John Dryden - Delphi Poets Series

by John Dryden

Attend, and I will bring convincing proofs.

  Amph. Thou wouldst elude my justice, and escape:

  But I will follow thee through earth and seas;

  Nor hell shall hide thee from my just revenge.

  Jup. I ‘ll spare thy pains. It shall be quickly seen,

  Betwixt us two, who seeks, and who avoids. —

  Come in, my friends, — and thou, who seem’st

  Amphitryon, —

  That all, who are in doubt, may know the true.

  [JUPITER re-enters the house; with him AMPHITRYON, ALCMENA, POLID AS, TRANIO, and Guards.

  Merc. Thou, Gripus, and you, Bromia, stay with Phædra:

  [To GRIPUS and BROMIA, who are following

  Let their affairs alone, and mind we ours.

  Amphitryon’s rival shall appear a god:

  But know beforehand, I am Mercury;

  Who want not heaven while Phædra is on earth.

  Brom. But, an’t please your lordship, is my fellow Phædra to be exalted into the heavens, and made a star?

  Phæd. When that comes to pass, if you look up a-nights, I shall remember old kindness, and vouchsafe to twinkle on you.

  Enter Sosia, peeping about him; and, seeing Mercury, is starting back.

  Sos. Here he is again; and there’s no passing by him into the house, unless I were a sprite, to glide in through the key-hole. I am to be a vagabond, I find.

  Merc. Sosia, come back.

  Sos. No, I thank you; you may whistle me long enough; a beaten dog has always the wit to avoid his master.

  Merc. I permit thee to be Sosia again.

  Sos. ’Tis an unfortunate name, and I abandon it; he that has an itch to be beaten, let him take it up for Sosia; — What have I said now? I mean for me; for I neither am nor will be Sosia.

  Merc. But thou may’st be so in safety; for I have acknowledged myself to be god Mercury.

  Sos. Y ou may be a god, for aught I know; but the devil take me if ever I worship you, for an unmerciful deity as you are.

  Merc. You ought to take it for an honour to be drubbed by the hand of a divinity.

  Sos. I am your most humble servant, good

  Mr. God; but, by the faith of a mortal, I could well have spared the honour that you did me. But how shall I be sure that you will never assume my shape again?

  Merc. Because I am weary of wearing so villainous an outside.

  Sos. Well, well; as villainous as it is, here’s old Bromia will be contented with it.

  Brom. Yes, now I am sure that I may chastise you safely, and that there’s no god lurking under your appearance.

  Sos. Ay; but you had best take heed how you attempt it; for, as Mercury has turned himself into me, so I may take the toy into my head, and turn myself into Mercury, that I may swinge you off condignly.

  Merc. In the meantime, be all my witnesses, that I take Phædra for my wife of the left hand; that is, in the nature of a lawful concubine.

  Phœd. You shall pardon me for believing you, for all you are a god; for you have a terrible ill name below; and I am afraid you ‘ll get a footman, instead of a priest, to marry us.

  Merc. But here’s Gripus shall draw up articles betwixt us.

  Phœd. But he’s damnably used to false conveyancing. Well, be it so; for my counsel shall overlook them before I sign. — Come on, Gripus, that I may have him under black and white.

  [Here Gripus gets ready pen, ink, and paper.

  Merc. With all my heart, that I may have thee under black and white hereafter.

  Phœd. [To GRIPUS.] Begin, begin — Heads of articles to be made, etc betwixt Mercury, god of thieves —

  Merc. And Phædra, queen of gipsies. — Imprimis, I promise to buy and settle upon her an estate, containing nine thousand acres of land, in any part of Bceotia, to her own liking.

  Phœd. Provided always, that no part of the said nine thousand acres shall be upon, or adjoining to, Mount Parnassus; for I will not be fobbed off with a poetical estate.

  Merc. Memorandum, that she be always constant to me, and admit of no other lover.

  Phæd. Memorandum, unless it be a lover that offers more; and that the constancy shall not exceed the settlement.

  Merc. Item, that she shall keep no male servants in her house: Item, no rival lap-dog for a bed-fellow: Item, that she shall never pray to any of the gods.

  Phæd. What, would you have me an atheist?

  Merc. No devotion to any he-deity, good Phædra.

  Brom. Here’s no provision made for children yet.

  Phæd. Well remembered, Bromia; I bargain that my eldest son shall be a hero, and my eldest daughter a king’s mistress.

  Merc. That is to say, a blockhead, and a harlot, Phædra.

  Phæd. That’s true; but who dares call them so? Then, for the younger children — But now I think on’t, we ‘ll have no more, but Mass and Miss: for the rest would be but chargeable, and a burden to the nation.

  Merc. Yes, yes; the second shall be a false prophet: he shall have wit enough to set up a new religion, and too much wit to die a martyr for it.

  Phæd. Oh, what had I forgot? there’s pinmoney, and alimony, and separate maintenance, and a thousand things more to be considered, that are all to be tacked to this act of settlement.

  Sos. I am a fool, I must confess; but yet I can see as far into a mill-stone as the best of you. I have observed, that you women-wits are commonly so quick upon the scent, that you often overrun it; now I would ask of Madam Phædra, that in case Mr. Heaven there should be pleased to break these articles, in what court of judicature she intends to sue him?

  Phæd. The fool has hit upon’t: — Gods, and great men, are never to be sued, for they can always plead privilege of peerage; and thereforé for once, monsieur,! IL take your word; for, as long as you love me, you ‘ll be sure to keep it: and, in the meantime, I shall be gaining experience how to manage some rich cully; for no women ever made her fortune by a wit.

  It thunders; and the company within-doors, Amphitryon, Alcmena, Polidas, and Tranio, all come running out, and join with the rest, who were on the stage before.

  Amph. Sure ’tis some god; he vanished from our sight,

  And told us, we should see him soon return.

  Alc. I know not what to hope, nor what to fear,

  A simple error is a real crime,

  And unconsenting innocence is lost.

  A second peal of thunder. After which,

  Jupiter appears in a Machine.

  Jup. Look up, Amphitryon, and behold, above,

  The impostor god, the rival of thy love;

  In thy own shape see Jupiter appear,

  And let that sight secure thy jealous fear.

  Disgrace, and infamy, are turned to boast;

  No fame, in Jove’s concurrence, can be lost:

  What he enjoys, he sanctifies from vice,

  And, by partaking, stamps into a price.

  ’Tis I who ought to murmur at my fate,

  Forced by my love my godhead to translate;

  When on no other terms I could possess,

  But by thy form, thy features, and thy dress.

  To thee were given the blessings that I sought,

  Which else, not all the bribes of heaven had bought.

  Then take into thy arms thy envied love,

  And, in his own despite, triumph o’er Jove.

  Merc. Amphitryon and Alcmena both stand mute, and know not how to take it. [Aside.

  Sos. Our sovereign lord Jupiter is a sly companion; he knows how to gild a bitter pill.

  [Aside.

  Jup. From this auspicious night shall rise an heir,

  Great like his sire, and like his mother fair:

  Wrongs to redress, and tyrants to disseize;

  Bom for a world that wants a Hercules.

  Monsters, and monster-men he shall engage,

  And toil, and struggle, through an impious age.

  Peace to his labours shall at length succeed;

  And murmuring men,
unwilling to be freed,

  Shall be compelled to happiness, by need.

  [JUPITER is carried back to heaven.

  Omnes. We all congratulate Amphitryon.

  Merc. Keep your congratulations to yourselves, gentlemen. ’Tis a nice point, let me tell you that; and the less that’s said of it the better.

  Upon the whole matter, if Amphitryon takes the favour of Jupiter in patience, as from a god, he’s a good heathen.

  Sos. I must take a little extraordinary pains to-night, that my spouse may come even with her lady, and produce a squire to attend on young Hercules, when he goes out to seek adventures: that, when his master kills a man, he may stand ready to pick his pockets, and piously relieve his aged parents. — Ah, Bromia, Bromia, if thou hadst been as handsome and as young as Phædra! — I say no more, but somebody might have made his fortunes as well as his master, and never the worse man neither.

  For let the wicked world say what they please,

  The fair wife makes her husband live at ease:

  The lover keeps him too; and but receives,

  Like Jove, the remnants that Amphitryon leaves.

  ’Tis true, the lady has enough in store,

  To satisfy those two, and eke two more:

  In fine, the man, who weighs the matter fully,

  Would rather be the cuckold than the cully.

  [Exeunt.

  EPILOGUE.

  SPOKEN BY PHÆDRA.

  I’m thinking, (and it almost makes me mad,)

  How sweet a time those heathen ladies had.

  Idolatry was even their gods’ own trade:

  They worshipped the fine creatures they had made.

  Cupid was chief of all the deities;

  And love was all the fashion, in the skies.

  When the sweet nymph held up the lily hand,

  Jove was her humble servant at command;

  The treasury of heaven was ne’er so bare,

  But still there was a pension for the fair.

  In all his reign, adultery Was no sin;

  For Jove the good example did begin.

  Mark, too, when he usurped the husband’s name,

  How civilly he saved the lady’s fame.

  The secret joys of love he wisely hid;

  But you, sirs, boast of more than e’er you did.

  You teaze your cuckolds, to their face torment ‘em

  But Jove gave his new honours to content ‘em,

  And, in the kind remembrance of the fair,

  On each exalted son bestowed a star.

  For these good deeds, as by the date appears,

  His godship flourished full two thousand years.

  At last, when he and all his priests grew old,

  The ladies grew in their devotion cold;

  And that false worship would no longer hold.

  Severity of life did next begin;

  And always does, when we no more can sin.

  That doctrine, too, so hard in practice lies,

  That the next age may see another rise.

  Then, pagan gods may once again succeed:

  And Jove, or Mars, be ready, at our need,

  To get young godlings; and so mend our breed.

  KING ARTHUR

  OR, THE BRITISH WORTHY

  This semi-opera was produced with music by Henry Purcell and a libretto by Dryden, being first performed at the Queen's Theatre, Dorset Garden, London, in late May or early June 1691. The plot is based on the battles between King Arthur's Britons and the Saxons, rather than the legends of Camelot, though Merlin does make an appearance. Featuring supernatural characters such as Cupid and Venus, as well as references to the Germanic gods of the Saxons, Woden, Thor and Freya, the opera centres on Arthur's endeavours to recover his fiancée, the blind Cornish Princess Emmeline, who has been abducted by his arch-enemy, the Saxon King Oswald of Kent.

  Henry Purcell (1659-1695) was a famous English composer, who incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, collaborating with Dryden on a number of projects.

  CONTENTS

  DRAMATIS PERSONAE.

  ACT I.

  ACT II.

  ADVERTISEMENT.

  THE Names of Dryden and Purcel have made the following Performance hitherto re∣garded as one the best calculated to show the Effects of Poetry, Action, and Music. Yet the want of a Plot sufficiently interesting and va∣ried, has prevented it keeping its Rank on the Stage, as a first Piece. This it is hoped will excuse the present alteration, by which, the whole of the Story, with the most approved Parts of the Music and Machinery are compressed into two Acts, leaving the beautiful Scenes of Emmeline almost wholly untouched.

  DRAMATIS PERSONAE.

  MEN.

  Arthur, King of Britain,

  Mr. KEMBLE.

  Oswald, King of Kent, a Saxon,

  Mr. BRERETON.

  Conon, Duke of Cornwall, Friend to Arthur,

  Mr. PACKER.

  Aurelius, a British Courtier,

  Mr. R. PALMER.

  Guillamar, a Saxon Officer,

  Mr. SPENCER.

  Merlin, the British Prophet,

  Mr. AICKIN.

  Osmond, a Saxon Magician,

  Mr. STAUNTON.

  WOMEN.

  Emmeline, Daughter to Conon,

  Miss FARREN.

  Matilda, her Attendant,

  Miss BARNES.

  DEITIES, SPIRITS, &c. &c.

  Venus,

  Miss PHILLIPS.

  Spirit of Light,

  Miss GEORGE.

  Honour,

  Mr. WILLIAMES.

  Philidel, an airy Spirit,

  Miss FIELD.

  Grimbald, a Fiend,

  Mr. BANNISTER.

  &c.

  &c.

  ARTHUR and EMMELINE.

  ACT I.

  SCENE I. Represents a Gothic Temple, being a Place of Heathen Worship; the three Saxon Gods, Woden, Thor, and Freya, placed on Pedestals.

  Enter OSWALD and OSMOND.

  OSWALD.

  FATHER of gods and men, great Woden, hear:

  Give conquest to the Saxon race, and me.

  Osm.

  Thor, Freya, Woden, hear, and spell your Saxons,

  With sacred Runic rhymes, from death in battle;

  Edge their bright swords, and blunt the Britons darts.

  Grimbald, a fierce earthly spirit, arises.

  No more, great Prince, for see my trusty fiend,

  Who all the night has wing’d the dusky air.

  What •…ews, my Grimbald?

  Grim.

  I have play’d my part;

  For I have steel’d the fools that are to die;

  Six fools, so prodigal of life and soul,

  That, for their country, they devote their lives

  A sacrifice to mother Earth, and Woden.

  Osm.

  Say, where’s thy fellow-servant, Philidel?

  Why comes not he?

  Grim.

  For he’s a puling sprite — but half a devil!

  Why didst thou chuse a tender airy form,

  Unequal to the mighty work of mischief?

  For when with sure success he might have sped

  His baneful errand ‘gainst the Christian camp,

  He spy’d the red-cross banners of their host,

  And said he durst not add to his damnation.

  Osm.

  I’ll punish him at leisure.

  Call in the victims to propitiate hell.

  Grim.

  That’s my kind master, I shall breakfast on ‘em.

  [Exit Grim.

  Osw.

  Ambitious fools we are,

  And yet ambition is a godlike fault;

  Or rather, ’tis no fault in souls born great,

  Who dare extend their glory by their deeds.

  Grimbald re-enters with six Saxons in white, with swords in their hands, priests and singers.

  SACRIFICE SONG.

 
RECITATIVE I.

  Mr. DANBY.

  Woden, first to thee,

  A milk-white steed, in battle won,

  We have sacrific’d.

  Chor.

  We have sacrific’d.

  RECIT. II.

  Mr. WILLIAMES.

  Let our next oblation be

  To Thor, thy thundering son,

  Of such another.

  Chor.

  We have sacrific’d.

  RECIT. III.

  Mr. DANBY.

  A third (of Friezeland breed was he)

  To Woden’s wife, and to Thor’s mother:

  And now we have aton’d all three.

  We have sacrific’d.

  Chor.

  We have sacrific’d.

  CHORUS.

  Brave souls to be renown’d in story,

  Honour prizing,

  Death despising,

  Fame acquiring,

  By expiring,

  Die and reap the fruit of glory.

  [All retire, and the scene closes upon them.

  SCENE II. A Landscape.

  Enter AURELIUS and CONON.

  Con.

  Then this is the deciding day, to fix

  Great Britain’s scepter in great Arthur’s hand.

  Aur.

  Or put it in the bold invader’s gripe.

  Oswald is valiant —

  Con.

  It was the character he then maintain’d,

  When in my Court he sought my daughter’s love;

  My fair, blind Emmeline.

  Aur.

  For that defeat in love he rais’d this war.

  For royal Arthur reigned within her heart,

  ‘Ere Oswald mov’d the suit.

  Con.

  Arthur is all that’s excellent in Oswald;

  And void of all his faults: in battle brave,

  But still serene in all the stormy war,

  Like heaven above the clouds; and after fight,

  As merciful and kind to vanquish’d foes,

  As a forgiving God. But see, he’s here,

  And praise is dumb before him.

  Enter King ARTHUR, reading a letter, with Attendants.

  Arth.

  [reading.]

  “ Go o•…, auspicious Prince, the stars are kind.

  “ Unfold thy banners to the willing wind;

  “ While I, with airy legions, help thy arms;

  “ Confronting art with art, and charms with charms.”

  So Merlin writes; nor can we doubt th’ event,

  [To Con,