DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Treasure 'Room Class of 1913 THE WORKS LORD BYRON. IN SIX VOLUMES. VOL. VI. LONDON : JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET. MDCCCXXVII. -are Room "TV.fc. CONTENTS OF VOL. VI. Page SARDANAPALUS . . .1 Notes . . . . .133 THE TWO FOSCARI . . . 135 Appendix .... 229 Notes to Captain Medwin's Conversations of Lord Byron 253 346941 SAKDANAPALUS, A TRAGEDY. VOL. VI. 249941 THE ILLUSTRIOUS GOETHE. A STRANGER PRESUMES TO OFFER THE HOMAGE OF A LITERARY VASSAL TO HIS LIEGE LORD, THE FIRST OF EXISTING WRITERS, WHO HAS CREATED THE LITERATURE OF HIS OWN COUNTRY, AND ILLUSTRATED THAT OF EUROPE. THE UNWORTHY PRODUCTION WHICH THE AUTHOR VENTURES TO INSCRIBE TO HIM IS ENTITLED SARDANAPALUS. b2 In this tragedy it has been my intention to follow the account of Diodorus Siculus, reducing it, how- ever, to such dramatic regularity as I best could, and trying to approach the unities. I therefore suppose the rebellion to explode and succeed in one day by a sudden conspiracy, instead of the long war of the history. DRAMATIS PERSONS- MEN. Sardanapalus, King of Nineveh and Assyria, fyc. Arbaces, the Mede who aspired to the Throne. Beleses, a Chaldean and Soothsayer. Salemexes, the King^s Brother-in-law. Altada, an Assyrian Officer of the Palace. Pania. Zames. Sfero. Balea. WOMEN. Zarina, the Queen. Myrrha, an Ionian female Slave, and the Favourite of Sard anap alus. Women composing the Harem of Sardanapalus, Guards, Attendants, Chaldean Priests, Medes, fyc. Qc. Scene — a Hall in the Royal Palace of Nineveh. SARDANAPALUS. ACT I. SCENE I. A Hall in the Palace. Salemenes (solus). He hath wrong'd his queen, but still he is her lord ; He hath wrong'd my sister, still he is my brother ; He hath wrong'd his people, still he is their sovereign, And I must be his friend as well as subject: He must not perish thus. I will not see The blood of Nimrod and Semiramis Sink in the earth, and thirteen hundred years Of empire ending like a shepherd's tale ; He must be roused. In his effeminate heart There is a careless courage which corruption Has not all quench'd, and latent energies, Repress'd by circumstance, but not destroy'd — Steep'd, but not drown'd, in deep voluptuousness. If born a peasant, he had been a man To have reach'd an empire ; to an empire born, He will bequeath none ; nothing but a name, Which his sons will not prize in heritage : — Yet, not all lost, even yet he may redeem 10 SARDANAPALUS, ACT I. His sloth and shame, by only being that Which he should be, as easily as the thing He should not be and is. Were it less toil To sway his nations than consume his life ? To head an army than to rule a harem ? He sweats in palling pleasures, dulls his soul, And saps his goodly strength, in toils which yield not Health like the chase, nor glory like the war — He must be roused. Alas ! there is no sound \_Sound of soft music heard from within. To rouse him short of thunder. Hark ! the lute, The lyre, the timbrel ; the lascivious tinklings Of lulling instruments, the softening voices Of women, and of beings less than women, M ust chime in to the echo of his revel, While the great king of all we know of eartjhi Lolls crown' d with roses, and his diadem Lies negligently by to be caught up By the first manly hand which dares to snatch it. Lo, where they come ! already I perceive The reeking odours of the perfumed trains, And see the bright gems of the glittering girls, At once his chorus and his council, flash Along the gallery, and amidst the damsels, As femininely garb'd, and scarce less female, The grandson of Semiramis, the man-queen. — He comes ! Shall I await him ? yes, and front him, And tell him what all good men tell each other, Speaking of him and his. They come, the slaves, Led by the monarch subject to his slaves. SC. II. A TRAGEDY. II SCENE II. Enter Sardanapalus effeminately dressed, his Head crowned with Flowers, and his Robe negligently flowing, attended by a Train of Women and young Slaves. Sar. (speaking to some of his attendants.) Let the pavilion over the Euphrates Be garlanded, and lit, and furnish'd forth For an especial banquet ; at the hour Of midnight we will sup there : see nought wanting, And bid the galley be prepared. There is A cooling breeze which crisps the broad clear river : We will embark anon. Fair nymphs, who deign To share the soft hours of Sardanapalus, We '11 meet again in that the sweetest hour, When we shall gather like the stars above us, And you will form a heaven as bright as theirs ; Till then, let each be mistress of her time, And thou, my own Ionian Myrrha 1% choose, Wilt thou along with them or me ? Myr. " My lord Sar. My lord, my life! why answerest thou so coldly ? It is the curse of kings to be so answer'd. Rule thy own hours, thou rulest mine — say, wouldst thou Accompany our guests, or charm away The moments from me ? Myr. The king's choice is mine. 12 SARDANAPALUS, ACT I. Sar. I pray thee say not so : my chiefest joy Is to contribute to thine every wish. I do not dare to breathe my own desire. Lest it should clash with thine ; for thou art still Too prompt to sacrifice thy thoughts for others. Myr. I would remain : I- have no happiness Save in beholding thine ; yet Sar. Yet ! what yet ? Thy own sweet will shall be the only barrier Which ever rises betwixt thee and me. Myr. I think the present is the wonted hour Of council; it were better I retire. Sal. {comes forward and says) The Ionian slave says well ; let her retire. Sar. Who answers ? How now, brother ? Sal. The queen's brother, And your most faithful vassal, royal lord. Sar. (addressing his train.) As I have said, let all dispose their hours Till midnight, when again we pray your presence. [The court retiring (To Myrrha, who is going) Myrrha ! I thought thou wouldst remain. Myr. Great king, Thou didst not say so. Sar. But thou lookedst it ; I know each glance of those Ionic eyes, Which said thou wouldst not leave me. Myr. Sire ! your brother Sal. His consort's brother, minion of Ionia ! How darest thou name me and not blush ? Sar. Not blush ! SC. II. A TRAGEDY, 13 Thou hast no more eyes than heart to make her crimson Like to the dying day on Caucasus, Where sunset tints the snow with rosy shadows, And then reproach her with thine own cold blindness, Which will not see it. What, in tears, my Myrrha ? Sal. Let" them flow on ; she weeps for more than one, And is herself the cause of bitterer tears. Sar. Cursed be he who caused those tears to flow ! Sal. Curse not thyself — millions do that already. Sar. Thou dost forget thee : make me not re- member I am a monarch. Sal Would thou couldst ! Myr. My sovereign, I pray, and thou too, prince, permit my absence. Sar. Since it must be so, and this churl has check'd Thy gentle spirit, go; but recollect That we must forthwith meet : I had rather lose An empire than thy presence. \_Exit Myrrha. Sal. It may be, Thou wilt lose both, and both for ever ! Sar. Brother, I can at least command myself, who listen To language such as this ; yet urge me not Beyond my easy nature. Sid. ' 'Tis beyond That easy, far too easy, idle nature, Which I would urge thee. O that I could rouse thee ! Though 'twere against myself. 14 SARDANAPALUS, ACT I. Sar. By the god Baal ! The man would make me tyrant. Sal. So thou art. Think'st thou there is no tyranny hut that Of hlood and chains ? The despotism of vice — The weakness and the wickedness of luxury — The negligence — the apathy — the evils Of sensual sloth — produce ten thousand tyrants, Whose delegated cruelty surpasses The worst acts of one energetic master, However harsh and hard in his own bearing. The false and fond examples of thy lusts Corrupt no less than they oppress, and sap In the same moment all thy pageant power And those who should sustain it ; so that whether A foreign foe invade, or civil broil Distract within, both will alike prove fatal : The first thy subjects have no heart to conquer; The last they rather would assist than vanquish. Sar. Why what makes thee the mouth-piece of the people? Sal. Forgiveness of the queen, my sister's wrongs ; A natural love unto my infant nephews ; Faith to the king, a faith he may need shortly, In more than words; respect for Nimrod's line; Also, another thing thou knowest not. Sar. What 's that ? Sal. To thee an unknown word. Sar. Yet speak it ; I love to learn. Sal. Virtue. SC. II. A TRAGEDY. 15 Sar. Not know the word ! Never was word yet rung so in my ears — Worse than the rabble's shout, or splitting trumpet ; I 've heard thy sister talk of nothing else. Sal. To change the irksome- theme, then, hear of vice. Sar. From whom ? Sal. Even from the winds, if thou couldst listen Unto the echoes of the nation's voice. Sar. Come, I'm indulgent, as thou kno west, patient, As thou hast often proved — speak out, what moves thee ? Sal. Thy peril. Sar. Say on. Sal. Thus, then : all the nations, For they are many, whom thy father left In heritage, are loud in wrath against thee. Sar. 'Gainst me ! What would the slaves ? Sal. A king. Sar. And what Am I then ? Sal. In their eyes a nothing ; but In mine a man who might be something still. Sar. The railing drunkards ! why, what would they have ? Have they not peace and plenty ? Sal. ^ Of the first, More than is glorious ; of the last, far less Than the king recks of. Sar. Whose then is the crime, But the false satraps, who provide no better ? 16 SARDANAPALUS, ACT I. Sal. And somewhat in the monarch who ne'er looks Beyond his palace walls,, or if he stirs Beyond them, 'tis but to some mountain palace, Till summer heats wear down. O glorious Baal ! Who built up this vast empire, and wert made A god, or at the least shinest like a god Through the long centuries of thy renown, This, thy presumed descendant, ne'er beheld As king the kingdoms thou didst leave as hero, Won with thy blood, and toil, and time, and peril I For what ? to furnish imposts for a revel, Or multiplied extortions for a minion. Sar. I understand thee — thou wouldst have me go Forth as a conqueror. By all the stars Which the Chaldeans read ! the restless slaves Deserve that I should curse them with their wishes, And lead them forth to glory. Sal. Wherefore not ? Semiramis — a woman only — led These our Assyrians to the solar shores Of Ganges. Sar. 'Tis most true. And how return'd ? Sal. Why, like a man — a hero ; baffled, but Not vanquish'd. With but twenty .guards, she made Good her retreat to Bactria. Sar. And how many Left she behind in India to the vultures ? Sal. Our annals say not. Sar. Then I will say for them— That she had better woven within her palace Some twenty garments, than with twenty guards SC. II. A TBAQEDY. 17 Have fled to Bactria, leaving to the ravens,, And wolves, and men — the fiercer of the three, Her myriads of fond subjects. Is this glory ? Then let me live in ignominy ever. Sal. All warlike spirits have not the same fate. Semiramis, the glorious parent of A hundred kings, although she faiFd in India, Brought Persia, Media, Bactria, to the realm Which she once sway'd — and thou might' st sway. Sar. I sway them — She but subdued them. Sal. It may be ere long That they will need her sword more than your sceptre. Sar. There Was a certain Bacchus, was there not ? I 've heard my Greek girls speak of such — they say He was a god, that is, a Grecian god, An idol foreign to Assyria's worship, Who conquer'd this same golden realm of Ind Thou prat'st of, where Semiramis was vanquished. Sal. I have heard of such a man ; and thou per- ceiv'st That he is deem'd a god for what he did. Sar. And in his godship I will honour him — Not much as man. What, ho ! my cupbearer ! Sal. What means the king ? Sar. To worship your new god And ancient conqueror. Some wine, I say. Enter Cupbearer. Sar. (addressing- the Cupbearer.) Bring me the golden goblet thick with gems, VOL. vi. c 18 SARDANAPALUS, ACT I. Which bears the name of Nimrod's chalice. Hence, Fill full, and hear it quickly. \_Exit Cupbearer. Sal, Is this moment A fitting one for the resumption of Thy yet unslept-off revels ? Re-enter Cupbearer, with wine. Sar. {taking the cup from him.) Noble kinsman, If these barbarian Greeks of the far shores And skirts of these our realms lie not, this Bacchus Conquer' d the whole of India, did he not ? Sal. He did, and thence was deem'd a deity. Sar. Not so : — of all his conquests a few columns, Which may be his, and might be mine, if I Thought them worth purchase and conveyance, are The landmarks of the seas of gore he shed, The realms he wasted, and the hearts he broke. But here, here in this goblet is his title To immortality — the immortal grape From which he first express'd the soul, and gave To gladden that of man, as some atonement For the victorious mischiefs he had done. Had it not been for this, he would have been A mortal still in name as in his grave ; And, like my ancestor Semiramis, A sort of semi-glorious human monster. Here 's that which deified him — let it now Humanize thee ; my surly, chiding brother, Pledge me to the Greek god ! Sal. For all thy realms I would not so blaspheme our country's creed. SC. II. A TRAGEDY. 19 Sar. That is to say,, thou thinkest him a hero, That he shed blood by oceans ; and no god, Because he turn d a fruit to an enchantment, Which cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires The young, makes Weariness forget his toil, And Fear her danger ; opens a new world When this, the present, palls. Well, then / pledge thee And him as a true man, who did his utmost In good or evil to surprise mankind. [Drinks. Sal. Wilt thou resume a revel at this hour ? Sar. And if I did, 'twere better than a trophy, Being bought without a tear. But that is not My present purpose : since thou wilt not pledge me, Continue what thou pleasest. (To the Cupbearer). Boy, retire. [Exit Cupbearer. Sal. I would but have recall' d thee from thy dream : Better by me awaken'd than rebellion. Sar. Who should rebel? or why? what cause? pretext ? I am the lawful king, descended from A race of kings who knew no predecessors. What have I done to thee, or to the people, That thou shouldst rail, or they rise up against me ? Sal. Of what thou hast done to me, I speak not. Sar. But Thou think'st that I have wrong'd the queen : is 't not so ? Sal. Think ! Thou hast wrong'd her ! Sar. Patience, prince, and hear me. c2 20 SARD AN AP ALUS, ACT I. She has all power and splendour of her station, Respect, the tutelage of Assyria's heirs, The homage and the appanage of sovereignty. I married her as monarchs wed — for state, And loved her as most husbands love their wives. If she or thou supposedst I could link me Like a Chaldean peasant to his mate, Ye knew nor me, nor monarchs, nor mankind. Sal. I pray thee, change the theme; my blood disdains Complaint, and Salemenes' sister seeks not Reluctant love even from Assyria's lord ! Nor would she deign to accept divided passion With foreign strumpets and Ionian slaves. The queen is silent. Sar. And why not her brother ? Sal. I only echo thee the voice of empires, Which he who long neglects not long will govern. Sar. The ungrateful and ungracious slaves ! they murmur Because I have not shed their blood, nor led them To dry into the desert's dust by myriads, Or whiten with their bones the banks of Ganges ; Nor decimated them with savage laws, Nor sweated them to build up pyramids, Or Babylonian walls. Sal. Yet these are trophies More worthy of a people and their prince Than songs, and lutes, and feasts, and concubines, And lavish'd treasures, and contemned virtues. Sar. Or for my trophies I have founded cities : SC. II. A TRAGEDY. 21 There 's Tarsus and Anchialus, both built In one day — what could that blood-loving beldame, My martial grandam, chaste Semiramis, Do more, except destroy them ? Sal. 'Tis most true ; I own thy merit in those founded cities, Built for a whim, recorded with a verse Which shames both them and thee to coming ages. Sar. Shame me ! By Baal, the cities, though well built, Are not more goodly than the verse ! Say what Thou wilt 'gainst me, my mode of life or rule, But nothing 'gainst the truth of that brief record. Why, those few lines contain the history Of all things human ; hear — (C Sardanapalus, " The king, and son of Anacyndaraxes, " In one day built Anchialus and Tarsus. " Eat, drink, and love; the rest's not worth a fillip."* 2 ) Sal. A worthy moral, and a wise inscription, For a king to put up before his subjects ! Sar. Oh, thou wouldst have me doubtless set up edicts — " Obey the king — contribute to his treasure —