Cato, a Tragedy/Act I
CATO,
ACT I.SCENE I.
Portius, Marcus.
Portius.THE dawn is over-cast, the morning low'rs,And heavily in clouds brings on the day,The great, th' important day, big with the fateOf Cato and of Rome———Our father's deathWould fill up all the guilt of civil war,And close the scene of blood. Already CesarHas ravag'd more than half the globe, and seesMankind grown thin by his destructive sword:Should he go further, numbers would be wantingTo form new battles, and support his crimes.Ye gods, what havock does ambition makeAmong your works!Marc.Thy steddy temper, Portius,Can look on guilt, rebellion, fraud, and Cesar,In the calm lights of mild philosophy:I'm tortur'd even to madness when I thinkOn the proud victor; ev'ry time he's nam'd,Pharsalia rises to my view!———I seeTh' insulting tyrant prancing o'er the fieldStrow'd with Rome's citizens, and drench'd in slaughter,His horses hooves wet with Patrician blood!Oh Portius, is there not some chosen curse,Some hidden thunder in the stores of heav'nRed with uncommon wrath to blast the man,Who owes his greatness to his country's ruin?Por.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 suff'rings shine and spread a glory round him;Greatly unfortunate, he fights the causeOf honour, virtue, liberty, and Rome.His sword ne'er fell but on the guilty head;Oppression, tyranny, and pow'r usurp'd,Draw all the vengeance of his arm upon 'em.Marc.Who knows not this? but what can Cato doAgainst a world, a base, degen'rate world,That courts the yoke, and bows the neck to Cesar?Pent up in Utica, he vainly formsA poor epitome of Roman greatness,And, cover'd with Numidian guards, directsA feeble army, and an empty senate,Remnants of mighty battles fought in vain.By heav'ns, such virtues, join'd with such success,Distract my very soul: our father's fortuneWould almost tempt us to renounce his precepts.Por.Remember what our father oft has told us:The ways of heav'n are dark and intricate;Puzzled in mazes, and perplex'd with errors;Our understanding traces 'em 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.Marc.These are suggestions of a mind at ease:Oh Portius, didst thou taste but half the griefsThat wring my soul, thou coud'st not talk thus coldly:Passion unpity'd, and successless love,Plant daggers in my heart, and aggravateMy other griefs. Were but my Lucia kind!———Por.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 ev'ry nerve,And call up all thy father in thy soul:To quell the tyrant love, and guard thy heartOn this weak side, where most our nature fails,Would be a conquest worthy Cato's son.Marc.Portius, the counsel which I cannot take,Instead of healing, but upbraids my weakness. Bid me for honour plunge into a warOf thickest foes, and rush on certain death,Then shalt thou see that Marcus is not slowTo follow glory, and confess his father.Love is not to be reason'd down, or lostIn high ambition, and a thirst of greatness;'Tis second life, it grows into the soul,Warms ev'ry vein, and beats in ev'ry pulse,I feel it here: my resolution melts——— Por.Behold young Juba, the Numidian prince!With how much care he forms himself to glory,And breaks the fierceness of his native temperTo 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 smothered 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 heirReproach great Cato's son, and shew the worldA virtue wanting in a Roman soul?Marc.Portius, no more! your words leave stings behind 'em.When-e'er did Juba, or did Portius, shewA virtue that has cast me at a distance,And thrown me out in the pursuits of honour?Por.Marcus, I know thy gen'rous temper well;Fling but th' appearance of dishonour on it,It straight takes fire, and mounts into a blaze.Marc.A brother's suff'rings claim a brother's pity.Por.Heav'n knows, I pity thee: behold my eyes,Ev'n 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.Marc.Why then dost' treat me with rebukes, insteadOf kind condoling cares, and friendly sorrow!Por.O, Marcus, did I know the way to easeThy troubled heart, and mitigate thy pains,Marcus, believe me, I could die to do it. Marc.Thou best of brothers, and thou best of friends!Pardon a weak distemper'd soul, that swellsWith sudden gusts, and sinks as soon in calms,The sport of passions:———But Sempronius comes:He must not find this softness hanging on me.[Exit.
SCENE II.
Enter Sempronius.Semp.Conspiracies no sooner shou'd be form'dthan executed. What means Portius here?I like not that cold youth. I must dissemble,And speak a language foreign to my heart.[Aside.
Sempronius, Portius.Good morrow, Portius! let us once embrace,Once more embrace; whilst yet we both are free.To-morrow shou'd we thus express our friendship,Each might receive a slave into his arms:This sun, perhaps, this morning sun's the last,That e'er shall rise on Roman liberty.Por.My father has this morning call'd togetherTo this poor hall his little Roman senate,(The leavings of Pharsalia) to consultIf yet he can oppose the mighty torrentThat bears down Rome, and all her gods before it,Or must at length give up the world to Cesar.Semp.Not all the pomp and majesty of RomeCan raise her senate more than Cato's presence:His virtues render our assembly awful,They strike with something like religious fear,And make ev'n Cesar tremble at the headOf armies flush'd with conquest. O my Portius,Could I but call that wond'rous man my father,Would but thy sister Marcia be propitiousTo thy friend's vows, I might be bless'd indeed!Por.Alas! Sempronius, would'st thou talk of loveTo Marcia, whilst her father's life's in danger?Thou might'st as well court the pale trembling vestalWhen she beholds the holy flame expiring. Semp.The more I see the wonders of thy race,The more I'm charm'd. Thou must take heed, my Portius!The world has all its eyes on Cato's son;Thy father's merit sets thee up to view,And shews thee in the fairest point of light,To make thy virtues, or thy faults conspicuous.Por.Well dost thou seem to check my ling'ring hereIn this important hour—I'll straight away,And while the fathers of the senate meetIn close debate, to weigh th' events of war,I'll animate the soldiers' drooping courage,With love of freedom, and contempt of life;I'll thunder in their ears their country's cause,And try to rouse up all that's Roman in 'em.'Tis not in mortals to command success,But we'll do more, Sempronius; we'll deserve it.[Exit.
Sempronius solus.Curse on the stripling! how he apes his sire?Ambitiously sententious———But I wonderOld Syphax comes not; his Numidian geniusIs well disposed to mischief, were he promptAnd eager on it; but he must be spurr'd,And ev'ry moment quicken'd to the course.———Cato has us'd me ill: He has refus'dHis daughter Marcia to my ardent vows.Besides, his baffled arms, and ruin'd causeAre bars to my ambition. Cesar's favour,That show'rs down greatness on his friends, will raise meTo Rome's first honours. If I give up Cato,I claim, in my reward his captive daughter.But Syphax comes!———
SCENE III.
Enter Syphax, Sempronius.Syph.Sempronius! all is ready.I've found my Numidians, man by man,And find them ripe for a revolt; they all Complain aloud of Cato's discipline,And wait but the command to change their master.Semp.Believe me, Syphax, there's no time to waste;Even whilst we speak our conqueror comes on,And gathers ground upon us ev'ry moment.Alas! thou know'st not Cesar's active soul,With what a dreadful course he rushes onFrom war to war? in vain has nature form'dMountains and oceans to oppose his passage;He bounds o'er all, victorious in his march;The Alps and Pyreneans sink before him,Through winds and waves and storms he works his way,Impatient for the battle: One day moreWill set the victor thund'ring at our gates.But tell me, hast thou yet drawn o'er young Juba?That still would recommend thee more to Cesar,And challenge better terms.Syph.Alas! he's lost!He's lost, Sempronius; all his thoughts are fullOf Cato's virtues———But I'll try once more!(For ev'ry instant I expect him here.)If yet I can subdue those stubborn principlesOf faith, of honour, and I know not what,That have corrupted his Numidian temper,And struct th' infection into all his soul.Semp.Be sure to press upon him ev'ry motive.Juba's surrender, since his father's death,Would give up Afric into Cesar's hands,And make him lord of half the burning zone.Syph.But is it true, Sempronius, that your senateIs call'd together! gods! thou must be cautious!Cato has piercing eyes, and will discernOur frauds, unless they're cover'd thick with art.Semp.Let me alone, good Syphax, I'll concealMy thoughts in passion ('tis the surest way;)I'll bellow out for Rome, and for my country,And mouthe at Cesar 'till I shake the senate.Your cold hypocrisy's a stale advice,A worn out trick: would'st thou be thought in earnest?Clothe thy feign'd zeal in rage, in fire, in fury!Syph.In troth, thou'rt able to instruct grey hairs,And teach the wily African deceit! Semp.Once more, be sure to try thy skill on Juba.Mean while I'll hasten to my Roman soldiers.Inflame the mutiny, and underhandBlow up their discontents, 'till they break outUnlook'd for, and discharge themselves on Cato.Remember, Syphax, we must work in haste:O think what anxious moments pass betweenThe birth of plots, and their last fatal periods.Oh! 'tis a dreadful interval of time,Fill'd up with horror all, and big with death!Destruction hangs on ev'ry word we speak,On ev'ry thought, 'till the concluding strokeDetermines all, and closes our design.[Exit.
Syphax solus.I'll try if yet I can reduce to reasonThis headstrong youth, and make him spurn at Cato.The time is short, Cesar comes rushing on us———But hold! young Juba sees me, and approaches.
SCENE IV.
Enter Juba, Syphax.Jub.Syphax, I joy to meet thee thus alone.I have observ'd of late thy looks are fall'n,O'ercast with gloomy cares and discontent;Then tell me, Syphax, I conjure thee tell me,What are the thoughts that knit thy brow in frowns,And turn thine eye thus coldly on thy prince?Syph.'Tis not my talent to conceal my thoughts,Or carry smiles and sunshine in my face,When discontent sits heavy at my heart:I have not yet so much the Roman in me.Jub.Why dost thou cast out such ungen'rous termsAgainst the lords and sov'reigns of the world?Dost thou not see mankind fall down before them,And own the force of their superior virtue?Is there a nation in the wilds of Afric,Amidst our barren rocks, and burning sands,That does not tremble at the Roman name? Syph.Gods! where's the worth that sets this people upAbove your own Numidia's tawny sons?Do they with tougher sinews bend the bow?Or flies the jav'lin swifter to its mark,Launch'd from the vigour of a Roman arm?Who like our active African instructsThe fiery steed, and trains him to his hand?Or guides in troops th' embattled elephant,Loaden with war? these, these are arts, my Prince,In which your Zama does not stoop to Rome.Jub.These all are virtues of a meaner rank,Perfections that are plac'd in bones and nerves.A Roman soul is bent on higher views:To civilize the rude unpolish'd world,And lay it under the restraint of laws;To make man mild, and sociable to man;To cultivate the wild licentious savageWith wisdom, discipline, and lib'ral arts;Th' embellishments of life: virtues like these,Make human nature shine, reform the soul,And break our fierce barbarians into men.Syph.Patience, kind heav'ns!—Excuse an old man's warmth.What are these wondrous civilizing arts,This Roman polish, and this smooth behaviour,That render man thus tractable and tame?Are they not only to disguise our passions,To set our looks at variance with our thoughts,To check the starts and sallies of the soul,And break off all its commerce with the tongue;In short, to change us into other creatures,Than what our nature and the gods design'd us?Jub.To strike thee dumb: turn up thy eyes to Cato!There may'st thou see to what a godlike heightThe Roman virtues lift up mortal man.While good, and just, and anxious for his friends,He's still severely bent against himself;Renouncing sleep, and rest, and food, and ease,He strives with thirst and hunger, toil and heat;And when his fortune sets before him allThe pomps and pleasures that his soul can wish,His rigid virtue will accept of none. Syph.Believe me, Prince, there's not an AfricanThat traverses our vast Numidian desarts,In quest of prey, and lives upon his bow,But better practices these boasted virtues.Coarse are his meals, the fortune of the chase,Amidst the running stream he slakes his thirst,Toils all the day, and, at th' approach of nightOn the first friendly bank he throws him down,Or rests his head upon a rock 'till morn:Then rises fresh, pursues his wonted game,And if the following day he chance to findA new repast, or an untasted spring,Blesses his stars, and thinks it luxury.Jub.Thy prejudices, Syphax, won't discernWhat virtues grow from ignorance and choice,Nor how the hero differs from the brute.But grant that others could with equal gloryLook down on pleasures, and the baits of sense;Where shall we find the man that bears affliction,Great and majestic in his griefs, like Cato?Heav'ns! with what strength, what steadiness of mind,He triumphs in the midst of all his suff'rings!How does he rise against a load of woes,And thank the gods that throw the weight upon him!Syph.'Tis pride, rank pride, and haughtiness of soul;I think the Romans call it Stoicism.Had not your royal father thought so highlyOf Roman virtue, and of Cato's cause,He had not fall'n by a slave's hand, inglorious:Nor would his slaughter'd army now have lainOn Afric sands disfigur'd with their wounds,To gorge the wolves and vultures of Numidia.Jub.Why dost thou call my sorrows up afresh?My father's name brings tears into my eyes.Syph.Oh, that you'd profit by your father's ills!Jub.What would'st thou have me do?Syph.Abandon Cato.Jub.Syphax, I should be more than twice an orphanBy such a loss.Syph.Ay, there's the tie that binds you?You long to call him father. Marcia's charms Work in your heart unseen, and plead for Cato.No wonder you are deaf to all I say.Jub.Syphax, your zeal becomes importunate;I've hitherto permitted it to rave,And talk at large; but learn to keep it in,Lest it should take more freedom than I'll give it.Syph.Sir, your great father never us'd me thus.Alas, he's dead! but can you e'er forgetThe tender sorrows and the pangs of nature,The fond embraces, and repeated blessings,Which you drew from him in your last farewell?Still must I cherish the dear, sad remembrance,At once to torture, and to please my soul.The good old King, at parting wrung my hand,(His eyes brim-full of tears) then sighing cry'd,Pry'thee be careful of my son!———his griefSwell'd up so high, he could not utter more.Jub.Alas, the story melts away my soul.That best of fathers! how shall I dischargeThe gratitude and duty that I owe him!Syph.By laying up his counsels in your heart.Jub.His counsels bade me yield to thy directions:Then, Syphax, chide me in severest terms,Vent all thy passion, and I'll stand its shock,Calm and unruffled as a summer sea,When not a breath of wind flies o'er its surface.Syph.Alas my prince, I'd guide you to your safety.Jub.I do believe thou would'st; but tell me how?Syph.Fly from the fate that follows Cesar's foes.Jub.My father scorn'd to do it.Syph.And therefore dy'd.Jub.Better to die ten thousand thousand deaths,Than wound my honour.Syph.Rather say your love.Jub.Syphax, I've promis'd to preserve my temper,Why wilt thou urge me to confess a flame,I long have stifled, and would fain conceal?Syph.Believe me, prince, tho' hard to conquer love,'Tis easy to divert and break its force:Absence might cure it, or a second mistressLight up another flame, and put out this, The glowing dames of Zama's royal courtHave faces flusht with more exalted charms;The sun that rolls his chariot o'er their heads,Works up more fire and colour in their cheeks:Were you with these, my Prince, you'd soon forgetThe pale, unripen'd beauties of the North.Jub.'Tis not a set of features, or complexion,The tincture of a skin that I admire.Beauty soon grows familiar to the lover,Fades in his eye, and palls upon the sense.The virtuous Marcia tow'rs above her sex:True, she is fair (Oh, how divinely fair!),But still the lovely maid improves her charms,With inward greatness, unaffected wisdom,And sanctity of manners. Cato's soulShines out in ev'ry thing she acts or speaks,While winning mildness and attractive smilesDwell in her looks, and, with becoming graceSoften the rigour of her father's virtues.Syph.How does your tongue grow wanton in her praise!But on my knees I beg you would consider———
Enter Marcia and Lucia.Jub.Ha! Syphax, is't not she!—She moves this way:And with her Lucia, Lucius' fair daughter.My heart beats thick—I pr'ythee Syphax leave me.Syph.Ten thousand curses fasten on them both!Now will the woman with a single glanceUndo what I've been lab'ring all this while.[Exit.
SCENE V.
Enter Juba, Marcia, Lucia.Jub.Hail, charming maid, how does thy beauty smoothThe face of war, and make ev'n horror smile!At sight of thee my heart shakes off its sorrows;I feel a dawn of joys break in upon me,And for a while forget th' approach of Cesar. Mar.I shou'd be griev'd, young Prince, to think my presenceUnbent your thoughts, and slacken'd 'em to arms,While warm with slaughter, our victorious foeThreatens aloud, and calls you to the field.Jub.O Marcia, let me hope thy kind concernsAnd gentle wishes follow me to battle!The thought will give new vigour to my arm,And strength and weight to my descending sword,And drive it in a tempest on the foe.Mar.My pray'rs and wishes always shall attendThe friends of Rome, the glorious cause of virtue,And men approv'd of by the gods and Cato.Jub.That Juba may deserve thy pious cares,I'll gaze for ever on thy godlike father,Transplanting one by one, into my lifeHis bright perfections, 'till I shine like him.Mar.My father never at a time like thisWou'd lay out his great soul in words, and wasteSuch precious moments.Jub.Thy reproofs are just,Thou virtuous maid; I'll hasten to my troops,And fire their languid souls with Cato's virtue.If e'er I lead them to the field, when allThe war shall stand rang'd in its just array,And dreadful pomp: Then will I think on thee!O lovely maid, then will I think on thee!And in the shock of charging hosts, rememberWhat glorious deeds shou'd grace the man, who hopesFor Marcia's love.[Exit.
SCENE VI.
Lucia, Marcia.Luc.Marcia, you're too severe:How cou'd you chide the young good-natur'd Prince,And drive him from you with so stern an air,A Prince that loves and dotes on you to death?Mar.'Tis therefore, Lucia, that I chide him from me.His air, his voice, his looks, and honest soulSpeak all so movingly in his behalfI dare not trust myself to hear him talk. Luc.Why will you fight against so sweet a passion,And steel your heart to such a world of charms?Mar.How, Lucia, wou'dst thou have me sink awayIn pleasing dreams, and lose myself in love,When ev'ry moment Cato's life's at stake?Cesar comes arm'd with terror and revenge,And aims his thunder at my father's head:Shou'd not the sad occasion swallow upMy other cares, and draw them all into it?Luc.Why have I not this constancy of mind,Who have so many griefs to try its force?Sure, Nature form'd me of her softest mould,Enfeebled all my soul with tender passions,And sunk me ev'n below my own weak sex:Pity, and love, by turns oppress my heart.Mar.Lucia, disburden all thy cares on me,And let me share thy most retir'd distress;Tell me who raises up this conflict in thee?Luc.I need not blush to name them, when I tell theeThey're Marcia's brothers, and the sons of Cato.Mar.They both behold thee with their sister's eyes,And often have reveal'd their passion to me:But tell me, whose address thou fav'rest most?I long to know, and yet I dread to hear it.Luc.Which is it Marcia wishes for?Mar.For neither———And yet for both—the youths have equal shareIn Marcia's wishes, and divide their sister:But tell me, which of them is Lucia's choice?Luc.Marcia, they both are high in my esteem,But in my love—why wilt thou make me name him!Thou know'st it is a blind and foolish passion,Pleas'd and disgusted with it knows not what———Mar.O Lucia, I'm perplex'd, O tell me whichI must hereafter call my happy brother?Luc.Suppose 'twere Portius, could you blame my choice?———O, Portius, thou hast stol'n away my soul!With what a graceful tenderness he loves!And breathes the softest, the sincerest vows!Complacency, and truth, and manly sweetnessDwell ever on his tongue, and smooth his thoughts. Marcus is over-warm, his fond complaintsHave so much earnestness and passion in them,I hear him with a secret kind of horror,And tremble at his vehemence of temper.Mar.Alas, poor youth! how can'st thou throw him from thee?Lucia, thou know'st not half the love he bears thee?Whene'er he speaks of thee, his heart's in flames,He sends out all his soul in ev'ry word,And thinks, and talks, and looks like one transported.Unhappy youth! How will thy coldness raiseTempests and storms in his afflicted bosom!I dread the consequence.Luc.You seem to pleadAgainst your brother Portius.Mar.Heav'n forbid!Had Portius been the unsuccessful lover,The same compassion would have fall'n on him.Luc.Was ever virgin-love distress'd like mine!Portius himself oft falls in tears before me,As if he mourn'd his rival's ill success,Then bids me hide the motions of my heart,Nor shew which way it turns. So much he fearsThe sad effects that it will have on Marcus.Mar.He knows too well how easily he's fir'd,And wou'd not plunge his brother in despair,But waits for happier times, and kinder moments.Luc.Alas, too late I find myself involv'dIn endless griefs, and labyrinths of woe,Born to afflict my Marcia's familyAnd sow dissension in the hearts of brothers,Tormenting thought! it cuts into my soul.Mar.Let us not, Lucia, aggravate our sorrows,But to the gods submit th' event of things.Our lives, discolour'd with our present woes,May still grow bright, and smile with happier hours:So the pure limpid stream, when foul with stainsOf rushing torrents, and descending rains,Works itself clear, and as it runs, refines;'Till by degrees the floating mirror shines,Reflects each flow'r that on the border grows,And a new heav'n in its fair bosom shows.[Exeunt.