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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 IV.

SCENE I.

Representing the porch of the temple.

arsaces, azema.

arsaces.

• Do not oppress me in this hour of grief,
• And aggravate my sorrows; I have borne
• Enough already: this dread oracle
• Affrights me; prodigies on every side
• Disturb the course of nature: heaven deprives me
• Of all, if Azema is lost.

azema.

• No more,
• False man, nor to the horrors of this day
• Add the remembrance of thy perfidy;
• No more the terrors of Sémiramis,
• The walking spectre, and the opening grave,
• Appal me now; of all the prodigies
• Which I have seen, thy base inconstancy
• Hath shocked me most: go on, appease the shade
• Of Ninus, and begin the sacrifice
• With Azema; behold, and strike the victim.

arsaces.

• It is too much; my heart was not prepared
• Against this cruel stroke: thou knowest, my soul
• Prefers thee to the empire of the world:
• What was the object of that fame in arms
• I held so dear, of all my victories?
• All my ambition hoped for was at last
• To merit thee: Sémiramis, thou knowest,
• Was dear to both; thy tongue unites with mine
• To praise her; she was still the guardian god
• That cherished and protected us; as such
• We both revered her with that pious zeal
• And chaste regard which mortals bear to heaven:
• Judge of my spotless faith by my surprise
• At the queen’s choice, and mark the precipice
• It leads us to, thence learn our future fate.

azema.

• I know it.

arsaces.

• Learn, that neither thou nor empire
• Were destined for Arsaces; know, that son
• Whom I must serve, the child of Ninus, he
• Who must inherit here—

azema.

• Well; what of him?

arsaces.

• That Ninias, he who from his cradle lit
• The torch of Hymen with thee, who was born
• My rival and my master—

azema.

• Ninias!

arsaces.

• Lives;
• And will be with us soon.

azema.

• Ha! then the queen—

arsaces.

• Even to this day deceived, laments his death.

azema.

• Ninias alive!

arsaces.

• It is a secret yet
• Within the temple, and she knows it not.

azema.

• But Ninus crowns thee, and his widow’s thine.

arsaces.

• Ay, but his son was born for Azema;
• He is my king, so says the oracle,
• And I must serve him.

azema.

• But love claims his own,
• And will be heard in spite of all, Arsaces:
• His orders are not doubtful, or obscure.
• Love is my oracle, and that alone
• Shall be obeyed. Ninias, thou sayest, yet lives,
• Let him appear, and let Sémiramis
• Recall her plighted faith to him; let Ninus
• Rise from the tomb, to join the fatal knot
• Made in our infant years; let Ninias come,
• My king, thy master, and thy rival, fired
• With all the love which once Arsaces had
• For Azema, then see how I will slight
• His proffered vows; then shalt thou see me scorn
• The sceptre at my feet, and spurn a crown
• Which is my due: where is he now? What secret,
• What mystery veils him from us? Let him come;
• But know, nor Ninias, nor Sémiramis,
• No, nor the sacred spirit of his father
• Risen from the tomb, nor all the powers of nature
• Thrown in confusion, from my heart would wrest
• The image of my perjured dear Arsaces:
• Go, ask thy own, if it will dare to act
• As mine hath done. What are those dreadful crimes
• Which thou must expiate? if thou e’er shouldst break
• The sacred tie that binds us, if thou art false,
• I know no crime, no treachery like thy own.
• I see the sage interpreter of fate
• This way advancing, love will never plead
• Thy cause with heaven, if thou betrayest me: go,
• From Ninus’ hand receive thy doom; remember,
• Thy fate depends on heaven, and mine on thee.
• [Exit Azema.

arsaces.

• Arsaces still is thine: stay, cruel maid:
• How mingled is our happiness and woe!
• What strange events that contradict each other—

SCENE II.

arsaces, oroes,the magi attending.

oroes.

• [To Arsaces.
• Let us retire to yonder lonely walk;
• I see you are much moved: prepare yourself
• For strokes more dreadful.
• [To the magi.
• Bring the royal wreath.
• [The magi bring the coffer.
• This letter, and this sacred sword, to thee,
• Arsaces, I deliver.

arsaces.

• Reverend father,
• Wilt thou not save me from the precipice
• That gapes before me? wilt thou not at length
• Uplift the veil, that from my eyes conceals
• My future fate?

oroes.

• ’Twill be removed, my son;
• The hour is come, when in his dreary mansions,
• Ninus from thee expects a sacrifice
• That shall appease his angry spirit.

arsaces.

• What
• Can Ninus ask, what sacrifice from me?
• Must I be his avenger, when his son
• Still lives? Let Ninias come; he is my king,
• And I will serve him.

oroes.

• ’Tis his father’s will,
• Thou must obey him: an hour hence, Arsaces,
• Be at his tomb, armed with this sacred sword,
• And with this wreath adorned, which Ninus wore,
• And which thyself did bring to me.

arsaces.

• The wreath
• Of Ninus!

oroes.

• ’Tis his royal will that thus
• Thou shouldst appear, to offer up the blood
• That must be shed; the victim will be there:
• Strike thou, and leave the rest to him, and heaven.

arsaces.

• If he requires my life, I’ll give it him:
• But where is Ninias? thou speakest naught of him:
• Thou hast not told me how his father gives
• To me his kingdom and his queen.

oroes.

• To thee
• His queen! O heaven, to thee Sémiramis
• Be given! Arsaces, the important hour
• Which I had promised thee is come, when thou
• Shalt know thy fate, and this abandoned woman.

arsaces.

• Great gods!

oroes.

• ’Twas she who murdered Ninus.

arsaces.

• She,
• Saidst thou, the queen?

oroes.

• Assur, that foul disgrace
• Of human nature, Assur gave the poison.

arsaces.

• I’m not surprised at Assur’s cruelty,
• But that a wife, a queen, and such a queen,
• The pride of sovereigns, the delight of nations,
• That she should e’er be guilty of a crime
• So horrible! it passes all belief.
• How can such virtues and such guilt as hers
• Subsist together!

oroes.

• How indeed! the question
• Is worthy of thy noble heart: but now
• ’Twere needless to dissemble, every moment
• Is big with some new secret, horrible
• To nature, who already whispers to thee
• Her soft complaints; thy generous heart, I see,
• Spite of thyself, is shocked, and mourns within thee:
• But wonder not that Ninus from the tomb
• Indignant rises on this seat of guilt;
• He comes to break the horrid nuptial tie,
• Woven by the furies, and expose to light
• Unpunished crimes; to save his son from incest:
• He speaks to, he expects thee: know thy father,
• For thou art Ninias, and the queen’s thy mother.

arsaces.

• Thou hast o’erpowered me in one dreadful moment
• With such repeated wonders, that I stand
• Astonished, and the night of death surrounds me.
• Am I his son, and can it be?

oroes.

• Thou art:
• Ninus, the morn before he died, foresaw
• His end approaching; knew the deadly draught
• Which he had drunk was ministered to thee
• By the same hand, and, dying as thou wert,
• Withdrew thee from this wicked court: for Assur
• Had poisoned thee that he might wed thy mother,
• Thought to exterminate the royal race,
• And open thus his passage to the throne:
• But whilst the kingdom mourned thy loss, Phradates,
• Our faithful friend, secreted and preserved thee;
• With skilful hand the precious herbs prepared,
• O’er Persia spread by her benignant God,
• Whose wondrous power drew forth the latent venom
• From thy parched limbs: his own son dying, you
• Supplied his place, and still wert called Arsaces.
• He waited patient for some lucky change,
• But the great judge of kings had otherwise
• Determined; truth at length descends from heaven,
• And vengeance rises from the tomb.

arsaces.

• O God!
• Enough already hast thou tried thy servant,
• Or must I yield that life which you restored?
• Yes: I was born midst grandeur, shame, and horror:
• My mother—Ninus! O what deadly purpose—
• But if the traitor Assur was alone
• To blame, if he—

oroes.

• [Giving him the letter.
• Behold this paper here,
• Too faithful witness of her guilt, then say
• If yet a doubt remains.

arsaces.

• Haste, give it me,
• And clear them all.
• [He reads.
• Ha! “Ninus to Phradates:
• I die by poison, guard my Ninias well,
• Defend him from his foes: my guilty wife—”

oroes.

• Needest thou more proof? this witness came from thee.
• He had not finished; death, thou seest, broke off
• The imperfect scroll, and stopped his feeble hand;
• Phradates hath unfolded all the rest,
• Read this, and learn the whole.
• [Gives him another paper.
• It is enough
• That Ninus hath commanded thee, he guides
• Thy steps, and leads thee to the throne, but says
• He must have blood.

arsaces.

• [After reading the paper.
• O day of miracles,
• And you, ye dreadful oracles from hell,
• Dark as the tomb which I must visit, how
• Shall I unveil your secret purposes,
• When he who is to make the sacrifice
• Knows not his victim! Who shall guide my choice?
• I tremble at it.

oroes.

• Tremble for the guilty.
• Amidst the horrors that oppress thy soul,
• The gods will guide thee; deem not thou thyself
• A common mortal, from the race of men
• Thou art distinguished, set apart by heaven,
• And noted by its signature divine,
• Walk thou secure, though night conceals thy fate,
• The gods of thy great ancestors employ thee
• But as their instrument. What right hast thou
• To litigate their power, and to oppose
• Thy masters? Saved from death, as thou hast been,
• Be thankful still; complain not, but adore.

SCENE III.

arsaces, mitranes.

arsaces.

• I cannot reconcile this strange event:
• Sémiramis my mother! can it be?

mitranes.

• [Entering in haste.
• My lord, the people in this hour of terror
• Demand their king: permit me first to hail thee
• The husband of Sémiramis, and lord
• Of Babylon: the queen is hasting hither
• In search of thee; I bless the happy hour
• That gave her to thee: ha! not answer me!
• Despair is in thy looks, thy lips are closed
• In dreadful silence, thou art pale with terror,
• And thy whole frame’s disordered: what has passed?
• What have they said?

arsaces.

• I’ll fly to Azema.

mitranes.

• Amazing! can it be Arsaces? fly
• A queen’s embraces; scorn her proffered love;
• Insult her choice; the royal hand that spurned
• Kings for thy sake! thus are her hopes betrayed?

arsaces.

• Gods! ’tis Sémiramis herself; O Ninus,
• Now let thy tomb in its dark bosom hide
• Her crimes, and me!

SCENE IV.

sémiramis, arsaces.

sémiramis.

• Arsaces, all is ready,
• We want but thee, great master of the world,
• Whose fate, like mine, depends on thee; O haste,
• And make our bliss complete! with joy I see
• Thy brows encircled with that sacred wreath:
• The priest, I know, was by the gods commanded
• To crown thee with it; heaven and hell at once
• Approve my choice, and by these signs confirm it:
• Assur’s seditious party, struck with awe
• And holy reverence, tremble at my presence;
• Ninus, at length propitious, hath required
• A sacrifice, O haste, and give it him,
• That we may soon be blest: the people’s hearts
• Are all with us, and Assur’s threats are vain.

arsaces.

• [Walking about with great emotion.
• Assur! away! in his perfidious blood
• The parricide—we will revenge thee, Ninus.

sémiramis.

• What do I hear? just heaven! speakest thou of him,
• Of Ninus?

arsaces.

• [Wildly.
• Saidst thou not, his guilty hand
• [Coming to himself.
• Had shed—to arm against his queen! the slave,
• That was enough to make me hate him.

sémiramis.

• Haste then,
• Receive my hand, and thus begin thy vengeance.

arsaces.

• My father!

sémiramis.

• Ha! what looks are those, Arsaces?
• Is this the soft submissive tender heart
• Which I expected from thee, when I gave
• My willing hand? That fearful prodigies,
• And spectres rising from their dark domain,
• Should leave the marks of horror on thy soul,
• Alarms me not, I feel them too, but less
• When I behold Arsaces: do not thus
• O’erspread this fairest dawn of happiness
• With sorrow’s gloomy shade, but still appear
• Such as thou wert when trembling at my feet,
• Lest Assur e’er should be thy master; fear
• Nor him, nor Ninus and his angry shade;
• My dear Arsaces, thou art my support,
• My lord, my husband.

arsaces.

• [Turning aside from her.
• ’Tis too much, O stop:
• Her guilt o’erwhelms me.

sémiramis.

• How his soul’s disturbed!
• Alas! he wants that peace which he bestowed
• On me.

arsaces.

• Sémiramis—

sémiramis.

• What wouldst thou? speak.

arsaces.

• I cannot: leave me, leave me: hence! begone.

sémiramis.

• Amazing! leave thee! can I e’er forsake
• Arsaces? O explain this mystery to me,
• And ease my tortured soul: it makes us both
• Unhappy:—ha! despair is in thy aspect;
• Thou chillest my veins with horror, and thy eyes
• Are dreadful; they affright me more than heaven
• And hell united to oppose my vows:
• Scarce can my trembling lips pronounce, I love thee:
• Some power invisible now leads me on
• Towards thee, now withholds me from thy arms,
• And mingles, how I know not, tenderest love
• With sentiments of horror and despair.

arsaces.

• Hate me, abhor me.

sémiramis.

• Canst thou bid me hate thee?
• Cruel Arsaces, no: I still must trace
• Thy footsteps, still my heart must follow thine:
• What is that paper which thou lookest on thus
• With horror, whilst thy eyes are bathed in tears,
• Does that contain a reason for thy coldness?

arsaces.

• It does.

sémiramis.

• Then give it me.

arsaces.

• I must not: darest thou—

sémiramis.

• I’ll have it.

arsaces.

• Leave to me that dreadful scroll,
• To thee ’twere fatal, I have use for it.

sémiramis.

• Whence came it?

arsaces.

• From the gods.

sémiramis.

• And wrote by whom?

arsaces.

• Wrote by my father.

sémiramis.

• Ha! what sayest thou?

arsaces.

• Tremble.

sémiramis.

• Give it me, let me know at once my fate.

arsaces.

• Urge it no more; there is death in every line.

sémiramis.

• No matter: clear my doubts, or I shall think
• That thou art guilty.

arsaces.

• Ye immortal powers
• That guide our steps, it is to your decrees
• That I submit.

sémiramis.

• For the last time, Arsaces,
• I here command thee, listen, and obey.

arsaces.

• [Giving her the letter.
• O may thy justice, heaven, be satisfied!
• And this the only punishment that e’er
• Shall be inflicted on her! now ’tis past,
• And thou wilt know too much.
• [She reads.

sémiramis.

• [To Otanes.
• What do I read?
• Support me, or I die.
• [She faints.

arsaces.

• She sees it all.

sémiramis.

• [Coming to herself, after a long silence.
• Delay not, but fulfil thy destiny:
• Punish this guilty, this unhappy wretch,
• And in my blood wash out the deadly stain.
• Nature deceived is horrible to both,
• Avenge thy father, strike, and punish me.

arsaces.

• No: let the sacred character I bear,
• The name of son, preserve me from that crime!
• Much rather would I pierce the heart of him
• Who still reveres thee, the poor lost Arsaces.

sémiramis.

• [Kneeling.
• Be cruel as Sémiramis; she felt
• No pity, therefore be the son of Ninus,
• And take my life: thou wilt not; nay, thy tears
• Even mix with mine: O Ninias, ’tis a day
• Of horrors, yet there’s pleasure in this pain.
• Before thou givest me what I have deserved,
• The stroke of death, let nature’s voice be heard:
• O let a guilty mother’s tears bedew
• That dear, that fatal hand.

arsaces.

• I am thy son,
• ’Tis not for thee, whate’er thy guilt, to fall
• Thus at my feet: O rise, thy Ninias begs,
• He loves thee still, still vows obedience to thee,
• Respect and purest love: consider me
• As a new subject, only more submissive,
• More humble, than the rest; I hope, more dear.
• Heaven that restores thy son is sure appeased:
• The gods who pardon thee reserve their vengeance
• For Assur; leave him to his fate.

sémiramis.

• Receive
• My crown and sceptre, I have much disgraced them.

arsaces.

• Still, I beseech you, hold me ignorant
• Of all, and let me with the world adore you.

sémiramis.

• O no: my guilt’s too flagrant.

arsaces.

• But repentance
• May blot it out.

sémiramis.

• Ninus hath given to thee
• The reins of empire, thou must not offend
• His vengeful spirit.

arsaces.

• O it will relent
• At thy remorse, and soften at my tears.
• Otanes, in the name of heaven, preserve
• My mother, and conceal the horrid secret.

End of the Fourth Act.