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• The Works of Voltaire: the Dramatic Works of Voltaire Vol. Ix— Part I
• Alzire
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• Orestes
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• SÉmiramis
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• Catiline
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• Pandora
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• The Dramatic Works of Voltaire Vol. Ix—part Ii
• The Scotch Woman
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• Nanine
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• The Prude
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.
• Act II.
• Act III.
• Act IV.
• Act V.
• The Tatler
• Dramatis PersonÆ.
• Act I.

ACT III.

SCENE I.

sémiramis, otanes.

[The scene represents an apartment in the palace.

sémiramis.

• Who would have thought, Otanes, that the gods,
• Offended as they were, at length should smile
• Propitious thus, and threaten but to save!
• Should drop the uplifted thunder from their hand,
• And pardon me; should send Arsaces hither
• To change my fate! for know it is their will
• That I should wed, and by a second tie
• Expiate the crimes of my first fatal nuptials.
• They are the great disposers of our hearts,
• And mine with pleasure yields to their decrees:
• It even outruns their purposes: Arsaces,
• I’m thine; for thou wert born to rule o’er me,
• And o’er the world.

otanes.

• Arsaces! he!

sémiramis.

• Thou knowest,
• In Scythia’s plains, when I avenged the Persian,
• And conquered Asia, this young hero fought
• Beneath his father’s banners, and, surrounded
• With captives, brought to me the bloody spoils,
• And, blushing, laid his victims at my feet.
• When first I saw him, I could feel his heart,
• As by some secret power, attracting mine
• Insensibly towards him; all mankind,
• Besides Arsaces, seemed not worth my notice.
• Assur grew jealous of him, and ever since
• Has fired with indignation at his name;
• Whilst his dear image still employed my thoughts,
• Before that voice which guides my every word
• And every action named him for my husband,
• Before the gods had pointed out Arsaces.

otanes.

• It was indeed a noble conquest, thus
• To bend that haughty spirit which disdained
• The proffered homage of our Eastern monarchs,
• Who as her subjects, not as lovers, still
• Accepted kings! You who contemned those charms,
• That sovereign beauty, which extended wide
• Your universal empire; whilst your eyes
• Pierced every heart, you scarce would condescend
• To mark their power; and dost thou yield at last
• To love’s imperious sway; to fears and horror
• Succeed the tender passions? Can it be?

sémiramis.

• O, no; it is not love: I am not fallen
• So much beneath myself, as to bestow
• On beauty the reward that’s due to virtue;
• I feel a nobler passion in my breast:
• Alas! such weakness would but ill become
• Sémiramis: unhappy as I am,
• For me to think of love, Otanes, how
• Couldst thou suppose it? Once I was a mother,
• But scarce had studied to deserve the name
• By my fond cares, when heaven in anger snatched
• My child away, and left me here alone
• A prey to anguish. I had nothing near me
• That I could love; and, midst my grandeur, felt
• An aching void within my soul. I fled
• The court, endeavored to avoid myself,
• And sought relief in these proud monuments,
• Amusing flatterers of a restless heart
• That shunned reflection: rest was still a stranger,
• And long remained so; but he comes once more,
• I feel him now, and wonder at the power
• That charmed him hither: ’twas Arsaces; he
• Shall hold the place of husband and of son,
• A conquered world, and all my glories past.
• How much I owe to thee, celestial power,
• Who thus propitious leadest me to the altar
• So long abhorred; and hast thyself inspired
• That passion which alone can make me happy!

otanes.

• But what will be the rage and grief of Assur?
• Hast thou reflected on it, when he hears
• Thy new resolves? He is not without hopes:
• The people have already fixed thy choice
• On him, and his resentment will not end
• In mere complaints.

sémiramis.

• I never have deceived,
• And therefore fear him not: these fifteen years,
• Whate’er his views have been, I’ve taught him still
• To rank but with my subjects, though the first
• Amongst them; and set bounds to his ambition,
• Which he hath never o’erleaped: I reigned alone;
• And if this feeble hand so long could guide
• The helm of power, and curb his haughtiness,
• What can his courage or his cunning do
• Against Arsaces and Sémiramis?
• Yes: Ninus hath accepted my repentance,
• And leaves the mansions of the dead to urge
• Our happy union: his illustrious shade
• Again would rage to see his murderer seize
• His throne and bed: this calls him from the tomb,
• And Ammon’s oracles unite with him
• To crown my bliss: no more the awful virtue
• Of Oroes affrights me; I’ve sent for him
• To be a witness of the great event,
• And soon expect him here.

otanes.

• His honored name
• And sacred character may give indeed
• A sanction to your choice.

sémiramis.

• I know it will,
• And establish my resolves.

otanes.

• Behold, he comes.

SCENE II.

sémiramis, oroes,

sémiramis.

• Great successor of Zoroaster, welcome:
• To-day must Babylon receive a king;
• Thy office is to crown him; is all ready
• For the solemnity?

oroes.

• The magi wait
• Thy pleasure, and the nobles all attend:
• To pay obedience to the sovereign power
• Is all my duty, and I shall fulfil it:
• I am not to judge kings, for that belongs
• To heaven alone.

sémiramis.

• By this mysterious language,
• It seems you disapprove my purpose.

oroes.

• Madam,
• I know it not, but wish it fair success.

sémiramis.

• Thou canst interpret heaven’s high will: these signs
• Which I have seen, can they be fatal to me?
• A spectre hath of late, perhaps some god,
• Appeared, and in the bosom of the earth
• Re-entered soon: what power hath thus broke down
• The eternal barrier that divides the light
• From darkness? wherefore should a mortal thus
• Rise from the tomb to visit me?

oroes.

• Know, heaven
• Doth oft suspend its own eternal laws
• When justice bids, reversing death’s decree;
• Thus to chastise the sovereigns of the earth,
• And terrify mankind.

sémiramis.

• The oracles
• Demand a sacrifice.

oroes.

• It shall be offered.

sémiramis.

• Eternal justice, thou whose piercing eye
• Beholdest my naked heart, O fill it not
• Again with horror, bury in oblivion
• My first unhappy nuptials!
• Oroes, stay.
• [To Oroes, who is retiring.

oroes.

• [Returning.
• I thought my presence might disturb you, madam.

sémiramis.

• Return, and answer me: this morning, say,
• Did not Arsaces offer at your altars
• Gifts to the gods?

oroes.

• He did; and precious were they:
• Arsaces is the favorite of heaven.

sémiramis.

• I know he is, and I rejoice to hear it.
• Can I be wretched if I trust to him?

oroes.

• He is the empire’s best support; the gods
• Conducted him; his glory is their care.

sémiramis.

• With transport I accept the fair presage,
• Whilst hope and peace return to calm my breast.
• Away: again let purest incense rise
• Before your altars; let your magi come
• And sanctify the choice; bring down the smiles
• Of the assenting gods, and make us happy.
• Henceforth may Babylon with me revive,
• And shine amongst the nations of the earth
• With double splendor! Go thou, and prepare
• The solemn pomp.

SCENE III.

sémiramis, otanes.

sémiramis.

• Heaven seconds my design,
• And I am only the interpreter
• Of its high will, to give the world a master:
• Thus to receive a kingdom at my hand
• Will strike him with astonishment: even now
• How little thinks he of the approaching greatness!
• How will proud Assur and his fawning crowd
• Be humbled! But a word, and the whole earth
• Falls at his feet; and, grateful as he is,
• I know he will repay me: I shall wed him,
• And for my portion carry him a world;
• My glory’s pure, and now I shall enjoy it.

SCENE IV.

sémiramis, otanes, mitranes. an officer of the palace.

otanes.

• Arsaces begs admittance to your presence,
• To lay his sorrows at your feet.

sémiramis.

• Arsaces!
• What sorrows can Arsaces feel when I
• Am near him, he who thus hath banished mine?
• Quick, let him come: he knows not yet his power
• O’er the fond heart of his Sémiramis.
• O thou dread shade whose voice alarmed my soul,
• Whose blood no more calls out for vengeance on me,
• And you, the guardian gods of this great empire.
• Of the Assyrians, Ninus, and my son,
• Unite to bless Arsaces! Ha! the sight
• Alarms me; whence can these strange terrors rise?

SCENE V.

sémiramis, arsaces.

arsaces.

• O queen, I am devoted to thy service;
• My life is thine; and when I shed this blood,
• I am rewarded if it flows for thee.
• My father had some small renown in arms;
• I saw him perish bravely in the field,
• And at the head of thy victorious bands;
• He left his hapless son a fair example,
• Perhaps but ill pursued: I’ll not recall
• The memory of my father’s services.
• ’Twould ill become me; at your royal knees,
• Though here I sue for favor and protection:
• Pity the rashness of a guilty youth,
• Who listened to the dictates of imprudence.
• And even in serving feared he might offend you.

sémiramis.

• Offend me! thou, Arsaces! fear it not.

arsaces.

• To-day you give your kingdom and your hand:
• My heart, I know, should on the great event
• Keep secret all its fears, and humbly still
• In silence, with depending monarchs, wait
• To know our master; but this Assur steps
• So haughtily, and triumphs in his conquest,
• We cannot brook his pride: the people call him
• Already their new sovereign; his high blood
• And rank support him: may he prove himself
• Worthy of both! but I have still a soul
• Too proud to bend beneath him, or adore
• The power I had defied: his jealous heart
• I know detests Arsaces: let me then
• Retire in safety, far from him, and thee:
• Permit me to revisit the dear climes
• Where first I served my royal mistress, there
• His tyranny can never reach: perhaps
• I may hereafter—

sémiramis.

• Wilt thou leave me then,
• And fearest thou Assur?

arsaces.

• No: Arsaces fears
• Naught but the anger of Sémiramis.
• Perhaps thou knowest my fond ambition, then
• I’ve cause indeed to tremble.

sémiramis.

• Hope the best,
• And know that Assur ne’er shall be thy master.

arsaces.

• I own it shocked my soul to look on him
• As Ninus’ successor: but is he then
• Designed for Azema? forgive this bold
• Presumptuous questioner: long since I know
• She was to Ninias given, proud Assur sprung
• From the same race, and claims her as his own:
• I am but a poor subject, yet I dare—

sémiramis.

• Such subjects are my kingdom’s best support;
• I know thee well; thy noble soul, superior
• To vulgar minds, hath sought Sémiramis,
• Not for her fortunes, but herself; thy eyes
• Are fixed on her true interest, and on thee
• I shall depend: Assur and Azema
• Shall never meet; their union would be dangerous:
• But their designs are known, and by my care
• Will be prevented.

arsaces.

• Since my heart at length
• Is open to thee, and thou hast discovered—

azema.

• [Enters suddenly, and throws herself at the feet of Sémiramis.
• O queen, permit me thus—

sémiramis.

• Rise, Azema:
• Where’er my choice may light, thou mayest depend
• On my protection, and shalt find respect
• Due to thy birth; for, destined as thou wert
• To be the wife of my lamented son,
• I look upon thee with a mother’s eye:
• [To them both.
• Go, place yourselves with those whom I have called
• To witness my resolves, and mark my choice.
• [To Arsaces.
• Be thou, my best protector, near the throne.

SCENE VI.

oroes.

• Ye princes, magi, warriors, the support
• Of Babylon, assembled by command
• From great Sémiramis, the will of heaven
• Soon shall ye know: the gods that guard our empire
• Have fixed on this important hour to work
• A great and mighty change; whoe’er the queen
• Shall here appoint her sovereign and our own
• It is our duty to obey; and here
• I bring my tribute to the throne, my prayers
• And wishes for the glory and the welfare
• Of them, and of their kingdom: may these days
• Of joy and gladness ne’er be changed to hours
• Of grief and sorrow, nor these songs of mirth
• To mournful plaints!

azema.

• A king, my lords, will soon
• Be named; whoe’er he be, the choice will injure
• Myself alone; but Azema was born
• And must remain a subject; I submit
• To the queen’s pleasure, and on her protection
• Shall still depend; nor with the dark presage
• Of future ills shall interrupt your joy:
• But leave you my example of obedience.

assur.

• Howe’er the queen may choose, and heaven determine,
• We must consult the public good alone;
• Let us then swear by this imperial throne,
• And great Sémiramis, to yield submissive,
• And without murmuring to obey her will.

arsaces.

• I swear it; and this arm that fought for her,
• This heart obedient ever to her voice,
• Which next the voice of heaven I still revered,
• This blood which flowed with pleasure for her sake,
• Shall be devoted to that royal master
• Whom she appoints.

high priest.

• I wait the great award
• Of heaven and Sémiramis.

sémiramis.

• Enough:
• Each to his place, and now attend, my people.
• [She seats herself on the throne.
• [azema, assur, oroes (the high priest) andarsacestake their places, and she proceeds.
• If in that hand which custom and the laws
• Of an imperious husband had confined
• To homely cares, and to a distaff chained,
• I bore aloft the sceptre and the sword,
• Beyond my subjects’ hope, nor sunk beneath
• The weight of empire, let me now extend
• To latest times its glory: ’tis my purpose
• This day to take a partner in the throne:
• The gods must be obeyed, whose dread command
• At length subdued my long unconquered heart:
• They who deprived me of my son, perhaps
• May one day raise an heir to Babylon
• Worthy of empire, who shall follow me
• Through all the thorny paths that I have trod,
• Finish my work, and make my reign immortal.
• I might have chosen a sovereign from the kings
• That dwell around me, but they are all my foes,
• Or tributary slaves: a foreign hand
• Shall never wield this sceptre: my own subjects
• Are better than the kings which they have conquered:
• Belus was born a subject; if he gained
• The diadem, he owed it to the people,
• And to himself: by rights like his I hold
• The power supreme; and, mistress of a kingdom
• Larger than his, have bent beneath my yoke
• The nations of the East, which Belus ne’er
• Had seen or heard of: what he but attempted
• Sémiramis performed; for they who found
• A kingdom, and they only, can preserve it.
• You want a king who may be worthy of you,
• Worthy of such an empire, shall I add
• Worthy the hand that crowns him, and the heart
• Which I shall give: I have consulted heaven,
• My country’s weal, the interest of mankind,
• And choose a king to make the world more happy.
• Adore the hero, see in him revived
• The princes of my honored race; observe him,
• And know, this king, this hero, is—Arsaces.
• [She descends from the throne, and they all rise.

azema.

• Arsaces! the perfidious—

assur.

• Rage and vengeance!

arsaces.

• Believe me, Azema—

oroes.

• Just heaven! avert
• These omens.

sémiramis.

• Thou who sanctifiest my choice,
• Confirm it at the altar: see in him
• Ninus and Ninias both restored.
• [It thunders, and the tomb shakes.
• O heaven!
• What do I hear?

oroes.

• Great gods, protect us now!

sémiramis.

• The thunder comes, in anger or in love
• I know not: pardon, gracious gods! Arsaces
• Must win them to forgiveness. Ha! what voice
• Distracts me thus? and see, the tomb is open.
• O heaven! I die.
• [The ghost of Ninus comes out of the tomb.

assur.

• The shade of Ninus’ self.
• Gods! is it possible?

arsaces.

• What sayest thou? speak,
• Thou god of terrors.

assur.

• O unfold thy tale.

sémiramis.

• Comest thou to pardon, or to punish me?
• It is thy sceptre and thy bed which here
• I have bestowed: speak, is he worthy of it?
• Determine: I obey thee.

the ghost of ninus to arsaces.

• Thou shalt reign,
• Arsaces, but there are some dreadful crimes
• Which thou must expiate: hie thee to the tomb,
• And to my ashes offer sacrifice:
• Serve me and Ninias: remember well
• Thy father: listen to the pontiff.

arsaces.

• O!
• Thou venerable shade, thou demigod,
• Who dwellest within these walls, the sight of thee
• Inspires but does not amaze Arsaces:
• Yes, I will go, on peril of my life,
• And meet thee in the tomb: but tell me, what
• Must be the sacrifice? O speak! he’s gone.
• [The ghost retires towards the entrance of the mausoleum.

sémiramis.

• Thou honored spirit of my lord, permit me
• Thus on my knees to pour my sorrows forth,
• Permit me in the tomb to—

ghost.

• [At the entrance of the tomb.
• Stop: no farther:
• Respect my ashes: when the time is come
• I’ll send for thee.
• [The ghost goes into the tomb, and the mausoleum closes.

assur.

• Amazing!

sémiramis.

• Follow me,
• My people, to the temple: be not thus
• Dismayed: for know, the gentle shade of Ninus
• Is not implacable; it loves your king,
• And therefore will it spare Sémiramis:
• Heaven that inspired my choice will now support it:
• Haste then, and pray for me, and for Arsaces.

End of the Third Act.