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Front Page  Titles (by Subject) ACT V. - 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).
ACT V. - 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).
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ACT V.
SCENE I.
duke of foix, an officer.
duke.- Perpetual misery! am I doomed to see
- Nothing but faction, treason, and revolt?
- Where are the rebels, do they mutiny?
officer.- At sight of you, my lord, the crowd dispersed.
duke.- On every side I am oppressed by Vamir;
- All hearts are his; my miseries are complete;
- But what hath Lisois done?
officer.- His watchful courage
- Defends our ramparts ’gainst the foe.
duke.- That soldier
- You brought to me in secret, has he done
- What I commanded?
officer.- Yes, my lord: ere now
- He’s at the tower.
duke.- ’Tis well: a common arm
- Will do it best, and execute my vengeance
- Without remorse: Lisois’ uncertain heart
- Was not to be depended on; methought
- He looked with too much coolness on my rage;
- We seldom try to mitigate a grief,
- Which we contemn: to other hands I’ll trust
- My great revenge.—Go thou, and fetch my standard,
- Let it be brought upon the ramparts to me:
- New dangers press, and for the field again
- We must prepare: let the same zeal inspire thee,
- And the same courage, imitate thy master,
- And learn of him—to die,
- [Exit Officer.
- Ere this ’tis done.
- A base, ungrateful woman dips my hands
- In brother’s blood, and leads me to the tomb:
- A guilty murderer, ha! what means my heart?
- I’ve nourished vengeance long; and shall I not
- Enjoy it now? I tremble: and a voice,
- Solemn and sad, cries from my inmost soul,
- Stop, Foix, he is thy brother, hapless prince,
- Call back the murderer: Vamir was thy friend.
- O sweet remembrance of our infant years,
- When in the days of innocence our hearts
- Spoke nature’s language, and imparted free
- Our mutual wishes! O how oft has Vamir
- Partook my griefs, and with a brother’s hand,
- Wiped off the falling tears! and shall I now
- Destroy him? O thou fatal passion, where,
- Where hast thou led me? sure I was not born
- This savage, this barbarian: Vamir yet
- Was guilty; Vamir robbed me of my life,
- In my Amelia: still I am unjust;
- He loved; was that a crime to merit death?
- Alas! nor time, nor war, nor absence, cooled
- Their faithful passion; still their guiltless flame
- In purest lustre shone, before my heart
- Was poisoned by the cruel draught of love:
- But Vamir braves my wrath, and is my foe;
- Deceives me, hates me; yet he is my brother.
- He should have lived, he was beloved, and happy,
- And only I should perish: I will die
- But as I lived, with honor. Pity melts me,
- Nature determines, and I will forgive him.
- ’Tis time—
SCENE II.
duke of foix, an officer.
duke.- Prevent a parricide: away,
- Haste to the tower, reverse my orders: go.
- And let my brother—
officer.
duke.- What sayest thou!
- Run, fly, obey me.
officer.- Near the gate this moment
- I saw a body covered o’er with blood,
- Carried in secret forth by Lisois’ orders,
- And much I fear—
duke.- O heaven! my brother’s dead
- And I yet live: earth hath not swallowed me,
- Nor lightning blasted: a base murderer,
- Foe to his country, an unnatural brother,
- How love has changed me! what a load of guilt
- Have I to answer for! the veil’s removed;
- And now, alas! I know myself too well;
- I cannot be more guilty: O my brother!
- I feel I loved thee, yet I slew thee, Vamir.
officer.- Amelia comes, my lord, and begs to speak
- In private with you.
duke.- O I must not see her!
- Not for the world: I cannot bear it: no,
- She will avenge the murder in my blood:
- But let her come: I tremble to behold her.
SCENE III.
duke of foix, amelia, thais.
amelia.- My lord, you have prevailed: and since that hatred
- (How can I call it by another name?)
- Which hath so long pursued me, now requires
- A brother’s blood, or his Amelia’s hand,
- Take it: the choice is made, and I am thine:
- Remember, I’m the purchase of thy guilt:
- Loosen his chains, and set my Vamir free,
- That I no more may tremble for his life,
- And I will give thee all, yield up my hopes
- Of happiness with him, and follow thee,
- Even to the altar; there the hand that gives
- My faith away shall punish all my weakness.
- Know, at the temple, where thy bridal vows—
- But thou desirest my hand, and that alone
- I have to give thee: ha! thou art silent: say,
- Is Vamir, is thy brother freed already?
duke.
amelia.- Gracious heaven!—remove my fears,
- Thy eyes are bathed in tears.
duke.
amelia.- What do I hear? didst thou not promise me—
duke.
amelia.
duke.- Yes,
- It is indeed; would it were not, Amelia;
- The cruel Lisois has obeyed my orders
- Too faithfully: O live, to punish me;
- Pierce this inhuman, this unnatural heart,
- That loved thee but too well: I killed my brother,
- But for thy sake: revenge on me the crimes
- Which but for thee I never had committed.
amelia.- [Falling into the arms of Thais.
- Vamir is dead, barbarian!
duke.- And thy hand
- Shall shed the murderer’s blood.
amelia.- [Fainting.
- And is he gone?
- My Vamir—
duke.
amelia.- Spare me, spare me,
- I’ll not reproach thee; take thy sorrows hence,
- And thy repentance: let me but embrace him,
- And die.
duke.- Amelia, thou hast too much cause
- To grieve, but O for pity take this life
- That’s hateful to me; but I’ve not deserved
- To perish by thy hand; but thou shalt guide—
SCENE IV.
duke, amelia, lisois.
lisois.- What would thy rashness do?
duke.- [They disarm him.
- An act of justice:
- Punish myself.
amelia.- Wert thou his vile accomplice?
duke.- Thou minister of guilt, thou hast obeyed me.
lisois.- I promised you, my lord, and I have done
- But what I ought.
duke.- Thy stubborn virtue oft
- Hath checked my follies, and opposed my weakness;
- But when I bade thee be a murderer,
- And kill my brother, then thou wert obedient.
lisois.- When I refused but now to execute
- The bloody office, didst thou not employ
- Another hand?
duke.- Love, powerful love, that chained
- My reason down, and swayed my foolish heart,
- Love pleads for me; but thou whose wisdom calms
- Each rising passion, whose unaltered soul,
- Firm and unshaken, I so oft have feared,
- So oft respected, that thou, thus unmoved,
- Shouldst suffer such a deed of horror; O
- ’Tis terrible!
lisois.- Since sorrow and repentance,
- Virtue’s best monitors, have pierced thy soul
- With just remorse: since, spite of all thy rashness,
- To save a brother’s blood thou gladly now
- Wouldst give thy own; ye both shall find a friend.
- Keep thou thy penitence.
- [To the Duke.
- Dry up thy tears.
- [To Amelia.
- This is a day of triumph. Prince, come forth:
- Embrace thy brother.
- [The Scene opens, and discovers Vamir.
amelia.
duke.
amelia.
duke.- Can it be?
- vamir,advancing to the front.
- Again I see, again embrace my brother.
duke.- O thy forgiveness makes my crime still greater.
amelia.- O noble Lisois, thou hast given me life.
duke.
lisois.- A base assassin raised
- His arm against Vamir, but I felled the traitor,
- And laid him breathless at my feet, then feigned
- That I had shed thy brother’s blood: I knew
- Thou wouldst repent, and wish the deed undone.
duke.- This was a service I can ne’er reward
- But by endeavoring to be worthy of it:
- My crime sits heavy on me, and my eyes,
- Fixed on the earth, dare not look up to Vamir,
- And to the wronged Amelia.
vamir.- We would both
- Have served thee with our royal master; both
- Are still devoted to thee. What, my brother,
- Is thy design? O speak!
duke.- To do you justice:
- To expiate, by the greatest punishment,
- The greatest crime that love and fierce resentment
- Could e’er commit: long I adored Amelia;
- Even when I gave her Vamir up to death,
- I loved Amelia: I adore her still,
- Nay, more than ever, yet I yield her to thee,
- And sacrifice my heart to make you blest.
- Take her, be happy, and forgive thy brother.
vamir.- Behold me at thy feet, with gratitude
- Warm as thy bounty, as thy love sincere.
amelia.- Permit me to embrace thy knees with Vamir,
- Accept our tenderest friendship, for thy goodness
- Has amply paid for all my sufferings past.
duke.- No more of this, it doubles my misfortunes,
- And shows me but what happiness I’ve lost:
- But I will learn from you to follow virtue,
- My heart is yours: I’m now indeed thy brother,
- By thy example I will love my country.
- Let us away, and to the king relate
- My crimes, my sorrows, and thy happiness:
- Let Vamir’s zeal and Vamir’s truth be mine,
- Faithful to France, to friendship, and to thee;
- Foix shall deserve your pardon and your praise;
- Ye shall forget his follies and his crimes,
- And henceforth know him only by his virtues.
End of the Fifth and Last Act.
ŒDIPUS
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