Jul. Stay, Tarik! hear me; for to thee alone
Would I reply.
Tar. Thou hast replied, already.
[Goes.
Muza. We, who were enemies, would not inquire
Too narrowly what reasons urged thy wrath
Against thy sovereign lord: beneath his flag
The Christians first assailed us from these shores,
And we seized gladly the first aid we found
To quell a wealthy and a warlike king.
We never held to thee the vain pretence
That ’twas thy quarrel our brave youth espoused,
Thine, who hast wrought us much disgrace and woe.
From perils and from losses, here we rest
And drink of the fresh fountain at our feet,
Not madly following such illusive streams
As overspread the dizzy wilderness,
And vanish from the thirst they have seduced.
Ours was the enterprise, the land is ours:
What gain we by our toils if he escape
Whom we came hither solely to subdue?
Jul. Is there no gain to live in amity?
Muza. The gain of traffickers and idle men:
Courage and zeal expire upon such calms.
Further, what amity can Moors expect
When you have joined your forces?
Jul. From the hour
That he was vanquished I have laid aside
All power, all arms.
Muza. How can we trust thee, once
Deceived, and oftener than this once despised?
Thou camest hither with no other aim
Than to deprive Roderigo of his crown
For thy own brow.
Egi. Julian, base man, ’tis true.
He comes a prince, no warrior, at this hour.
Muza. His sword, O queen, would not avail him now.