Chrysanthus.
That I hear with scant dismay,
Since the memory of this day
With me there will ever dwell.
Fair Daria, fare thee well,
And since now thou knowest who
Died for love of thee, renew
The sweet vow that in the dell
Once thou gav'st me, Him to love
After death who so loved thee.
Polemius.
Take him hence.
Daria.
Ah! suddenly
Light descendeth from above
Which my darkness doth remove.
Now thy shadowed truth I see,
Now the Christian's faith profess.
Let thy bloody lictors press
Round me, racking every limb,
Let me only die with him,
Since I openly confess
That the gods are false whom we
Long have worshipped, that I trust
Christ alone—the True—the Just—
The One God, whose power I see,
And who died for love of me.
Polemius.
Take her too, since she in this
Boasts how dark, how blind she is.
Daria.
Oh! command that I should dwell
With Chrysanthus in his cell.
In our hearts we long are mated,
And ere now had celebrated
Our espousals fond and true,
If the One same God we knew.
Chrysanthus.
This sole bliss alone I waited
To die happy.
Polemius.