Muza to Tar. Into our very council bringest thou
Children of reprobation and perdition?
Darkness thy deeds and emptiness thy speech,
Such images thou raisest as buffoons
Carry in merriment on festivals;
Nor worthiness nor wisdom would display
To public notice their deformities,
Nor cherish them nor fear them; why shouldst thou?
Tar. I fear not them nor thee.
FIFTH ACT: THIRD SCENE.
Egilona enters.
Abd. Advance, O queen.
Now let the turbulence of faction cease.
Muza. Whate’er thy purpose, speak, and be composed.
Egi. He goes; he is afar; he follows her;
He leads her to the altar, to the throne.
For, calm in vengeance, wise in wickedness,
The traitor hath prevailed, o’er him, o’er me,
O’er you—the slaves, the dupes, the scorn, of Julian.
What have I heard! what have I seen!
Muza. Proceed.
Abd. And I swear vengeance on his guilty head
Who intercepts from thee the golden rays
Of sovereignty; who dares rescind thy rights;
Who steals upon thy rest, and breathes around
Empoisoned damps o’er that serenity
Which leaves the world, and faintly lingers here.
Muza. Who shuns thee—