by Lord Byron
Yet be Rome amidst thine anguish,
Fight as thou wast wont to vanquish!
VIII.
Yet once more, ye old Penates!
Let not your quenched hearts be Atés!
Yet again, ye shadowy Heroes,
Yield not to these stranger Neros!
Though the son who slew his mother
Shed Rome’s blood, he was your brother:
‘Twas the Roman curbed the Roman; —
Brennus was a baffled foeman. 110
Yet again, ye saints and martyrs,
Rise! for yours are holier charters!
Mighty Gods of temples falling,
Yet in ruin still appalling!
Mightier Founders of those altars,
True and Christian, — strike the assaulters!
Tiber! Tiber! let thy torrent
Show even Nature’s self abhorrent.
Let each breathing heart dilated
Turn, as doth the lion baited! 120
Rome be crashed to one wide tomb,
But be still the Roman’s Rome!
[Bourbon, Arnold, Cæsar, and others, arrive at the foot of the wall. Arnold is about to plant his ladder.
Bourb. Hold, Arnold! I am first.
Arn. Not so, my Lord.
Bourb. Hold, sir, I charge you! Follow! I am proud
Of such a follower, but will brook no leader.
[Bourbon plants his ladder, and begins to mount.
Now, boys! On! on!
[A shot strikes him, and Bourbon falls.
Cæs. And off!
Arn. Eternal powers!
The host will be appalled, — but vengeance! vengeance!
Bourb. ‘Tis nothing — lend me your hand.
[Bourbon takes Arnold by the hand, and rises; but as he puts his foot on the step, falls again.
Arnold! I am sped.
Conceal my fall — all will go well — conceal it!
Fling my cloak o’er what will be dust anon; 130
Let not the soldiers see it.
Arn. You must be
Removed; the aid of — —
Bourb. No, my gallant boy!
Death is upon me. But what is one life?
The Bourbon’s spirit shall command them still.
Keep them yet ignorant that I am but clay,
Till they are conquerors — then do as you may.
Cæs. Would not your Highness choose to kiss the cross?
We have no priest here, but the hilt of sword
May serve instead: — it did the same for Bayard.
Bourb. Thou bitter slave! to name him at this time! 140
But I deserve it.
Arn. (to Cæsar). Villain, hold your peace!
Cæs. What, when a Christian dies? Shall I not offer
A Christian “Vade in pace?”
Arn. Silence! Oh!
Those eyes are glazing which o’erlooked the world,
And saw no equal.
Bourb. Arnold, shouldst thou see
France — — But hark! hark! the assault grows warmer — Oh!
For but an hour, a minute more of life,
To die within the wall! Hence, Arnold, hence!
You lose time — they will conquer Rome without thee.
Arn. And without thee.
Bourb. Not so; I’ll lead them still 150
In spirit. Cover up my dust, and breathe not
That I have ceased to breathe. Away! and be
Victorious.
Arn. But I must not leave thee thus.
Bourb. You must — farewell — Up! up! the world is winning.
[Bourbon dies.
Cæs. (to Arnold). Come, Count, to business.
Arn. True. I’ll weep hereafter.
[Arnold covers Bourbon’s body with a mantle, mounts the ladder, crying
The Bourbon! Bourbon! On, boys! Rome is ours!
Cæs. Good night, Lord Constable! thou wert a Man.
[Cæsar follows Arnold; they reach the battlement; Arnold and Cæsar are struck down.
Cæs. A precious somerset! Is your countship injured?
Arn. No.[Remounts the ladder.
Cæs. A rare blood-hound, when his own is heated!
And ‘tis no boy’s play. Now he strikes them down! 160
His hand is on the battlement — he grasps it
As though it were an altar; now his foot
Is on it, and — — What have we here? — a Roman?
The first bird of the covey! he has fallen[A man falls.
On the outside of the nest. Why, how now, fellow?
Wounded Man. A drop of water!
Cæs. Blood’s the only liquid
Nearer than Tiber.
Wounded Man.I have died for Rome.[Dies.
Cæs. And so did Bourbon, in another sense.
Oh, these immortal men! and their great motives!
But I must after my young charge. He is 170
By this time i’ the Forum. Charge! charge!
[Cæsar mounts the ladder; the scene closes.
Scene II. — The City. — Combats between the Besiegers and Besieged in the streets. Inhabitants flying in confusion.
Enter Cæsar.
Cæs. I cannot find my hero; he is mixed
With the heroic crowd that now pursue
The fugitives, or battle with the desperate.
What have we here? A Cardinal or two
That do not seem in love with martyrdom.
How the old red-shanks scamper! Could they doff
Their hose as they have doffed their hats, ‘twould be
A blessing, as a mark the less for plunder.
But let them fly; the crimson kennels now
Will not much stain their stockings, since the mire 10
Is of the self-same purple hue.
Enter a Party fighting — Arnold at the head of the Besiegers.
He comes,
Hand in hand with the mild twins — Gore and Glory.
Holla! hold, Count!
Arn. Away! they must not rally.
Cæs. I tell thee, be not rash; a golden bridge
Is for a flying enemy. I gave thee
A form of beauty, and an
Exemption from some maladies of body,
But not of mind, which is not mine to give.
But though I gave the form of Thetis’ son,
I dipped thee not in Styx; and ‘gainst a foe 20
I would not warrant thy chivalric heart
More than Pelides’ heel; why, then, be cautious,
And know thyself a mortal still.
Arn. And who
With aught of soul would combat if he were
Invulnerable? That were pretty sport.
Think’st thou I beat for hares when lions roar?
[Arnold rushes into the combat.
Cæs. A precious sample of humanity!
Well, his blood’s up; and, if a little’s shed,
‘Twill serve to curb his fever.
[Arnold engages with a Roman, who retires towards a portico.
Arn. Yield thee, slave!
I promise quarter.
Rom. That’s soon said.
Arn. And done — — 30
My word is known.
Rom. So shall be my deeds.
[They re-engage. Cæsar comes forward.
Cæs. Why, Arnold! hold thine own: thou hast in hand
A famous artisan, a cunning sculptor;
Also a dealer in the sword and dagger.
Not so, my musqueteer; ‘twas he who slew
The Bourbon from the wall.
Arn. Aye, did he so?
Then he hath carved his monument.
Rom. I yet
May live to carve your better’s.
Cæs. Well said, my man of marble! Benvenuto,
Thou hast some practice in both ways; and he
40
Who slays Cellini will have worked as hard
As e’er thou didst upon Carrara’s blocks.
[Arnold disarms and wounds Cellini, hit slightly: the latter draws a pistol, and fires; then retires, and disappears through the portico.
Cæs. How farest thou? Thou hast a taste, methinks,
Of red Bellona’s banquet.
Arn. (staggers).’Tis a scratch.
Lend me thy scarf. He shall not ‘scape me thus.
Cæs. Where is it?
Arn. In the shoulder, not the sword arm —
And that’s enough. I am thirsty: would I had
A helm of water!
Cæs. That’s a liquid now
In requisition, but by no means easiest
To come at.
Arn. And my thirst increases; — but 50
I’ll find a way to quench it.
Cæs. Or be quenched
Thyself.
Arn. The chance is even; we will throw
The dice thereon. But I lose time in prating;
Prithee be quick.[Cæsar binds on the scarf.
And what dost thou so idly?
Why dost not strike?
Cæs. Your old philosophers
Beheld mankind, as mere spectators of
The Olympic games. When I behold a prize
Worth wrestling for, I may be found a Milo.
Arn. Aye, ‘gainst an oak.
Cæs. A forest, when it suits me:
I combat with a mass, or not at all. 60
Meantime, pursue thy sport as I do mine;
Which is just now to gaze, since all these labourers
Will reap my harvest gratis.
Arn. Thou art still
A fiend!
Cæs. And thou — a man.
Arn. Why, such I fain would show me.
Cæs. True — as men are.
Arn. And what is that?
Cæs. Thou feelest and thou see’st.
[Exit Arnold, joining in the combat which still continues between detached parties. The scene closes.
Scene III. — St. Peter’s — The interior of the Church — The Pope at the Altar — Priests, etc., crowding in confusion, and Citizens flying for refuge, pursued by Soldiery.
Enter Cæsar.
A Spanish Soldier. Down with them, comrades, seize upon those lamps!
Cleave yon bald-pated shaveling to the chine!
His rosary’s of gold!
Lutheran Soldier.Revenge! revenge!
Plunder hereafter, but for vengeance now —
Yonder stands Anti-Christ!
Cæs. (interposing).How now, schismatic?
What wouldst thou?
Luth. Sold.In the holy name of Christ,
Destroy proud Anti-Christ. I am a Christian.
Cæs. Yea, a disciple that would make the founder
Of your belief renounce it, could he see
Such proselytes. Best stint thyself to plunder. 10
Luth. Sold. I say he is the Devil.
Cæs. Hush! keep that secret,
Lest he should recognise you for his own.
Luth. Sold. Why would you save him? I repeat he is
The Devil, or the Devil’s vicar upon earth.
Cæs. And that’s the reason: would you make a quarrel
With your best friends? You had far best be quiet;
His hour is not yet come.
Luth. Sold.That shall be seen!
[The Lutheran Soldier rushes forward: a shot strikes him from one of the Pope’s Guards, and he falls at the foot of the Altar.
Cæs. (to the Lutheran). I told you so.
Luth. Sold.And will you not avenge me?
Cæs. Not I! You know that “Vengeance is the Lord’s:”
You see he loves no interlopers.
Luth. Sold. (dying).Oh! 20
Had I but slain him, I had gone on high,
Crowned with eternal glory! Heaven, forgive
My feebleness of arm that reached him not,
And take thy servant to thy mercy. ‘Tis
A glorious triumph still; proud Babylon’s
No more; the Harlot of the Seven Hills
Hath changed her scarlet raiment for sackcloth
And ashes![The Lutheran dies.
Cæs. Yes, thine own amidst the rest.
Well done, old Babel!
[The Guards defend themselves desperately, while the Pontiff escapes, by a private passage, to the Vatican and the Castle of St. Angelo.
Cæs. Ha! right nobly battled!
Now, priest! now, soldier! the two great professions, 30
Together by the ears and hearts! I have not
Seen a more comic pantomime since Titus
Took Jewry. But the Romans had the best then;
Now they must take their turn.
Soldiers. He hath escaped!
Follow!
Another Sold. They have barred the narrow passage up,
And it is clogged with dead even to the door.
Cæs. I am glad he hath escaped: he may thank me for’t
In part. I would not have his bulls abolished —
‘Twere worth one half our empire: his indulgences
Demand some in return; no, no, he must not 40
Fall; — and besides, his now escape may furnish
A future miracle, in future proof
Of his infallibility.[To the Spanish Soldiery.
Well, cut-throats!
What do you pause for? If you make not haste,
There will not be a link of pious gold left.
And you, too, Catholics! Would ye return
From such a pilgrimage without a relic?
The very Lutherans have more true devotion:
See how they strip the shrines!
Soldiers. By holy Peter!
He speaks the truth; the heretics will bear 50
The best away.
Cæs. And that were shame! Go to!
Assist in their conversion.
[The Soldiers disperse; many quit the Church, others enter.
Cæs. They are gone,
And others come: so flows the wave on wave
Of what these creatures call Eternity,
Deeming themselves the breakers of the Ocean,
While they are but its bubbles, ignorant
That foam is their foundation. So, another!
Enter Olimpia, flying from the pursuit — She springs upon the Altar.
Sold. She’s mine!
Another Sold. (opposing the former).
You lie, I tracked her first: and were she
The Pope’s niece, I’ll not yield her.[They fight.
3d Sold. (advancing towards Olimpia). You may settle
Your claims; I’ll make mine good.
Olimp. Infernal slave! 60
You touch me not alive.
3d Sold.Alive or dead!
Olimp. (embracing a massive crucifix). Respect your God!
3d Sold. Yes, when he shines in gold.
Girl, you but grasp your dowry.
[As he advances, Olimpia, with a strong and sudden effort, casts down the crucifix; it strikes the Soldier, who falls.
3d Sold.Oh, great God!
Olimp. Ah! now you recognise him.
3d Sold.My brain’s crushed!
Comrades, help, ho! All’s darkness![He dies.
Other Soldiers (coming up).
Slay her, although she had a thousand lives:
She hath killed our comrade.
Olimp. Welcome such a death!
You have no life to give, which the worst slave
Would take. Great God! through thy redeeming Son,
And thy Son’s Mother, now receive me as 70
I would approach thee, worthy her, and him, and thee!
Enter Arnold.
Arn. What do I see? Accurséd jackals! Forbear!
Cæs. (aside and laughing). Ha! ha! here’s equity! The dogs
Have as much right as he. But to the issue!
Soldiers. Count, she hath slain our comrade.
Arn. With what weapon?
Sold. The cross, beneath which he is crushed; behold him
Lie there, more like a worm than man; she cast it
Upon his head.
Arn. Even so: there is a woman
Worthy a brave man’s liking. Were ye such,
Ye would have honoured her. But get ye hence, 80
And thank your meanness, other God you have none,
For your existence. Had you touched a hair
Of those dishevelled locks, I would have thinned
Your ranks more than the enemy. Away!
Ye jackals! gnaw the bones the lion leaves,
But not even these till he permits.
A Sold. (murmuring).The lion
Might conquer for himself then.
Arn. (cuts him down).Mutineer!
Rebel in hell — you shall obey on earth!
[The Soldiers assault Arnold.
Arn. Come on! I’m glad on’t! I will show you, slaves,
How you should be commanded, and who led you 90
First o’er the wall you were so shy to scale,
Until I waved my banners from its height,
As you are bold within it.
[Arnold mows down the foremost; the rest throw down their arms.
Soldiers. Mercy! mercy!
Arn. Then learn to grant it. Have I taught you who
Led you o’er Rome’s eternal battlements?
Soldiers. We saw it, and we know it; yet forgive
A moment’s error in the heat of conquest —
The conquest which you led to.
Arn. Get you hence!
Hence to your quarters! you will find them fixed
In the Colonna palace.
Olimp. (aside).In my father’s 100
House!
Arn. (to the Soldiers). Leave your arms; ye have no further need
Of such: the city’s rendered. And mark well
You keep your hands clean, or I’ll find out a stream
As red as Tiber now runs, for your baptism.
Soldiers (deposing their arms and departing). We obey!
Arn. (to Olimpia). Lady, you are safe.
Olimp. I should be so,
Had I a knife even; but it matters not —
Death hath a thousand gates; and on the marble,
Even at the altar foot, whence I look down
Upon destruction, shall my head be dashed,
Ere thou ascend it. God forgive thee, man! 110
Arn. I wish to merit his forgiveness, and
Thine own, although I have not injured thee.
Olimp. No! Thou hast only sacked my native land, —
No injury! — and made my father’s house
A den of thieves! No injury! — this temple —