To hold the scepter which his mother gave;

And though by death he has requited her:95

Still will the glory of the empire won

Belong to her for centuries to come.

Nurse: Restrain these words that voice thy raging heart,

And check thy tongue's too rash and thoughtless speech.

Octavia: Though I should bear what may be borne, my woes,100

Save by a cruel death, could not be ended.

For, since my mother was by murder slain,

And my father taken off by crime most foul,