No More Learning

But, proceed;
You are sent to prate your master's will, and not
Reply to mine.

_Her. _ And Satrap Ofratanes----

_Sar. _ Why, _he_ is _ours_.

_Her. _ (_showing a ring_). Be sure that he is now
In the camp of the conquerors; behold
His signet ring.

_Sar. _ 'Tis his. A worthy triad!
Poor Salemenes! thou hast died in time
To see one treachery the less: this man
Was thy true friend and my most trusted subject.
Proceed.

_Her. _ They offer thee thy life, and freedom 300
Of choice to single out a residence
In any of the further provinces,
Guarded and watched, but not confined in person,
Where thou shalt pass thy days in peace; but on
Condition that the three young princes are
Given up as hostages.

_Sar. _ (_ironically_). The generous Victors!

_Her. _ I wait the answer.

_Sar. _ Answer, slave! How long
Have slaves decided on the doom of kings?

_Her. _ Since they were free.

_Sar. _ Mouthpiece of mutiny!
Thou at the least shalt learn the penalty 310
Of treason, though its proxy only. Pania!
Let his head be thrown from our walls within
The rebels' lines, his carcass down the river.
Away with him! [PANIA _and the Guards seizing him_.

_Pan. _ I never yet obeyed
Your orders with more pleasure than the present.
Hence with him, soldiers! do not soil this hall
Of royalty with treasonable gore;
Put him to rest without.

_Her. _ A single word:
My office, King, is sacred.

_Sar. _ And what's _mine_?
That thou shouldst come and dare to ask of me 320
To lay it down?

_Her. _ I but obeyed my orders,
At the same peril if refused, as now
Incurred by my obedience.

_Sar. _ So there are
New monarchs of an hour's growth as despotic
As sovereigns swathed in purple, and enthroned
From birth to manhood!

_Her. _ My life waits your breath.
Yours (I speak humbly)--but it may be--yours
May also be in danger scarce less imminent:
Would it then suit the last hours of a line
Such as is that of Nimrod, to destroy 330
A peaceful herald, unarmed, in his office;
And violate not only all that man
Holds sacred between man and man--but that
More holy tie which links us with the Gods?

_Sar. _ He's right. --Let him go free. --My life's last act
Shall not be one of wrath. Here, fellow, take
[_Gives him a golden cup from a table near_.
This golden goblet, let it hold your wine,
And think of _me_; or melt it into ingots,
And think of nothing but their weight and value.

_Her. _ I thank you doubly for my life, and this 340
Most gorgeous gift, which renders it more precious.
But must I bear no answer?

_Sar. _ Yes,--I ask
An hour's truce to consider.

_Her. _ But an hour's?

_Sar. _ An hour's: if at the expiration of
That time your masters hear no further from me,
They are to deem that I reject their terms,
And act befittingly.

_Her. _ I shall not fail
To be a faithful legate of your pleasure.

_Sar. _ And hark! a word more.

_Her. _ I shall not forget it,
Whate'er it be.

_Sar. _ Commend me to Beleses; 350
And tell him, ere a year expire, I summon
Him hence to meet me.

_Her. _ Where?

_Sar. _ At Babylon.
At least from thence he will depart to meet me.

_Her. _ I shall obey you to the letter. [_Exit Herald_.

_Sar. _ Pania! --
Now, my good Pania! --quick--with what I ordered.

_Pan. _ My Lord,--the soldiers are already charged.
And see! they enter.

_Soldiers enter, and form a Pile about the Throne, etc. _[31]

_Sar. _ Higher, my good soldiers,
And thicker yet; and see that the foundation
Be such as will not speedily exhaust
Its own too subtle flame; nor yet be quenched 360
With aught officious aid would bring to quell it.
Let the throne form the _core_ of it; I would not
Leave that, save fraught with fire unquenchable,
To the new comers. Frame the whole as if
'Twere to enkindle the strong tower of our
Inveterate enemies. Now it bears an aspect!
How say you, Pania, will this pile suffice
For a King's obsequies?

_Pan. _ Aye, for a kingdom's.
I understand you, now.

_Sar. _ And blame me?

_Pan. _ No--
Let me but fire the pile, and share it with you. 370

_Myr. _ That _duty's_ mine.

_Pan. _ A woman's!

_Myr. _ 'Tis the soldier's
Part to die _for_ his sovereign, and why not
The woman's with her lover?

_Pan. _ 'Tis most strange!

_Myr. _ But not so rare, my Pania, as thou think'st it.
In the mean time, live thou. --Farewell! the pile
Is ready.

_Pan. _ I should shame to leave my sovereign
With but a single female to partake
His death.

_Sar. _ Too many far have heralded
Me to the dust already. Get thee hence;
Enrich thee.

_Pan. _ And live wretched!

_Sar. _ Think upon 380
Thy vow:--'tis sacred and irrevocable.

_Pan. _ Since it is so, farewell.

_Sar. _ Search well my chamber,
Feel no remorse at bearing off the gold;
Remember, what you leave you leave the slaves
Who slew me: and when you have borne away
All safe off to your boats, blow one long blast
Upon the trumpet as you quit the palace.
The river's brink is too remote, its stream
Too loud at present to permit the echo
To reach distinctly from its banks. Then fly,-- 390
And as you sail, turn back; but still keep on
Your way along the Euphrates: if you reach
The land of Paphlagonia, where the Queen
Is safe with my three sons in Cotta's court,
Say what you _saw_ at parting, and request
That she remember what I _said_ at one
Parting more mournful still.

_Pan. _ That royal hand!
Let me then once more press it to my lips;
And these poor soldiers who throng round you, and
Would fain die with you!

[_The Soldiers and_ PANIA _throng round him,
kissing his hand and the hem of his robe_.

_Sar. _ My best! my last friends! 400
Let's not unman each other: part at once:
All farewells should be sudden, when for ever,
Else they make an eternity of moments,
And clog the last sad sands of life with tears.
Hence, and be happy: trust me, I am not
_Now_ to be pitied; or far more for what
Is past than present;--for the future, 'tis
In the hands of the deities, if such
There be: I shall know soon. Farewell--Farewell.
[_Exeunt_ PANIA _and Soldiers_.

_Myr. _ These men were honest: it is comfort still 410
That our last looks should be on loving faces.

_Sar. _ And _lovely_ ones, my beautiful! --but hear me!
If at this moment,--for we now are on
The brink,--thou feel'st an inward shrinking from
This leap through flame into the future, say it:
I shall not love thee less; nay, perhaps more,
For yielding to thy nature: and there's time
Yet for thee to escape hence.

_Myr. _ Shall I light
One of the torches which lie heaped beneath
The ever-burning lamp that burns without, 420
Before Baal's shrine, in the adjoining hall?

_Sar. _ Do so. Is that thy answer?

_Myr. _ Thou shalt see.
[_Exit_ MYRRHA.

_Sar. _ (_solus_). She's firm. My fathers! whom I will rejoin,
It may be, purified by death from some
Of the gross stains of too material being,
I would not leave your ancient first abode
To the defilement of usurping bondmen;
If I have not kept your inheritance
As ye bequeathed it, this bright part of it,
Your treasure--your abode--your sacred relics 430
Of arms, and records--monuments, and spoils,
In which _they_ would have revelled, I bear with me
To you in that absorbing element,
Which most personifies the soul as leaving
The least of matter unconsumed before
Its fiery workings:--and the light of this
Most royal of funereal pyres shall be[aq]
Not a mere pillar formed of cloud and flame,
A beacon in the horizon for a day,
And then a mount of ashes--but a light[ar] 440
To lesson ages, rebel nations, and
Voluptuous princes. Time shall quench full many
A people's records, and a hero's acts;
Sweep empire after empire, like this first
Of empires, into nothing; but even then
Shall spare this deed of mine, and hold it up
A problem few dare imitate, and none
Despise--but, it may be, avoid the life
Which led to such a consummation.

MYRRHA _returns with a lighted Torch in one Hand,
and a Cup in the other_.

_Myr. _ Lo!
I've lit the lamp which lights us to the stars. 450

_Sar. _ And the cup?

_Myr. _ 'Tis my country's custom to
Make a libation to the Gods.

_Sar. _ And mine
To make libations amongst men. I've not
Forgot the custom; and although alone,
Will drain one draught in memory of many
A joyous banquet past.

[SARDANAPALUS _takes the cup, and after drinking
and tinkling the reversed cup, as a drop falls,
exclaims_--

And this libation
Is for the excellent Beleses.

_Myr. _ Why
Dwells thy mind rather upon that man's name
Than on his mate's in villany?

_Sar. _ The other
Is a mere soldier, a mere tool, a kind 460
Of human sword in a friend's hand; the other
Is master-mover of his warlike puppet;
But I dismiss them from my mind. --Yet pause,
My Myrrha! dost thou truly follow me,
Freely and fearlessly?

_Myr. _ And dost thou think
A Greek girl dare not do for love, that which
An Indian widow braves for custom? [as]

_Sar. _ Then
We but await the signal.

_Myr. _ It is long
In sounding.

_Sar. _ Now, farewell; one last embrace.

_Myr. _ Embrace, but _not_ the last; there is one more. 470

_Sar. _ True, the commingling fire will mix our ashes.

_Myr. _ And pure as is my love to thee, shall they,
Purged from the dross of earth, and earthly passion,
Mix pale with thine. A single thought yet irks me.

_Sar. _ Say it.

_Myr. _ It is that no kind hand will gather
The dust of both into one urn.

_Sar. _ The better:
Rather let them be borne abroad upon
The winds of heaven, and scattered into air,
Than be polluted more by human hands
Of slaves and traitors.
In this blazing palace, 480
And its enormous walls of reeking ruin,
We leave a nobler monument than Egypt
Hath piled in her brick mountains, o'er dead kings,[32]
Or _kine_--for none know whether those proud piles
Be for their monarch, or their ox-god Apis:
So much for monuments that have forgotten
Their very record!

_Myr. _ Then farewell, thou earth!
And loveliest spot of earth! farewell, Ionia!
Be thou still free and beautiful, and far
Aloof from desolation! My last prayer 490
Was for thee, my last thoughts, save _one_, were of thee!

_Sar. _ And that?

_Myr. _ Is yours.
[_The trumpet of_ PANIA _sounds without_.

_Sar. _ Hark!

_Myr. _ _Now_!

_Sar. _ Adieu, Assyria!
I loved thee well, my own, my fathers' land,
And better as my country than my kingdom.
I sated thee with peace and joys; and this
Is my reward! and now I owe thee nothing,
Not even a grave. [_He mounts the pile_.
Now, Myrrha!

_Myr. _ Art thou ready?

_Sar. _ As the torch in thy grasp.
[MYRRHA _fires the pile_.

_Myr. _ 'Tis fired! I come.

[_As_ MYRRHA _springs forward to throw herself into
the flames, the Curtain falls_. [33]


FOOTNOTES:

[1] {4}[For a description of the fall of Nineveh, see _Nahum_ ii. 1,
sqq. --"He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face. . . . The
shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet. . . .
The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against
another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run
like the lightnings. He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble
in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the
defence shall be prepared. The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and
the palace shall be dissolved," etc. ]

[2] {7}["A manuscript dedication of _Sardanapalus_ . . . was forwarded to
him, with an obliging inquiry whether it might be prefixed to the
tragedy. The German, who, at his advanced age, was conscious of his own
powers, and of their effects, could only gratefully and modestly
consider this Dedication as the expression of an inexhaustible
intellect, deeply feeling and creating its own object. He was by no
means dissatisfied when, after long delay, _Sardanapalus_ appeared
without the Dedication; and was made happy by the possession of a
facsimile of it, engraved on stone, which he considered a precious
memorial. "--_Lebensverhaltnik zu Byron_, _Werke_, 1833, xlvi. 221-225.
(See, too, for translation, _Life_, p. 593. )]

[3] {9}[_Sardanapalus_ originally appeared in the same volume with _The
Two Foscari_ and _Cain_. The date of publication was December 19, 1821. ]

[4] {10}["Sardanapalus, the Thirtieth from Ninus, and the last King of
the Assyrians, exceeded all his Predecessors in Sloth and Luxury; for
besides that he was seen of none out of his family, he led a most
effeminate life: for wallowing in Pleasure and wanton Dalliances, he
cloathed himself in Womens' attire, and spun fine Wool and Purple
amongst the throngs of his Whores and Concubines. He painted likewise
his Face, and decked his whole Body with other Allurements. . . . He
imitated likewise a Woman's voice. . . ; and proceeded to such a degree of
voluptuousness that he composed verses for his Epitaph . . . which were
thus translated by a Grecian out of the Barbarian language--

? ? ? ? ' ? ? ? ? ? ' ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? , ? ? ? ? ? ? ' ? ? ? ? ? ?
[Tau~t' e)/cho o(/s' e)/phagon kai\ e)phy/brisa, kai\ met' e)/rotos]
? ? ? ? ? ' ? ? ? ? ? ? ' ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? .
[Te/rpn' e)/pathon' ta\ de\ polla\ kai\ o)/lbia kei~na le/leiptai. ]

"What once I gorged I now enjoy,
And wanton Lusts me still employ;
All other things by Mortals prized
Are left as dirt by me despised. "

--_The Historical Library of Diodorus the Sicilian_, made English by G.
Booth, of the City of Chester, Esquire, 1700, p. 65.

"Another king of the sort was Sardanapalus. . . . And so, when Arbaces, who
was one of the generals under him, a Mede by birth, endeavoured to
manage by the assistance of one of the eunuchs, whose name was
Sparamizus, to see Sardanapalus: and when . . . he saw him painted with
vermilion, and adorned like a woman, sitting among his concubines,
carding purple wool, and sitting among them with his feet up, wearing a
woman's robe, and with his beard carefully scraped, and his face
smoothed with pumice stone (for he was whiter than milk, and pencilled
under his eyes and eyebrows; and when he saw Arbaces he was putting a
little more white under his eyes). Most historians, of whom Duris is
one, relate that Arbaces, being indignant at his countrymen being ruled
over by such a monarch as that, stabbed him and slew him. But Ctesias
says that he went to war with him, and collected a great army, and then
that Sardanapalus, being dethroned by Arbaces, died, burning himself
alive in his palace, having heaped up a funeral pile four plethra in
extent, on which he placed 150 golden couches. "--_The Deipnosophistae_
. . . of Athenaeus, bk. xii. c. 38, translated by C. D. Yonge, 1854, iii.
847. ]

[5] {13}[This prince surpassed all his predecessors in effeminacy,
luxury, and cowardice. He never went out of his palace, but spent all
his time among a company of women, dressed and painted like them, and
employed like them at the distaff. He placed all his happiness and glory
in the possession of immense treasures, in feasting and rioting, and
indulging himself in all the most infamous and criminal pleasures. He
ordered two verses to be put upon his tomb, signifying that he carried
away with him all he had eaten, and all the pleasures he had enjoyed,
but left everything else behind him,--_an epitaph_, says Aristotle, _fit
for a hog_. Arbaces, governor of Media, having found means to get into
the palace, and having with his own eyes seen Sardanapalus in the midst
of his infamous seraglio, enraged at such a spectacle, and not able to
endure that so many brave men should be subjected to a prince more soft
and effeminate than the women themselves, immediately formed a
conspiracy against him. Beleses, governor of Babylon, and several
others, entered into it. On the first rumour of this revolt the king hid
himself in the inmost part of his palace. Being afterwards obliged to
take the field with some forces which he had assembled, he at first
gained three successive victories over the enemy, but was afterwards
overcome, and pursued to the gates of Nineveh; wherein he shut himself,
in hopes the rebels would never be able to take a city so well
fortified, and stored with provisions for a considerable time. The siege
proved indeed of very great length. It had been declared by an ancient
oracle that Nineveh could never be taken unless the river became an
enemy to the city. These words buoyed up Sardanapalus, because he looked
upon the thing as impossible. But when he saw that the Tigris, by a
violent inundation, had thrown down twenty stadia (two miles and a half)
of the city wall, and by that means opened a passage to the enemy, he
understood the meaning of the oracle, and thought himself lost. He
resolved, however, to die in such a manner as, according to his opinion,
should cover the infamy of his scandalous and effeminate life. He
ordered a pile of wood to be made in his palace, and, setting fire to
it, burnt himself, his eunuchs, his women, and his treasures. --Diod.
Sic. , _Bibl. Hist_. , lib. ii. pag. 78, sqq. , ed. 1604, p. 109. ]

[a] {14} _He sweats in dreary, dulled effeminacy_. --[MS.