SCENE I.
Representing the porch of the temple.
ARSACES, AZEMA.
ARSACES.
Do not oppress me in this hour of grief,
And aggravate my sorrows; I have borne
Enough already: this dread oracle
Affrights me; prodigies on every side
Disturb the course of nature: heaven deprives me
Of all, if Azema is lost.
AZEMA.
No more,
False man, nor to the horrors of this day
Add the remembrance of thy perfidy;
No more the terrors of Sémiramis,
The walking spectre, and the opening grave,
Appal me now; of all the prodigies
Which I have seen, thy base inconstancy
Hath shocked me most: go on, appease the shade
Of Ninus, and begin the sacrifice
With Azema; behold, and strike the victim.
ARSACES.
It is too much; my heart was not prepared
Against this cruel stroke: thou knowest, my soul
Prefers thee to the empire of the world:
What was the object of that fame in arms
I held so dear, of all my victories?
All my ambition hoped for was at last
To merit thee: Sémiramis, thou knowest,
Was dear to both; thy tongue unites with mine
To praise her; she was still the guardian god
That cherished and protected us; as such
We both revered her with that pious zeal
And chaste regard which mortals bear to heaven:
Judge of my spotless faith by my surprise
At the queen’s choice, and mark the precipice
It leads us to, thence learn our future fate.
AZEMA.
I know it.
ARSACES.
Learn, that neither thou nor empire
Were destined for Arsaces; know, that son
Whom I must serve, the child of Ninus, he
Who must inherit here —
AZEMA.
Well; what of him?
ARSACES.
That Ninias, he who from his cradle lit
The torch of Hymen with thee, who was born
My rival and my master —
AZEMA.
Ninias!
ARSACES.
Lives;
And will be with us soon.
AZEMA.
Ha! then the queen —
ARSACES.
Even to this day deceived, laments his death.
AZEMA.
Ninias alive!
ARSACES.
It is a secret yet
Within the temple, and she knows it not.
AZEMA.
But Ninus crowns thee, and his widow’s thine.
ARSACES.
Ay, but his son was born for Azema;
He is my king, so says the oracle,
And I must serve him.
AZEMA.
But love claims his own,
And will be heard in spite of all, Arsaces:
His orders are not doubtful, or obscure.
Love is my oracle, and that alone
Shall be obeyed. Ninias, thou sayest, yet lives,
Let him appear, and let Sémiramis
Recall her plighted faith to him; let Ninus
Rise from the tomb, to join the fatal knot
Made in our infant years; let Ninias come,
My king, thy master, and thy rival, fired
With all the love which once Arsaces had
For Azema, then see how I will slight
His proffered vows; then shalt thou see me scorn
The sceptre at my feet, and spurn a crown
Which is my due: where is he now? What secret,
What mystery veils him from us? Let him come;
But know, nor Ninias, nor Sémiramis,
No, nor the sacred spirit of his father
Risen from the tomb, nor all the powers of nature
Thrown in confusion, from my heart would wrest
The image of my perjured dear Arsaces:
Go, ask thy own, if it will dare to act
As mine hath done. What are those dreadful crimes
Which thou must expiate? if thou e’er shouldst break
The sacred tie that binds us, if thou art false,
I know no crime, no treachery like thy own.
I see the sage interpreter of fate
This way advancing, love will never plead
Thy cause with heaven, if thou betrayest me: go,
From Ninus’ hand receive thy doom; remember,
Thy fate depends on heaven, and mine on thee.
[Exit Azema.
ARSACES.
Arsaces still is thine: stay, cruel maid:
How mingled is our happiness and woe!
What strange events that contradict each other —
SCENE II.
ARSACES, OROES, the magi attending.
OROES.
[To Arsaces.
Let us retire to yonder lonely walk;
I see you are much moved: prepare yourself
For strokes more dreadful.
[To the magi.
Bring the royal wreath.
[The magi bring the coffer.
This letter, and this sacred sword, to thee,
Arsaces, I deliver.
ARSACES.
Reverend father,
Wilt thou not save me from the precipice
That gapes before me? wilt thou not at length
Uplift the veil, that from my eyes conceals
My future fate?
OROES.
‘Twill be removed, my son;
The hour is come, when in his dreary mansions,
Ninus from thee expects a sacrifice
That shall appease his angry spirit.
ARSACES.
What
Can Ninus ask, what sacrifice from me?
Must I be his avenger, when his son
Still lives? Let Ninias come; he is my king,
And I will serve him.
OROES.
‘Tis his father’s will,
Thou must obey him: an hour hence, Arsaces,
Be at his tomb, armed with this sacred sword,
And with this wreath adorned, which Ninus wore,
And which thyself did bring to me.
ARSACES.
The wreath
Of Ninus!
OROES.
‘Tis his royal will that thus
Thou shouldst appear, to offer up the blood
That must be shed; the victim will be there:
Strike thou, and leave the rest to him, and heaven.
ARSACES.
If he requires my life, I’ll give it him:
But where is Ninias? thou speakest naught of him:
Thou hast not told me how his father gives
To me his kingdom and his queen.
OROES.
To thee
His queen! O heaven, to thee Sémiramis
Be given! Arsaces, the important hour
Which I had promised thee is come, when thou
Shalt know thy fate, and this abandoned woman.
ARSACES.
Great gods!
OROES.
‘Twas she who murdered Ninus.
ARSACES.
She,
Saidst thou, the queen?
OROES.
Assur, that foul disgrace
Of human nature, Assur gave the poison.
ARSACES.
I’m not surprised at Assur’s cruelty,
But that a wife, a queen, and such a queen,
The pride of sovereigns, the delight of nations,
That she should e’er be guilty of a crime
So horrible! it passes all belief.
How can such virtues and such guilt as hers
Subsist together!
OROES.
How indeed! the question
Is worthy of thy noble heart: but now
‘Twere needless to dissemble, every moment
Is big with some new secret, horrible
To nature, who already whispers to thee
Her soft complaints; thy generous heart, I see,
Spite of thyself, is shocked, and mourns within thee:
But wonder not that Ninus from the tomb
Indignant rises on this seat of guilt;
He comes to break the horrid nuptial tie,
Woven by the furies, and expose to light
Unpunished crimes; to save his son from incest:
He speaks to, he expects thee: know thy father,
For thou art Ninias, and the queen’s thy mother.
ARSACES.
Thou hast o’erpowered me in one dreadful moment
With such repeated wonders, that I stand
Astonished, and the night of death surrounds me.
Am I his son, and can it be?
OROES.
Thou art:
Ninus, the morn before he died, foresaw
His end approaching; knew the deadly draught
Which he had drunk was ministered to thee
By the same hand, and, dying as thou wert,
Withdrew thee from this wicked court: for Assur
Had poisoned thee that he might wed thy mother,
Thought to exterminate the royal race,
And open thus his passage to the throne:
But whilst the kingdom mourned thy loss, Phradates,
Our faithful friend, secreted and preserved thee;
With skilful hand the precious herbs prepared,
O’er Persia spread by her benignant God,
Whose wondrous power drew forth the latent venom
From thy parched limbs: his own son dying, you
Supplied his place, and still wert called Arsaces.
He waited patient for some lucky change,
But the great judge of kings had otherwise
Determined; truth at length descends from heaven,
And vengeance rises from the tomb.
ARSACES.
O God!
Enough already hast thou tried thy servant,
Or must I yield that life which you restored?
Yes: I was born midst grandeur, shame, and horror:
My mother — Ninus! O what deadly purpose —
But if the traitor Assur was alone
To blame, if he —
OROES.
[Giving him the letter.
Behold this paper here,
Too faithful witness of her guilt, then say
If yet a doubt remains.
ARSACES.
Haste, give it me,
And clear them all.
[He reads.
Ha! “Ninus to Phradates:
I die by poison, guard my Ninias well,
Defend him from his foes: my guilty wife—”
OROES.
Needest thou more proof? this witness came from thee.
He had not finished; death, thou seest, broke off
The imperfect scroll, and stopped his feeble hand;
Phradates hath unfolded all the rest,
Read this, and learn the whole.
[Gives him another paper.
It is enough
That Ninus hath commanded thee, he guides
Thy steps, and leads thee to the throne, but says
He must have blood.
ARSACES.
[After reading the paper.
O day of miracles,
And you, ye dreadful oracles from hell,
Dark as the tomb which I must visit, how
Shall I unveil your secret purposes,
When he who is to make the sacrifice
Knows not his victim! Who shall guide my choice?
I tremble at it.
OROES.
Tremble for the guilty.
Amidst the horrors that oppress thy soul,
The gods will guide thee; deem not thou thyself
A common mortal, from the race of men
Thou art distinguished, set apart by heaven,
And noted by its signature divine,
Walk thou secure, though night conceals thy fate,
The gods of thy great ancestors employ thee
But as their instrument. What right hast thou
To litigate their power, and to oppose
Thy masters? Saved from death, as thou hast been,
Be thankful still; complain not, but adore.
SCENE III.
ARSACES, MITRANES.
ARSACES.
I cannot reconcile this strange event:
Sémiramis my mother! can it be?
MITRANES.
[Entering in haste.
My lord, the people in this hour of terror
Demand their king: permit me first to hail thee
The husband of Sémiramis, and lord
Of Babylon: the queen is hasting hither
In search of thee; I bless the happy hour
That gave her to thee: ha! not answer me!
Despair is in thy looks, thy lips are closed
In dreadful silence, thou art pale with terror,
And thy whole frame’s disordered: what has passed?
What have they said?
ARSACES.
I’ll fly to Azema.
MITRANES.
Amazing! can it be Arsaces? fly
A queen’s embraces; scorn her proffered love;
Insult her choice; the royal hand that spurned
Kings for thy sake! thus are her hopes betrayed?
ARSACES.
Gods! ‘tis Sémiramis herself; O Ninus,
Now let thy tomb in its dark bosom hide
Her crimes, and me!
SCENE IV.
SÉMIRAMIS, ARSACES.
SÉMIRAMIS.
Arsaces, all is ready,
We want but thee, great master of the world,
Whose fate, like mine, depends on thee; O haste,
And make our bliss complete! with joy I see
Thy brows encircled with that sacred wreath:
The priest, I know, was by the gods commanded
To crown thee with it; heaven and hell at once
Approve my choice, and by these signs confirm it:
Assur’s seditious party, struck with awe
And holy reverence, tremble at my presence;
Ninus, at length propitious, hath required
A sacrifice, O haste, and give it him,
That we may soon be blest: the people’s hearts
Are all with us, and Assur’s threats are vain.
ARSACES.
[Walking about with great emotion.
Assur! away! in his perfidious blood
The parricide — we will revenge thee, Ninus.
SÉMIRAMIS.
What do I hear? just heaven! speakest thou of him,
Of Ninus?
ARSACES.
[Wildly.
Saidst thou not, his guilty hand
[Coming to himself.
Had shed — to arm against his queen! the slave,
That was enough to make me hate him.
SÉMIRAMIS.
Haste then,
Receive my hand, and thus begin thy vengeance.
ARSACES.
My father!
SÉMIRAMIS.
Ha! what looks are those, Arsaces?
Is this the soft submissive tender heart
Which I expected from thee, when I gave
My willing hand? That fearful prodigies,
And spectres rising from their dark domain,
Should leave the marks of horror on thy soul,
Alarms me not, I feel them too, but less
When I behold Arsaces: do not thus
O’erspread this fairest dawn of happiness
With sorrow’s gloomy shade, but still appear
Such as thou wert when trembling at my feet,
Lest Assur e’er should be thy master; fear
Nor him, nor Ninus and his angry shade;
My dear Arsaces, thou art my support,
My lord, my husband.
ARSACES.
[Turning aside from her.
‘Tis too much, O stop:
Her guilt o’erwhelms me.
SÉMIRAMIS.
How his soul’s disturbed!
Alas! he wants that peace which he bestowed
On me.
ARSACES.
Sémiramis —
SÉMIRAMIS.
What wouldst thou? speak.
ARSACES.
I cannot: leave me, leave me: hence! begone.
SÉMIRAMIS.
Amazing! leave thee! can I e’er forsake
Arsaces? O explain this mystery to me,
And ease my tortured soul: it makes us both
Unhappy: — ha! despair is in thy aspect;
Thou chillest my veins with horror, and thy eyes
Are dreadful; they affright me more than heaven
And hell united to oppose my vows:
Scarce can my trembling lips pronounce, I love thee:
Some power invisible now leads me on
Towards thee, now withholds me from thy arms,
And mingles, how I know not, tenderest love
With sentiments of horror and despair.
ARSACES.
Hate me, abhor me.
SÉMIRAMIS.
Canst thou bid me hate thee?
Cruel Arsaces, no: I still must trace
Thy footsteps, still my heart must follow thine:
What is that paper which thou lookest on thus
With horror, whilst thy eyes are bathed in tears,
Does that contain a reason for thy coldness?
ARSACES.
It does.
SÉMIRAMIS.
Then give it me.
ARSACES.
I must not: darest thou —
SÉMIRAMIS.
I’ll have it.
ARSACES.
Leave to me that dreadful scroll,
To thee ‘twere fatal, I have use for it.
SÉMIRAMIS.
Whence came it?
ARSACES.
From the gods.
SÉMIRAMIS.
And wrote by whom?
ARSACES.
Wrote by my father.
SÉMIRAMIS.
Ha! what sayest thou?
ARSACES.
Tremble.
SÉMIRAMIS.
Give it me, let me know at once my fate.
ARSACES.
Urge it no more; there is death in every line.
SÉMIRAMIS.
No matter: clear my doubts, or I shall think
That thou art guilty.
ARSACES.
Ye immortal powers
That guide our steps, it is to your decrees
That I submit.
SÉMIRAMIS.
For the last time, Arsaces,
I here command thee, listen, and obey.
ARSACES.
[Giving her the letter.
O may thy justice, heaven, be satisfied!
And this the only punishment that e’er
Shall be inflicted on her! now ‘tis past,
And thou wilt know too much.
[She reads.
SÉMIRAMIS.
[To Otanes.
What do I read?
Support me, or I die.
[She faints.
ARSACES.
She sees it all.
SÉMIRAMIS.
[Coming to herself, after a long silence.
Delay not, but fulfil thy destiny:
Punish this guilty, this unhappy wretch,
And in my blood wash out the deadly stain.
Nature deceived is horrible to both,
Avenge thy father, strike, and punish me.
ARSACES.
No: let the sacred character I bear,
The name of son, preserve me from that crime!
Much rather would I pierce the heart of him
Who still reveres thee, the poor lost Arsaces.
SÉMIRAMIS.
[Kneeling.
Be cruel as Sémiramis; she felt
No pity, therefore be the son of Ninus,
And take my life: thou wilt not; nay, thy tears
Even mix with mine: O Ninias, ‘tis a day
Of horrors, yet there’s pleasure in this pain.
Before thou givest me what I have deserved,
The stroke of death, let nature’s voice be heard:
O let a guilty mother’s tears bedew
That dear, that fatal hand.
ARSACES.
I am thy son,
‘Tis not for thee, whate’er thy guilt, to fall
Thus at my feet: O rise, thy Ninias begs,
He loves thee still, still vows obedience to thee,
Respect and purest love: consider me
As a new subject, only more submissive,
More humble, than the rest; I hope, more dear.
Heaven that restores thy son is sure appeased:
The gods who pardon thee reserve their vengeance
For Assur; leave him to his fate.
SÉMIRAMIS.
Receive
My crown and sceptre, I have much disgraced them.
ARSACES.
Still, I beseech you, hold me ignorant
Of all, and let me with the world adore you.
SÉMIRAMIS.
O no: my guilt’s too flagrant.
ARSACES.
But repentance
May blot it out.
SÉMIRAMIS.
Ninus hath given to thee
The reins of empire, thou must not offend
His vengeful spirit.
ARSACES.
O it will relent
At thy remorse, and soften at my tears.
Otanes, in the name of heaven, preserve
My mother, and conceal the horrid secret.
End of the Fourth Act.