by Lope de Vega
Myself, I try to speak, I have
To stop, because the gulf that separates
The spirit from the tongue is just
As great as that which commonly
Divides the earth from heaven. Leave me if 260
You wish, Batín. I'm best alone.
The feelings I now have, no man
Would wish to call his own.
-210-
Enter CASANDRAand AURORA.
CASANDRA. You weep for that?
AURORA. You think it strange,
My lady, when the man I love 265
Despises me? He says I love
The Marquis of Gonzaga. Carlos, me!
He cannot tell me why or when,
But just accuses me of that. Oh, I
Know why. This marriage has upset 270
Him so, that even though I was
The very light that shone on him,
He cannot stand the sight of anything
That now reminds him of what was,
And eyes that he once loved are now 275
To be despised. There was a time
When each new dawn saw Federico come
In search of that still brighter dawn*
He'd learned to call his own. Was there
A garden or a fountain then 280
That did not hear sweet words of love?
Could not these lips, this brow compete
With jasmine or some perfect flower?
And when we said goodbye to one
Another, was there a moment he 285
Enjoyed away from me, an instant he'd
Describe as moderately happy?
The truth is that the love we felt
Was purified within the crucible
Of long familiarity, 290
Two souls that God had given us
Made one. But now that love that seemed
To have been born with us is broken by
Deceit, its knot most cruelly undone
By Federico's sense of loss 295
And failed ambition.
CASANDRA. It grieves me to have been
The cause of it, and yet it may
-211-
Not be too late, perhaps, to speak
To him, assuming anyone
Can ever counter jealousy 300
With cool and calculated reason.
AURORA. You really think the Count is jealous?
CASANDRA. The Duke thinks, of the Marquis.
AURORA. I,
My lady, am convinced the cause
Is neither jealousy nor love, 305
But something else.
[Exit AURORA
CASANDRA. Federico.
FEDERICO. My lady, let me kiss your hand
And always be your humble slave.
CASANDRA. I will not have you kneel to me
Like this. If you persist, I'll have 310
To make you duke to my duchess.*
FEDERICO. If you refuse, you harm my love,
I must insist.
CASANDRA. Then I shall offer you
My arms and help you up. But what
Is this? Why do you stare at me 315
And tremble so? You know how much
I care for you.
FEDERICO. The truth is that
My soul dares think you do, informs
My heart, my heart my face,
And thus obliges me to stare 320
At you.
CASANDRA. Batín, I need to be
Alone with him.
BATÍN. Him in a state
And on his own with her! I think
-212-
There's something I can't fathom here.
[Exit BATÍN
FEDERICO. If only I could die and not, 325
In imitation of the Phoenix, be
Reborn, I could resist the pain
Of love.
CASANDRA. Aurora tells me you
Are jealous, Federico, ever since
The Marquis came, and having promised you 330
Would marry her, no longer seem
To have the same intention. Am
I, then, to think you underestimate
Your worth when jealousy and envy are
Both wise, and draw attention to the faults 335
Of any rival? The Marquis, as
You know, is bold enough, but more
The soldier than the dashing courtier.
On that account I rather think
The fact your father's married me 340
The real cause of this dark mood:
A deep anxiety that our first-
Born child may rob you of the lands
You thought your own; that all the hopes
You had of one day ruling these 345
Estates have flown. If that is true,
And I am thus the cause of this
Unhappiness, regard me too
As someone who now puts an end
To all your sadness. Believe me, there 350
Will be no brothers. The Duke was forced
To marry me to satisfy
The will of others. His nightly sports --
How else can I describe them? -- let
Him spend one night with me,* that seemed 355
To him a century, before
Those past delights attracted him
And seemed more fascinating than
-213-
Before. Just as a horse breaks free
When frightened by the sound of some 360
Great drum, and scatters to the wind
Those things -- bit, bridle, girth, and rein --
That otherwise would stop its run,
So now the Duke, defiantly
Resisting all the bonds imposed 365
By marriage, shatters them, and seeks
Instead immoral women, tarnishing
My own good name. He rides roughshod
Upon the honour,* valour, worth
And well-earned fame of all his ancestors, 370
And idly spends his days and nights
In pleasure with the women he
Procures. If, then, all this is true,
You can be sure you'll inherit his
Estates. As for myself, I think 375
My father may well help me to escape
When I inform him that the Duke
Is more a tyrant than a husband,
And this is more a prison than
A palace . . . unless my death, of course, 380
Provides an earlier release.
FEDERICO. My lady, first of all you scold
Me like some disobedient child,
And then begin to weep such tears
As would reduce the hardest rock 385
To pure mildness and compassion.
What is the cause of it? No doubt
You see me as the son of someone who
Offends you cruelly. I swear
I'll never be the son of any man 390
Who treats you so unfairly. I am
Amazed, as well, that you should think
My melancholy thoughts are due
To either greed or jealousy.
Who says I need estates to be 395
The man I am? I can quite easily,
-214-
By marrying Aurora, gain them.
And if I were to take to arms,
And occupy some wealthy neighbour's lands,
What would it matter to me then 400
If from my father's I were banned?
Oh, no, this sadness does not spring
From any greed or great ambition,
Though you may judge from everything
I say that never was a man 405
More sad or desperate than I
Am now, since love first placed those sharp
And deadly arrows in his bow.
I die and find no remedy.
My life is like a burning candle, 410
Fading slowly. I pray that death
Will not force me t
o wait until
The wax has dripped away, but like
A gust of wind come suddenly,
Extinguishing the cursed light of day. 415
CASANDRA. Noble Federico, dry these tears.
I cannot think that God intended man
To weep so bitterly; more that he
Display his bravery. The truth
Is Nature planned that women, for 420
The most part, are the ones to weep,
For though they may be brave, they often lack
The courage to defend themselves.
But not so men. There is but one
Occasion when a man may weep: 425
Which is when honour has been lost,
And he is forced to count the cost
Of its recovery. Oh, how,
Aurora, could you so abuse
A man so good, so sweet, so worthy of 430
Your love, and thus reduce him to
This state of utter misery?
FEDERICO. To think Aurora is to blame
Is quite mistaken.
-215-
CASANDRA. Who, then, can
She be?
FEDERICO. The very sun itself; 435
For though Aurora is as perfect as
The dawn, we see such beauty every day,
But when we gaze upon the sun,
We know that it is incomparable
In every way.
CASANDRA. Then it is not 440
Aurora?
FEDERICO. My thoughts fly higher still.
CASANDRA. You mean there is a woman you
Have spoken to, who knows of your love
For her, and she is still incapable
Of feeling love for you? I'd say 445
That such a thing is quite impossible,
Or else that everything you say
Is just not true.
FEDERICO. If only I
Could tell you how impossible
It is, you'd say that either I 450
Am cold and hard as marble, or
The fact that I am still alive
Must be regarded as a miracle.
Consider Phaethon, how he seized
The golden chariot of the sun; 455
Or Icarus,* who thought that wax
And wings would help him overcome
The challenge of the heavens until,
His feathers scattered by the wind,
We saw him plunge straight down into 460
The sea. Think of Bellerophon,*
Who rode the winged horse Pegasus,
And from his vantage-point on high
Surveyed the world as if it were
But one more star fixed in the sky. 465
-216-
And then the Greek called Sinon,* who,
No sooner did he place the horse
Within the walls of Troy, saw men
Burst forth and in their rage destroy
The city. Again, bold Jason,* he 470
Who from the cloth and giant trees
Of Argos fashioned that great craft
In which to sail the seas and oceans of
The world. They all could boast how great
Was their temerity, but none 475
Of them could claim to be as foolish or
As bold as me.
CASANDRA. It sounds, then, Count,
As if you are in love with some
Bronze image, nymph, or alabaster goddess.
A woman's soul does not disguise 480
What she in general would willingly
Confess. The contrary is true:
Her thoughts so lightly covered by
A veil that rarely does true love
Assail her soul but she will prove 485
Herself both kind and merciful.
Confess your love to her, whoever she
May be. Consider Venus, how
The Greeks portrayed her in the arms
Of faun and satyr. Consider too 490
The moon, and how Diana from
Above came down so many times
To earth, attracted by Endymion's love.*
Sweet Count, take my advice. The building that
Seems strong is often soonest to 495
Fall down. The passion spoken's far
Less dangerous than that still hidden.
FEDERICO. To catch the Indian pelican,
A hunter thinks the most successful plan's
To start a fire by his nest. 500
The bird, perched in a tree, is forced
To think what it must do to save
-217-
Its family, flies down, and in
An effort to safeguard them,* burns
Its wings and so, unable to escape, 505
Becomes the hunter's easy prey.
And so it is, when you encourage me,
I burn and yearn the more; when you
Advise me, I'm confused; when you
Now urge me on, I am disturbed. 510
When you would guide me, I am lost;
When you would free me, I am caught;
When you persuade me, I am trapped;
When you would teach me, I'm distraught.
Such is the danger I now face, 515
I think that, though eventually we
Must die, it is a lesser evil if
I suffer silently what little life
Is left to me.
[Exit FEDERICO
CASANDRA. Of all the things heaven's made on earth, 520
Imagination causes in
The minds of men the most confusion.
It has the power to turn the frost
To fire, to give material form
To our desire, and so provoke in us 525
Both war and peace, both storm and calm.
It is, in short, that place within
Men's souls where all our dreams are born,
And yet the pictures it invents
Deceive us more than they inform. 530
At first I saw in Federico's words
A clear statement of intention,
But now what seemed so clear then
Is nothing less than my confusion.
What storm, attracting to itself 535
The winds that rush from all directions, can
Be said to be the equal of
Those storms that, raging uncontrollably
In man's imaginations, are
-218-
The greatest storms of all? 540
No sooner do I think I am
The object of Federico's dreams,
Than that same thought advises me
That things aren't always what they seem,
And then reminds me too that I 545
Am married now, and therefore must,
For good or ill, accept my marriage vow.
The truth is we all dream of things
Beyond our grasp, and thus are made
To think achieving them's an easy task. 550
I seem to see so many things
That would, if I could grasp them, make
Me glad, but then the thought I am
The wife of such a husband drives
Me mad. The things I thought impossible 555
Now seem much easier and make
Me start to think of sweet revenge,
But simultaneously I see
My husband's sword stained by my blood,
His precious honour soon avenged. 560
Who can deny the fact the Count
Has many pleasing qualities?
But none of them so great, I think,
That it would match the measure of
My folly if I were to let 565
Myself become too pleased
By them. I'll think of this no more.
Heaven help me banish thoughts that are
So dangerous, yet so enticing.
And yet no harm can come from just 570
Imagining, for if it did,
Then just to think of tar
nished honour is
To tarnish it, and this would be
A world from which unblemished honour had
Quite vanished. No one can say 575
Of me that I have so far compromised
My honour when the most I've done
Is paint a picture in my mind,
-219-
Dictated by imagination.
They say that God considers it 580
A sin if we on earth are guilty of
Imagining the things we want. But what is true of God cannot
Be true of honour if, as we
All know, God sees our very thoughts 585
But honour clearly does not.*
Enter AURORA.
AURORA. You've spoken with the Count at length,
My lady. Did he speak of me?
CASANDRA. He says he is most grateful for
Your love. His only wish is that 590
You do not give him cause for jealousy.
[Exit CASANDRA
AURORA. Her words do nothing to dispel
My fears. How can the man that I
Adored become so deeply flawed
By rank ambition that my love 595
Means less to him than acquisition of
These lands? But it is also true
That love is powerful, that neither wealth
Nor life nor honour can withstand
Its influence. He loved me once 600
Undoubtedly, and now that love
Has been destroyed because he fears
Casandra's presence here, he thinks
He can pretend the real cause
Is jealousy. But two can play 605
That game, and by pretending love
For someone else I could perhaps
Awaken Federico's love for me
Again. I shall pretend I love
The Marquis of Gonzaga -- most 610
Convincingly.
Enter the MARQUISand RUTILIO.
-220-
RUTILIO. How can you hope
To win her heart? You know it is
Already given to another.
MARQUIS. Rutilio, leave me now. Here comes
Aurora.
RUTILIO. My lord, I do not think 615
That you command yourself when you
Are resolute in this and nothing else.
MARQUIS. Aurora, lovely as the dawn;*
