The Sack of Rome/Act IV

Scene I
(Maximus, solus)


 * Now what am I? ---an emperor---
 * -- a splendid wretch---
 * Perch'd on the blood stain'd summit of the world.
 * Search through each horrid wild of dreary woe,
 * From Tyber's stream to Danube's frozen banks,
 * From fair Hetruria to the Hvrcanian wood,
 * Or blacker forests of Carpathian gloom,
 * There's not a culprit so completely curs'd---
 * Tortur'd in pomp---in tenfold misery plung'd,
 * And torn with guilty greatness, as myself.
 * Happy Damocles---only envy'd king,
 * Whose reign began and ended in a day!
 * My vengeance now's complete; but where's my peace?
 * Oh! could I leave the world of Roman slaves,
 * Exil'd to Italy's most distant bounds,
 * Resume that life of innocence and ease
 * Which bless'd the noontide of my happier days,
 * When my Ardelia's smile crown'd all my bliss!
 * But ah! her name---
 * Wakes all the baleful passions of my soul.


 * If Valentinian's grim and ghastly shade
 * Still wanders here, and can be more accurs'd,
 * Let mad Alecto's furious sisters join
 * To make his woes complete---and doubly damn'd,
 * Let him look through the dank and dismal shades,
 * Of night and death---in anguish let him see
 * His rival riot in Edoxia's arms.

(Enter Leo)


 * My friend---my faithful Leo.

LEO
 * I am the friend of Rome, and of Petronius---
 * Of law---of justice---and the rights of man---
 * The senators of Rome---and of Edoxia.

MAXIMUS
 * Is the imperial family secure?
 * Let not the smallest disrespect be shewn
 * Or to the empress, or her royal house.

LEO
 * Edoxia sits like some majestick oak,
 * Or fairer cedar, that o'ertops the hills,
 * Strip'd of its leafy robes---shook to the root,
 * By the rude tempest, or autumnal blasts;
 * The storm subsides, the naked branches hush'd,
 * Silent and still, demand a pitying tear
 * From ev'ry way worn traveller's weeping eye,
 * Who us'd to rest beneath its friendly shade.

MAXIMUS
 * The wheel of fortune, rapid in its flight,
 * Lags not for man, when on its swift routine;
 * Nor does the goddess ponder unresolv'd:
 * She wafts at once, and on her lofty car,
 * Lifts up her puppet---mounts him to the skies,
 * Or from the pinnacle, hurls headlong down,
 * The steep abyss of disappointed hope.
 * Thus the first stroke successful---
 * A beardless Goth huzza'd, "Petronius reigns!"
 * The factious legions caught the feeble sound;
 * And the same moment saw the imperial robes
 * Torn from one emperor, and another made,
 * Without a murmur from the servile throng:
 * Borne through the crowd---till to the palace brought,
 * I've not yet heard Heraclius's fate.

LEO
 * The faithful minion caught a thousand wounds,
 * Aim'd at his master by Traulista's band,
 * He curs'd alternate, heaven, himself and thee,
 * And di'd an hero, though he'd liv'd a slave.

MAXIMUS
 * Then bid a truce to slaughter;
 * Let not a drop of Roman blood be spilt:
 * And now, I have another game to play;
 * Edoxia must be mine---her hand I'll seize---
 * Her heart I leave till time may do its work.
 * By a long line of ancestry, a queen,
 * Her regal title to the imperial crown
 * Must bind it fast on Maximus's brow.

LEO
 * She stands superiour to life's roughen'd storms;
 * Looks calmly down, and bids the waves roll on
 * Till the last surge ingulphs her weary head.
 * Yet this new scene may shake her firm resolve,
 * And raise a tempest in her tranquil breast.

MAXIMUS
 * Repair to her---if possible persuade---
 * Yet fix'd as fate is Maximus's will;
 * Though keen resentment agitates her breast,
 * Or her indignant soul should burst with rage,
 * Yet ere tomorrow's sun descends the vale,
 * And hides behind yon western burnish'd hill,
 * Our hands are join'd by wedlock's sacred tie;
 * It must be so, or I'm but half aveng'd.

(Exit Leo)


 * 'Tis done---the envy'd master of the world conceals
 * A thousand pangs beneath a purple robe;
 * Yet furies lurk, and vipers gnaw within.
 * And give the lie to splendid pomp without.

(Exit)

Scene II
(Edoxia, solus)


 * Where shall I fly?---to what sequester'd shade
 * Where the world's distant din no more alarms,
 * Or warring passions burst through nature's tie
 * And make mankind creation's foulest stain.
 * Horror and guilt stare wild in every eye;
 * Freedom extinguish'd in the fumes of lust
 * Bleeds fresh beside Rome's long expiring fame;
 * Virtue's become the rude barbarian's jest,
 * Barter'd for gold, and floating down the tide
 * Of foreign vice, stain'd with domestick guilt:
 * Oh! could I hide in some dark hermitage,
 * Beneath some hollow, dismal, broken cliff,
 * I'd weep forlorn the miseries of Rome,
 * Till time's last billow broke, and left me quiet
 * On the naked strand.---

(Enter Leo)


 * ---Ah! Leo,
 * Durst thou be still the friend of sad Edoxia?
 * Hast thou the courage yet to visit grief.
 * And sooth a wretch by sympathetick tears;
 * And reconcile me to the name of man?
 * Can'st shew me one less cruel than the tyger
 * Nurs'd in the wilds, and feasting on the flesh
 * Of all but his own species?
 * This predilection's left to man alone,
 * To drink and riot on his brother's blood.

LEO
 * Fate has ordain'd---'tis thou must give us peace;
 * Thy lenient hand alone.

EDOXIA
 * Mock not my woe.

LEO
 * 'Tis thou my empress, who must stop the tide
 * That threats the deluge of the Roman world;
 * The jarring factions that tear up the state
 * Thyself must quell, and reconcile---

EDOXIA
 * Insult not my distress.

LEO
 * The emperor Maximus---

EDOXIA
 * Whose name strikes daggers through my shivering soul!

LEO
 * Demands an audience.

EDOXIA
 * Speak not a word my soul disdains to hear.

LEO
 * The Roman people---

EDOXIA
 * Ah! what is Rome to me?

LEO
 * All wish a union in the royal pair;
 * And Maximus adores Edoxia's virtues.

EDOXIA
 * What is the sanction that emboldens thee,
 * Thus to affront thy queen?

LEO
 * Oh! pity Rome---the empire---and thy country---
 * Save thy noble house.

EDOXIA
 * I have no country.
 * What's life, or empire, or the world to me?

LEO
 * Yet hear---oh! hear---for Maximus resolves.

EDOXIA
 * And art thou come to sue for Maximus,
 * Whose blacken'd soul, blown up by fierce ambition,
 * Assumes the reins, and drives the courser on,
 * With furious passion and unbridled lust?

LEO
 * The emperor admits of no delay,
 * When once resolv'd.

EDOXIA
 * Remember, Leo,
 * The blood that flow'd from Poplicola's veins,
 * From breast to breast through the Horatian line,
 * And thence to me convey'd---a gen'rous stream
 * That animates and warms Edoxia's heart,
 * Shall ne'er be tainted by a base submission.

LEO
 * Impatiently, he waits thy last reply.

EDOXIA
 * Tell him I'm not the coward fool he thinks,
 * That guilty greatness has no charms for grief;
 * I scorn his impious passion---detest his name.

LEO
 * Yet save thyself---thus on my bended knee,

(Kneels)


 * Let me beseech from thee a mild reply.

EDOXIA
 * Tell him, a traitor's heart, though swell'd
 * By adulation's base perfume, has not a hand
 * To wield the imperial sceptre.

LEO
 * And therefore needs thy aid,
 * Both to secure and dignify the throne.

EDOXIA
 * This insolence from thee!---the pious Leo---
 * My former friend---the guardian of my youth;
 * I thought thy soul cast in a purer mould---
 * Above the servile line---not thus to court
 * And meanly grovel, for a tyrant's smile.
 * Leave me, base wretch---go fawn on thy new master;
 * Tell him at once, Edoxia dares to die.

LEO
 * Forgive this boldness!---Alas! could I but save,
 * Or serve thy noble house, there's not a task
 * Edoxia could impose, this aged arm
 * Unnerv'd by time and grief, would not attempt.
 * Yet might as well the breath of wisdom strive
 * To reason down the tempest of the north,
 * Or lull the maddening hurricane to rest,
 * As to persuade when Maximus resolves.
 * Oh! would kind Heaven, which sav'd thee from the sword,
 * Still find some way to bless and make thee happy.

(Weeps)

EDOXIA
 * Thy venerable grief, my aged friend,
 * Softens resentment, which thy zeal inflam'd:
 * In that kind tear the soul of Leo shines;
 * Yet say, is Rome so poor and abject grown---
 * So far debas'd, that when a ruffian dares
 * To stab his prince, and boldly challenge
 * To his impious bed, the wife of his
 * Assassinated lord---none dare oppose?
 * Has Rome for this so often fought and conquer'd?
 * Has the best blood the Roman name can boast,
 * Redden'd the Tyber with its purple streams,
 * To purchase freedom by the swift perdition
 * Of every bold invader, from Tarquin's reign,
 * To the more fatal day, when guilty Maximus
 * Assum'd the purple?---May thunders roll,
 * And streams irruptive, blast a wretch like him---
 * Or sheets of livid flame enwrap Edoxia
 * From his hated sight.
 * Go on and bear this answer to thy lord.

(Exit Leo)


 * Thou great first cause, who bids the tempest rage,
 * And rends with mighty peals, the darken'd air,
 * Light up the skies and blaze from north to south,
 * Thy vengeance pour on complicated guilt.

(Exit)

Scene III
(Maximus and Leo moving to the Apartment of the Empress)

MAXIMUS
 * Hah !---does the empress haughtily reject
 * My proffer'd vows, and spurn me from her arms?

LEO
 * Lost in the tender agonies of woe,
 * She wept, regardless of thy ardent prayer;
 * 'Till grown outrageous by my urgent suit,
 * She started wild, as if despair awoke,
 * And rav'd, and sob'd, and imprecated death:
 * At last, collected in majestick pride,
 * She drew a poignard from beneath her robe,
 * And solemn swore, in most indignant strains,
 * If you presum'd to speak to her of love,
 * Its point transfix'd should send her to the grave,
 * More welcome far than thy abhor'd embrace.

(Scene opens and discovers Edoxia)

(Enter Maximus and Leo)

MAXIMUS
 * I ask thy hand, and claim thee as my queen---
 * Jointly to govern and reform the state.

EDOXIA
 * And must an empress bear this bold outrage---
 * These stings of insult?---Shall a villain's hand
 * Drag to the altar---sacrifice my fame,
 * To each black passion that deforms the soul?
 * Oh! Heaven look down---his bold ambition curse---
 * Destruction send on him and all his race.

MAXIMUS
 * Did lust of empire, or of fame alone.
 * Thus bid me urge the fair Edoxia's hand---
 * Ambition, that proud source of human woe,
 * Thou might'st suspect had push'd my purpose on:
 * But though the lustre of a crown allures,
 * And sanction gives to deeds of boldest hue.
 * Justice alone, and love of virtue warms,
 * My ardent heart, and animates my arm.

EDOXIA
 * Durst thou profane the sacred name of virtue?
 * A sacrilegious murd'rer talk of virtue!
 * Thou know'st not what it means---an heart like thine
 * Ne'er felt its sacred warmth---not an idea
 * Of the heavenly flame could e'er exist
 * In thy corrupted brain---blown up by lust---
 * Revenge---ambition---death---
 * Thy dagger reeking with thy sovereign's blood,
 * Thou still would'st heighten thy detested crime
 * And make his wife a partner in thy guilt.

MAXIMUS
 * Thou wrong'st me much---to plead my cause
 * Would wound so chaste an ear;---false to his vows,
 * And faithless to thy bed, he wrong'd at once
 * The empress and myself.

EDOXIA
 * Him, I forgive---
 * But not the assassin of my injur'd lord;
 * Oh! let me fly from thee, and from perdition.

MAXIMUS
 * My destiny impell'd against my will,
 * My evil genius and my fate combin'd;
 * Nor will I now recede and yield a throne.
 * Thy wisdom, grace, and dignity of soul,
 * Command respect, and bend me to thy charms;
 * I ask thy aid to extirpate from Rome
 * Injustice---vice---with anarchy and crimes.
 * My gracious princess, sovereign, queen and wife,
 * Reign still in Rome, and grace the imperial throne.

EDOXIA
 * Thy perfidy thou think'st is made secure
 * By plunging Ætius in the general wreck;
 * His valorous hand would from thine impious grasp
 * Have pluck'd the sceptre, stained by thy touch:
 * Yes, if through Rome there was a Roman left.
 * As brave as Ætius, the diadem
 * Would of itself drop off,
 * From thine imperious brow.

MAXIMUS
 * Does not the empress know who murder'd Ætius?---

(To Leo)


 * And that Petronius would avenge his death?

LEO
 * The bloody deed had not yet reach'd her ear,
 * When Valentinian fell.

EDOXIA
 * It is enough, she knows the miscreant---
 * The proud usurper of the vacant throne,
 * Who dares aspire to Valentinian's bed;
 * But witness, all ye powers of earth and heaven,
 * Ere my soul bends to sanctify the deed,
 * Or yields a victim to this bold offence,
 * The horrid void beneath the Tarpeian rock
 * Shall first be fed by all the Anician race.

MAXIMUS
 * Prepare the rites---Edoxia must be mine---

(To Leo)


 * Before the wood lark hails the morning dawn,
 * Or early matins call the virgins forth
 * To chant their lays---the empress is my bride---
 * Then time and love shall soften by degrees,
 * 'Till Lethè lends forgetfulness to grief.

(Exit Maximus and Leo)

EDOXIA
 * Ye gods!---where am I?---
 * Shall I be aw'd by Maximus's frown
 * To stain the glory of the Horatian name?
 * Alas!---ye patriots of ancient fame---
 * Where are the youth, whose glorious fathers di'd
 * To save the commonwealth?
 * Arise! ye ancient, venerable shades,
 * Who bravely fought for liberty and Rome:
 * Assist my powers---my single arm shall dare
 * Some dreadful deed of horrid desperation.
 * I swear by all the deities of Rome,
 * By him who thunders in the vaulted skies,
 * And downward points the artillery of Heaven,
 * 'Till worlds dissolve beneath his dreaded frown,
 * The most distinguish'd vengeance shall befall
 * The Roman world, for Maximus's sake.

(Exit)

Scene IV
(Gaudentius and Eudocia)

GAUDENTIUS
 * Though nature frowns, and monsters howl around
 * And threat the bands of each domestick joy,
 * Yet innocence and truth should cease to weep;
 * 'Tis guilt alone should tremble in the storm.

EUDOCIA
 * My native land distain'd with Roman blood
 * Warm from the veins of patriots and kings---
 * A father slain---a mother's tender woe---
 * Her virgin daughters weeping by her side,
 * Add stings to pain, and poignancy to grief.

GAUDENTIUS
 * Let Angels guard and calm thy ruffled breast,
 * Let love and virtue cheer thy drooping soul;
 * And let thy peace reanimate again
 * A prince that lives but in Eudocia's smile.

EUDOCIA
 * Talk not of peace to the imperial house;
 * The hand, the dark assassinating hand,
 * That pierc'd th' unguarded heart of Valentinian,
 * Has murder'd all his race---hah! Gaudentius!

(Gaudentius trembles, and turns pale)


 * Why trembles thus Gaudentius, at Valentinian's name?
 * A name he once rever'd, and call'd his friend---
 * Is it a probe that touch'd a secret wound?

GAUDENTIUS
 * My love---my grief---my fears---
 * A sudden illness that will soon subside.

EUDOCIA
 * Thy fears---why should Gaudentius fear?

GAUDENTIUS
 * For all my soul holds dear beneath the stars---
 * Thy peace---thy health---thy happiness and love.

EUDOCIA
 * Is there a latent cause, this moment wak'd,
 * To doubt Eudocia's love?

GAUDENTIUS
 * Thy deep dejection---thy too curious eye---
 * A brow o'ercast with something like a frown,
 * Ne'er seen before, where sweetness sits enthron'd,
 * And soft complacence has been us'd to smile,
 * Amidst the grief that wrung the aching heart.

EUDOCIA
 * Does thine own conscience smile, and whisper peace;
 * And art thou sure that all's secure within?
 * I much suspect, thy friend, Traulista,
 * Is a secret foe---and that his hostile hand,
 * Oft steep'd in blood---fierce as the vulture's fang,
 * Was not inactive on that fatal day,
 * When the remorseless sword mow'd down as grass
 * The faithful friends to Valentinian's house.
 * But Heaven forbid, that e'er the brave Gaudentius,
 * A good, a generous, noble minded prince,
 * Should join a murderous band---impossible!
 * I will not wrong thee thus---yet some strange horror
 * Seizes all my frame---as if my father's ghost
 * Stood bleeding by, and chid this parley
 * With a parricide.

(Eudocia turns abruptly to withdraw)

GAUDENTIUS
 * Oh! leave me not, my princess, thus suspected.

EUDOCIA
 * If thou art guilty, own thy crime at once;
 * A poor defence will make thee doubly so.
 * If the least guilt contaminates thy soul,
 * My own would share by hearing thy excuse;
 * I see thee not till time restore thy fame;
 * And yet I fear---Oh! death to name---I fear,
 * Thy infamy is fix'd---forever fix'd,
 * Beyond redemption's call.

(Eudocia exits hastily)

Scene V
(Traulista and Gaudentius)

TRAULISTA
 * Why does my friend wear that soft April eye?
 * What is it poisons thy heroick soul,
 * And damps the vigour of thy martial arm?
 * Brace up thy nerves, and fence about thy breast,
 * And scorn the boon of pity from a girl---
 * A haughty---stubborn---solemn Roman maid.

GAUDENTIUS
 * A heart like thine---insensible to love---
 * Dead to the soft sensations of the soul---
 * Only to fierce Bellona's voice awake---
 * Though all the sex were offer'd to thy choice,
 * Knows not the joy, nor feels the tender pang,
 * Fear may excite, or expectation raise.

TRAULISTA
 * What hast thou got by all thy love sick dreams?
 * Go shew the mighty Goths thy baby face,
 * And see if one would know it was Gaudentius,
 * Who fought and conquer'd on the Danube's banks;
 * Tell them you've whin'd for more than twenty moons---
 * Crest fallen, sigh'd before a puling chit,
 * The daughter of thy most inveterate foe---
 * The murderer of thy sire.

GAUDENTIUS
 * But he's aveng'd---
 * And, like the frighted hare, she fled my sight---
 * Suspects me an accomplice, charg'd me home,
 * With treason, murder, perfidy and blood

TRAULISTA
 * Come, be thyself again; nor longer bask
 * Upon the silken, downy lap of hope;
 * Leave her to sigh, and whisper to the winds---
 * Else snatch by force, and bear her o'er the wilds,
 * Through growling forests---hideous, broken cliffs,
 * And frozen seas---to Scythia's icy banks,
 * Where rugged winds pour from the brindled north
 * Adown the mountain's brow---a blast may cool
 * The transports of thy love.

GAUDENTIUS
 * Heaven blast a wretch, whose fierce barbarick heart
 * Would violate in thought so chaste a fame---
 * A purity allied to heaven itself.
 * Alas! the charms that have subdu'd my heart
 * Have something more than human in their birth.

TRAULISTA
 * Then why profanely sigh for charms divine?
 * Think thee of Bleda's hospitable dames,
 * Won without wooing---thine without a sigh;
 * But if ye choose to wanton in the west,
 * And hang upon the dimpled smile of love,
 * A day, perhaps, or less, brings on the scenes
 * That level all the bars round birth and beauty,
 * Or innocence and elevated worth.
 * Thou may'st be safe e'en in the imperial court,
 * 'Till surfeited with those Italian smiles:
 * The blue ey'd mountain maids of Caucasus,
 * (Who, once allur'd by native, artless charms,)
 * Call back thy sighs to nature's utmost bounds,
 * The bolder beauties of the northern world.

GAUDENTIUS
 * Forbear, Traulista---nor sport thus with my pain.

TRAULISTA
 * Come then, erect the scymitar of Mars,
 * And twang the bow string at the trumpet's sound.

GAUDENTIUS
 * Go, clear my wounded fame---assure the princess
 * That I did not strike---that her fair image,
 * Hovering round his head, held back my hand---
 * Repell'd the pointed sword---for aught I did,
 * Her father might have liv'd.

TRAULISTA
 * I know ye acted as a coward would---
 * But half resolv'd, and trembling at thyself:
 * Yes, I will see Eudocia is inform'd,
 * She's made a poltroon of a noble prince.

GAUDENTIUS
 * Hah!---this from thee?---yet know he has a sword,
 * That will not fail to reach a villain's heart,
 * And let the venom out that rankles there.

(Lays his hand on his sword)

TRAULISTA
 * For this I love thee---come on and try its mettle---
 * I fear'd thou had'st forgot who was thy sire,
 * And that the lustre of his burnish'd blade,
 * Wielded by him in many a hardy field,
 * Had hurt the opticks of the gentler son
 * Of noble ÆTIUS

GAUDENTIUS
 * Draw and defend thyself.---

(Draws)

TRAULISTA
 * What shall I tell Eudocia, when she chides,
 * If I should scratch, or let out Roman blood?

(Insultingly)

GAUDENTIUS
 * The empress comes---forbear---I, on the morrow,
 * Meet thee in the Circus.

TRAULISTA
 * Come on, my boy---
 * The morrow may have other work to do;
 * This day shall tilt thee swiftly out of time,
 * If thou art weary of thy silken chain.

(Exit Traulista)

(Enter EDOXIA)

EDOXIA
 * My son---my friend---my injur'd friend Gaudentius,
 * Canst thou forgive the noble Ætius' death?
 * Thou lov'st Eudocia with the purest flame:
 * Remember Valentinian was her sire,
 * Then vindicate the honour of her house.

GAUDENTIUS
 * While life glows warm in this my faithful breast,
 * Eudocia holds my fortune and my fate.

EDOXIA
 * I know thou'rt noble, generous and just,
 * And not less brave than Ætius thy sire;
 * He wore a sword, he dar'd to draw
 * In injur'd virtue's cause---nor fear'd the frowns
 * Of tyrants or of kings---it is thy birthright,
 * Durst thou grasp it hard, and boldly venture,
 * For Eudocia's sake, to extricate
 * Her mother from the arms---the hated bed
 * Of an usurper of her father's throne?

GAUDENTIUS
 * There's nought, true courage prompts the brave to do,
 * Or virtue justifies, or honour calls,
 * But what I dare attempt.
 * But if it mars the peace of Rome---

EDOXIA
 * The peace of Rome is an ideal thing;
 * Lost in the tide of every shameful vice,
 * Rapine and blood; and violence and lust
 * But mock the story of her ancient fame.
 * Canst thou a moment balance in the scale
 * The tranquil scenes of harmony and peace,
 * With all the lustre that adorns a crown?
 * Eudocia gives an empire with her hand.

GAUDENTIUS
 * My sword---my services---my life are thine---
 * Ambition burns, and love and glory join---
 * Yet name no task that more distracts my country.

EDOXIA
 * Then thou canst see the empress bath'd in tears,
 * Drag'd by Petronius to the sacred altar---
 * Compell'd to be his bride---the fair Eudocia,
 * But a moment lent, to dry the filial tear,
 * Ere she's compell'd to wed his worthless heir?

GAUDENTIUS
 * Not all the powers of earth, or hell combin'd,
 * Shall rob me of my wife, my lov'd Eudocia.

EDOXIA
 * Wilt thou apply to Genseric---my friend?

GAUDENTIUS
 * A dangerous expedient indeed---
 * A faithless friend---a treacherous ally.

EDOXIA
 * The time forbids evasion, or excuse---
 * Admits of no delay---my purpose is
 * Irrevocably fix'd.---Say, wilt thou,
 * At the port of Ostia, meet Genseric---
 * Bear him my signet---bring him on to Rome?

GAUDENTIUS
 * Not for the golden treasures of the east,
 * Or all the wealth the tempting world bestows;
 * No, though Eudocia were the bright reward,
 * Could I betray the capitol of Rome,
 * And sell my country to the Vandal king?

EDOXIA
 * Wilt thou betray the mother of Eudocia,
 * And blast my hopes of most severe revenge?

GAUDENTIUS
 * Though great thy wrongs, much greater must thou fear,
 * If Genseric's rapacious brutal hosts
 * Should enter Italy---my sovereign forbear,
 * And like the gods, benignantly forgive;
 * Nor let resentment kindle up anew
 * The flames of war; nor introduce in Rome,
 * Those savage, hostile guests to riot there,
 * To subjugate the state---subvert thy house,
 * To extirpate thy name, and rudely reign
 * And triumph o'er the West.

EDOXIA
 * 'Tis done---I fear'd thy tardy spirit---
 * The last remains of patriotick virtue,
 * So like a glow worm in a stormy night,
 * It twinkles but to shew the sable hue
 * By nature worn through all the midnight gloom.
 * A trusty messenger, I therefore sent---
 * The winds have sped, and brought him back to Rome;
 * And ere Petronius dreams of danger nigh,
 * Genseric's thunder shakes the capitol,

GAUDENTIUS
 * Thou hast struck deep---a sure and deadly blow.

EDOXIA
 * The tangled lion can't escape the toils.

GAUDENTIUS
 * Nor thou---nor Rome---nor all thy house, perdition.

EDOXIA
 * Secure thyself, and leave the rest to me.

(Trumpets without)

GAUDENTIUS
 * Hark! the shrill trump!---Genseric's herald
 * Cannot yet be nigh.---

EDOXIA
 * Like a brave friend, he instantly prepar'd
 * To plant his banners round the towers of Rome.

GAUDENTIUS
 * The senate---people---all the royal house,
 * For slaughter ripe, in its most dreadful form---
 * Proud Rome the seat of arms, and arts, and fame,
 * Stands tottering on the verge of mighty ruin.
 * A soldier's duty calls; I haste away;
 * Fate may do much before we meet again;
 * She has a busy hand, and swiftly rides
 * On revolution's wheel---Rome may be sack'd,
 * And crowns and sceptres toss'd from shore to shore,
 * Transplanted, or despoil'd.

(Exeunt)