Four times, nay, five, I sallied from my cell,
And roamed afield to find the peace of mind
I sought in vain, and governance of thoughts
I could not bring into captivity.
To me, even to me, on that eighth day
It came: all craving ousted from my heart.
Mid many sore afflictions, I had wrought
With passionate endeavour and had won!
Craving was dead and the Lord's will was done.

Far, where the sun hath set,
Sang the windy corn
By the lute of thorn—
The time of harvest.

The shrubbery by the way,
Yellow waste, a path
With a tinge of grass—
All woven in decay.

O Autumn, father, betrayer!—
When I have strolled along
Upon this, thy prayer,
The comfort outlying among.

By gauze and linen
The plea hath left
A newborn pinion—
Stroke the weeping theft:

Yet what I write
And dare to think
Is of such plowing might
As birth to fore-link.

What is so quiet
Before a whisper dies,
As the wandering hope
Underneath loosely lies?

I ii 50 73

DEMETRIUS
Unhappy Lot of all that shine in Courts;
For forc'd Compliance, or for zealous Virtue,
Still odious to the Monarch, or the People.

CALI
Such are the Woes when arbitrary Pow'r,
And lawless Passion, hold the Sword of Justice.
If there be any Land, as Fame reports,
Where common Laws restrain the Prince and Subject,
A happy Land, where circulating Pow'r
Flows through each Member of th'embodied State,
Sure, not unconscious of the mighty Blessing,
Her grateful Sons shine bright with ev'ry Virtue;

PROLOGUE
Ye glitt'ring Train! whom Lace and Velvet bless,
Suspend the soft Sollicitudes of Dress;
From grov'ling Business and superfluous Care,
Ye Sons of Avarice! a Moment spare:
Vot'ries of Fame and Worshippers of Pow'r!
Dismiss the pleasing Phantoms for an Hour.
Our daring Bard with Spirit unconfin'd,
Spreads wide the mighty Moral for Mankind.
Learn here how Heav'n supports the virtuous Mind,
Daring, tho' calm; and vigorous, tho' resign'd.
Learn here what Anguish racks the guilty Breast,
In Pow'r dependent, in Success deprest.

II i 1 37

IRENE
Aspasia, yet pursue the sacred Theme;
Exhaust the Stores of pious Eloquence,
And teach me to repell the Sultan's Passion.
Still at Aspasia's Voice a sudden Rapture
Exalts my Soul, and fortifies my Heart.
The glitt'ring Vanities of empty Greatness,
The Hopes and Fears, the Joys and Pains of Life,
Dissolve in Air, and vanish into Nothing.

ASPASIA
Let nobler Hopes and juster Fears succeed,
And bar the Passes of Irene's Mind
Against returning Guilt.

IRENE
When thou art absent

III ii 14 33

CALI
At my Command yon' Iron Gates unfold;
At my Command the Sentinels retire;
With all the Licence of Authority,
Through bowing Slaves, I range the private Rooms,
And of To-morrow's Action fix the Scene.

DEMETRIUS
To-morrow's Action? Can that hoary Wisdom
Born down with Years, still doat upon To-morrow?
That fatal Mistress of the Young, the Lazy,
The Coward, and the Fool, condemn'd to lose
An useless Life in waiting for To-morrow,
To gaze with longing Eyes upon To-morrow,
Till interposing Death destroys the Prospect!

III viii 111 35

IRENE
Ambition is the Stamp impress'd by Heav'n
To mark the noblest Minds, with active Heat
Inform'd they mount the Precipice of Pow'r,
Grasp at Command, and tow'r in quest of Empire;
While vulgar Souls compassionate their Cares,
Gaze at their Height and tremble at their Danger:
Thus meaner Spirits with Amazement mark
The varying Seasons, and revolving Skies,
And ask, what guilty Pow'r's rebellious Hand
Rolls with eternal Toil the pond'rous Orbs;
While some Archangel nearer to Perfection,

V vi 1 16

IRENE
Against the Head which Innocence secures,
Insidious Malice aims her Darts in vain;
Turn'd backwards by the powerful Breath of Heav'n.
Perhaps ev'n now the Lovers unpursu'd
Bound o'er the sparkling Waves. Go, happy Bark,
Thy sacred Freight shall still the raging Main.
To guide thy Passage shall th'aerial Spirits
Fill all the starry Lamps with double Blaze;
Th'applauding Sky shall pour forth all its Beams
To grace the Triumph of victorious Virtue;
While I, not yet familiar to my Crimes,
Recoil from Thought, and shudder at myself.

When shall the mocking world withhold its blame,
When shall men cease to darken thus my name,
Calling the love which is my pride, my shame!

O Judge, let me my condemnation see;
Whose names are written on my death decree?—
The names of all who have been friends to me.

What hope to reach the Well-Belovéd's door,
The dear lost dwelling that I knew of yore;
I stumbled once; I can return no more.

The joy of love no heart can feel alone,
The fire of love at first unseen, unknown,
In flames of love from either side is blown.