRACCULO, &c.
Diph. I should know
These faces.-They are our slaves.
Timag. The mystery, rascals?
Their servants almost equal with their sons,
Or one degree beneath them! when their labours
Were cherished and rewarded, and a period
Set to their sufferings; when they did not press
Their duties or their wills beyond the power
And strength of their performance! all things
ordered
With such decorum, as wise law-makers,
From each well-governed private house, derived
The perfect model of a commonwealth.
Humanity then lodged in the hearts of men,
And thankful masters carefully provided
For creatures wanting reason. The noble horse,
That in his fiery youth from his wide nostrils
Neighed courage to his rider, and broke through
Groves of opposed pikes, bearing his lord
Safe to triumphant victory, old or wounded,
Was set at liberty, and freed from service.
The Athenian mules, that from the quarry drew
Marble hewed for the temples of the gods,
The great work ended, were dismissed, and fed
At the public cost; nay, faithful dogs have found
Their sepulchres; but man, to man more cruel,
Appoints no end to the sufferings of his slave;
Since pride stepped in and riot, and o'erturned
This goodly frame of concord, teaching masters
To glory in the abuse of such as are
Brought under their command; who, grown un-
useful,
Are less esteemed than beasts.-This you have practised,
Practised on us with rigour; this hath forced us
To shake our heavy yokes off; and, if redress
Of these just grievances be not granted us,
We'll right ourselves, and by strong hand defend
What we are now possessed of.
Grac. And not leave
One house unfired.
Cimb. Or throat uncut of those
We have in our power.
Pol. Nor will we fall alone;
You shall buy us dearly.
Timag. O the gods!
Unheard of insolence!
Timol. What are your demands?
Pis. A general pardon, first, for all offences Committed in your absence: Liberty To all such as desire to make return Into their countries; and to those that stay, A competence of land freely allotted
To each man's proper use; no lord acknowledged; Lastly, with your consent, to chuse them wives Out of your families.
Timag. Let the city sink first.
Leost. And ruin seize on all, ere we subscribe To such conditions.
Arch. Carthage, though victorious,
I Could not have forced more from us.
Leost. Scale the wall!
Capitulate after.
Timol. He that wins the top first, Shall wear a mural wreath.
[Exeunt. Pis. Each to his place. [Flourish and arms. Or death or victory!-Charge them home, and fear not. [Exeunt Pis. and Slaves.
Re-enter TIMOLEON, ARCHIDAMUS, and Senators. Timol. We wrong ourselves, and we are justly punished,
To deal with bondmen, as if we encountered
An equal enemy.
Arch. They fight like devils;
And run upon our swords, as if their breasts
Were proof beyond their armour.
Re-enter LEOSTHENES and TIMAGORAS.
Timag. Make a firm stand.
The slaves, not satisfied they've beat us off,
Prepare to sally forth.
Timol. They are wild beasts,
And to be tamed by policy. Each man take
A tough whip in his hand, such as you used
To punish them with, as masters: In your looks
Carry severity and awe; 'twill fright them
More than your weapons: Savage lions fly from
The sight of fire; and these, that have forgot
That duty you ne'er taught them with yourswords, When, unexpected, they behold those terrors Advanced aloft, that they were made to shake at, "Twill force them to remember what they are, And stoop to due obedience.
Enter CIMBRIO, GRACCULO, and other Slaves. Arch. Here they come.
Cimo. Leave not a man alive; a wound is but
a flea-biting,
To what we suffered, being slaves.
Grac. O, my heart!
Cimbrio, what do we see? the whip! our masters!
Timag. Dare you rebel, slaves!
[Senators shake their whips, the Slaves throw away their weapons, and run off.
Cimb. Mercy! mercy! where Shall we hide us from their fury? Grac. Fly! they follow.
Oh! we shall be tormented!
Timol. Enter with them,
But yet forbear to kill them. Still remember' They are part of your wealth; and being disarmed, There is no danger.
Arch. Let us first deliver
Such as they have in fetters, and at leisure
Determine of their punishment.
Leost. Friend, to you
I leave the disposition of what's mine:
I cannot think I am safe without your sister,
She's only worth my thought: and till I see
What she has suffered, I am on the rack,
And furies my tormentors.
SCENE III.-Syracuse. A Room in ARCHIDAMUS's House.
Enter PISANDER and TIMANDRA. Pis. I know I am pursued; nor would I fly, Although the ports were open, and a convoy Ready to bring me off: The baseness of These villains, from the pride of all my hopes, Has thrown me to the bottomless abyss Of horror and despair. Had they stood firm, I could have bought Cleora's free consent With the safety of her father's life and brother's; And forced Leosthenes to quit his claim, And kneel a suitor for me.
Timan. You must not think
What might have been, but what must now be practised,
And suddenly resolve.
Pis. All my poor fortunes
Are at the stake, and I must run the hazard.
Unseen, convey me to Cleora's chamber;
For, in her sight, if it were possible,
I would be apprehended. Do not enquire
The reason why, but help me.
Timan. Make haste-Öne knocks.
We have so long fed on the bread of sorrow,
Drinking the bitter water of afflictions,
Made loathsome too by our continued fears,
Comfort's a stranger to us."
Leost. Fears! Your sufferings:
I dare not ask, without compassionate tears,
For which I am so overgone with grief,
The villain's name that robbed thee of thy ho
For being trained up in chastity's cold school,
And taught by such a mistress as Cleora,
'Twere impious in me to think Timandra
Fell with her own consent.
Timan. How mean you? Fell, sir!
I understand you not.
Leost. I would thou did'st not,
Or that I could not read upon thy face,
In blushing characters, the story of
Libidinous rape.-Confess it, for you stand not
Accountable for a sin, against whose strength
Your overmatched innocence could make no re
sistance:
Under which odds I know Cleora fell too,
Heaven's help in vain invoked; the amazed sun,
Hiding his face behind a mask of clouds,
Not daring to look on it! In her sufferings
All sorrow's comprehended: What Timandra,
Or the city, has endured, her loss considered,
Deserves not to be named.
Timan. Pray you, do not bring, sir,“
In the chimeras of your jealous fears,
New monsters to affright us.
Leost. O Timandra,
That I had faith enough but to believe thee!
I should receive it with a joy beyond
Assurance of Elysian shades hereafter,
Or all the blessings in this life a mother
Could wish her children crowned with; but I
must not
Credit impossibilities; yet I strive
To find out that, whose knowledge is a curse,
And ignorance a blessing. Come, discover
What kind of look he had that forced thy lady,
(Thy ravisher I will enquire at leisure)
That when hereafter I behold a stranger
But near him in aspect, I may conclude,-
Though men and angels should proclaim him
honest,
He is a hell-bred villain.
Timan. You are unworthy
To know she is preserved, preserved untainted,
Sorrow, but ill bestowed, hath only made
A rape upon her comforts in your absence.
[Exit, and returns with CLEORA.
Come forth, dear madam.
Timan. Nay, she deserves The bending of your heart, that, to content you, Has kept a vow, the breach of which a vestal (Though the infringing it had called upon her A living funeral) must of force have shrunk at. No danger could compel her to dispense with
Jove turn all to the best!-You are welcome, sir. Her cruel penance; though hot lust came armed.
Leost. Thou givest it in a heavy tone.
To seize upon her; when one look or accent Might have redeemed her.
Leost. Might! O do not shew me
A beam of comfort, and straight take it from me.
The means by which she was freed?-Speak,
O speak quickly!
Each minute of delay's an age of torment:
O! speak, Timandra!
Timan. Free her from her oath;
Herself can best deliver it. [Takes off the scarf.
Leost. O blest office!
Never did galley-slave shake off his chains,
Or look on his redemption from the oar,
With such true feeling of delight as now
I find myself possessed of.-Now I behold
True light indeed: For since these fairest stars
(Cover'd with clouds of your determinate will)
Denied their influence to my optic sense,
The splendour of the sun appeared to me
But as some little glimpse of his bright beams
Conveyed into a dungeon, to remember
The dark inhabitants there how much they
wanted.
Open these long-shut lips, and strike mine ears
With music more harmonious than the spheres
Yield in their heavenly motions: And, if ever
A true submission for a crime acknowledged
May find a gracious hearing, teach your tongue,
In the first sweet articulate sounds it utters,
To sign my wished-for pardon.
Leost. How greedily I receive this! Stay, best lady,
And let me by degrees ascend the height
Of human happiness! All at once delivered,
The torrent of my joys will overwhelm me ;—
So, now a little more; and pray excuse me,
If, like a wanton epicure, I desire
The pleasant taste these cakes of comfort yield me,
Should not too soon be swallowed. Have you not (By your unspotted truth I do conjure you To answer truly) suffered in your honour, (By force, I mean, for in your will I free you) Since I left Syracusa ?
With an immodest syllable or look,
In fear it might take from me, whom he made
The object of his better part, discover
I was the saint he sued to.
Leost. A rare temper!
Cleora. I cannot speak it to the worth: All praise
I can bestow upon it, will appear
Envious detraction. Not to rack you further,
Yet make the miracle full, though, of all men,
He hated you, Leosthenes, as his rival;
So high yet he prized my content, that, knowing
You were a man I favoured, he disdained not
Against himself to serve you.
Leost. You conceal still
The owner of these excellencies. Cleora. 'Tis Marullo,
This kiss, (so help me, goodness!) which I bor- My father's bondman.
Leost. Ha, ha, ha!
Cleora. Why do you laugh?
Leost. To hear the labouring mountain of your praise
Delivered of a mouse,
Cleora. The man deserves not This scorn, I can assure you.
Leost. Do you call What was his duty, merit?
Cleora. Yes, and place it
As high in my esteem, as all the honours
Descended from your ancestors, or the glory,
Which you may call your own, got in this action,
In which, I must confess, you have done nobly,
And, I could add, as I desired;—but that
I fear 'twould make you proud.
Leost. Why, lady, can you
Be won to give allowance that your slave
Should dare to love you?
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