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Subject Area: Literature
Debate: Cato and Caesar

ACT IV. - Voltaire, The Works of Voltaire, Vol. VIII The Dramatic Works Part 1 (Mérope, Olympia, The Orphan of China, Brutus) and Part II (Mahomet, Amelia, Oedipus, Mariamne, Socrates). [1901]

Edition used:

The Works of Voltaire. A Contemporary Version. A Critique and Biography by John Morley, notes by Tobias Smollett, trans. William F. Fleming (New York: E.R. DuMont, 1901). In 21 vols. Vol. VIII The Dramatic Works Part 1 (Mérope, Olympia, The Orphan of China, Brutus) and Part II (Mahomet, Amelia, Oedipus, Mariamne, Socrates).

Part of: The Works of Voltaire. A Contemporary Version, in 21 vols.

About Liberty Fund:

Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.


ACT IV.

SCENE I.

mahomet, omar.

omar.

  • My lord, our secret is discovered; Seid
  • Has told Hercides; we are on the verge
  • Of ruin, yet I know he will obey.

mahomet.

  • Revealed it, sayest thou?

omar.

  • Yes: Hercides loves him
  • With tenderness.

mahomet.

  • Indeed! What said he to it?

omar.

  • He stood aghast and seemed to pity Zopir.

mahomet.

  • He’s weak, and therefore not to be entrusted;
  • Fools ever will be traitors; but no matter,
  • Let him take heed; a method may be found
  • To rid us of such dangerous witnesses:
  • Say, Omar, have my orders been obeyed?

omar.

  • They have, my lord.

mahomet.

  • ’Tis well: remember, Omar,
  • In one important hour or Mahomet
  • Or Zopir is no more; if Zopir dies,
  • The credulous people will adore that God
  • Who thus declared for me, and saved his prophet:
  • Be this our first great object; that once done,
  • Take care of Seid; art thou sure the poison
  • Will do its office?

omar.

  • Fear it not, my lord.

mahomet.

  • O we must work in secret, the dark shades
  • Of death must hide our purpose—while we shed
  • Old Zopir’s blood, be sure you keep Palmira
  • In deepest ignorance; she must not know
  • The secret of her birth: her bliss and mine
  • Depend upon it; well thou knowest, my triumphs
  • From error’s fruitful source incessant flow:
  • The ties of blood, and all their boasted power
  • Are mere delusions: what are nature’s bonds?
  • Nothing but habit, the mere force of custom:
  • Palmira knows no duty but obedience
  • To me; I am her lord, her king, her father,
  • Perhaps may add the name of husband to them:
  • Her little heart will beat with proud ambition
  • To captivate her master—but the hour
  • Approaches that must rid me of my foe,
  • The hated Zopir: Seid is prepared—
  • And see, he comes: let us retire.

omar.

  • Observe
  • His wild demeanor; rage and fierce resentment
  • Possess his soul.

SCENE II.

mahomet, omar,retired to one side of the stage;seidat the farther end.

seid.

  • This dreadful duty then
  • Must be fulfilled.

mahomet.

[To Omar.

  • Let us begone, in search
  • Of other means to make our power secure.
  • [Exit with Omar.

seid.

[Alone.

  • I could not answer: one reproachful word
  • From Mahomet sufficed: I stood abashed,
  • But not convinced: if heaven requires it of me,
  • I must obey; but it will cost me dear.

SCENE III.

seid, palmira.

seid.

  • Palmira, art thou here? what fatal cause
  • Hath led thee to this seat of horror?

palmira.

  • Fear
  • And love directed me to find thee, Seid,
  • To ask thee what dread sacrifice thou meanest
  • To offer here; do heaven and Mahomet
  • Demand it of thee, must it be? O speak.

seid.

  • Palmira, thou commandest my every thought
  • And every action; all depend on thee:
  • Direct them as thou wilt, inform my soul,
  • And guide my hand: be thou my guardian god,
  • Explain the will of heaven which yet I know not;
  • Why am I chosen to be its instrument
  • Of vengeance? are the prophet’s dread commands
  • Irrevocable?

palmira.

  • Seid, we must yield in silence,
  • Nor dare to question his decrees; he hears
  • Our secret sighs, nor are our sorrows hid
  • From Mahomet’s all-seeing eye: to doubt
  • Is profanation of the deity.
  • His God is God alone; he could not else
  • Be thus victorious, thus invincible.

seid.

  • He must be Seid’s God who is Palmira’s:
  • Yet cannot my astonished soul conceive
  • A being, tender, merciful, and kind,
  • Commanding murder; then again I think
  • To doubt is guilt: the priest without remorse
  • Destroys the victim: by the voice of heaven
  • I know that Zopir was condemned, I know
  • That Seid was predestined to support
  • The law divine: so Mahomet ordained,
  • And I obey him; fired with holy zeal
  • I go to slay the enemy of God;
  • And yet methinks another deity
  • Draws back my arm, and bids me spare the victim:
  • Religion lost her power when I beheld
  • The wretched Zopir; duty urged in vain
  • Her cruel plea, exhorting me to murder;
  • With joy I listened to the plaintive voice
  • Of soft humanity: but Mahomet—
  • How awful! how majestic! who can bear
  • His wrath? his frowns reproached my shameful weakness;
  • Religion is a dreadful power: alas!
  • Palmira, I am lost in doubts and fears,
  • Discordant passions tear this feeble heart:
  • I must be impious, must desert my faith,
  • Or be a murderer: Seid was not formed
  • For an assassin; but ’tis heaven’s command,
  • And I have promised to avenge its cause:
  • The tears of grief and rage united flow,
  • Contending duties raise a storm within,
  • And thou alone, Palmira, must appease it;
  • Fix my uncertain heart, and give it peace:
  • Alas! without this dreadful sacrifice,
  • The tie that binds us is forever broke;
  • This only can secure thee.

palmira.

  • Am I then
  • The price of blood, of Zopir’s blood?

seid.

  • So heaven
  • And Mahomet decree.

palmira.

  • Love ne’er was meant
  • To make us cruel, barbarous, and inhuman.

seid.

  • To Zopir’s murderer, and to him alone,
  • Palmira must be given.

palmira.

  • O hard condition!

seid.

  • But ’tis the will of Mahomet and heaven.

palmira.

  • Alas!

seid.

  • Thou knowest the dreadful curse that waits
  • On disobedience—everlasting pain.

palmira.

  • If thou must be the instrument of vengeance,
  • If at thy hands the blood which thou hast promised
  • Shall be required—

seid.

  • What’s to be done?

palmira.

  • I tremble
  • To think of it—yet—

seid.

  • It must be so then: thou
  • Hast fixed his doom; Palmira has consented.

palmira.

  • Did I consent?

seid.

  • Thou didst.

palmira.

  • Detested thought!
  • What have I said?

seid.

  • By thee the voice of heaven
  • Speaks its last dread command, and I obey:
  • Yon fatal altar is the chosen seat
  • Of Zopir’s worship, there he bends the knee
  • To his false gods; retire, my sweet Palmira.

palmira.

  • I cannot leave thee.

seid.

  • Thou must not be witness
  • To such a deed of horror: these, Palmira,
  • Are dreadful moments: fly to yonder grove,
  • Thou wilt be near the prophet there: away.

palmira.

  • Zopir must die then?

seid.

  • Yes: this fatal hand
  • Must drag him to the earth, there murder him,
  • And bathe yon ruined altar in his blood.

palmira.

  • Die by thy hand! I shudder at the thought:
  • But see! he comes; just heaven!
  • [The farther part of the stage opens, and discovers an altar.

SCENE IV.

seid, palmira,on one side;zopir,standing near the altar.

zopir.

  • Ye guardian gods
  • Of Mecca, threatened by an impious sect
  • Of vile impostors, now assert your power,
  • And let your Zopir’s prayers, perhaps the last
  • He e’er shall make, be heard! the feeble bonds
  • Of our short peace are broken, and fierce war
  • Vindictive rages; O if ye support
  • The cause of this usurper—

seid.

[Aside to Palmira.

  • Hear, Palmira,
  • How he blasphemes!

zopir.

  • May death be Zopir’s lot!
  • I wish for naught on earth but to behold,
  • In my last hour, and to embrace my children,
  • To die in their loved arms, if yet they live,
  • If they are here, for something whispers me
  • That I shall see them still.

palmira.

[Aside to Seid.

  • His children, said he?

zopir.

  • O I should die with pleasure at the sight:
  • Watch over and protect them, ye kind gods,
  • O let them think like me, but not like me
  • Be wretched!

seid.

  • See! he prays to his false gods:
  • This is the time to end him.
  • [Draws his sword.

palmira.

  • Do not, Seid.

seid.

  • To serve my God, to please and merit thee,
  • This sword, devoted to the cause of heaven,
  • Is drawn, and shall destroy its deadliest foe:
  • Yon dreary walk invites me to the deed,
  • Methinks the path is bloody, wandering ghosts
  • Glide through the shade, and beckon me away.

palmira.

  • What sayest thou, Seid?

seid.

  • Ministers of death,
  • I follow you; conduct me to the altar,
  • And guide my trembling hand!

palmira.

  • It must not be;
  • ’Tis horrible: O stop, my Seid.

seid.

  • No:
  • The hour is come, and see! the altar shakes.

palmira.

  • ’Tis heaven’s assent, and we must doubt no more.

seid.

  • Means it to urge me on, or to restrain?
  • Our prophet will reproach me for this weakness:
  • Palmira!

palmira.

  • Well!

seid.

  • Address thyself to heaven:
  • I go to do the deed.
  • [He goes behind the altar where Zopir is retired.

palmira.

[Alone.

  • O dreadful moment!
  • What do I feel within! my blood runs cold:
  • And yet if heaven demands the sacrifice,
  • Am I to judge, to ask, or to complain?
  • Where is the heart that knows itself, that knows
  • Its innocence or guilt? We must obey:
  • But hark! methought I heard the plaintive voice
  • Of death; the deed is done—alas! my Seid.

seid.

[Returns looking wildly around.

  • What voice was that? where am I? where’s Palmira?
  • I cannot see Palmira; O she’s gone,
  • She’s lost forever.

palmira.

  • Art thou blind to her
  • Who only lives for thee?

seid.

  • Where are we?

palmira.

  • Speak,
  • My Seid, is the dreadful sacrifice
  • Performed, and thy sad promise all fulfilled?

seid.

  • What sayest thou?

palmira.

  • Zopir? is he dead?

seid.

  • Who? Zopir?

palmira.

  • Good heaven, preserve his senses!—come, my Seid,
  • Let us be gone.

seid.

  • How will these tottering limbs
  • Support me!—I recover—is it you,
  • Palmira?

palmira.

  • Yes: what hast thou done?

seid.

  • Obeyed
  • The voice of heaven, seized with this desperate hand
  • His silver hairs, and dragged him to the earth:
  • ’Twas thy command: O God! thou couldst not bid me
  • Commit a crime! trembling and pale a while
  • I stood aghast, then drew this sacred sword,
  • And plunged it in his bosom: what a look
  • Of tenderness and love the poor old man
  • Cast on his murderer! a scene so mournful
  • Ne’er did these eyes behold: my heart retains
  • And will forever keep the sad idea:
  • Would I were dead like him!

palmira.

  • Let us repair
  • To Mahomet, the prophet will protect us;
  • Here you’re in danger; follow me.

seid.

  • I cannot:
  • Palmira, pity me.

palmira.

  • What mournful thought
  • Can thus depress thee?

seid.

  • O if thou hadst seen
  • His tender looks, when from his bleeding side
  • He drew the fatal weapon forth, and cried:
  • “Dear Seid, poor unhappy Seid!” Oh,
  • That voice, those looks, and Zopir at my feet
  • Weltering in blood, are still before my eyes:
  • What have we done?

palmira.

  • I tremble for thy life:
  • O in the name of all the sacred ties
  • That bind us, fly, and save thyself.

seid.

  • Away,
  • And leave me: why did thy ill-fated love
  • Command this dreadful sacrifice, Palmira?
  • Without thy cruel order heaven itself
  • Had never been obeyed.

palmira.

  • Unkind reproach!
  • Couldst thou but know what thy Palmira suffers
  • How wouldst thou pity her!

seid.

  • What dreadful object
  • Is that before us?
  • [Zopir rises up slowly from behind the altar, and leans upon it.

palmira.

  • ’Tis the murdered Zopir;
  • Bloody and pale he drags his mangled limbs
  • Towards us.

seid.

  • Wilt thou go to him?

palmira.

  • I must;
  • For pity and remorse distract my soul,
  • And draw me to him.

zopir.

[Comes forward leaning on Palmira.

  • Gentle maid, support me!
  • [He sits down.
  • Ungrateful Seid, thou hast slain me; now
  • Thou weepest; alas! too late.

SCENE V.

zopir, seid, palmira, phanor.

phanor.

  • O dreadful sight!
  • What’s here?

zopir.

  • I wish I could have seen my friend
  • Hercides—Phanor, art thou there?—behold
  • My murderer.
  • [Points to Seid.

phanor.

  • O guilt! accursed deed!
  • Unhappy Seid, look upon—thy father.

seid.

  • Who?

palmira.

  • He?

seid.

  • My father?

zopir.

  • Gracious heaven!

phanor.

  • Hercides
  • In his last moments took me in his arms,
  • And weeping cried: “If there be time, O haste
  • Prevent a parricide, and stop the arm
  • Of Seid;” in my breast the tyrant lodged
  • The dreadful secret; now I suffer for it,
  • And die by Mahomet’s detested hand:
  • Haste, Phanor, fly, inform the hapless Zopir,
  • That Seid and Palmira are—his children.

seid.

  • Palmira!

palmira.

  • Thou my brother?

zopir.

  • O ye gods!
  • O nature, thou hast not deceived me then,
  • When thou didst plead for them! unhappy Seid,
  • What could have urged thee to so foul a deed?

seid.

  • [Kneeling.
  • My gratitude, my duty, my religion,
  • All that mankind hold sacred, urged me on
  • To do the worst of actions:—give me back
  • That fatal weapon.

palmira.

  • [Laying hold of Seid’s arm.
  • Plunge it in my breast;
  • I was the cause of my dear father’s murder;
  • And incest is the price of parricide:

seid.

  • Strike both: heaven hath not punishment enough
  • For crimes like ours.

zopir.

  • [Embracing them.
  • Let me embrace my children:
  • The gods have poured into my cup of sorrow
  • A draught of sweetest happiness: I die,
  • Contented, and resign me to my fate:
  • But you must live, my children; you, my Seid,
  • And you, Palmira, by the sacred name
  • Of nature, by thy dying father’s blood,
  • Fast flowing from the wound which thou hast made,
  • Let me entreat you, live; revenge yourselves,
  • Avenge the injured Zopir, but preserve
  • Your gracious lives; the great, the important hour
  • Approaches, that must change the mournful scene:
  • The offended people, ere to-morrow’s dawn,
  • Will rise in arms and punish the usurper;
  • My blood will add fresh fuel to their rage;
  • Let us await the issue.

seid.

  • O I fly
  • To sacrifice the monster, to take vengeance
  • For a dear father’s life, or lose my own.

SCENE VI.

zopir, seid, palmira, omar,Attendants.

omar.

  • Guards, seize the murderer; Mahomet is come
  • To punish guilt, and execute the laws.

zopir.

  • What do I hear?

seid.

  • Did Mahomet command thee
  • To punish Seid?

palmira.

  • Execrable tyrant!
  • Was not the murder done by thy command?

omar.

  • ’Twas not commanded.

seid.

  • Well have I deserved
  • This just reward of my credulity.

omar.

  • Soldiers, obey.

palmira.

  • O stop, ye shall not—

omar.

  • Madam,
  • If Seid’s life is dear to you, submit
  • With patience, lest the prophet’s anger fall
  • Like thunder on your head; if you obey,
  • Great Mahomet is able to protect you:
  • Guards, lead her to the king.

palmira.

  • O take me, death,
  • From this sad scene of never-ending woe!
  • [Seid and Palmira are carried off.

zopir.

  • [To Phanor.
  • They’re gone, they’re lost: O most unhappy father,
  • The wound which Seid gave is not so deep,
  • So painful as this parting.

phanor.

  • See, my lord,
  • The day appears, and the armed multitudes
  • Press onward to defend the cause of Zopir.

zopir.

  • Support me, Phanor: yet thy friend may live
  • To punish this vile hypocrite; at least
  • In death may serve my dear—my cruel—children.

End of the Fourth Act.