SYPHAX, General of the Numidians, MR. CIBBER.
DECIUS, Ambassador from Cæsar, MR. BowMAN.
SCENE, a large Hall in the Governor's Palace of Utica.
Portius, Marcus.
PORTIUS.
THE dawn is overcast, the morning low'rs,
And heavily in clouds bring's on the day,
The great, th' important day, big with the fate
Of Cato and of Rome-
Our father's death
Would fill up all the guilt of civil war,
And close the scene of blood. Already Cæsar
Has ravag❜d more than half the globe, and sees
Mankind grown thin by his destructive sword:
Should he go farther, numbers would be wanting
To form new battles, and support his crimes.
Ye gods, what havoc does ambition make
Among your works!
Thy steady temper, Portius, Can look on guilt, rebellion, fraud, and Cæsar, In the calm lights of mild philosophy; I'm tortur'd even to madness, when I think On the proud victor: every time he's nam❜d Pharsalia rises to my view !— -I see Th' insulting tyrant, prancing o'er the field
Strow'd with Rome's citizens, and drench'd in slaugh
His horse's hoofs wet with Patrician blood!
Oh Portius! is there not some chosen curse,
Some hidden thunder in the stores of heaven,
Red with uncommon wrath, to blast the man,
Who owes his greatness to his country's ruin?
Believe me, Marcus, 'tis an impious greatness,
And mix'd with too much horror to be envy'd:
How does the lustre of our father's actions,
Through the dark cloud of ills that cover him,
Break out, and burn with more triumphant brightness!
His sufferings shine, and spread a glory round him ;
Greatly unfortunate, he fights the cause
Of honour, virtue, liberty, and Rome.
His sword ne'er fell but on the guilty head;
Oppression, tyranny, and power usurp❜d,
Draw all the vengeance of his arm upon them.
Who knows not this? but what can Cato do
Against a world, a base degenerate world,
That courts the yoke, and bows the neck to Cæsar?
Pent up in Utica he vainly forms
A poor epitome of Roman greatness,
And, cover'd with Numidian guards, directs
A feeble army, and an empty senate,
Remnants of mighty battles fought in vain.
By heavens, such virtues, join'd with such success';
Distract my very soul. Our father's fortune
Would almost tempt us to renounce his precepts.
Remember what our father oft has told us :
The ways of Heaven are dark and intricate,
Puzzled in mazes, and perplex'd with errors;
Our understanding traces them in vain,
Lost and bewilder'd in the fruitless search;
Nor sees with how much art the windings run,
Nor where the regular confusion ends.
These are suggestions of a mind at ease;
Oh Portius! didst thou taste but half the griefs
That wring my soul, thou couldst not talk thus coldly.
Passion unpity'd, and successless love,
Plant daggers in my heart, and aggravate
My other griefs. Were but my Lucia kind-
Thou seest not that thy brother is thy rival:
But I must hide it, for I know thy temper.
[Aside.
Now, Marcus, now thy virtue's on the proof:
Put forth thy utmost strength, work every nerve,
And call up all thy father in thy soul :
To quell the tyrant love, and guard thy heart
On this weak side, where most our nature fails,
Would be a conquest worthy Cato's son.
Portius, the counsel which I cannot take,
Instead of healing, but upbraids my weakness.
Bid me for honour plunge into a war
Of thickest foes, and rush on certain death,
Then shalt thou see that Marcus is not slow
To follow glory, and confess his father.
Love is not to be reason'd down, or lost
In high ambition, and a thirst of greatness;
'Tis second life, it grows into the soul,
Warms every vein, and beats in every pulse;
I feel it here: my resolution melts-
Behold young Juba, the Numidian prince!
With how much care he forms himself to glory,
And breaks the fierceness of his native temper
To copy out our father's bright example.
He loves our sister Marcia, greatly loves her.
His eyes, his looks, his actions all betray it :
But still the smother'd fondness burns within him.
When most it swells, and labours for a vent,
The sense of honour and desire of fame
Drive the big passion back into his heart.
What! shall an African, shall Juba's heir
Reproach great Cato's son, and show the world
A virtue wanting in a Roman soul?
Portius, no more! your words leave stings behind them.
Whene'er did Juba, or did Portius, show
A virtue that has cast me at a distance,
And thrown me out in the pursuits of honour?
Marcus, I know thy gen'rous temper well;
Fling but th' appearance of dishonour on it,
It strait takes fire, and mounts into a blaze.
A brother's sufferings claim a brother's pity.
Heaven knows I pity thee: behold my eyes
Even whilst I speak- -Do they not swim in tears?
Were but my heart as naked to thy view,
Marcus would see it bleed in his behalf.
Why then dost treat me with rebukes, instead
Of kind condoling cares, and friendly sorrow?
O Marcus! did I know the way to ease
Thy troubled heart, and mitigate thy pains,
Marcus, believe me, I could die to do it.
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