Act Three SCENE I   The women apartments of the Palace. Andromeda, Diomede. ANDROMEDA All's ready, let us go. DIOMEDE Andromeda, My little mistress whom I love, let me Beseech you by that love, do not attempt it. Oh, this is no such pretty wilfulness As all men love to smile at and to punish With tenderness and chidings. It is a crime Full of impiety, a deed of danger That venturous and iron spirits would be aghast To dream of. You think because you are a child, You will be pardoned, because you are a princess No hand will dare to punish you. You do not know Men's hearts. They will not pause to pity you, They wil

SCENE II     The same. Eunice, Rodogune. RODOGUNE   Heaven had a purpose in my servitude! I will believe it. EUNICE One sees not now such men. What a calm royalty his glances wield! We are their subjects. And he treads the earth As if it were already his. RODOGUNE All must be. I have lived a slave, yet always held myself A nobler spirit than my Grecian lords; But when he spoke, O when he looked at me, I felt indeed the touch of servitude And this time loved it. EUNICE O, you too, Rodogune! RODOGUNE I too! What do you mean ? Are you, Eunice —

Act Five   The palace in Antioch.      SCENE I     A hall in the palace. Phayllus., alone. PHAYLLUS My brain has loosened harder knots than this. Timocles gets by this his Rodogune; That's one thing gained. Tonight or else tomorrow I'll have her in his bed though I have to hale her Stumbling to it through her own husband's blood. For he must die. He is too great a man To be a subject: nor is that his intention Who hides some subtler purpose. Exile would free him For more stupendous mischief. Death! But how ? There is this Syrian people, there is Timocles Whose light unstable mind like a pale leaf Tre

Act Two The palace in Antioch. SCENE I   A hall in the palace. Cleone, Phayllus. PHAYLLUS Worry the conscience of the Queen to death Like the good bitch thou art. If this goes well, I may sit unobserved on Syria's throne. CLEONE Do not forget me. PHAYLLUS Do not forget thyself, Then how shall I forget thee ? CLEONE I shall remember. PHAYLLUS If for a game you are the queen, Cleone, And I your minister, how would you start Your play of reigning ? CLEONE I would have many perfect tortures made To hurt the Parthian with, for every nerve A

SCENE III   An orchard garden in Syria by a river-bank: the corner of a cottage in the background. Perseus, Cydone.  CYDONE (sings) O the sun in the reeds and willows! O the sun with the leaves at play! Who would waste the warm sunlight ? And for weeping there's the night. But now 'tis day. PERSEUS Yes, willows and the reeds! and the bright sun Stays with the ripples talking quietly. And there, Cydone, look! how the fish leap To catch at sunbeams. Sing yet again, Cydone. . CYDONE (sings) O what use have your foolish tears ? What will you do with your hopes and fear

SCENE V •     Cleopatra's chamber. Cleopatra, Cleone. CLEOPATRA I am resolved; but Mentho the Egyptian knows The true precedence of the twins. Send her to me.                               Cleone goes out. O you high-seated cold divinities, You sleep sometimes, they say you sleep. Sleep now! I only loosen what your careless wills Have tangled.                           Mentho enters. Mentho, sit by me, Mentho, You have not breathed our secret ? Keep it, Mentho, Dead in your bosom, buy a queen for slave. MENTHO Dead! Can truth die? C

SCENE III       The same. Eunice, Rodogune.   RODOGUNE Will they not let me go and see him even ? EUNICE We'll make our way to him and put for him To Egypt, Egypt. RODOGUNE There's only one joy left: To be with him whether we live or die. EUNICE You are too meek. Cleone helps us here Whatever be the spring of her strange pity. When we come back, Phayllus, we shall find out Whether the ingenuity of men Holds tortures huge enough for your deserts. RODOGUNE Why do you pace about with flaming eyes ? Be still and sit and put your h

Act Two   SCENE I   The audience-chamber, in the Palace of Cepheus. Cepheus and Cassiopea, seated. CASSIOPEA What will you do, Cepheus? CEPHEUS This that has happened Is most unfortunate. CASSIOPEA What will you do ? I hope you will not give up to the priest My Iolaus' golden head ? I hope You do not mean that? CEPHEUS Great Poseidon's priest Sways all this land: for from the liberal blood Moistening that high-piled altar grow our harvests And strong Poseidon satisfied defends Our frontiers from the loud Assyrian menace. CASSIOPEA Empty thy treasuries, glut him

SCENE II   The Temple of Poseidon.   Polydaon, Therops, Dercetes, Cydone, Damoetes and a great number of Syrians, men and women. Iolaus stands bound, a little  to the side: Cepheus and Cassiopea surrounded by armed men. POLYDAON Cepheus and Cassiopea, man and woman, Not sovereigns now, you see what end they have Who war upon the gods. CASSIOPEA To see thy end My eyes wait only. POLYDAON Let them see something likelier, Is't not thy son who wears those cords and that An altar ? What! the eyes are drowned in tears Where fire was once so ready! Where is thy pride, O C

SCENE II     The pleasure-groves of the palace in Ujjayinie. Gopalaca, Vuthsa, Vicurna; at a distance under the trees Ungarica, Vasavadutta and Umba. GOPALACA Vuthsa, the wine is singing in my brain, The moonlight floods my soul. These are the hours When the veil for eye and ear is almost rent And we can hear wind-haired Gundharvas sing In a strange luminous ether. Thou art one, Vuthsa, who has escaped the bars and walks Smiling and harping to enchanted men. VUTHSA It was your earthly moonlight drew me here And thou, Gopalaca, and Vindhya's hills And Vasavadutta. Thou shalt drink with me In m