No More Learning

The Giant said, "Then carry him I will,
Since that to carry me he was so slack--
To render, as the gods do, good for ill;
But lend a hand to place him on my back. "
Orlando answered, "If my counsel still
May weigh, Morgante, do not undertake
To lift or carry this dead courser, who,
As you have done to him, will do to you.

LXXII.

"Take care he don't revenge himself, though dead,
As Nessus did of old beyond all cure.
I don't know if the fact you've heard or read;
But he will make you burst, you may be sure. "
"But help him on my back," Morgante said,
"And you shall see what weight I can endure.
In place, my gentle Roland, of this palfrey,
With all the bells, I'd carry yonder belfry. "

LXXIII.

The Abbot said, "The steeple may do well,
But for the bells, you've broken them, I wot. "
Morgante answered, "Let them pay in Hell
The penalty who lie dead in yon grot;"
And hoisting up the horse from where he fell,
He said, "Now look if I the gout have got,
Orlando, in the legs,--or if I have force;"--
And then he made two gambols with the horse.

LXXIV.

Morgante was like any mountain framed;
So if he did this 'tis no prodigy;
But secretly himself Orlando blamed,
Because he was one of his family;
And fearing that he might be hurt or maimed,
Once more he bade him lay his burden by:
"Put down, nor bear him further the desert in. "
Morgante said, "I'll carry him for certain. "

LXXV.

He did; and stowed him in some nook away,
And to the abbey then returned with speed.
Orlando said, "Why longer do we stay?
Morgante, here is nought to do indeed. "
The Abbot by the hand he took one day,
And said, with great respect, he had agreed
To leave his reverence; but for this decision
He wished to have his pardon and permission.

LXXVI.

The honours they continued to receive
Perhaps exceeded what his merits claimed:
He said, "I mean, and quickly, to retrieve
The lost days of time past, which may be blamed;
Some days ago I should have asked your leave,
Kind father, but I really was ashamed,
And know not how to show my sentiment,
So much I see you with our stay content.

LXXVII.

"But in my heart I bear through every clime
The Abbot, abbey, and this solitude--
So much I love you in so short a time;
For me, from Heaven reward you with all good
The God so true, the eternal Lord sublime!
Whose kingdom at the last hath open stood.
Meantime we stand expectant of your blessing.
And recommend us to your prayers with pressing. "

LXXVIII.

Now when the Abbot Count Orlando heard,
His heart grew soft with inner tenderness,
Such fervour in his bosom bred each word;
And, "Cavalier," he said, "if I have less
Courteous and kind to your great worth appeared,
Than fits me for such gentle blood to express,
I know I have done too little in this case;
But blame our ignorance, and this poor place.

LXXIX.

"We can indeed but honour you with masses,
And sermons, thanksgivings, and pater-nosters,
Hot suppers, dinners (fitting other places
In verity much rather than the cloisters);
But such a love for you my heart embraces,
For thousand virtues which your bosom fosters,
That wheresoe'er you go I too shall be,
And, on the other part, you rest with me.

LXXX.

"This may involve a seeming contradiction;
But you I know are sage, and feel, and taste,
And understand my speech with full conviction.
For your just pious deeds may you be graced
With the Lord's great reward and benediction,
By whom you were directed to this waste:
To His high mercy is our freedom due,
For which we render thanks to Him and you.

LXXXI.

"You saved at once our life and soul: such fear
The Giants caused us, that the way was lost
By which we could pursue a fit career
In search of Jesus and the saintly Host;
And your departure breeds such sorrow here,
That comfortless we all are to our cost;
But months and years you would not stay in sloth,
Nor are you formed to wear our sober cloth,

LXXXII.

"But to bear arms, and wield the lance; indeed,
With these as much is done as with this cowl;
In proof of which the Scripture you may read,
This Giant up to Heaven may bear his soul
By your compassion: now in peace proceed.
Your state and name I seek not to unroll;
But, if I'm asked, this answer shall be given,
That here an angel was sent down from Heaven.

LXXXIII.

"If you want armour or aught else, go in,
Look o'er the wardrobe, and take what you choose,
And cover with it o'er this Giant's skin. "
Orlando answered, "If there should lie loose
Some armour, ere our journey we begin,
Which might be turned to my companion's use,
The gift would be acceptable to me. "
The Abbot said to him, "Come in and see. "

LXXXIV.

And in a certain closet, where the wall
Was covered with old armour like a crust,
The Abbot said to them, "I give you all. "
Morgante rummaged piecemeal from the dust
The whole, which, save one cuirass[347], was too small,
And that too had the mail inlaid with rust.
They wondered how it fitted him exactly,
Which ne'er had suited others so compactly.

LXXXV.

'Twas an immeasurable Giant's, who
By the great Milo of Agrante fell
Before the abbey many years ago.
The story on the wall was figured well;
In the last moment of the abbey's foe,
Who long had waged a war implacable:
Precisely as the war occurred they drew him,
And there was Milo as he overthrew him.

LXXXVI.

Seeing this history, Count Orlando said
In his own heart, "O God who in the sky
Know'st all things! how was Milo hither led?
Who caused the Giant in this place to die? "
And certain letters, weeping, then he read,
So that he could not keep his visage dry,--
As I will tell in the ensuing story:
From evil keep you the high King of Glory!






FRANCESCA OF RIMINI[348]


FROM THE INFERNO OF DANTE.


CANTO THE FIFTH.

"The Land where I was born[349] sits by the Seas
Upon that shore to which the Po descends,
With all his followers, in search of peace.
Love, which the gentle heart soon apprehends,
Seized him for the fair person which was ta'en
From me[350], and me even yet the mode offends.
Love, who to none beloved to love again
Remits, seized me with wish to please, so strong[351],
That, as thou see'st, yet, yet it doth remain.
Love to one death conducted us along, 10
But Caina[352] waits for him our life who ended:"
These were the accents uttered by her tongue. --
Since I first listened to these Souls offended,
I bowed my visage, and so kept it till--
'What think'st thou? ' said the bard[353]; when I unbended,
And recommenced: 'Alas! unto such ill
How many sweet thoughts, what strong ecstacies,
Led these their evil fortune to fulfill! '
And then I turned unto their side my eyes,
And said, 'Francesca, thy sad destinies 20
Have made me sorrow till the tears arise.
But tell me, in the Season of sweet sighs,
By what and how thy Love to Passion rose,
So as his dim desires to recognize? '
Then she to me: 'The greatest of all woes
Is to remind us of our happy days[co][354]
In misery, and that thy teacher knows.
But if to learn our Passion's first root preys
Upon thy spirit with such Sympathy,
I will do even as he who weeps and says. [cp][355] 30
We read one day for pastime, seated nigh,
Of Lancilot, how Love enchained him too.
We were alone, quite unsuspiciously.
But oft our eyes met, and our Cheeks in hue
All o'er discoloured by that reading were;
But one point only wholly us o'erthrew;[cq]
When we read the long-sighed-for smile of her,[cr]
To be thus kissed by such devoted lover,[cs]
He, who from me can be divided ne'er,
Kissed my mouth, trembling in the act all over: 40
Accursed was the book and he who wrote! [356]
That day no further leaf we did uncover. '
While thus one Spirit told us of their lot,
The other wept, so that with Pity's thralls
I swooned, as if by Death I had been smote,[357]
And fell down even as a dead body falls. "[358]

_March_ 20, 1820.




FRANCESCA DA RIMINI.


DANTE, L'INFERNO.


CANTO QUINTO.

'Siede la terra dove nata fui
Sulla marina, dove il Po discende
Per aver pace co' seguaci sui.
Amor, che al cor gentil ratto s'apprende,
Prese costui della bella persona
Che mi fu tolta, e il modo ancor m' offende.
Amor, che a nullo amato amar perdona,
Mi prese del costui piacer si forte,
Che, come vedi, ancor non mi abbandona.
Amor condusse noi ad una morte: 10
Caino attende chi vita ci spense. '
Queste parole da lor ci fur porte.
Da che io intesi quelle anime offense
Chinai 'l viso, e tanto il tenni basso,
Finche il Poeta mi disse: 'Che pense? '
Quando risposi, cominciai: 'O lasso!
Quanti dolci pensier, quanto disio
Meno costoro al doloroso passo! '
Poi mi rivolsi a loro, e parla' io,
E cominciai: 'Francesca, i tuoi martiri 20
A lagrimar mi fanno tristo e pio.
Ma dimmi: al tempo de' dolci sospiri
A che e come concedette Amore,
Che conoscesti i dubbiosi desiri? '
Ed ella a me: 'Nessun maggior dolore
Che ricordarsi del tempo felice
Nella miseria; e cio sa il tuo dottore.
Ma se a conoscer la prima radice
Del nostro amor tu hai cotanto affetto
Faro come colui che piange e dice. 30
Noi leggevamo un giorno per diletto
Di Lancelotto, come Amor lo strinse:
Soli eravamo, e senza alcun sospetto.
Per piu fiate gli occhi ci sospinse
Quella lettura, e scolorocci il viso:
Ma solo un punto fu quel che ci vinse.
Quando leggemmo il disiato riso
Esser baciato da cotanto amante,
Questi, che mai da me non fia diviso,
La bocca mi bacio tutto tremante: 40
Galeotto fu il libro, e chi lo scrisse--
Quel giorno piu non vi leggemmo avante
Mentre che l'uno spirto questo disse,
L'altro piangeva si che di pietade
Io venni meno cos com' io morisse;
E caddi, come corpo morto cade.


DRAMATIS PERSONAE.

MEN.

Marino Faliero, _Doge of Venice_.
Bertuccio Faliero, _Nephew of the Doge_.
Lioni, _a Patrician and Senator_.
Benintende, _Chief of the Council of Ten_.
Michel Steno, _One of the three Capi of the Forty_.
Israel Bertuccio, _Chief of the Arsenal_, }
Philip Calendaro, } _Conspirators_.
Dagolino, }
Bertram, }

_Signor of the Night_, "_Signore di Notte," one of
the Officers belonging to the Republic_.
_First Citizen_.
_Second Citizen_.
_Third Citizen_.

Vincenzo, }
Pietro, } _Officers belonging to the Ducal Palace_.
Battista, }

_Secretary of the Council of Ten_.

_Guards_, _Conspirators_, _Citizens_,
_The Council of Ten_, _the Giunta_, etc. , etc.

WOMEN.

Angiolina, _Wife to the Doge_.
Marianna, _her Friend_.
_Female Attendants, etc_.

Scene Venice--in the year 1355.




MARINO FALIERO, DOGE OF VENICE.


(AN HISTORICAL TRAGEDY IN FIVE ACTS. )




ACT I.


SCENE I. --_An Antechamber in the Ducal Palace_.

PIETRO _speaks, in entering, to_ BATTISTA.

_Pie_. Is not the messenger returned? [cv]

_Bat_. Not yet;
I have sent frequently, as you commanded,
But still the Signory[380] is deep in council,
And long debate on Steno's accusation.

_Pie_. Too long--at least so thinks the Doge.

_Bat_. How bears he
These moments of suspense?

_Pie_. With struggling patience. [cw]
Placed at the Ducal table, covered o'er
With all the apparel of the state--petitions,
Despatches, judgments, acts, reprieves, reports,--
He sits as rapt in duty; but whene'er[cx] 10
He hears the jarring of a distant door,
Or aught that intimates a coming step,[cy]
Or murmur of a voice, his quick eye wanders,
And he will start up from his chair, then pause,
And seat himself again, and fix his gaze
Upon some edict; but I have observed
For the last hour he has not turned a leaf.

_Bat_. 'Tis said he is much moved,--and doubtless 'twas
Foul scorn in Steno to offend so grossly.

_Pie_. Aye, if a poor man: Steno's a patrician, 20
Young, galliard, gay, and haughty. [cz]

_Bat_. Then you think
He will not be judged hardly?

_Pie_. 'Twere enough
He be judged justly; but 'tis not for us
To anticipate the sentence of the Forty.

_Bat_. And here it comes. --What news, Vincenzo?

_Enter_ VINCENZO.

_Vin_. 'Tis
Decided; but as yet his doom's unknown:
I saw the President in act to seal
The parchment which will bear the Forty's judgment
Unto the Doge, and hasten to inform him.
[_Exeunt_.


SCENE II. --The Ducal Chamber.

MARINO FALIERO, _Doge; and his Nephew_, BERTUCCIO FALIERO. [381]

_Ber. F. _ It cannot be but they will do you justice.

_Doge_. Aye, such as the Avogadori[382] did,
Who sent up my appeal unto the Forty
To try him by his peers, his own tribunal.

_Ber. F. _ His peers will scarce protect him; such an act
Would bring contempt on all authority.

_Doge_. Know you not Venice? Know you not the Forty?
But we shall see anon.

_Ber. F. _ (_addressing_ VINCENZO, _then entering_. )
How now--what tidings?

_Vin_. I am charged to tell his Highness that the court
Has passed its resolution, and that, soon 10
As the due forms of judgment are gone through,
The sentence will be sent up to the Doge;
In the mean time the Forty doth salute
The Prince of the Republic, and entreat
His acceptation of their duty.

_Doge_. Yes--
They are wond'rous dutiful, and ever humble.
Sentence is passed, you say?

_Vin_. It is, your Highness:
The President was sealing it, when I
Was called in, that no moment might be lost
In forwarding the intimation due 20
Not only to the Chief of the Republic,
But the complainant, both in one united.

_Ber. F. _ Are you aware, from aught you have perceived,
Of their decision?

_Vin_. No, my Lord; you know
The secret custom of the courts in Venice.

_Ber. F. _ True; but there still is something given to guess,
Which a shrewd gleaner and quick eye would catch at;
A whisper, or a murmur, or an air
More or less solemn spread o'er the tribunal.
The Forty are but men--most worthy men, 30
And wise, and just, and cautious--this I grant--
And secret as the grave to which they doom
The guilty: but with all this, in their aspects--
At least in some, the juniors of the number--
A searching eye, an eye like yours, Vincenzo,
Would read the sentence ere it was pronounced.

_Vin_. My Lord, I came away upon the moment,
And had no leisure to take note of that
Which passed among the judges, even in seeming;
My station near the accused too, Michel Steno, 40
Made me--

_Doge_ (_abruptly_). And how looked _he_? deliver that.

_Vin_. Calm, but not overcast, he stood resigned
To the decree, whate'er it were;--but lo!
It comes, for the perusal of his Highness.

_Enter the_ SECRETARY _of the Forty_.

_Sec_. The high tribunal of the Forty sends
Health and respect to the Doge Faliero,[da]
Chief magistrate of Venice, and requests
His Highness to peruse and to approve
The sentence passed on Michel Steno, born
Patrician, and arraigned upon the charge 50
Contained, together with its penalty,
Within the rescript which I now present.

_Doge_. Retire, and wait without.
[_Exeunt_ SECRETARY _and_ VINCENZO. ]
Take thou this paper:
The misty letters vanish from my eyes;
I cannot fix them.

_Ber. F. _ Patience, my dear Uncle:
Why do you tremble thus? --nay, doubt not, all
Will be as could be wished.

_Doge_. Say on.

_Ber. F. _ (_reading_).
"Decreed
In council, without one dissenting voice,
That Michel Steno, by his own confession,
Guilty on the last night of Carnival 60
Of having graven on the ducal throne
The following words--"[383]

_Doge_. Would'st thou repeat them?
Would'st _thou_ repeat them--_thou_, a Faliero,
Harp on the deep dishonour of our house,
Dishonoured in its Chief--that Chief the Prince
Of Venice, first of cities? --To the sentence.

_Ber. F. _ Forgive me, my good Lord; I will obey--
(_Reads_) "That Michel Steno be detained a month
In close arrest. "[384]

_Doge_. Proceed.

_Ber. F. _ My Lord, 'tis finished.

_Doge_. How say you? --finished! Do I dream? --'tis false-- 70
Give me the paper--(_snatches the paper and reads_)--
"'Tis decreed in council
That Michel Steno"--Nephew, thine arm!

_Ber. F. _ Nay,
Cheer up, be calm; this transport is uncalled for--
Let me seek some assistance.

_Doge_. Stop, sir--Stir not--
'Tis past.

_Ber. F. _ I cannot but agree with you
The sentence is too slight for the offence;
It is not honourable in the Forty
To affix so slight a penalty to that
Which was a foul affront to you, and even
To them, as being your subjects; but 'tis not 80
Yet without remedy: you can appeal
To them once more, or to the Avogadori,
Who, seeing that true justice is withheld,
Will now take up the cause they once declined,
And do you right upon the bold delinquent.
Think you not thus, good Uncle? why do you stand
So fixed? You heed me not:--I pray you, hear me!

_Doge_ (_dashing down the ducal bonnet, and offering to
trample upon it, exclaims, as he is withheld by his nephew_).
Oh! that the Saracen were in St. Mark's!
Thus would I do him homage.

_Ber. F. _ For the sake
Of Heaven and all its saints, my Lord--

_Doge_. Away! 90
Oh, that the Genoese were in the port!
Oh, that the Huns whom I o'erthrew at Zara[385]
Were ranged around the palace!

_Ber. F. _ 'Tis not well
In Venice' Duke to say so.

_Doge_. Venice' Duke!
Who now is Duke in Venice? let me see him,
That he may do me right.

_Ber. F. _ If you forget
Your office, and its dignity and duty.
Remember that of man, and curb this passion.
The Duke of Venice----

_Doge_ (_interrupting him_). There is no such thing--
It is a word--nay, worse--a worthless by-word: 100
The most despised, wronged, outraged, helpless wretch,
Who begs his bread, if 'tis refused by one,
May win it from another kinder heart;
But he, who is denied his right by those
Whose place it is to do no wrong, is poorer
Than the rejected beggar--he's a slave--
And that am I--and thou--and all our house,
Even from this hour; the meanest artisan
Will point the finger, and the haughty noble
May spit upon us:--where is our redress? 110

_Ber. F. _ The law, my Prince--

_Doge_ (_interrupting him_). You see what it has done;
I asked no remedy but from the law--[386]
I sought no vengeance but redress by law--
I called no judges but those named by law--
As Sovereign, I appealed unto my subjects,
The very subjects who had made me Sovereign,
And gave me thus a double right to be so.
The rights of place and choice, of birth and service,
Honours and years, these scars, these hoary hairs,
The travel--toil--the perils--the fatigues-- 120
The blood and sweat of almost eighty years,
Were weighed i' the balance, 'gainst the foulest stain,
The grossest insult, most contemptuous crime
Of a rank, rash patrician--and found wanting!
And this is to be borne!

_Ber. F. _ I say not that:--
In case your fresh appeal should be rejected,
We will find other means to make all even.

_Doge_. Appeal again! art thou my brother's son?
A scion of the house of Faliero?
The nephew of a Doge? and of that blood 130
Which hath already given three dukes to Venice?
But thou say'st well--we must be humble now.

_Ber. F. _ My princely Uncle! you are too much moved;--
I grant it was a gross offence, and grossly
Left without fitting punishment: but still
This fury doth exceed the provocation,
Or any provocation: if we are wronged,
We will ask justice; if it be denied,
We'll take it; but may do all this in calmness--
Deep Vengeance is the daughter of deep Silence. 140
I have yet scarce a third part of your years,
I love our house, I honour you, its Chief,
The guardian of my youth, and its instructor--
But though I understand your grief, and enter
In part of your disdain, it doth appal me
To see your anger, like our Adrian waves,
O'ersweep all bounds, and foam itself to air.

_Doge_. I tell thee--_must_ I tell thee--what thy father
Would have required no words to comprehend?
Hast thou no feeling save the external sense 150
Of torture from the touch? hast thou no soul--
No pride--no passion--no deep sense of honour?

_Ber. F. _ 'Tis the first time that honour has been doubted,
And were the last, from any other sceptic.

_Doge_. You know the full offence of this born villain,
This creeping, coward, rank, acquitted felon,
Who threw his sting into a poisonous libel,[db]
And on the honour of--Oh God! my wife,
The nearest, dearest part of all men's honour,
Left a base slur to pass from mouth to mouth 160
Of loose mechanics, with all coarse foul comments,
And villainous jests, and blasphemies obscene;
While sneering nobles, in more polished guise,
Whispered the tale, and smiled upon the lie
Which made me look like them--a courteous wittol,
Patient--aye--proud, it may be, of dishonour.

_Ber. F. _ But still it was a lie--you knew it false,
And so did all men.

_Doge_. Nephew, the high Roman
Said, "Caesar's wife must not even be suspected,"[387]
And put her from him.

_Ber. F. _ True--but in those days---- 170

_Doge_. What is it that a Roman would not suffer,
That a Venetian Prince must bear? old Dandolo[dc]
Refused the diadem of all the Caesars,[388]
And wore the ducal cap _I_ trample on--
Because 'tis now degraded.

_Ber. F. _ 'Tis even so.

_Doge_. It is--it is;--I did not visit on
The innocent creature thus most vilely slandered
Because she took an old man for her lord,
For that he had been long her father's friend
And patron of her house, as if there were 180
No love in woman's heart but lust of youth
And beardless faces;--I did not for this
Visit the villain's infamy on her,
But craved my country's justice on his head,
The justice due unto the humblest being
Who hath a wife whose faith is sweet to him,
Who hath a home whose hearth is dear to him--
Who hath a name whose honour's all to him,
When these are tainted by the accursing breath
Of Calumny and Scorn.

_Ber. F. _ And what redress 190
Did you expect as his fit punishment?

_Doge_. Death! Was I not the Sovereign of the state--
Insulted on his very throne, and made
A mockery to the men who should obey me?
Was I not injured as a husband? scorned
As man? reviled, degraded, as a Prince?
Was not offence like his a complication
Of insult and of treason? --and he lives!
Had he instead of on the Doge's throne
Stamped the same brand upon a peasant's stool, 200
His blood had gilt the threshold; for the carle
Had stabbed him on the instant.

_Ber. F. _ Do not doubt it,
He shall not live till sunset--leave to me
The means, and calm yourself.

_Doge_. Hold, nephew: this
Would have sufficed but yesterday; at present
I have no further wrath against this man.

_Ber. F. _ What mean you? is not the offence redoubled
By this most rank--I will not say--acquittal;
For it is worse, being full acknowledgment
Of the offence, and leaving it unpunished? 210

_Doge_. It is _redoubled_, but not now by him:
The Forty hath decreed a month's arrest--
We must obey the Forty.

_Ber. F. _ Obey _them_!
Who have forgot their duty to the Sovereign?

_Doge_. Why, yes;--boy, you perceive it then at last;
Whether as fellow citizen who sues
For justice, or as Sovereign who commands it,
They have defrauded me of both my rights
(For here the Sovereign is a citizen);
But, notwithstanding, harm not thou a hair 220
Of Steno's head--he shall not wear it long.

_Ber. F. _ Not twelve hours longer, had you left to me
The mode and means; if you had calmly heard me,
I never meant this miscreant should escape,
But wished you to suppress such gusts of passion,
That we more surely might devise together
His taking off.

_Doge_. No, nephew, he must live;
At least, just now--a life so vile as his
Were nothing at this hour; in th' olden time[dd]
Some sacrifices asked a single victim, 230
Great expiations had a hecatomb.

_Ber. F. _ Your wishes are my law: and yet I fain
Would prove to you how near unto my heart
The honour of our house must ever be.

_Doge_. Fear not; you shall have time and place of proof:
But be not thou too rash, as I have been.
I am ashamed of my own anger now;
I pray you, pardon me.

_Ber. F. _ Why, that's my uncle!
The leader, and the statesman, and the chief
Of commonwealths, and sovereign of himself! 240
I wondered to perceive you so forget
All prudence in your fury at these years,
Although the cause--

_Doge_. Aye--think upon the cause--
Forget it not:--When you lie down to rest,
Let it be black among your dreams; and when
The morn returns, so let it stand between
The Sun and you, as an ill-omened cloud
Upon a summer-day of festival:
So will it stand to me;--but speak not, stir not,--
Leave all to me; we shall have much to do, 250
And you shall have a part. --But now retire,
'Tis fit I were alone.

_Ber. F. _ (_taking up and placing the ducal bonnet on the table_).
Ere I depart,
I pray you to resume what you have spurned,
Till you can change it--haply, for a crown!
And now I take my leave, imploring you
In all things to rely upon my duty,
As doth become your near and faithful kinsman,
And not less loyal citizen and subject.
[Exit BERTUCCIO FALIERO.

_Doge_ (_solus_). Adieu, my worthy nephew. --Hollow bauble!
[_Taking up the ducal cap_.
Beset with all the thorns that line a crown, 260
Without investing the insulted brow
With the all-swaying majesty of Kings;
Thou idle, gilded, and degraded toy,
Let me resume thee as I would a vizor. [_Puts it on_.
How my brain aches beneath thee! and my temples
Throb feverish under thy dishonest weight.
Could I not turn thee to a diadem?
Could I not shatter the Briarean sceptre
Which in this hundred-handed Senate rules,
Making the people nothing, and the Prince 270
A pageant? In my life I have achieved
Tasks not less difficult--achieved for them,
Who thus repay me! Can I not requite them?
Oh for one year! Oh! but for even a day
Of my full youth, while yet my body served
My soul as serves the generous steed his lord,
I would have dashed amongst them, asking few
In aid to overthrow these swoln patricians;
But now I must look round for other hands
To serve this hoary head; but it shall plan 280
In such a sort as will not leave the task
Herculean, though as yet 'tis but a chaos
Of darkly brooding thoughts: my fancy is
In her first work, more nearly to the light
Holding the sleeping images of things
For the selection of the pausing judgment. --
The troops are few in----

_Enter_ VINCENZO.

_Vin_. There is one without
Craves audience of your Highness.

_Doge_. I'm unwell--
I can see no one, not even a patrician--
Let him refer his business to the Council. 290

_Vin_. My Lord, I will deliver your reply;
It cannot much import--he's a plebeian,
The master of a galley, I believe.

_Doge_. How! did you say the patron of a galley? [389]
That is--I mean--a servant of the state:
Admit him, he may be on public service.
[_Exit_ VINCENZO.

_Doge_ (_solus_). This patron may be sounded; I will try him.
I know the people to be discontented:
They have cause, since Sapienza's[390] adverse day,
When Genoa conquered: they have further cause, 300
Since they are nothing in the state, and in
The city worse than nothing--mere machines,
To serve the nobles' most patrician pleasure.
The troops have long arrears of pay, oft promised,
And murmur deeply--any hope of change
Will draw them forward: they shall pay themselves
With plunder:--but the priests--I doubt the priesthood
Will not be with us; they have hated me
Since that rash hour, when, maddened with the drone,
I smote the tardy Bishop at Treviso,[391] 310
Quickening his holy march; yet, ne'ertheless,
They may be won, at least their Chief at Rome,
By some well-timed concessions; but, above
All things, I must be speedy: at my hour
Of twilight little light of life remains.
Could I free Venice, and avenge my wrongs,
I had lived too long, and willingly would sleep
Next moment with my sires; and, wanting this,
Better that sixty of my fourscore years
Had been already where--how soon, I care not-- 320
The whole must be extinguished;--better that
They ne'er had been, than drag me on to be
The thing these arch-oppressors fain would make me.
Let me consider--of efficient troops
There are three thousand posted at----

_Enter_ VINCENZO _and_ ISRAEL BERTUCCIO.

_Vin_. May it please
Your Highness, the same patron whom I spake of
Is here to crave your patience.

_Doge_. Leave the chamber,
Vincenzo. --
[_Exit_ VINCENZO.
Sir, you may advance--what would you?

_I. Ber_. Redress.

_Doge_. Of whom?

_I. Ber_. Of God and of the Doge.

_Doge_. Alas! my friend, you seek it of the twain 330
Of least respect and interest in Venice.