Their schemes shall baffled be by my commands,
And this shall be the guerdon of their lust,
To triumph o'er Numantia in the dust!
Thou, dear, belovèd consort, it was I
Who first advised that we, with one accord,
Should rather perish than as cravens lie
Beneath the terror of the Roman sword;
I will not therefore be the last to die,
Nor shall my children here.
Wife.