The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• 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.

PANDORA

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ.

Prometheus, a Son of Heaven and Earth, a Demi-God.

Pandora.

Jupiter.

Mercury.

Nemesis.

Nymphs.

Titans.

Celestial Deities.

Infernal Deities.

ACT I.

The scene represents a fine country, with mountains at a distance.

SCENE I.

prometheus, chorus of nymphs, pandora.

[At the farther end of the stage, lying down in an alcove.

prometheus.

• In vain, Pandora, do I call on thee,
• My lovely work; alas! thou hearest me not,
• All stranger as thou art to thy own charms,
• And to Prometheus’ love: the heart I formed
• Is still insensible; thy eyes are void
• Of motion; still the ruthless power of Jove
• Denies thee life, and drives me to despair:
• Whilst nature breathes around thee, and the birds
• In tender notes express their passion, thou
• Art still inanimate; death holds thee still
• Beneath his cruel empire.

SCENE II.

prometheus, the titans, enceladus, typhon, etc.

enceladus and typhon.

• Child of Earth
• And Heaven, thy cries have raised the forest; speak;
• Who amongst the gods hath wronged Prometheus?

prometheus.

• [Pointing to Pandora.
• Jove
• Is jealous of my work divine; he fears
• That altars will be raised to my Pandora;
• He cannot bear to see the earth adorned
• With such a peerless object; he denies
• To grant her life, and makes my woes eternal.

typhon.

• That proud usurper Jove did ne’er create
• Our nobler souls; life, and its sacred flame,
• Come not from him.

enceladus.

• [Pointing to his brother Typhon.
• We are the sons of Night
• And Tartarus:
• To thee, eternal night, we pray,
• Thou wert long before the day;
• Let then to Janarus Olympus yield.

typhon.

• Let the unrelenting Jove
• Join the jealous gods above;
• Life and all its blessings flow
• From hell, and from the gods below.

prometheus and the two titans.

• Come from the centre, gods of night profound,
• And animate her beauty; let your power
• Assist our bold emprize!

prometheus.

• Your voice is heard,
• The day looks pale, and the astonished earth
• Shakes from its deep foundations: Erebus
• Appears before us.
• [The scene changing represents chaos; all the gods of hell come upon the stage.]

chorus of infernal deities.

• Light is hateful to our eyes,
• Jove and heaven we despise;
• The guilty race, as yet unborn, must go
• With us to hell’s profoundest depths below.

nemesis.

• The waves of Lethe, and the flames of hell,
• Shall ravage all: speak, whom must Janarus
• In its dark womb embrace?

prometheus.

• I love the earth,
• And would not hurt it: to that beauteous object
• [Pointing to Pandora
• Have I given birth; but Jove denies it power
• To breathe, to think, to love, and to be happy.

the three parcæ.

• All our glory, and our joy,
• Is to hurt, and to destroy;
• Heaven alone can give it breath,
• We can nought bestow but death.

prometheus.

• Away then, ye destroyers, ye are not
• The deities Prometheus shall adore;
• Hence to your gloomy seats, ye hateful powers,
• And leave the world in peace.

nemesis.

• Tremble thou, for thou shalt prove
• Soon the fatal power of love:
• We will unchain the fiends of war,
• And death’s destructive gates unbar.
• [The infernal deities disappear, and the country resumes its verdure: the nymphs of the woods range themselves on each side of the stage.]

prometheus.

• [To the Titans.
• Why would ye call forth from their dark abyss
• The foes of nature, to obscure the light
• Of these fair regions?
• From hell Pandora never shall receive
• That flame divine which only heaven should give.

enceladus.

• Since, good Prometheus, ’tis thy dear delight
• To scatter blessings o’er this new abode,
• Thou best deservest to be its master: haste
• To yon blest regions, and snatch thence the flame
• Celestial, form a soul, and be thyself
• The great Creator.

prometheus.

• Love’s in heaven; he reigns
• O’er all the gods: I’ll throw his darts around,
• And light up his fierce fires: he is my god,
• And will assist Prometheus.

chorus of nymphs.

• Fly to the immortal realms above,
• And penetrate the throne of Jove;
• The world to thee shall altars raise,
• And millions celebrate thy praise.

End of the First Act.

ACT II.

prometheus, pandora, nymphs, titans, etc.

a dryad.

• Ye woodland nymphs, rise from your fair abode,
• And sing the praises of the demi-god;
• Who returns from above
• In the chariot of love?

chorus of nymphs.

• Ye verdant lawns, and opening flowers,
• Ye springs which lavish nature’s powers;
• Ye hills that bear the impending sky,
• Put on your fairest forms to meet his eye.

prometheus.

• [Descending from the chariot, with a torch in his hand.
• Ravished from heaven I bring to happier earth
• Love’s sacred flame, more brilliant than the light
• Of glittering day, and to Jove’s boasted thunder
• Superior.

chorus of nymphs.

• Go, thou enlivening, animating soul,
• Through nature’s every work, pervade the whole;
• To earth, to water, and to air impart,
• Thy vivid power, and breathe o’er every heart.

prometheus.

• [Coming near to Pandora.
• And may this precious flame inspire thy frame
• With life and motion! earth, assist my purpose!
• Rise, beauteous object, love commands thee; haste,
• Obey his voice; arise, and bless Prometheus!
• [Pandora rises, and comes forward.

chorus.

• She breathes, she lives; O love, how great thy power!

pandora.

• Whence, and what am I? to what gracious powers
• Owe I my life and being?
• [A symphony is heard at a distance.
• Hark! my ears
• Are ravished with enchanting sounds; my eyes
• With beauteous objects filled on every side:
• What wonders hath my kind creator spread
• Around me! O where is he? I have thought
• And reason to enlighten me: O earth,
• Thou art not my mother; some benignant god
• Produced me: yes, I feel him in my heart.
• [She sits down by the side of a fountain.
• What do I see! myself, in this fair fountain,
• That doth reflect the face of heaven? the more
• I see this image, sure the more I ought
• To thank the gods who made me.

nymphs and titans.

• [Dancing round her.
• Fair Pandora,
• Daughter of heaven, let thy charms inspire
• An equal flame, and fan the mutual fire.

pandora.

• What lovely object that way draws my eyes?
• [To Prometheus.
• Of all I see in these delightful mansions,
• Nought pleases like thyself; ’twas thou alone
• Who gavest me life, and I will live for thee.

prometheus.

• Before those lovely eyes could see
• Their author, they enchanted me;
• Before that tongue could speak, Prometheus loved thee.

pandora.

• Thou lovest me then, dear author of my life,
• And my heart owns its master; for to thee
• It flies with transport: have I said too much,
• Or not enough?

prometheus.

• O thou canst never say
• Too much; thou speakest the language of pure love
• And nature: thus may lovers always speak!

duet.

• God of my heart, eternal power,
• Great love, enliven every hour;
• Thy reign begins, and may thy transports prove
• The reign of pleasure is the reign of love!

prometheus.

• But hark! the thunder rolls; thick clouds of darkness,
• As envious of the earth’s new happiness,
• Disturb our joys: what horrors throng around me!
• Hark! the earth shakes, and angry lightnings pierce
• The vault of heaven: what power thus moves the world
• From its foundations?
• [A car descends, on which are seated Mercury, Discord, Nemesis, etc.]

mercury.

• Some rash hand hath stolen
• The sacred fire from heaven: to expiate
• The dire offence, Pandora, thou must go
• Before the high tribunal of the gods.

prometheus.

• O cruel tyrant!

pandora.

• Dread commands!

mercury.

• Obey:
• Thou must to heaven.

pandora.

• I was in heaven already,
• When I beheld the object of my love.

prometheus.

• Have pity, cruel gods!

prometheus and pandora.

• Barbarians, stay.

mercury.

• Haste, offenders, haste away,
• Jove commands, you must obey:
• Bear her, ye winds, to heaven’s eternal mansions.
• [The car mounts and disappears.

prometheus.

• The cruel tyrants, jealous of my bliss,
• Have torn her from me; she was the lovely work
• Of my own hands: I have done more than Jove
• Could ever do: Pandora’s charming eyes,
• Soon as they opened, told me that she loved:
• Thou jealous god! but thou shalt feel my wrath,
• And I will brave thy power: for know, usurper,
• Less dreadful far will all thy thunders prove,
• Than bold Prometheus fired by hopeless love.

End of the Second Act.

ACT III.

The scene represents the palace of Jupiter.

jupiter, mercury.

jupiter.

• O Mercury, I’ve seen this lovely object,
• Earth’s fair production; heaven is in her eye,
• The graces dwell around her, and my heart
• Is sacrificed a victim to her charms.

mercury.

• And she shall answer to thy love.

jupiter.

• O no:
• Terror is mine, and power; I reign supreme
• O’er earth, and hell, and heaven; but love alone
• Can govern hearts: malicious, cruel fate,
• When it divided this fair universe,
• Bestowed the better part on mighty love.

mercury.

• What fearest thou? fair Pandora scarce hath seen
• The light of day; and thinkest thou that she loves?

jupiter.

• Love is a passion learned with ease; and what
• Cannot Pandora do? she is a woman,
• And handsome: but I will retire a moment,
• Enchant her eyes, and captivate her heart:
• Ye heavens! in vain, alas! ye shine, for nought
• Have you so fair, so beauteous as Pandora.
• [He retires.

pandora.

• Scarce have these eyes beheld the light of day,
• Scarce have they looked on him I loved, when lo!
• ’Tis all snatched from me; death, they say, will come
• And take me soon: O I have felt him sure
• Already: is not death the sudden loss
• Of those we love? O give me back, ye gods,
• To earth, to that delightful grove where first
• I saw my kind creator, when at once
• I breathed and loved: O envied happiness!
• [The gods, with their several attributes, come upon the stage.]

chorus of gods.

• Let heaven rejoice
• At the glad voice
• Of heaven’s eternal king.

neptune.

• Let the sea’s bosom—

pluto.

• And the depths of hell—

chorus of gods.

• To distant worlds his endless praises tell.
• Let heaven rejoice, etc.

pandora.

• How all conspires to threaten and alarm me!
• O how I hate and fear this dazzling splendor!
• Another’s merit how can I approve,
• Or bear the praise of aught but him I love?

the three graces.

• Love’s fair daughter, here remain,
• Thou in right of him shalt reign;
• Heaven thy chosen seat shall be,
• Earth in vain shall wish for thee.

pandora.

• All affrights me,
• Nought delights me,
• Alas! a desert had more charms for me.
• Hence, ye idle visions; cease,
• Discordant sounds,
• [A Symphony is heard.
• And give me peace.
• [Jupiter comes forth out of a cloud.

jupiter.

• Thou art the best and fairest charm of nature,
• Well worthy of eternity: from earth
• Sprang thy weak body; but thy purer soul
• Partakes of heaven’s unalterable fire,
• And thou wert born for gods alone: with Jove
• Taste then the sweets of immortality.

pandora.

• I scorn thy gift, and rather would be nothing,
• From whence I sprang; thy immortality,
• Without the lovely object I adore,
• Is but eternal punishment.

jupiter.

• Fair creature,
• Thou knowest not I am master of the thunder:
• Canst thou in heaven look back to earth?

pandora.

• That earth
• Is my abode; there first I learned to love.

jupiter.

• ’Twas but the shadow of it, in a world
• Unworthy of that noble flame, which here
• Alone can burn unquenchable.

pandora.

• Great Jove,
• Content with glory and with splendor, leave
• To earthly lovers happiness and joy:
• Thou art a god; O hear my humble prayer!
• A gracious god should make his creatures happy.

jupiter.

• Thou shalt be happy, and in thee I hope
• For bliss supreme: ye powerful pleasures, you
• Who dwell around me, now exert your charms,
• Deceive her lovely eyes, and win her heart.
• [The Pleasures dance around her and sing.

chorus of pleasures.

• Thou with us shalt reign and love,
• Thou alone art worthy Jove.

a single voice.

• Nought has earth but shadows vain,
• Of pleasures followed close by pain;
• Soon her winged transports fly,
• Soon her roses fade and die.

chorus.

• Thou with us shalt reign and love,
• Thou alone art worthy Jove.

single voice.

• Here the brisk and sportive hours
• Shall cull thee ever-blooming flowers;
• Time has no wings, he cannot fly,
• And love is joined to immortality.

chorus.

• Thou with us shalt reign and love,
• Thou alone art worthy Jove.

pandora.

• Ye tender pleasures, ye increase my flame,
• And ye increase my pain: if happiness
• Is yours to give, O bear it to my love.

jupiter.

• Is this the sad effect of all my care,
• To make a rival happy?
• [Enter Mercury.

mercury.

• Assume thy lightnings, Jove, and blast thy foe;
• Prometheus is in arms, the Titans rage,
• And threaten heaven; mountain on mountain piled,
• They scale the skies; already they approach.

jupiter.

• Jove has the power to punish; let them come.

pandora.

• And wilt thou punish? thou, who art the cause
• Of all his miseries; thou art a jealous tyrant:
• Go on, and love me; I shall hate thee more;
• Be that thy punishment.

jupiter.

• I must away:
• Rive them, ye thunder-bolts.

pandora.

• Have mercy, Jove!

jupiter.

• [To Mercury.
• Conduct Pandora to a place of safety:
• The happy world was wrapped in peace profound,
• A beauty comes, and nought is seen but ruin.
• [He goes out.

pandora.

• [Alone.
• O fatal charms! would I had ne’er been born!
• Beauty and love, and every gift divine,
• But make me wretched: if, all-powerful Love,
• Thou didst create me, now relieve my sorrows;
• Dry up my tears, bid war and slaughter cease,
• And give to heaven and earth eternal peace.

End of the Third Act.

ACT IV.

The scene represents the Titans armed, mountains at a distance, with giants throwing them on each other.

enceladus.

• Fear not, Prometheus, nature feels thy wrongs,
• And joins with us in just revenge: behold
• These pointed rocks, and shaggy mountains; soon
• The jealous tyrants all shall sink beneath them.

prometheus.

• Now, earth, defend thyself, and combat heaven:
• Trumpets and drums, now shall ye first be heard:
• March, Titans, follow me: the seat of gods
• Is your reward; be fair Pandora mine.
• [They march to the sound of trumpets.

chorus of titans.

• Arm, ye valiant Titans, arm,
• Spread around the dread alarm:
• Let proud immortals tremble on their thrones.

prometheus.

• Their thunder answers to our trumpets’ voice.
• [Thunder is heard; a car descends, bearing the gods towards the mountains: Pandora is seated near Jupiter; Prometheus speaks.]
• Jove gives the dreadful signal; haste, begin
• The battle.
• [The giants rise towards heaven.

chorus of nymphs.

• Earth, and hell, and heaven confounded,
• All with terrors are surrounded:
• Cease, ye gods, and Titans, cease
• Your cruel wars, and give us peace.

titans.

• Yield, cruel tyrants.

gods.

• Rebels, fly.

titans.

• Yield, heaven, to earth.

gods.

• Die, rebels, die.

pandora.

• O heaven! O earth! ye Titans, and ye gods,
• O cease your rage, all perish for Pandora:
• I have made the world unhappy.

titans.

• Draw
• Your arrows now.

gods.

• Strike, thunders.

titans.

• Hurl down heaven.

gods.

• Destroy the earth.

both.

• Yield, cruel tyrants—rebels fly—
• Yield, earth, to heaven—die, rebels, die.
• [A dead silence for a time; a bright cloud descends; Destiny appears, seated in the middle of it.]

destiny.

• Cease, hostile powers, attend to me,
• And hear the will of Destiny.
• [Silence ensues.

prometheus.

• Unalterable being, power supreme,
• Speak thy irrevocable doom; attend,
• Ye tyrants, and obey.

chorus.

• Speak, the gods must yield to thee;
• Speak, immortal Destiny.

destiny.

• [In the middle of the gods, who throng round him.
• Hear me, ye gods; another world this day
• Brings forth: meantime let every gift adorn
• Pandora; and you, Titans, who ’gainst heaven
• Have raised rebellious war, receive your doom,
• Beneath these mountains sunk forever groan.
• [The rocks fall upon them; the chariot of the gods descends to earth; Pandora is restored to Prometheus.

jupiter.

• O fate, my empire yields to thee,
• Jove submits to destiny:
• Thou art obeyed; but from this hour let earth
• And heaven be disunited: Nemesis,
• Come forth.
• [Nemesis advances from the bottom of the stage, and Jupiter proceeds.
• Nemesis, thy aid impart,
• Pierce the cruel beauty’s heart;
• My vengeance let Pandora know,
• In the gifts that I bestow:
• Let heaven and earth henceforth be disunited.

End of the Fourth Act.

ACT V.

prometheus, pandora.

pandora.

• [Holding a box in her hand.
• And wilt thou leave me then? art thou subdued,
• Or art thou conqueror?

prometheus.

• Victory is mine:
• If yet thou lovest me, love and destiny
• Speak for Prometheus.

pandora.

• Wilt thou leave me then?

prometheus.

• The Titans are subdued: lament their fate:
• I must assist them; let us teach mankind
• To succor the unhappy.

pandora.

• Stay a moment:
• Behold thy victory: let us open this,
• It was the gift of Jove.

prometheus.

• What wouldst thou do?
• A rival’s gift is dangerous; ’tis some snare
• The gods have laid.

pandora.

• Thou canst not think it.

prometheus.

• Hear
• What I request of thee, and stay at least
• Till I return.

pandora.

• Thou biddest, and I obey:
• I swear by love still to believe Prometheus.

prometheus.

• Wilt thou then promise?

pandora.

• By thyself I swear:
• All are obedient where they love.

prometheus.

• Enough:
• I’m satisfied: and now, ye woodland nymphs,
• Begin your songs; sing earth restored to bliss;
• Let all be gay, for all was made for her.

first nymph.

• Come, fair Pandora, come and prove
• An age of gold, of innocence, and love;
• And, like thy parent Nature, be immortal.

second nymph.

• No longer now shall earth affrighted mourn,
• By cruel war her tender bosom torn:
• Pleasures now on pleasures flow,
• Happiness succeeds to woe:
• The flowers their fragrant odors yield;
• Who would wither the fair field?
• The blest creation teems with mirth and joy,
• And nature’s work what tyrant would destroy?

the chorus.

• [Repeats.
• Come, fair Pandora, come and prove
• An age of gold, etc.

first nymph.

• See! to Pandora Mercury appears,
• And ratifies great Nature’s kind decree.
• [The nymphs retire: Pandora advances with Nemesis, under the figure of Mercury.]

nemesis.

• Already I have told thee, base Prometheus
• Is jealous of thee, and exerts his power
• Like a harsh tyrant.

pandora.

• O he is my lord,
• My king, my god, my lover, and my husband.

nemesis.

• Why then forbid thee to behold the gift
• Of generous heaven?

pandora.

• His fearful love’s alarmed,
• And I would wish to have no will but his.

nemesis.

• He asks too much, Pandora, nor hath done
• What thou deservest: he might have given thee beauties
• Which now thou hast not.

pandora.

• He hath formed my heart
• Tender and kind; he charms and he adores me;
• What could he more?

nemesis.

• Thy charms will perish.

pandora.

• Ha!
• Thou makest me tremble.

nemesis.

• This mysterious box
• Will make thy charms immortal; thou wilt be
• Forever beauteous, and forever happy:
• Thy husband shall be subject to thy power,
• And thou shalt reign unrivalled in his love.

pandora.

• He is my only lord, and I would wish
• To be immortal, but for my Prometheus.

nemesis.

• Fain would I open thy fair eyes, and bless thee
• With every good; would make thee please forever.

pandora.

• But dost thou not abuse my innocence?
• And canst thou be so cruel?

nemesis.

• Who would hurt
• Such beauty?

pandora.

• I should die with grief, if e’er
• I disobliged the sovereign of my heart.

nemesis.

• O in the name of Nature, in the name
• Of thy dear husband, listen to my voice!

pandora.

• That name has conquered, and I will believe thee.
• [She opens the box; darkness is spread over the stage, and a voice heard from below.]
• Ha! what thick cloud thus o’er my senses spreads
• Its fatal darkness? thou deceitful god!
• O I am guilty, and I suffer for it.

nemesis.

• I must away: Jove is revenged, and now
• I will return to hell.
• [Nemesis vanishes: Pandora faints away on the grass.]

prometheus.

• [Advancing from the farther end of the stage.
• O fatal absence! dreadful change! what star
• Of evil influence thus deforms the face
• Of Nature? where’s my dear Pandora? why
• Answers she not to my complaining voice?
• O my Pandora! but behold, from hell
• Let loose, the monsters rise, and rush upon us.
• [Furies and demons running on the stage.

furies.

• The time is come when we shall reign:
• Fear and grief, remorse and pain,
• From this great decisive hour,
• O’er the world shall spread their power;
• Death shall come, a bitter draught,
• By the Furies hither brought.

prometheus.

• That cruel guest shall powers infernal bring?
• And must the earth lose her eternal spring?
• To time, and dire disease, and horrid vice,
• Shall mortals fall a helpless sacrifice?
• The nymphs lament our fate: Pandora, hear
• And answer to my griefs! she comes, but seems
• Insensible.

pandora.

• I am not worthy of thee:
• I have destroyed mankind, deceived my husband,
• And am alone the guilty cause of all:
• Strike: I deserve it.

prometheus.

• Can I punish thee?

pandora.

• Strike, and deprive me of that wretched life
• Thou didst bestow.

chorus of nymphs.

• Tenderest lover, dry her tears,
• She is full of lover’s fears;
• She is woman, therefore frail,
• Let her beauty then prevail.

prometheus.

• Hast thou then, spite of all thy solemn vows,
• Opened the fatal box?

pandora.

• Some cruel god
• Betrayed me: fatal curiosity!
• The work was thine: O every evil sprung
• From that accursed gift: undone Pandora!

love.

• [Descending from heaven.
• Love still remains, and every good is thine:
• [Scene changes, and represents the palace of love.]
• [Love proceeds.
• For thee will I resist the power of fate;
• I gave to mortals being, and they ne’er
• Shall be unhappy whilst they worship me.

pandora.

• Soul of my soul, thou comforter divine,
• O punish Jove; inspire his vengeful heart
• With double passion for the blessed Pandora.

prometheus and pandora.

• Heaven shall pierce our hearts in vain
• With every grief, and every pain;
• With thee no pains torment, no pleasures cloy;
• With thee to suffer is but to enjoy.

love.

• Lovely hope, on mortals wait;
• Come, and gild their wretched state;
• All thy flattering joys impart.
• Haste, and live in every heart;
• Howe’er deceitful thou mayest be,
• Thou canst grant felicity,
• And make them happy in futurity.

pandora.

• Fate would make us wretched here,
• But hope shall dry up every tear;
• In sorrow he shall give us rest,
• And make us even in anguish blest:
• Love shall preserve us from the paths of vice,
• And strew his flowers around the precipice.

End of the Fifth and Last Act.

THE DRAMATIC WORKS OF VOLTAIRE

Vol. IX—Part II