narbas.
Our fate is yet uncertain, whilst the tyrant
Still keeps us in the palace; all my fears
Are for Ægisthus: O my king, my son,
Let me still call thee by that tender name,
O live, disarm the tyrant’s rage, preserve
A life so dear, so precious to Messene,
So valued by thy faithful Narbas!
euricles.
Think
On the poor queen, who, for thy sake alone
A humble suppliant, sprinkles with her tears
The tyrant’s murderous hand.
ægisthus.
I’m scarce awakened
From my long dream, I seem as one new-born;
A wandering stranger in a world unknown;
New thoughts inspire, new day breaks in upon me;
The son of Mérope, and great Cresphontes;
And yet his murderer triumphs; he commands,
And I obey; the blood of Hercules
A captive and in chains!
narbas.
O would to heaven
The grandson of Alcides still remained
Unknown in Elis!
ægisthus.
Is it not most strange,
Young as I am, that I should know already,
By sad experience, every human woe?
Horror and shame, and banishment, and death,
Since my first dawn of life, have pressed upon me:
A persecuted wretch I wandered long
From clime to clime, hid in the desert’s gloom,
I languished there in vile obscurity:
Yet, bear me witness, heaven, midst all my woes
Nor murmured nor complained: though proud ambition
Devoured my soul, I learned the humble virtues
That suited best my hard and low condition:
Still I respected, still obeyed thee, Narbas,
And loved thee as a father; nor would e’er
Have wished to find another, but high heaven
Would change my fate to make me but more wretched:
I am Cresphontes’ son, yet can’t avenge him;
I’ve found a mother, and a tyrant now
Will snatch her from me; soon she must be his:
O I could curse the hour that gave me birth,
And the kind succor which thy goodness lent me:
O why didst thou hold back the uplifted hand
Of a mistaken mother? But for thee
I had fulfilled my fate, and all my woes
Had ended with my life.
narbas.
We are undone,
The tyrant comes.
SCENE II.
poliphontes, ægisthus, narbas, euricles, Guards.
poliphontes.
[To Narbas and the rest.
Retire: and thou, rash youth,
Whose tender years demand my pity, list,
And mark me well; for the last time I come
To give thee here thy choice of life or death,
Thy present and thy future happiness,
Thy very being hangs upon my will:
I can advance thee to the highest rank,
Or shut thee in a dungeon, kill or save thee:
Removed from courts, and bred in solitude,
Thou art not fit to govern; let me guide
In wisdom’s ways thy inexperienced youth;
Assume not in thy humble state a pride
Which thou mistakest for virtue: if thy birth
Be mean and lowly, bend to thy condition;
If happier fate hath given thee to descend
From royal blood, and thou wert born a prince,
Make thyself worthy of thy noble rank,
And learn of me to rule: the queen, thou seest,
Has set thee an example; she obeys,
And meets me at the temple; follow her,
Tread in my steps, attend us to the altar,
And swear eternal homage to thy king,
To Poliphontes: if thou fearest the gods,
Call them to witness thy obedience; haste,
The gates of glory open to receive,
And not to enter may be fatal to thee:
Determine therefore now, and answer me.
ægisthus.
How can I answer when thou hast disarmed me?
Thy words, I own, astonish and confound;
But give me back that weapon which thy fears
Have wrested from me; give me my good sword,
And I will answer as I ought; will show thee,
Perfidious as thou art, which is the slave,
And which the master, whether Poliphontes
Was born to rule o’er princes, or Ægisthus
To scourge oppressors.
poliphontes.
Impotence and rashness!
My kind indulgence makes thee insolent:
Thou thinkest I’ll not demean myself so far
To punish an unknown rebellious slave;
But mercy, thus abused, will change to wrath:
I give thee but a moment to determine,
And shall expect thee at the altar; there
To die or to obey: guards, bring him to me:
Narbas, to you and Euricles I leave
The haughty rebel; you shall answer for him:
I know your hatred of me, and I know
Your weakness, too, but trust to your experience,
You will advise him for the best; meantime
Remember, whether he’s the son of Narbas
Or Mérope, he must obey, or die.
SCENE III.
ægisthus, narbas, euricles.
ægisthus.
I’ll listen to no counsel but the voice
Of vengeance; O