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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 III.

SCENE I.

aruns, albinus, messala.

aruns.

• [A letter in his hand.
• At length, my friend, a dawn of fair success
• Breaks in upon us; thou hast served me nobly,
• And all is well: this letter, my Albinus,
• Decides the fate of Tarquin, and of Rome.
• But, tell me, have you fixed the important hour?
• Have you watched closely the Quirinal gate?
• If our conspirators to-night should fail
• To yield the ramparts up, will your assault
• Be ready? Is the king well satisfied,
• Thinkest thou, Albinus, we shall bring him back
• To Rome subjected, or to Rome in blood?

albinus.

• My lord, by midnight all will be prepared;
• Tarquin already reaps the promised harvest;
• From you, once more, receives the diadem,
• And owns himself indebted more to Aruns
• Than to Porsenna.

aruns.

• Or the envious gods,
• Foes to our hapless sovereign, must destroy
• Our fair design, well worthy of their aid;
• Or by to-morrow’s dawn rebellious Rome
• Shall own a master; Rome perhaps in ashes,
• Or bathing in her blood. But better is it
• A king should rule o’er an unhappy people,
• Who are obedient, than in plenty’s lap,
• O’er a proud nation, who are still perverse
• And obstinate, because they are too happy.
• Albinus, I attend the Princess here
• In secret—Stay, Messala.

SCENE II.

aruns, messala.

aruns.

• Touching Titus,
• What has thou done? couldst thou prevail on him
• To serve the cause of Tarquin? couldst thou bind
• His haughty soul?

messala.

• No: I presumed too far;
• He is inflexible: he loves his country,
• And has too much of Brutus in him; murmurs
• Against the senate, but still dotes on Tullia:
• Pride and ambition, love and jealousy,
• Opened, I thought, a passage to his soul,
• And gave my arts some promise of success;
• But, strange infatuation! liberty
• Prevailed o’er all: his love is desperate,
• Yet Rome is stronger even than love: in vain
• I strove, by slow degrees, to efface the horror
• Which Rome had taught his foolish heart to feel
• Even at the name of king; in vain opposed
• His rooted prejudice; the very mention
• Of Tarquin fired his soul; he would not hear me,
• But broke off the discourse: I must have gone
• Too far, had I persisted.

aruns.

• Then, Messala,
• There are no hopes of him.

messala.

• Much less reluctant
• I found his brother; one of Brutus’ sons,
• At least is ours.

aruns.

• Already hast thou gained
• Tiberius? by what lucky art, Messala—

messala.

• His own ambition did it all: long time,
• With jealous eye, hath he beheld the honors
• Heaped on his brother, that eclipse his own;
• The wreath of laurel, and the pomp of triumph,
• The waving ensigns, with the people’s love,
• And Brutus’ fondness, lavished all on Titus,
• Like deepest injuries, sunk into his soul,
• And helped to fill the poisoned cup of envy;
• Whilst Titus, void of malice or revenge,
• Too much superior to be jealous of him,
• Stretched forth his hand from his triumphal car,
• As if he wished to give his brother part
• Of all his glories: I embraced, with joy,
• The lucky minute; pointed out the paths
• Of glory; promised, in the name of Tarquin,
• All the fair honors Rome could give, the throne
• Alone excepted: I perceived him stagger,
• And saw him bend, by slow degrees, before me:
• He’s yours, my lord, and longs to speak with you

aruns.

• Will he deliver the Quirinal gate,
• Messala?

messala.

• Titus is commander there,
• And he alone can give it us: already
• His virtues have been fatal to our purpose;
• He is the guardian deity of Rome:
• The attack is dangerous: without his support
• Success were doubtful, with it all is certain.

aruns.

• If he solicited the consulship,
• Thinkest thou he would refuse the sovereign power
• The sure reversion of a throne with Tullia?

messala.

• ’Twere an affront to his exalted virtue
• To offer him a throne.

aruns.

• And Tullia with it?

messala.

• O he adores her; and even loves her more,
• Because he strives to hate; detests the father,
• And rages for the daughter; dreads to speak,
• Yet mourns in silence; seeks her everywhere,
• Yet shuns her presence, and drinks up his tears
• In secret anguish: all the rage of love
• Possesses him; sometimes in storms like these
• A lucky moment turns the wavering mind.
• Titus, I know, is turbulent and bold;
• And, if we gain him, may, perhaps, go further
• Even than we wish: who knows but fierce ambition
• May yet rekindle by the torch of love!
• His heart would glow with pleasure, to behold
• The trembling senate prostrate at his feet.
• Yet, let me not deceive you with the hopes,
• That Titus ever will be ours; once more,
• However, I shall try his stubborn virtue.

aruns.

• If still he loves, I shall depend on him:
• One look of Tullia’s, one sweet word from her,
• Will soften his reluctant heart much more,
• Than all the arts of Aruns or Messala:
• For, O, believe me, we must hope for naught
• From men, but through their weakness and their follies:
• Titus and Tullia must promote our cause;
• The one’s ambition, and the other’s love:
• These, these, my friend, are the conspirators
• That best will serve the king: from them I hope
• Much more than from myself.
• [Exit Messala.

SCENE III.

tullia, aruns, algina.

aruns.

• This letter, Madam,
• With orders to deliver it to your hands,
• I have received from Tarquin.

tullia.

• Gracious heaven!
• Preserve my father, and reverse his fate!
• [She reads.
• “The throne of Rome may from its ashes rise,
• And he who was the conqueror of his king
• Be his restorer: Titus is a hero,
• He must defend that sceptre which I wish
• To share with him. Remember, O my Tullia,
• That Tarquin gave thee life; remember too,
• My fate depends on thee; thou mayest refuse
• Liguria’s king: if Titus be thy choice,
• He’s mine; receive him for thy husband.”
• Ha!
• Read I aright! Titus! impossible!
• Could Tarquin, could my father, still unmoved
• In all his sorrows, thus at last relent?
• How could he know, or whence—
• [Turning to Messala.
• Alas, my lord,
• ’Tis but to search the secrets of my heart
• You try me thus: pity a wretched princess,
• Nor spread your snares for helpless youth like mine.

aruns.

• Madam, I only mean to obey your father,
• And serve his honored daughter; for your secrets,
• In me it were presumption to remove
• The sacred veil which you have drawn before them;
• My duty only bids me say, that heaven
• By you determines to restore our empire.

tullia.

• And is it possible, that Tullia thus
• Should be the friend of Tarquin, and the wife
• Of Titus?

aruns.

• Doubt it not: that noble hero
• Already burns to serve the royal race:
• His generous heart abhors the savage fierceness
• Of this new commonweal; his pride was hurt
• By their refusal of his just demand:
• The work’s half done, and thou must finish it.
• I have not looked into his heart; but sure,
• If he knows Tullia well, he must adore her:
• Who could behold, unmoved, a diadem
• By thee presented, and with thee adorned?
• Speak to him then, for thou alone hast power
• To triumph o’er this enemy of kings:
• No longer let the senate boast of Titus,
• Their best support, the guardian god of Rome;
• But be it Tullia’s glory to possess
• The great defender of her father’s cause,
• And crush his foes to ruin.

SCENE IV.

tullia, algina.

tullia.

• Gracious heaven!
• How much I owe to thy propitious goodness!
• My tears have moved thee: all is changed; and now
• Thy justice, smiling on my passion, gives
• New strength and freedom to the glorious flame.
• Fly, my Algina, bring him hither: gods!
• Does he avoid me still, or knows he not
• His happiness? But stay, perhaps my hopes
• Are but delusions all: does Titus hate
• The senate thus? alas! and must I owe
• That to resentment which is due to love?

algina.

• I know the senate have offended him;
• That he’s ambitious; that he burns for Tullia.

tullia.

• Then he’ll do all to serve me: fly, Algina,
• Away, begone.
• [Exit Algina.
• And yet this sudden change
• Alarms me: O! what anguish racks my heart!
• Now, love, do thou assist and guide my virtue!
• My fame, my duty, reason, all command it
• And shall my father owe his crown to me,
• Shall Tullia be the chain to bind their friendship;
• And all Rome’s happiness depend on mine?
• O, when shall I impart to thee, my Titus,
• The wondrous change we little thought to see,
• When shall I hear thy vows, and give thee mine,
• Without a pain, a sorrow, or a fear?
• My woes are past; now, Rome, I can forgive thee;
• If Titus leaves thee, Rome, thou art a slave:
• If he is mine, proud senate, thou art no more:
• He loves me; tremble therefore, and obey.

SCENE V.

titus, tullia.

titus.

• May I believe it? wilt thou deign once more
• To look on this abhorred Roman, long
• The object of thy hatred, and thy foe?

tullia.

• The face of things, my lord, is strangely altered;
• Fate now permits me—but first tell me, Titus,
• Has Tullia still an interest in thy heart?

titus.

• Alas! thou canst not doubt thy fatal power;
• Thou knowest my love, my guilt, and my despair;
• And holdest a cruel empire o’er a life
• Which I detest; exhaust your rage upon me;
• My fate is in your hands.

tullia.

• Know, mine depends
• On thee.

titus.

• On Titus? never can this trembling heart
• Believe it: am I then no longer hated?
• Speak on, my Tullia: O, what flattering hope
• Thus in a moment lifts me to the height
• Of mortal bliss?

tullia.

• [Giving him the letter.
• Read this, and make thyself,
• Thy Tullia, and her father happy—Now
• May I not hope—but wherefore that stern brow
• And frowning aspect? gods!

titus.

• Of all mankind
• Titus is sure the most accursed: blind fate,
• Bent on my ruin, showed me happiness,
• Then snatched it from me: to complete my woes,
• It doomed me to adore, and to destroy thee:
• I love thee, and have lost thee now forever.

tullia.

• How, Titus!

titus.

• Yes; this fatal hour condemns me
• To shame and horror: to betray or Rome
• Or Tullia: all that’s left to my sad choice
• Is guilt, or misery.

tullia.

• What sayest thou, Titus?
• When with this hand I offer thee a throne;
• Now when thou knowest my heart, for no longer
• Will I conceal my virtuous passion for thee;
• When duty yields a sanction to our love;
• Alas! I thought this happy day would prove
• The fairest of my life, and yet the moment
• When first my fearful heart, without a blush,
• Might own its passion, is the first that calls
• For my repentance. Darest thou talk to me
• Of guilt and misery? Know, thus to serve
• Ungrateful men against their lawful prince,
• To scorn my proffered bounties, and oppress me,
• These are my miseries, Titus, these thy crimes.
• Mistaken youth, weigh in the even balance
• What Rome refused, and what she offers thee:
• Or deal forth laws, or meanly stoop to obey them:
• Be governed by a rabble, or a king;
• By Rome, or me: direct him right, ye gods!

titus.

• [Giving her back the letter.
• My choice is made.

tullia.

• And fearest thou to avow it?
• Be bold, and speak at once; deserve my pardon,
• Or merit my revenge: what’s thy resolve?

titus.

• ’Tis to be worthy of thee, of myself,
• And of my country; to be just, and faithful;
• ’Tis to adore and imitate thy virtues;
• It is to lose, O Tullia, yet deserve thee.

tullia.

• Forever then—

titus.

• Forgive me, dearest Tullia;
• Pity my weakness, and forget my love:
• Pity a heart foe to itself, a heart
• A thousand times more wretched now than even
• When thou didst hate me: O! I cannot leave,
• I cannot follow thee; I cannot live
• Or with thee or without thee; but will die
• Rather than see thee given to another.

tullia.

• My heart’s still thine, and I forgive thee, Titus.

titus.

• If thou dost love me, Tullia, be a Roman;
• Be more than queen, and love the commonweal:
• Bring with thee patriot zeal, the love of Rome,
• And of her sacred laws, be that thy dowry:
• Henceforth let Brutus be thy father, Rome
• Thy mother, and her loved avenger, Titus,
• Thy husband: thus shall Romans yield the palm
• Of glory to an Etruscan maid, and owe
• Their freedom to the daughter of a king.

tullia.

• And wouldst thou wish me to betray—

titus.

• My soul,
• Urged to despair, hath lost itself: O no!
• Treason is horrible in every shape,
• And most unworthy of thee: well I know
• A father’s rights; his power is absolute,
• And must not be disputed: well I know
• That Titus loves thee, that he is distracted.

tullia.

• Thou knowest what duty is, hear then the voice
• Of Tullia’s father.

titus.

• And forget my own!
• Forget my country!

tullia.

• Canst thou call it thine
• Without thy Tullia?

titus.

• We are foes by nature;
• The laws have laid a cruel duty on us.

tullia.

• Titus and Tullia foes! how could that word
• E’er pass thy lips!

titus.

• Thou knowest my heart belies them.

tullia.

• Dare then to serve, and if thou lovest, revenge me.

SCENE VI.

brutus, aruns, titus, tullia, messala, albinus, proculus, lictors.

brutus.

• [Addressing himself to Tullia.
• Madam, the time is come for your departure;
• Whilst public tumults shook the commonweal,
• And the wild tempest howled around us, Rome
• Could not restore you to your household gods:
• Tarquin himself, in that disastrous hour,
• Too busy in the ruin of his people
• To think on Tullia, ne’er demanded thee.
• Forgive me if I call thus to remembrance
• Thy sorrows past: I robbed thee of a father,
• And meet it is I prove a father to thee:
• Go, princess, and may justice ever guard
• The throne which heaven hath called thee to possess!
• If thou dost hope obedience from thy subjects,
• Obey the laws, and tremble for thyself,
• When thou considerest all a sovereign’s duty:
• And if the fatal powers of flattery e’er
• Should from thy heart unloose the sacred bonds
• Of justice, think on Rome; remember Tarquin:
• Let his example be the instructive lesson
• To future kings, and make the world more happy.
• Aruns, the senate gives her to thy care;
• A father and a husband at your hands
• Expect her. Proculus attends you hence,
• Far as the sacred gate.

titus.

• [Apart.
• Despair, and horror!
• I will not suffer it—permit me, sir,
• [Advancing towards Aruns.
• [Brutus and Tullia with their Attendants go out, leaving Aruns and Messala.
• Gods! I shall die of grief and shame: but soft,
• Aruns, I’d speak with you.

aruns.

• My lord, the time
• Is short; I follow Brutus, and the princess;
• Remember, I can put off her departure
• But for an hour, and after that, my lord,
• ’Twill be too late to talk with me; within
• We may confer on Tullia’s fate, perhaps
• On yours.
• [Exit.

SCENE VII.

titus, messala.

• O cruel destiny! to join
• And then divide us! Were we made, alas!
• But to be foes! My friend, I beg thee stop
• The tide of grief and rage.

messala.

• I weep to see
• So many virtues and so many charms
• Rewarded thus: a heart like hers deserved
• To have been thine, and thine alone.

titus.

• O no!
• Titus and Tullia ne’er shall be united.

messala.

• Wherefore, my lord? what idle scruples rise
• To thwart your wishes?

titus.

• The ungenerous laws
• She has imposed upon me: cruel maid!
• Must I then serve the tyrants I have conquered,
• Must I betray the people I had saved?
• Shall love, whose power I had so long defied,
• At last subdue me thus? Shall I expose
• My father to these proud despotic lords!
• And such a father, such a fair example
• To all mankind, the guardian of his country,
• Whom long I followed in the paths of honor,
• And might perhaps even one day have excelled;
• Shall Titus fall from such exalted virtue
• To infamy and vice? detested thought!

messala.

• Thou art a Roman, rise to nobler views,
• And be a king; heaven offers thee a throne:
• Empire and love, and glory, and revenge
• Await thee: this proud consul, this support
• Of falling Rome, this idol of the people,
• If fortune had not crowned him with success,
• If Titus had not conquered for his father,
• Had been a rebel: thou hast gained the name
• Of conqueror, now assume a nobler title;
• Now be thy country’s friend, and give her peace.
• Restore the happy days, when, blessed with freedom,
• Not unrestrained by power, our ancestors
• Weighed in the even scale, and balanced well
• The prince’s honors and the people’s right:
• Rome’s hate of kings is not immortal; soon
• Would it be changed to love if Titus reigned:
• For monarchy, so oft admired, so oft
• Detested by us, is the best or worst
• Of human governments: A tyrant king
• Will make it dreadful, and a good, divine.

titus.

• Messala, dost thou know me? Dost thou know
• I hold thee for a traitor, and myself
• Almost as guilty for conversing with thee?

messala.

• Know thou, the honor thou contemnest shall soon
• Be wrested from thee, and another hand
• Perform thy office.

titus.

• Ha! another! who?

messala.

• Thy brother.

titus.

• Ay! my brother.

messala.

• He has given
• His faith to Tarquin.

titus.

• Could Tiberius e’er
• Betray his country?

messala.

• He will serve his king,
• And be a friend to Rome: in spite of thee,
• Tarquin will give his daughter to the man
• Who shall with warmest zeal defend her father.

titus.

• Perfidious wretch! thou hast misled my steps.
• And left me hanging o’er the precipice;
• Left me the dreadful choice or to accuse
• My brother, or partake his guilt; but know,
• Sooner thy blood—

messala.

• My life is in thy power,
• Take it this moment; I deserve to die
• For striving to oblige you: shed the blood
• Of friend, of mistress, and of brother; lay
• The breathless victims all before the senate,
• And for thy virtues ask the consulship:
• Or let me hence, and tell them all I know,
• Accuse my fellow-traitors, and myself
• Begin the sacrifice.

titus.

• Messala, stop,
• Or dread my desperate rage.

SCENE VIII.

titus, messala, albinus.

albinus.

• The ambassador
• Would see you now, my lord; he’s with the princess.

titus.

• Yes, I will fly to Tullia: O ye gods
• Of Rome, ye guardians of my much-loved country!
• Pierce this corrupted, this ungrateful heart:
• Had Titus never loved, he had been virtuous:
• And must I fall a sacrifice to thee,
• Detested senate! let us hence.
• [Turning to Messala.
• Thou seest,
• Messala, this proud capitol replete
• With monuments of Titus’ faith.

messala.

• ’Tis filled
• By a proud senate.

titus.

• Ay: I know it well:
• But hark! I hear the voice of angry heaven,
• It speaks to me in thunder, and cries, stop,
• Ungrateful Titus, thou betrayest thy country:
• No, Rome, no, Brutus, I am still thy son:
• O’er Titus’ head the sun of glory still
• Hath shed his brightest rays; he never yet
• Disgraced his noble blood: your victim, gods,
• Is spotless yet; and if this fatal day
• Shall doom me to involuntary crimes,
• If I must yield to fate, let Titus die
• Whilst he is innocent, and save his country.

End of the Third Act.