Ino. Alas! she yields,
And has undone me:
I can no longer hide my Passion;
It must have Vent —
Or inward burning
ill consume me.
O Athamas —
I cannot utter it —
Atha. On me fair Ino calls
With mournful Accent,
Her Colour fading,
And her Eyes o’erflowing!
Ino. O Semele!
Seme. On me she calls,
Yet seems to shun me!
What would my Sister?
Speak —
Ino. Thou hast undone me.
Cad. Why dost thou thus untimely grieve,
And all our solemn Rites prophane?
Can he, or she, thy Woes relieve?
Or I? Of whom dost thou complain?
Ino. Of all; but all, I fear, in vain.
Atha. Can I thy woes relieve?
Seme. Can I asswage thy Pain?
Cad. Atha. an d Seme. Of whom dost thou complain?
Ino. Of all; but all, I fear, in vain.
[It lightens, and Thunder is heard at a distance; then, a Noise of Rain; the Fire is suddenly extigush’d on the Altar: the Chief-Priest comes forward.
1s t Priest. Avert these Omens, all ye pow’rs!
Some God averse our holy Rites controlls,
O’erwhelming with sudden Night, the Day expires!
Ill-boding Thunder on the Right Hand rolls,
And Jove himself descends in Show’rs,
To quench our late propitiou s Fires.
Chorus o f Priests.
Avert these omens, all ye pow’rs!
2 d Priest. Again auspicious Flashes rise,
Juno accepts our Sacrifice.
[Flames are again kindled on the Altar, and the Statue nods.
3 d Priest. Again the sickly Flame decaying dies:
Juno assents, but angry Jove denies.
[The Fire is again extinguish’d.
Atha. [apart.] Thy aid, Pronubial Juno, Athamas implores.
Seme. [apart.] Thee Jove, and thee alone, Semele adores.
[A loud Clap of Thunder; the Altar sinks.
1st Priest. Cease, cease your vows, ’tis impious to proceed;
Be gone, and fly this holy Place with Speed:
This dreadful Conflict is of dire Presage;
Be gone, and fly from Jove’s impendin g Rage.
[All but the Priests come forward. The Scene closes on the Priests, and shews to View the Front and Outside of th e Temple. Cadmus leads off Semele, Attendants follow. Athamas and Ino remain.
SCENE II.
Atha. O Athamas, what Torture hast thou born!
And O, what hast thou yet to bear!
From Love, from Hope, from near Possession torn,
And plung’d at once in dee p Despair.
Ino. Turn, hopeless Lover, turn thy eyes,
And see a Maid bemoan,
In flowing Tears and aking Sighs,
Thy Woes, too like her own.
Atha. She weeps!
The gentle Maid, in tender pity,
Weeps to behold my Misery!
So Semele wou’d melt
To see another mourn.
Such unavailing Mercy is in Beauty found,
Each Nymph bemoans the Smart
Of every bleeding Heart,
But where she herself inflicts th e Wound.
Ino. Ah me, too much afflicted!
Atha. Can pity for another’s Pain
Cause such Anxiety!
Ino. Cou’dst thou but guess
What I endure!
Or cou’d I tell thee —
Thou, Athamas,
Wou’dst for a while
Thy Sorrows cease, a little cease,
And listen for a while
To my Lamenting.
Atha. Of Grief too sensible
I know your tende r Nature.
Well I remember,
When I oft haue su’d
To cold, disdainful Semele;
When I with Scorn have been rejected;
Your tuneful Voice my Tale would tell,
In Pity of my sad Despair;
And, with sweet Melody, compel
Attention from the flyin g Fair.
Ino. Too well I see
Thou wilt not understand me.
Whence cou’d proceed such Tenderness?
Whence such compassion?
Insensible! Ingrate!
Ah no, I cannot blame thee:
For by effects unknown before
Who cou’d the hidden cause explore?
Or think that Love cou’d act so strange a Part,
To plead for Pity in a Rival’ s Heart.
Atha. Ah me, what have I heard!
She does her Passion own.
Ino. What, had I not despair’d,
You never shou’d have known.
You’ve undone me;
Look not on me;
Guilt upbraiding,
Shame invading;
Look not on me;
You’ve undone me.
Atha. With my Life I wou’d attone
Pains you’ve born, to me unknown.
Cease, cease to shun me.
Ino. Look not on me;
You’ve undone me.
Atha. Cease, cease to shun me:
Love, love alone
Has both undone.
Ino,Atha. Love, love alone
Has both undone.
SCENE III.
[To them] Enter Cadmus attended.
Cad. Ah, wretched Prince, doom’d to disastrous Love!
Ah me, of Parents most forlorn!
Prepare, O Athamas, to prove
The sharpest Pangs that e’er were born:
Prepare with me our common Loss to mourn.
Atha. Can fate, or Semele invent
Another, yet another Punishment?
Cad. Wing’d with our Fears, and pious Haste,
From Juno’s fane we fled;
Scarce we the brazen Gates had pass’d,
When Semele around her Head
With azure Flames was grac’d,
Whose Lambent Glories in her Tresses play’d.
While this we saw with dread Surprize,
Swifter than Lightning downwards tending
An Eagle stoopt, of mighty Size,
On Purple Wings descending;
Like Gold his Beak, like Stars shone forth his Eyes,
His Silver plumy Breast with snow contending:
Sudden he snatch’d the trembling Maid,
And soaring from our Sight convey’d;
Diffusing ever as he lessening flew
Celestiall Odour, and Ambrosia l Dew.
Atha. O Prodigy, to me of dire Portent!
Ino. To me, I hope, of fortunat e Event.
SCENE IV.
Enter to them the Chief-Priest, with Augurs and othe r Priests.
Cad. See, see Jove’s Priests and holy Augurs come:
Speak, Speak, of Semele and me declare th e Doom.
1s t Aug. Hail Cadmus, hail! Jove salutes the Theba n King.
Cease your Mourning,
Joys returning,
Songs of Mirth and Triumph sing.
2d.Aug. Endless Pleasure, endless Love
Semele enjoys above;
On her Bosom Jove reclining,
Useless now his Thunder lies,
To her Arms his Bolts resigning,
And his Lightning to her eyes.
Endless Pleasure, endless Love
Semele enjoys above.
1s t Priest. Haste, haste, haste, to Sacrifice prepare,
Once to the Thunderer, once to the Fair:
Jove and Semele implore:
Jove and Semele like Honours share;
Whom Gods admire, let Men adore.
Haste, haste, haste, to Sacrifice prepare.
Chorus of Priests an d Augurs.
Hail, Cadmus, hail! Jove salutes the
Theba n King.
Cease your Mourning,
Joys returning,
Songs of Mirth and Triumph sing. [Exeun t Omnes.
End of the Firs t Act.
ACT II. SCENE I.
The Scene is a pleasant Country, the Prospect is terminated by a Beautiful Mountain adorn’d with Woods and Water-falls. Juno and Iris descend in differen t Machines. Juno in a chariot drawn by Peacocks; Iris on a Rainbow; they alight and meet.
Juno. IRIS, impatient of thy Stay,
From Samos have I wing’d my Way,
To meet thy slow Return;
Thou know’st what Cares infest
My anxious Breast,
And how with Rage and Jealousie I burn:
Then why this long Delay?
Iris. With all his Speed not yet the Sun
Thro’ half his Race has run,
Since I to execute thy dread Command
Have thrice encompass’d Seas an d Land.
Juno. Say, where is Semele’s Abode?
‘Till that I know,
Tho’ thou hadst on Lightning rode,
Still thou tedious art and slow.
Iris. Look where Citheron proudly stands,
Bœotia parting from Cecropian lands.
High on the Summit of that Hill,
Beyond the Reach of Mortal Eyes,
By Jove’s Command, and Vulcan’s Skill,
Behold a new-erected Palace rise.
There from mortal Cares retiring,
She resides in sweet Retreat;
On her Pleasure, Jove requiring,
All the Loves and Graces wait.
Thither Flora the Fair
With her Train must repair,
Her amorous Zephyr attending,
All her sweets she must bring
To continue the Spring,
Which never must there know and Ending.
Bright Aurora, ’tis said,
From her old Lover’s bed
No more the grey Orient adorning,
For the future must rise
From the fair Semele’s eyes,
And wait ‘till she wakes for the Morning.
Juno. No more — I’ll hear no more.
How long must I endure? —
How long with Indignations burning,
From impious Mortals
Bear this insolence!
Awake Saturnia from thy Lethargy;
Seize, destroy the curst Adulteress.
Scale proud Citheron’s Top:
Snatch her, tear her in thy Fury,
And down, down to the Flood of Acheron
Let her fall, let her fall, fall, fall:
Rolling down to the Depths of Night,
Never more to behold th e Light.
If I am own’d above,
Sister and Wife of Jove;
(Sister at least I sure may claim,
Tho’ Wife be a neglected name.)
If I th’Imperial Scepter sway — I sware
By Hell —
Tremble thou Universe this Oath to hear,
Not one of curst Agenor’s Race to spare.
Iris. Hear, mighty Queen, while I recount
What Obstacles you must surmount;
With Adamant the Gates are barr’d,
Whose Entrance tow fierce Dragons guard:
At each approach they lash their forky Stings,
And clap their brazen Wings:
And as their scaly Horrours rise,
They all at once disclose
A thousand fiery Eyes,
Which never kno w Repose.
J uno. Hence Iris, hence away,
Far from the realms of Day;
O’er Scythian Hills to the Meotian Lake
A speedy Flight we’ll take:
There Somnus I’ll compell
His downy bed to leave and silent Cell:
With Noise and Light I willhis Peace molest,
Nor shall he sink again to pleasing Rest,
‘Till to my vow’d Revenge he grants Supplies,
And seals with Sleep the wakeful Dragon’s Eyes. [They ascend.
SCENE II.
The Scene chages to an Apartment in the Palace of Semele; she is sleeping; Loves and Zephyrs waiting.
Cup. See, after the Toils of an amorous fight
Where weary and pleas’d, still panting she lies;
While yet in her Mind she repeats the Delight,
How sweet is the Slumber that steals on her eyes!
Come Zephyrs, come, while Cupid sings,
Fan her with your silky wings;
New Desire
I’ll inspire
And revive the dying Flames;
Dance around her,
While I wound her,
And with Pleasure fill he r Dreams.
[A dance of Zephyrs, after which Semele awakes, and rises.
Seme. O Sleep, why dost thou leave me?
Why they visionary Joys remove?
O Sleep again deceive me,
To my Arms restore my wand’ring Love.
SCENE III.
Two Loves lead i n Jupiter. While he meets and embraces
Semele, Cupid sings.
Cup. Sleep forsaking,
Seize him waking;
Love has sought him,
Back has brought him;
Mighty Jove tho’ he be,
And tho’ Love cannot see,
Yet by feeling about
He has found him out,
And has caught him.
Seme. Let me not another Moment
Bear the Pangs o f Absence.
Since you have form’d my Soul for Loving,
No more afflict me
With Doubts and Fears, and cruel Jealousie.
Jupi. Lay your Doubts and Fears aside,
And for Joys alone provide;
Tho’ this Human Form I wear,
Think not I Man’s falshood bear.
You are Mortal, and require
Time to rest and to respire.
Nor was I absent,
Tho’ a while withdrawn,
To take Petitions
From the need y World.
While Love was with thee I was present;
Love and I are one.
Seme. If chearful Hopes
And chilling Fears,
Alternate Smiles,
Alternate Tears,
Eager Panting,
Fond Desiring,
With Grief now fainting,
Now with Bliss expiring;
If this be Love, not you alone,
But Love and I are one.
Both. If this be Love, not you alone,
But Love and I are one.
Seme. Ah me!
Jupi. Why Sighs my Semele?
What gentle Sorrow
Swells thy soft Bosom?
Why tremble those fair Eyes
With interrupted Light?
Where hov’ring for a Vent,
Amidst their humid Fires,
Some new-form’d Wish appears.
Speak, and obtain.
Seme. At my own Happiness
I sigh and tremble;
Mortals whom Gods affect
Have narrow Limits set to Life,
And cannot long be bless’d.
Or if they could —
A God may prove inconstant.
Jupi. Beware of Jealousie:
Had Juno not been jealous,
I ne’er had left Olympus,
Nor wander’d in m y Love.
Seme. With my Frailty don’t upbraid me,
I am Woman as you made me,
Causeless doubting or despairing,
Rashly trusting, idly fearing.
If obtaining
Still complaining;
If consenting
Still repenting;
Most complying
When denying.
And to be follow’d, only flying.
With my Frailty don’t upbraid me,
I a
m Woman as you made me.
Jupi. Thy Sex of Jove’s the Master-piece,
Thou, of thy Sex, art most excelling.
Frailty in thee is ornament,
In thee Perfection.
Giv’n to agitate the Mind,
And keep awake Mens Passions;
To banish Indolence,
And dull Repose,
The Foes of Transport
And o f Pleasure.
Seme. Still I am mortal,
Still a Woman;
And ever when you leave me,
Tho’ compass’d round with Deities
Of Loves and Graces,
A Fear invades me,
And conscious of a Nature
Far inferior,
I seek for Solitude,
And shu n Society.
Jupi. [apart.] Too well I read her Meaning,
But must not understand her.
Aiming at Immortality
With dangerous Ambition,
She wou’d dethrone Saturnia;
And reigning in my Heart
Would reign in Heav’n.
Lest she too much explain,
I must with Speed amuse her:
It gives the Lover double pain,
Who hears his Nymph complain,
And hearing must refuse her.
Seme. Why do you cease to gaze upon me?
Why musing turn away?
Some other Object
Seems more pleasing.
Jupi. Thy needless Fears remove.
My fairest, latest, onl y Love.
By my command,
Now at this instant,
Two winged Zephyrs
From her downy Bed
Thy much-lov’d Ino bear;
And both together
Waft her hither
Thro’ the balm y Air.
Seme. Shall I my Sister see!
The dear Companion
Of my tende r Years.
Jupi. See, she appears,
But sees not me;
For I am visible
Alone to thee.
While I retire, rise and meet her,
And with Welcomes greet her.
Complete Works of William Congreve Page 69
