Affright my soul: you answer not, but send
Your fruitless sighs to heaven. Sweet innocent,
Must we then give thee up a sacrifice
To brutal rage?
zamti.
I’ve promised, sworn to save him.
idame.
What can thy oaths, thy promises avail?
Thou canst not keep them; every hope is lost.
zamti.
And wouldst thou have me sacrifice the son
Of my loved sovereign?
idame.
O I cannot bear
To think of it; my eyes are bathed in tears.
O were I not a mother, would kind heaven
But grant me now to shorten my sad days,
Then would I say to Zamti, come, my lord,
We’ll die together; all is lost to us,
And we will perish with our country.
zamti.
Who
That sees the wretched fate of Cathay’s kings
Would wish to live? what is this phantom death,
That thus appalls mankind? the wretch’s hope,
The villain’s terror, and the brave man’s scorn:
Without reluctance, and without regret,
The wise expect and meet him as a friend.
idame.
What secret purpose labors in your breast?
Your cheek is pale, your eyes are filled with tears;
My sympathizing heart feels all your sorrows,
And would relieve them; what have you resolved?
zamti.
To keep my oath; therefore away, and watch
The royal infant: I shall follow you.
idame.
Alas! a woman’s tears can ne’er defend him.
SCENE VI.
zamti, etan.
zamti.
Vain is your care, your kind compassion vain,
For he must die; the nation’s weal demands it.
Think rather how thou mayest preserve thy country.
zamti.
Yes, I will make the dreadful sacrifice.
Etan, I know thou holdest this empire dear;
Yes, thou adorest the God of heaven and earth,
As worshipped by our ancestors; that God
Our bonzes know not, and our tyrants scorn.
etan.
In him I trust, on him alone rely
For my own comfort, and my country’s safety.
zamti.
Swear then by him, and his all-ruling power,
That thou wilt bury in eternal silence
The solemn secret that I mean to pour
Into thy faithful bosom: swear, thy hand
Shall still be ready to perform whate’er
Thy duty and thy God by me command.
etan.
I swear; and may the miseries that have fallen
On this unhappy kingdom light on me,
If ever I am false in word or deed!
zamti.
I cannot now recede: then mark me, Etan.
etan.
Alas! thou weepest: amidst the general ruin
Can there be cause for added grief?
zamti.
The doom
Is past, my friend, and cannot be reversed.
etan.
I know it cannot; but a stranger’s son—
zamti.
A stranger! he, my king!
etan.
When I remember
He is our emperor’s child, I shudder at it:
What’s to be done?
zamti.
My path thou seest, is here
Prescribed, and every action noted down
By our new tyrants; thou mayest act with freedom,
Because unknown and unobserved: thou knowest
The orphan’s place of refuge: for a time
We may conceal him ’midst the secret tombs
Of our great ancestors; then shelter him
Beneath Korea’s chief; he will protect
The royal infant: leave the rest to me.
etan.
And how will you appear without him, how
Appease the conqueror?
zamti.
I have wherewithal
To glut his vengeance.
etan.
You, my lord?
zamti.
O nature!
O cruel duty!
etan.
How—
zamti.
I have a son,
An only child, now in his cradle—go
And seize him.
etan.
Ha! your son!
zamti.
To save—my king.
Away, and let him—but I can no more.
etan.
Alas! my lord, what a command is this!
I never can obey it.
zamti.
Think on Zamti;
Think on his love, his weakness, his misfortunes,
Thy duty, and—thy oath.
etan.
’Twas rash and vain:
Thou didst extort it from me: I admire
Thy generous purpose; but if as a friend
I might be heard—
zamti.
No more; I’ve heard too much
Already: what is all that thou couldst say
To what a father feels? When nature’s silenced,
Friendship should urge no longer.
etan.
I obey.
zamti.
Leave me for pity’s sake.