he promises the high-priest; whose answer is the solemn rebuke:
“Young man, beware! God's prophet
Awards thee Persia's crown, but not the world's:
He who wears that should be the Prince of Peace.
Thy portion lies in bounds. Limit and Term
Govern the world.”
This revelation tells on his character throughout the rest of the play. He has no longer that blind confidence in himself, though his mind like a vise holds to its resolution of founding the empire he was warned he could not found. His iron will and indomitable energy overcome all obstacles; but time is creeping on, and he feels it. To unite Persian and Greek together, in order to win the Persian, he must be proclaimed a god; and a god he is proclaimed. But the emptiness and mockery of the title are shown with intense force in the [pg 357] workings of the king's mind up to this madness. He strives to argue himself up to godhead only by arguing godhead down to him:
“A race of gods hath fallen:
Then Zeus in turn may fall. I find for gods
No thrones secure; to man's advance no limit;