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• The Works of Voltaire: the Dramatic Works of Voltaire Vol. Viii— Part I
• MÉrope
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• A Letter to the Marquis Scipio Maffei, Author of the Italian Mérope, and Many Other Celebrated Performances.
• A Letter From M. De La Lindelle to M. De Voltaire.
• The Answer of M. De Voltaire to M. De La Lindelle.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• Olympia
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• The Orphan of China
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• To the Most Noble Duke of Richelieu, Marshal and Peer of France, First Gentleman of the Chamber to His Majesty, Governor of Languedoc, and Member of the Academy of Sciences.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• Brutus
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• The Dramatic Works of Voltaire Vol. Viii— Part Ii
• Mahomet.
• To His Majesty the King of Prussia.
• A Letter From M. De Voltaire to Pope Benedict XIV.
• The Answer of Pope Benedict XIV. To M. De Voltaire. Benedictus P. P. Dilecto Filio Salutem & Apostolicam Benedictionem.
• A Letter of Thanks From M. De Voltaire to the Pope.
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.
• Act Ii
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• Amelia
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• Œdipus
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• Mariamne
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• Socrates
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.

ACT II.

SCENE I.

zamti.

• [Alone.
• This tardy Etan, wherefore comes he not
• To tell me—what I dread to hear? perhaps
• Ere this the dreadful sacrifice is past:
• I had not power to offer it myself.
• O my dear child, how shall I ask my friend
• The horrid question, how conceal my grief?

SCENE II.

zamti, etan.

zamti.

• I see ’tis done; I know it by thy tears;
• They speak too plainly.

etan.

• Thy unhappy son—

zamti.

• No more of that: speak of our empire’s hope,
• The royal infant; is he safe?

etan.

• He is:
• Within the tombs of his great ancestors.
• Concealed from every eye; to you he owes
• A life begun in misery, perhaps
• A fatal gift.

zamti.

• It is enough, he lives.
• O you, to whom I pay this cruel duty,
• Forgive a father’s tears.

etan.

• Alas! my lord,
• You must not give away to sorrow here:
• ’Tis dangerous even to weep.

zamti.

• And whither, Etan,
• Must I transport my griefs? how bear the cries,
• The bitter anguish, the despair, the rage,
• The execrations of a frantic mother?
• May we not yet deceive her for a time?

etan.

• We seized him in her absence, and I flew
• To guard the orphan king.

zamti.

• A while, my friend,
• We might impose on her credulity.
• Couldst thou not say we had delivered up
• The royal orphan, and concealed her son
• In safety? Truth is often most destructive,
• And still we love it, though it makes us wretched.
• Come, Etan, let us home—O heaven! she’s here!
• Observe her, what despair and terror dwell
• On her pale cheek!

SCENE III.

zamti, idame.

idame.

• Barbarian, can it be?
• Could Zamti e’er command it? could he offer
• The dreadful sacrifice? I’ll not believe it:
• Thou couldst not be more cruel than the laws
• Of our proud conquerors, or the Tartar’s sword.
• Alas! thou weepest.

zamti.

• Thou too must weep with Zamti.
• But thou must join with him to save thy king.

idame.

• What! sacrifice my child!

zamti.

• It must be so:
• Thou wert a subject ere thou wert a mother.

idame.

• Has nature then lost all her influence o’er
• A father’s heart?

zamti.

• She has too much; but ne’er
• Shall thwart my duty.

idame.

• ’Tis a barbarous virtue,
• And I abhor it: I have seen, like thee,
• Our empire lost, and wept our sovereign’s fate;
• But why pour forth an infant’s guiltless blood,
• Yet undemanded; why revere as gods
• Your sleeping kings, that moulder in the tomb?
• Hath Zamti sworn to them that he would kill
• His darling child? alas! the rich and poor,
• The monarch and the slave, are equal all
• By nature; all alike to sorrow born,
• Each has his share; and in the general wreck,
• All duty bids us is—to save our own.
• O had I fallen into the snare, and staid
• A moment longer with the royal orphan,
• My child had fallen into the cruel hands
• Of ruffians; but I would have perished with him.
• Nature and love recalled me, and I snatched
• My lovely infant from the ravishers,
• Preserved the son and mother; saved even thee,
• Thou barbarous father.

zamti.

• Doth my son then live?

idame.

• He doth; and thou shouldst bend to gracious heaven
• For goodness thus unmerited: repent,
• And be a father.

zamti.

• O almighty power,
• Forgive the joy that, spite of all my firmness,
• Thus mingles with my tears: alas! my love,
• Vain are our hopes of happiness, and vain
• Thy fond endeavors to prolong the life
• Of our dear infant; these inhuman tyrants
• Will force him from us; he must yield to fate.

idame.

• But hear me, dearest Zamti.

zamti.

• He must die.

idame.

• Barbarian, stay, and tremble at the rage
• Of an afflicted desperate mother.

zamti.

• I
• Shall do my duty, you may give up yours,
• And sacrifice your husband to the foe:
• This is a day of blood; let Zamti join
• His murdered king, and perish with his country.

idame.

• What is your country, what your king to me?
• The name of subject is not half so sacred
• As husband or as father. Love and nature
• Are heaven’s first great unalterable laws,
• And cannot be reversed: the rest are all
• From mortal man, and may be changed at pleasure.
• Would I could save the royal heir, but not
• By the much dearer blood of Zamti’s son!
• Pity a wretched mother; on my knees
• I beg thee, cruel Zamti: O remember
• For whom I slighted this proud conqueror,
• This mighty warrior; was it not for thee?
• And wilt thou not protect my son, not hear
• The voice of nature pleading for thy child?

zamti.

• It is too much: thou dost abuse the power
• Which love has given thee o’er thy Zamti’s heart:
• Couldst thou but see—

idame.

• I own, my lord, I feel
• A mother’s weakness, and a mother’s sorrows;
• Yet may I boast a heart as firm as thine;
• Away, and lead me on to death: I’m ready
• To perish for my son.

zamti.

• I know thy virtues.

SCENE IV.

zamti, idame, octar.

Guards.

octar.

• Where are these traitors? why are my commands
• Thus disobeyed? what have ye done with him,
• The orphan prince? guards, bring him to our presence,
• The emperor approaches; let him see
• The victim at his feet: you, soldiers, watch
• These rebels.

zamti.

• I obey, my lord, the orphan
• Shall be delivered up.

idame.

• ’Tis false; he shall not:
• I’ll sooner lose my life than part with him.

octar.

• Guards, take this woman hence: the emperor comes.

SCENE V.

genghis, octar, osman.

Guards.

genghis.

• At length, my friends, ’tis time to sheathe the sword,
• And let the vanquished breathe; I’ve spread destruction
• And terror through the land, but I will give
• The nation peace: the royal infant’s death
• Shall satisfy my wrath; with him shall rot
• The seeds of foul rebellion; all the plots,
• Feuds and divisions, fears and jealousies,
• That whilst the phantom of a royal heir
• Subsists, must disunite us, he alone
• Of all the hated race remains, and he
• Shall follow them: henceforth we will not raze
• Their boasted works, their monuments of art,
• Their sacred laws; for sacred they esteem
• The musty rolls, which superstition taught
• Their ancestors to worship: be it so,
• The error may be useful, it employs
• The people, and may make them more obedient.
• [To Octar.
• Octar, to thee I shall commit the power,
• To bear my standard to the western world.
• [To another officer.
• Rule thou in conquered India, and interpret
• Thy sovereign’s great decrees; from Samarcand
• To Tanais’ borders, I shall send my sons.
• Away—stay, Octar.

SCENE VI.

genghis, octar.

genghis.

• Couldst thou e’er have thought
• Fortune would raise me to this height of glory?
• That I should reign supreme, and triumph here,
• Even in this palace, where disgraced and wretched
• I sought in vain for refuge, and was treated
• With insolence and scorn: the proud possessors
• Of this unconquered empire then disdained
• A Scythian, and a haughty fair refused
• That hand which now directs the fate of millions.

octar.

• Amidst this scene of glory, how, my lord,
• Can thoughts like these disturb you?

genghis.

• Still the wrongs
• I suffered in adversity oppress me:
• I own the weakness of my foolish heart,
• And hoped to find that happiness in love,
• Which glory, wealth, and empire, cannot give.
• It hurts my pride to think how I was spurned
• By that contemptuous woman; she shall know,
• At least, and see the object of her scorn.
• To have her mourn the honors that she lost
• In losing Genghis will be some revenge.

octar.

• The shouts of victory, and the voice of fame,
• Have been so long familiar to my ears,
• That I have little relish for the plaints
• Of whining love.

genghis.

• Nor has thy friend indulged
• That fatal passion since her proud refusal:
• I own the fair Idame won my heart,
• By charms unknown before: our barren deserts
• Could never produce a face like hers, a mind
• So formed to please; her every motion fired
• My captive soul, but her imprudent scorn
• Restored my freedom; nobler objects claim
• A monarch’s care; I’ll think no more of her,
• Let her repent at leisure of her pride.
• Octar, I charge thee, talk not of Idame.

octar.

• You have, indeed, affairs of greater moment
• That call for your attention.

genghis.

• Then farewell
• To love, and all its follies.

SCENE VII.

genghis, octar, osman.

osman.

• O my lord,
• The victim was prepared, the guard was ranged
• On every side, when (wonderful to tell!)
• A strange event perplexed us all.—A woman
• Of frantic mien, with wild dishevelled hair,
• And bathed in tears, rushed in upon us; “stop,”
• Aloud she cried, “inhuman ruffians, stop,
• It is my son, you’ve been deceived; ’tis not
• The emperor’s child, but mine:” her eyes, her voice,
• Her fury, her despair, her every gesture,
• Was nature’s language all, and spoke the mother:
• When lo! her husband came, with downcast eyes
• And gloomy aspect; sullenly he cried,
• “This is the royal orphan, this the blood,
• Which you demanded, take it:” as he spake,
• Fast flowed his tears. The wretched matron, pale
• And motionless awhile, as struck with death,
• Fell prostrate; then, long as her faltering voice
• Could utter the imperfect sound, cried out,
• “Give me my son:” her sorrows were sincere,
• Never was grief more bitter, doubts arose
• Amongst us, and I came to know your orders.

genghis.

• If ’tis the work of art, I will explore
• The mystery soon, and woe to the deceivers:
• Think they to cast a veil before my eyes,
• And mock their sovereign? let them if they dare.

octar.

• My lord, this woman never can deceive us;
• The emperor’s son was placed beneath her care;
• A master’s child might easily attract
• The faithful servant’s love, and danger make
• The charge more precious still; the ties of nature
• Are not more strong than those of fantasy:
• But we shall soon unravel it.

genghis.

• Who is
• This woman?

octar.

• Wife of a proud Mandarin:
• One of those lettered sages who defy
• The power of kings; a numerous band! but now,
• Thank heaven, reduced by thy victorious arms
• To slavery: Zamti is the traitor’s name
• Who watches o’er the victim.

genghis.

• Go, my Octar,
• Interrogate this guilty pair, and learn,
• If possible, the truth: let all our guards
• Be ready at their posts: they talk, it seems,
• Of a surprise that the Koreans mean
• To march against us on the river’s bank:
• An army hath been seen: we soon shall know
• What bold adventurers are so fond of death,
• To court destruction from the sons of war,
• And force them to depopulate the world.

End of the Second Act.