ACT III. SCENE I.
Scene continues.
V ALERIUS and V ALERIA meeting .
V ALERIUS .
Now , my V ALERIA , where's the charming maid
Who calls me to her? with a lover's haste
I fly to execute the dear command.
V ALERIA .
'Tis not the lover, but the friend she wants,
If thou dar'st own that name.
V ALERIUS .
The friend, my sister!
There's more than friendship in a lover's breast,
More warm, more tender, is the flame he feels —
V ALERIA .
Alas, these raptures suit not her distress:
She seeks th' indulgent friend, whose sober sense,
Free from the mists of passion, might direct
Her jarring thoughts, and plead her doubtful cause.
V ALERIUS .
Am I that friend? O did she turn her thought
On me for that kind office?
V ALERIA .
Thee, V ALERIUS .
She chose thee out to be her advocate
To C URIATIUS ; 'tis the only hope
She now dares cherish; her relentless brother
With scorn rejects her tears, her father flies her,
And only thou remain'st to sooth her cares,
And save her ere she sinks.
V ALERIUS .
Her advocate
To C URIATIUS !
V ALERIA .
'Tis to him she sends thee;
To urge her suit, and win him from the field.
But come; her sorrows will more strongly plead
Than all my grief can utter.
V ALERIUS .
To my rival!
To C URIATIUS plead her cause, and teach
My tongue a lesson which my heart abhors!
Impossible! V ALERIA , 'tis in vain —
Thou saw'st me not; the business of the camp
Confin'd me there; farewel.
V ALERIA .
What means my brother?
Thou canst not leave her now; for shame, turn back;
Is this the virtue of a Roman youth?
O by these tears!
V ALERIUS .
They flow in vain, V ALERIA :
Nay, and thou know'st they do. O earth and heaven!
This combat was the means my happier stars
Found out, to save me on the brink of ruin;
And can I plead against it, turn assassin
On my own life?
V ALERIA .
Yet thou can'st murder her
Thou dost pretend to love; away, deceiver;
I'll seek some worthier messenger to plead
In beauty's cause; but first inform H ORATIA ,
How much V ALERIUS is the friend she thought him.
V ALERIUS .
O heav'ns! stay, sister; 'tis an arduous task.
V ALERIA .
I know the task is hard, and thought I knew
Thy virtue too.
V ALERIUS .
I must, I will obey thee.
Lead on. — Yet leave me, for a moment leave me,
'Till I can recollect my scatter'd thoughts,
And dare to be unhappy.
V ALERIA .
My V ALERIUS !
I fly to tell her thou but wait'st her pleasure.
V ALERIUS .
Yes, I will undertake this hateful office;
It never can succeed. — Yet at this instant
It may be dangerous, while the people melt
With fond compassion. — No; it cannot be;
His resolution's fix'd, and virtuous pride
Forbids an alteration. To attempt it,
Makes her my friend, and may afford hereafter
A thousand tender hours to move my suit.
That hope determines all.
SCENE, Another Apartment .
H ORATIA and V ALERIA . H ORATIA with a Scarf in her Hand .
H ORATIA .
Where is thy brother? Wherefore stays he thus?
Did you conjure him? Did he say he'd come?
I have no brothers now, and fly to him
As my last refuge. Did he seem averse
To thy intreaties? Are all brothers so?
Alas, thou told'st me he spake kindly to thee;
'Tis me, 'tis me he shuns; I am the wretch
Whom Virtue dares not make acquaintance with.
Yet fly to him again, intreat him hither,
Tell him for thy sake to have pity on me,
Thou art no enemy to Rome, thou hast
No Alban husband to claim half thy tears,
And make humanity a crime.
V ALERIA .
Dear maid,
Restrain thy sorrows: I've already told thee
My brother will with transport execute
Whatever thou command'st.
H ORATIA .
O wherefore then
Is he away? each moment now is precious:
If lost, 'tis lost for ever; and if gain'd,
Long scenes of lasting peace, and smiling years
Of happiness unhop'd for, wait upon it.
V ALERIA .
I will again go seek him; pray be calm;
Success is thine, if it depends on him.
H ORATIA .
Success! alas, perhaps ev'n now too late
I labour to preserve him; the dread arm
Of vengeance is already stretch'd against him,
And he must fall. Yet let me strive to save him.
Yes, thou dear pledge, design'd for happier hours,
The gift of nuptial love, thou shalt at least
Essay thy power.
Oft as I fram'd the web,
He sate beside me, and would say in sport,
This present, which thy love designs for me,
Shall be the future bond of peace betwixt us.
By this we'll swear a lasting love; by this,
Thro' the sweet round of all our days to come,
Ask what thou wilt, and C URIATIUS grants it.
O I shall try thee nearly now, dear youth;
Glory and I are rivals for thy heart,
And one must conquer.
Enter V ALERIUS and V ALERIA .
V ALERIUS .
Save you, gracious lady;
On the first message which my sister sent me
I had been here, but was oblig'd by office,
Ere to their champions each resign'd her charge,
To ratify the league 'twixt Rome and Alba.
H ORATIA .
Are they engag'd then? Speak.
V ALERIUS .
Not yet engag'd,
Soft pity for a while suspends the onset;
The sight of near relations, arm'd in fight
Against each other, touch'd the gazers hearts;
And senators on each side have propos'd
To change the combatants.
H ORATIA .
My blessings on them!
Think'st thou they will succeed?
V ALERIUS .
The chiefs themselves
Are resolute to fight.
H ORATIA .
Insatiate Virtue!
I must not to the field; I am confin'd
A prisoner here; or sure these tears would move
Their flinty breasts. — Is C URIATIUS too
Resolv'd on death? — O sir, forgive a maid,
Who dares in spite of modesty confess
Too soft a passion. Wilt thou pardon me,
If I intreat thee to the field again,
An humble suitor from the veriest wretch
That ever knew distress.
V ALERIUS .
Dear lady, speak;
What would'st thou I should do?
H ORATIA .
O bear this to him.
V ALERIUS .
To whom?
H ORATIA .
To C URIATIUS bear this scarf;
And tell him, if he ever truly lov'd;
If all the vows he breath'd were not false lures
To catch th' unwary mind — and sure they were not!
O tell him now he may with honor cease
To urge his cruel right; the senators
Of Rome and Alba will approve such mildness.
Tell him his wife, if he will own that name,
Intreats him from the field; his lost H ORATIA
Begs on her trembling knees he would not tempt
A certain fate, and murder her he loves.
Tell him, if he consents, she fondly swears
By every god the varying world adores,
By this dear pledge of vow'd affection swears,
To know no brothers and no sire but him;
With him, if Honor's harsh commands require it,
Will wander forth, and seek some distant home,
Nor ever think of Rome or Alba more.
V ALERIA .
He will, he will; do not torment thyself.
H ORATIA .
Look here, V ALERIA , where my needle's art
Has drawn a Sabine virgin drown'd in tears
For her lost country, and forsaken friends;
While by her side the youthful ravisher
Looks ardent love, and charms her griefs away.
I am that maid distress'd, divided so
'Twixt love and duty. — — 'But why rave I thus!
Haste, haste, to C URIATIUS ; and yet stay,
Sure I had something more to say to him;
I know not what it was.
V ALERIUS .
Could I, H ORATIA ,
But paint thy grief with half the force I feel it,
I need but tell it him, and he must yield.
H ORATIA .
It may be so. — Stay, stay, besure thou tell him,
If he rejects my suit, no power on earth
Shall force me to his arms; I will devise
Unheard-of tortures for his stubborn soul —
— I'll die, and be reveng'd!
V ALERIA .
Away, my brother;
But oh, for pity, do thy office justly;
Let not thy passion blind thy reason now,
But urge her cause with ardor.
V ALERIUS
By my soul,
I will, V ALERIA ; her distress alarms me;
And I have now no interest but hers.
V ALERIA .
Come, dearest maid, indulge not thus thy sorrows:
Hope smiles again, and the sad prospect clears.
The milder senators ere this perhaps
Have mov'd thy lover's mind; and if he doubts,
He's thine.
H ORATIA .
He's gone. — I had a thousand things —
And yet I'm glad he's gone. Think'st thou, V ALERIA ,
Thy brother will delay? they may engage
Refore he reaches them.
V ALERIA .
The field's so near,
That a few minutes bring him to the place:
Nor will the senators so soon have yielded
A cause of so much justice.
H ORATIA .
Alas, they should have thought on that before;
'Tis now too late. The lion when he's rous'd
Must have his prey, whose den we might have pass'd
In safety while he slept. To draw the sword,
And fire the youthful warrior's breast to arms
With awful visions of immortal fame,
And then to bid him sheath it, and forget
He ever hop'd for conquest and renown —
Vain, vain attempt!
V ALERIA .
Yet when that just attempt
Is seconded by love, and beauty's tears
Lend their soft aid to melt the hero down;
What may we not expect!
H ORATIA .
My dear V ALERIA ,
Fain wou'd I hope I had the power to move him.
V ALERIA .
Thou hast, thou must; success is thine already.
H ORATIA .
And yet, should I succeed, the hard-gain'd strife
May chance to rob me of my future peace.
He may not always with the eyes of love
Look on that fondness which has stab'd his fame.
He may regret too late the sacrifice
He made to love, and a fond woman's weakness;
And think the milder joys of social life
But ill repay him for the mighty loss
Of patriot-reputation!
V ALERIA .
O, forbear!
And search not thus into eventful time
For ills to come. This fatal temper, friend,
Alive to feel, and curious to explore
Each distant object of refin'd distress,
Shuts out all means of happiness, nor leaves it
In Fortune's power to save thee from destruction.
Like some distemper'd wretch, thy wayward mind
H ORATIUS is led in by his servants .
H ORATIUS .
Lead me yet a little onward;
I shall recover straight.
H ORATIA .
My gracious sire!
H ORATIUS .
Lend me thy arm, H ORATIA . — So — my child,
Be not surpriz'd; an old man must expect
These little shocks of nature, they are hints
To warn us of our end.
H ORATIA .
How are you, sir?
H ORATIUS .
Better, much better. My frail body could not
Support the swelling tnmult of my soul.
H ORATIA .
No accident, I hope, alarm'd you, sir,
My brothers —
H ORATIUS .
Here, go to the field again,
You C AUTUS and V INDICIUS ; and observe
Each circumstance; I shall be glad to hear
The manner of the fight.
H ORATIA .
Are they engag'd?
H ORATIUS .
( During this speech a servant gives a paper to H ORATIA .)
They are, H ORATIA , but first let me thank thee
For staying from the field; I would have seen
The fight myself, but this unlucky illness
Has forc'd me to retire. Where is thy friend?
What paper's that? Why dost thou tremble so?
Here let me open it. — From C URIATIUS !
H ORATIA .
O keep me not in this suspence, my father;
Relieve me from the rack.
H ORATIUS .
He tells thee here,
He dares not do an action which would make him
Unworthy of thy love, and therefore —
H ORATIA .
Dies!
Well, I am satisfied.
H ORATIUS .
I see by this
Thou hast endeavour'd to persuade thy lover
To quit the combat. Could'st thou think, H ORATIA ,
He'd sacrifice his country to a woman?
H ORATIA .
I know not what I thought; he proves too plainly
Whate'er it was, I was deceiv'd in him
Whom I applied to.
H ORATIUS .
Do not think so, daughter;
Could be with honor have declin'd the fight,
I should myself have join'd in thy request,
And forc'd him from the field. But think, my child,
Had he consented, and had Alba's cause,
Supported by another arm, been baffled,
What then could'st thou expect? Would he not curse
His foolish love, and hate thee for thy fondness?
Nay think, perhaps, 'twas artifice in thee
To aggrandize thy race, and lift their fame
Triumphant o'er his ruin and his country's.
Think well on that, and reason must convince thee.
H ORATIA .
Alas, had reason ever yet the power
To talk down grief, or bid the tortur'd wretch
Not feel his anguish? 'Tis impossible.
Could reason govern, I should now rejoice
They were engag'd, and count the tedious moments
'Till conqueit imil'd, and Rome again was free.
Could reason govern, I shold beg of heaven
To guide my brother's sword, and plunge it deep
Ev'n in the bosoin of the man I love,
I should forget he ever won my soul;
Forget 'twas your command which bade me love him;
Nay fly perhaps to yon detested field,
And spurn with scorn his mangled carcase from me.
H ORATIUS .
Why wilt thou talk thus? Prithee be more calm;
I can forgive thy tears, they flow from nature,
And could have gladly wish'd the Alban state
Had found us other enemies to vanquish.
But heaven has will'd it, and heaven's will be done!
The glorious expectation of success
Buoys up my soul, nor lets a thought intrude
To dash my promis'd joys — What steady valour
Beam'd from their eyes! Just so, if Fancy's power
May form conjecture from his after-age,
Rome's founder must have look'd, when, warm in youth
And flush'd with future conquest, forth he march'd
Against proud Acron, with whose bleeding spoils
He grac'd the altar of Feretrian Jove.
— Methinks I feel recover'd; I might venture
Forth to the field again. What ho! V OLSCINIUS ,
Attend me to the camp.
H ORATIA .
My dearest father,
Let me intreat your stay; your voice still trembles —
Your eye looks languid — I'll restrain my tears,
If they offend you.
H ORATIUS .
Well, I'll be advis'd,
'Twere now loo late, ere this they must have conquer'd.
— And here's the happy messenger of glory!
Enter V ALERIA .
V ALERIA .
All's lost, all's ruin'd, freedom is no more!
H ORATIUS .
What dost thou say?
V ALERIA .
That Rome's subdued by Alba.
H ORATIUS .
It cannot be! where are my sons? all dead?
V ALERIA .
P UBLIUS is still alive; the other two
Have paid the fatal debt they ow'd their country.
H ORATIUS .
P UBLIUS alive? thou must mistake, V ALERIA ;
He knows his duty better.
He must be dead, or Rome victorious.
V ALERIA .
Thousands as well as I beheld the combat;
After his brothers' deaths he stood alone,
And acted wonders against three assailants;
'Till forc'd at last to save himself by flight.
H ORATIUS .
By flight? and did the soldiers let him pass!
O I am ill again! — the coward villain!
H ORATIA .
Alas, my brothers!
H ORATIUS .
Weep not for them, girl;
They died a death which kings themselves might envy,
And whilst they liv'd they saw their country free.
O had I perish'd with them! But for him
Whose impious flight dishonors all his race,
Tears a fond father's heart, and tainely barters
For poor precarious life his country's glory,
Weep, weep for him, and let me join my tears!
V ALERIA .
What could he do, my lord, when three oppos'd him?
H ORATIUS .
He might have died! — O villain, villain, villain!
— And he shall die; this arm shall sacrifice
The life he dar'd preserve with infamy.
What means this weakness? 'tis untimely now,
When I should punish an ungrateful boy.
Was this his boasted virtue, which could charm
His cheated sovereign, and brought tears of joy
To my old eyes? — so young a hypocrite!
O shame, shame, shame!
V ALERIA .
Have patience, sir; all Rome
Beheld his valour, and approv'd his flight
Against such opposition.
H ORATIUS .
Tell not me —
What's Rome to me? Rome may excuse her traitor;
But I, the guardian of my house's honor,
Will judge, will punish. Pray ye lead me forth,
I would have air. But grant me strength, kind gods,
To do this act of justice, and I'll own,
Whate'er 'gainst Rome your awful wills determine,
To me, you still are just, are merciful!
Scene continues.
V ALERIUS and V ALERIA meeting .
V ALERIUS .
Now , my V ALERIA , where's the charming maid
Who calls me to her? with a lover's haste
I fly to execute the dear command.
V ALERIA .
'Tis not the lover, but the friend she wants,
If thou dar'st own that name.
V ALERIUS .
The friend, my sister!
There's more than friendship in a lover's breast,
More warm, more tender, is the flame he feels —
V ALERIA .
Alas, these raptures suit not her distress:
She seeks th' indulgent friend, whose sober sense,
Free from the mists of passion, might direct
Her jarring thoughts, and plead her doubtful cause.
V ALERIUS .
Am I that friend? O did she turn her thought
On me for that kind office?
V ALERIA .
Thee, V ALERIUS .
She chose thee out to be her advocate
To C URIATIUS ; 'tis the only hope
She now dares cherish; her relentless brother
With scorn rejects her tears, her father flies her,
And only thou remain'st to sooth her cares,
And save her ere she sinks.
V ALERIUS .
Her advocate
To C URIATIUS !
V ALERIA .
'Tis to him she sends thee;
To urge her suit, and win him from the field.
But come; her sorrows will more strongly plead
Than all my grief can utter.
V ALERIUS .
To my rival!
To C URIATIUS plead her cause, and teach
My tongue a lesson which my heart abhors!
Impossible! V ALERIA , 'tis in vain —
Thou saw'st me not; the business of the camp
Confin'd me there; farewel.
V ALERIA .
What means my brother?
Thou canst not leave her now; for shame, turn back;
Is this the virtue of a Roman youth?
O by these tears!
V ALERIUS .
They flow in vain, V ALERIA :
Nay, and thou know'st they do. O earth and heaven!
This combat was the means my happier stars
Found out, to save me on the brink of ruin;
And can I plead against it, turn assassin
On my own life?
V ALERIA .
Yet thou can'st murder her
Thou dost pretend to love; away, deceiver;
I'll seek some worthier messenger to plead
In beauty's cause; but first inform H ORATIA ,
How much V ALERIUS is the friend she thought him.
V ALERIUS .
O heav'ns! stay, sister; 'tis an arduous task.
V ALERIA .
I know the task is hard, and thought I knew
Thy virtue too.
V ALERIUS .
I must, I will obey thee.
Lead on. — Yet leave me, for a moment leave me,
'Till I can recollect my scatter'd thoughts,
And dare to be unhappy.
V ALERIA .
My V ALERIUS !
I fly to tell her thou but wait'st her pleasure.
V ALERIUS .
Yes, I will undertake this hateful office;
It never can succeed. — Yet at this instant
It may be dangerous, while the people melt
With fond compassion. — No; it cannot be;
His resolution's fix'd, and virtuous pride
Forbids an alteration. To attempt it,
Makes her my friend, and may afford hereafter
A thousand tender hours to move my suit.
That hope determines all.
SCENE, Another Apartment .
H ORATIA and V ALERIA . H ORATIA with a Scarf in her Hand .
H ORATIA .
Where is thy brother? Wherefore stays he thus?
Did you conjure him? Did he say he'd come?
I have no brothers now, and fly to him
As my last refuge. Did he seem averse
To thy intreaties? Are all brothers so?
Alas, thou told'st me he spake kindly to thee;
'Tis me, 'tis me he shuns; I am the wretch
Whom Virtue dares not make acquaintance with.
Yet fly to him again, intreat him hither,
Tell him for thy sake to have pity on me,
Thou art no enemy to Rome, thou hast
No Alban husband to claim half thy tears,
And make humanity a crime.
V ALERIA .
Dear maid,
Restrain thy sorrows: I've already told thee
My brother will with transport execute
Whatever thou command'st.
H ORATIA .
O wherefore then
Is he away? each moment now is precious:
If lost, 'tis lost for ever; and if gain'd,
Long scenes of lasting peace, and smiling years
Of happiness unhop'd for, wait upon it.
V ALERIA .
I will again go seek him; pray be calm;
Success is thine, if it depends on him.
H ORATIA .
Success! alas, perhaps ev'n now too late
I labour to preserve him; the dread arm
Of vengeance is already stretch'd against him,
And he must fall. Yet let me strive to save him.
Yes, thou dear pledge, design'd for happier hours,
The gift of nuptial love, thou shalt at least
Essay thy power.
Oft as I fram'd the web,
He sate beside me, and would say in sport,
This present, which thy love designs for me,
Shall be the future bond of peace betwixt us.
By this we'll swear a lasting love; by this,
Thro' the sweet round of all our days to come,
Ask what thou wilt, and C URIATIUS grants it.
O I shall try thee nearly now, dear youth;
Glory and I are rivals for thy heart,
And one must conquer.
Enter V ALERIUS and V ALERIA .
V ALERIUS .
Save you, gracious lady;
On the first message which my sister sent me
I had been here, but was oblig'd by office,
Ere to their champions each resign'd her charge,
To ratify the league 'twixt Rome and Alba.
H ORATIA .
Are they engag'd then? Speak.
V ALERIUS .
Not yet engag'd,
Soft pity for a while suspends the onset;
The sight of near relations, arm'd in fight
Against each other, touch'd the gazers hearts;
And senators on each side have propos'd
To change the combatants.
H ORATIA .
My blessings on them!
Think'st thou they will succeed?
V ALERIUS .
The chiefs themselves
Are resolute to fight.
H ORATIA .
Insatiate Virtue!
I must not to the field; I am confin'd
A prisoner here; or sure these tears would move
Their flinty breasts. — Is C URIATIUS too
Resolv'd on death? — O sir, forgive a maid,
Who dares in spite of modesty confess
Too soft a passion. Wilt thou pardon me,
If I intreat thee to the field again,
An humble suitor from the veriest wretch
That ever knew distress.
V ALERIUS .
Dear lady, speak;
What would'st thou I should do?
H ORATIA .
O bear this to him.
V ALERIUS .
To whom?
H ORATIA .
To C URIATIUS bear this scarf;
And tell him, if he ever truly lov'd;
If all the vows he breath'd were not false lures
To catch th' unwary mind — and sure they were not!
O tell him now he may with honor cease
To urge his cruel right; the senators
Of Rome and Alba will approve such mildness.
Tell him his wife, if he will own that name,
Intreats him from the field; his lost H ORATIA
Begs on her trembling knees he would not tempt
A certain fate, and murder her he loves.
Tell him, if he consents, she fondly swears
By every god the varying world adores,
By this dear pledge of vow'd affection swears,
To know no brothers and no sire but him;
With him, if Honor's harsh commands require it,
Will wander forth, and seek some distant home,
Nor ever think of Rome or Alba more.
V ALERIA .
He will, he will; do not torment thyself.
H ORATIA .
Look here, V ALERIA , where my needle's art
Has drawn a Sabine virgin drown'd in tears
For her lost country, and forsaken friends;
While by her side the youthful ravisher
Looks ardent love, and charms her griefs away.
I am that maid distress'd, divided so
'Twixt love and duty. — — 'But why rave I thus!
Haste, haste, to C URIATIUS ; and yet stay,
Sure I had something more to say to him;
I know not what it was.
V ALERIUS .
Could I, H ORATIA ,
But paint thy grief with half the force I feel it,
I need but tell it him, and he must yield.
H ORATIA .
It may be so. — Stay, stay, besure thou tell him,
If he rejects my suit, no power on earth
Shall force me to his arms; I will devise
Unheard-of tortures for his stubborn soul —
— I'll die, and be reveng'd!
V ALERIA .
Away, my brother;
But oh, for pity, do thy office justly;
Let not thy passion blind thy reason now,
But urge her cause with ardor.
V ALERIUS
By my soul,
I will, V ALERIA ; her distress alarms me;
And I have now no interest but hers.
V ALERIA .
Come, dearest maid, indulge not thus thy sorrows:
Hope smiles again, and the sad prospect clears.
The milder senators ere this perhaps
Have mov'd thy lover's mind; and if he doubts,
He's thine.
H ORATIA .
He's gone. — I had a thousand things —
And yet I'm glad he's gone. Think'st thou, V ALERIA ,
Thy brother will delay? they may engage
Refore he reaches them.
V ALERIA .
The field's so near,
That a few minutes bring him to the place:
Nor will the senators so soon have yielded
A cause of so much justice.
H ORATIA .
Alas, they should have thought on that before;
'Tis now too late. The lion when he's rous'd
Must have his prey, whose den we might have pass'd
In safety while he slept. To draw the sword,
And fire the youthful warrior's breast to arms
With awful visions of immortal fame,
And then to bid him sheath it, and forget
He ever hop'd for conquest and renown —
Vain, vain attempt!
V ALERIA .
Yet when that just attempt
Is seconded by love, and beauty's tears
Lend their soft aid to melt the hero down;
What may we not expect!
H ORATIA .
My dear V ALERIA ,
Fain wou'd I hope I had the power to move him.
V ALERIA .
Thou hast, thou must; success is thine already.
H ORATIA .
And yet, should I succeed, the hard-gain'd strife
May chance to rob me of my future peace.
He may not always with the eyes of love
Look on that fondness which has stab'd his fame.
He may regret too late the sacrifice
He made to love, and a fond woman's weakness;
And think the milder joys of social life
But ill repay him for the mighty loss
Of patriot-reputation!
V ALERIA .
O, forbear!
And search not thus into eventful time
For ills to come. This fatal temper, friend,
Alive to feel, and curious to explore
Each distant object of refin'd distress,
Shuts out all means of happiness, nor leaves it
In Fortune's power to save thee from destruction.
Like some distemper'd wretch, thy wayward mind
H ORATIUS is led in by his servants .
H ORATIUS .
Lead me yet a little onward;
I shall recover straight.
H ORATIA .
My gracious sire!
H ORATIUS .
Lend me thy arm, H ORATIA . — So — my child,
Be not surpriz'd; an old man must expect
These little shocks of nature, they are hints
To warn us of our end.
H ORATIA .
How are you, sir?
H ORATIUS .
Better, much better. My frail body could not
Support the swelling tnmult of my soul.
H ORATIA .
No accident, I hope, alarm'd you, sir,
My brothers —
H ORATIUS .
Here, go to the field again,
You C AUTUS and V INDICIUS ; and observe
Each circumstance; I shall be glad to hear
The manner of the fight.
H ORATIA .
Are they engag'd?
H ORATIUS .
( During this speech a servant gives a paper to H ORATIA .)
They are, H ORATIA , but first let me thank thee
For staying from the field; I would have seen
The fight myself, but this unlucky illness
Has forc'd me to retire. Where is thy friend?
What paper's that? Why dost thou tremble so?
Here let me open it. — From C URIATIUS !
H ORATIA .
O keep me not in this suspence, my father;
Relieve me from the rack.
H ORATIUS .
He tells thee here,
He dares not do an action which would make him
Unworthy of thy love, and therefore —
H ORATIA .
Dies!
Well, I am satisfied.
H ORATIUS .
I see by this
Thou hast endeavour'd to persuade thy lover
To quit the combat. Could'st thou think, H ORATIA ,
He'd sacrifice his country to a woman?
H ORATIA .
I know not what I thought; he proves too plainly
Whate'er it was, I was deceiv'd in him
Whom I applied to.
H ORATIUS .
Do not think so, daughter;
Could be with honor have declin'd the fight,
I should myself have join'd in thy request,
And forc'd him from the field. But think, my child,
Had he consented, and had Alba's cause,
Supported by another arm, been baffled,
What then could'st thou expect? Would he not curse
His foolish love, and hate thee for thy fondness?
Nay think, perhaps, 'twas artifice in thee
To aggrandize thy race, and lift their fame
Triumphant o'er his ruin and his country's.
Think well on that, and reason must convince thee.
H ORATIA .
Alas, had reason ever yet the power
To talk down grief, or bid the tortur'd wretch
Not feel his anguish? 'Tis impossible.
Could reason govern, I should now rejoice
They were engag'd, and count the tedious moments
'Till conqueit imil'd, and Rome again was free.
Could reason govern, I shold beg of heaven
To guide my brother's sword, and plunge it deep
Ev'n in the bosoin of the man I love,
I should forget he ever won my soul;
Forget 'twas your command which bade me love him;
Nay fly perhaps to yon detested field,
And spurn with scorn his mangled carcase from me.
H ORATIUS .
Why wilt thou talk thus? Prithee be more calm;
I can forgive thy tears, they flow from nature,
And could have gladly wish'd the Alban state
Had found us other enemies to vanquish.
But heaven has will'd it, and heaven's will be done!
The glorious expectation of success
Buoys up my soul, nor lets a thought intrude
To dash my promis'd joys — What steady valour
Beam'd from their eyes! Just so, if Fancy's power
May form conjecture from his after-age,
Rome's founder must have look'd, when, warm in youth
And flush'd with future conquest, forth he march'd
Against proud Acron, with whose bleeding spoils
He grac'd the altar of Feretrian Jove.
— Methinks I feel recover'd; I might venture
Forth to the field again. What ho! V OLSCINIUS ,
Attend me to the camp.
H ORATIA .
My dearest father,
Let me intreat your stay; your voice still trembles —
Your eye looks languid — I'll restrain my tears,
If they offend you.
H ORATIUS .
Well, I'll be advis'd,
'Twere now loo late, ere this they must have conquer'd.
— And here's the happy messenger of glory!
Enter V ALERIA .
V ALERIA .
All's lost, all's ruin'd, freedom is no more!
H ORATIUS .
What dost thou say?
V ALERIA .
That Rome's subdued by Alba.
H ORATIUS .
It cannot be! where are my sons? all dead?
V ALERIA .
P UBLIUS is still alive; the other two
Have paid the fatal debt they ow'd their country.
H ORATIUS .
P UBLIUS alive? thou must mistake, V ALERIA ;
He knows his duty better.
He must be dead, or Rome victorious.
V ALERIA .
Thousands as well as I beheld the combat;
After his brothers' deaths he stood alone,
And acted wonders against three assailants;
'Till forc'd at last to save himself by flight.
H ORATIUS .
By flight? and did the soldiers let him pass!
O I am ill again! — the coward villain!
H ORATIA .
Alas, my brothers!
H ORATIUS .
Weep not for them, girl;
They died a death which kings themselves might envy,
And whilst they liv'd they saw their country free.
O had I perish'd with them! But for him
Whose impious flight dishonors all his race,
Tears a fond father's heart, and tainely barters
For poor precarious life his country's glory,
Weep, weep for him, and let me join my tears!
V ALERIA .
What could he do, my lord, when three oppos'd him?
H ORATIUS .
He might have died! — O villain, villain, villain!
— And he shall die; this arm shall sacrifice
The life he dar'd preserve with infamy.
What means this weakness? 'tis untimely now,
When I should punish an ungrateful boy.
Was this his boasted virtue, which could charm
His cheated sovereign, and brought tears of joy
To my old eyes? — so young a hypocrite!
O shame, shame, shame!
V ALERIA .
Have patience, sir; all Rome
Beheld his valour, and approv'd his flight
Against such opposition.
H ORATIUS .
Tell not me —
What's Rome to me? Rome may excuse her traitor;
But I, the guardian of my house's honor,
Will judge, will punish. Pray ye lead me forth,
I would have air. But grant me strength, kind gods,
To do this act of justice, and I'll own,
Whate'er 'gainst Rome your awful wills determine,
To me, you still are just, are merciful!