Long since had touched my heart, before thy hand
Had set her free, and saved her precious life,
But by the ties of gratitude she’s thine;
Thou hast deserved her by thy services:
For me, I’m more the soldier than the soft
And tender lover; I despise the art
Of base seduction, fit for courts alone,
And flattery’s smooth perfidiousness; my soul
Is made of firmer stuff: I talked indeed
Of marriage to her; and that sacred tie,
Knit by esteem and fair equality
Of fortune and condition, might have made her
More happy far than rank and titles could,
That stand upon a dangerous precipice:
But yesternight, you know, I visited
Your ramparts, when your jealous soul alarmed
Discovered all its passion; I observed it:
To-day I saw the object of your grief,
Your loved Amelia, and beheld her charms
With eyes of cold indifference: o’er myself
I gained an easy conquest: I did more,
Pleaded for thee, for an ungrateful friend,
And urged a passion which I can’t approve;
Recalled the memory of thy bounties past,
Thy glory and thy rank, acknowledged faults
I knew you had, and numbered all your virtues;
All this against myself I did for thee;
For my friend’s happiness gave up my own:
And if the sacrifice is still imperfect,
Show me the rival that still dares to oppose thee,
And I will stake my life to do thee justice.
duke.
My friend, thou soarest above me; I am fallen,
Abashed, confounded: who could see Amelia
And not adore her? but to conquer thus
Thy passion! O thou never couldst have loved her.
lisois.
I did: but love, like other passions, acts
With different force on different minds.
duke.
I love
Too well, my friend, and cannot imitate
The virtue I admire: my foolish heart—
lisois.
I ask not for thy praises, but thy love;
And if thou thinkest that I have merited
Aught at thy hands, O do but serve thyself,
Thy happiness is Lisois’ best reward.
Thou seest with what determined hate thy brother
Pursues the Moor, I dread the consequence:
The people groan beneath this foreign yoke,
Soon, I foresee, the empire will unite
Their scattered powers, new enemies still rise
Against us, the pure blood of Clovis still
Is worshipped by the crowd, and soon or late
The branches of this sacred tree, that long
Have bent beneath the storm, again shall rise,
Spring with fresh verdure, and overshade the land.
Placed by thy rank and fortunes near the throne,
Long time thou wert thy king and country’s friend;
But in the days of public discord, fate
Attached thee to another cause; perhaps
New interests now may call for new connections,
And what united may dissolve the tie;
The power of these despotic governors
May be restrained, and weakened by thy hand—
duke.
I wish it were so; thinkest thou then Amelia
Would listen to me? if I should embrace
The royal party, might she still be mine?
lisois.
I am a stranger to Amelia’s heart;
But what are her designs, her views to thee?
Must love alone decide the nation’s fate?
In Touraine’s field, when gallant Clovis fought,
And, o’er the haughty conquerors of Rome
Victorious, stopped the bloody Arian’s hand,
That dealt destruction round us, did he save
His country, thinkest thou, but to please a mistress?
This arm against a rival is prepared
To serve my friend, but I would serve him more,
Would cure him of this fond, destructive passion;
This love deceives us, we’re too fearful of him;
We wound ourselves, and lay the blame on him;
The coward’s tyrant, and the hero’s slave;
He may be conquered; Lisois has subdued him,
And shall he triumph o’er the blood of kings
Who never yet submitted to a foe?
Awake, my friend, and be our great example
In every virtue.
duke.
Yes, I will do all,
All for Amelia; she must yield at last.
Her laws, her king, her master, shall be mine:
I have no will but her, and in her eyes
Will read my duty, and my fate: possessed
Of the dear treasure, will be reconciled
To every foe. O how my heart enjoys
The pleasing hope! I had no cause to fear,
I have no rival; if thou art not loved,
I can have none: who in this court would dare
To cast one look towards Amelia? now
Her vain pretexts are vanished; reason, glory,
My interest, and my birth, the sacred right
Of my great ancestors, all, all unite
To bind the nuptial chain, and make me happy.
Henceforth I am the king’s, and will support him
So virtue bids, and beauty has commanded.
On this blest day will I confirm the oaths
I made to love: away, my friend, I leave
My interest and my fortunes to thy care.
lisois.
Permit me, then, my lord, to seek the king:
I could have wished that this important change
Were to the hero, not the lover due;
But be it as it may, the effect’s too glorious
To blame the cause: I triumph in thy weakness,
And bless for once the lucky power of love.