Mark's great bell shall wake all Venice,
Except her slaughtered Senate: ere the Sun
Be broad upon the Adriatic there
Shall be a voice of weeping, which shall drown
The roar of waters in the cry of blood!
Except her slaughtered Senate: ere the Sun
Be broad upon the Adriatic there
Shall be a voice of weeping, which shall drown
The roar of waters in the cry of blood!
Byron
Bear with me.
_I. Ber_. Re-man your breast; I feel no such remorse, 500
I understand it not: why should you change?
You acted, and you act, on your free will.
_Doge_. Aye, there it is--_you_ feel not, nor do I,
Else I should stab thee on the spot, to save
A thousand lives--and killing, do no murder;
You _feel_ not--you go to this butcher-work
As if these high-born men were steers for shambles:
When all is over, you'll be free and merry,
And calmly wash those hands incarnadine;
But I, outgoing thee and all thy fellows 510
In this surpassing massacre, shall be,
Shall see and feel--oh God! oh God! 'tis true,
And thou dost well to answer that it was
"My own free will and act," and yet you err,
For I will do this! Doubt not--fear not; I
Will be your most unmerciful accomplice!
And yet I act no more on my free will,
Nor my own feelings--both compel me back;
But there is _Hell_ within me and around,
And like the Demon who believes and trembles 520
Must I abhor and do. Away! away!
Get thee unto thy fellows, I will hie me
To gather the retainers of our house.
Doubt not, St.
Mark's great bell shall wake all Venice,
Except her slaughtered Senate: ere the Sun
Be broad upon the Adriatic there
Shall be a voice of weeping, which shall drown
The roar of waters in the cry of blood!
I am resolved--come on.
_I. Ber_. With all my soul!
Keep a firm rein upon these bursts of passion; 530
Remember what these men have dealt to thee,
And that this sacrifice will be succeeded
By ages of prosperity and freedom
To this unshackled city: a true tyrant[eb]
Would have depopulated empires, nor
Have felt the strange compunction which hath wrung you
To punish a few traitors to the people.
Trust me, such were a pity more misplaced
Than the late mercy of the state to Steno.
_Doge_. Man, thou hast struck upon the chord which jars 540
All nature from my heart. Hence to our task!
[_Exeunt_.
ACT IV.
SCENE I. --_Palazzo of the Patrician_ LIONI. [431] LIONI _laying
aside the mask and cloak which the Venetian Nobles wore in
public, attended by a Domestic_.
_Lioni_.
_I. Ber_. Re-man your breast; I feel no such remorse, 500
I understand it not: why should you change?
You acted, and you act, on your free will.
_Doge_. Aye, there it is--_you_ feel not, nor do I,
Else I should stab thee on the spot, to save
A thousand lives--and killing, do no murder;
You _feel_ not--you go to this butcher-work
As if these high-born men were steers for shambles:
When all is over, you'll be free and merry,
And calmly wash those hands incarnadine;
But I, outgoing thee and all thy fellows 510
In this surpassing massacre, shall be,
Shall see and feel--oh God! oh God! 'tis true,
And thou dost well to answer that it was
"My own free will and act," and yet you err,
For I will do this! Doubt not--fear not; I
Will be your most unmerciful accomplice!
And yet I act no more on my free will,
Nor my own feelings--both compel me back;
But there is _Hell_ within me and around,
And like the Demon who believes and trembles 520
Must I abhor and do. Away! away!
Get thee unto thy fellows, I will hie me
To gather the retainers of our house.
Doubt not, St.
Mark's great bell shall wake all Venice,
Except her slaughtered Senate: ere the Sun
Be broad upon the Adriatic there
Shall be a voice of weeping, which shall drown
The roar of waters in the cry of blood!
I am resolved--come on.
_I. Ber_. With all my soul!
Keep a firm rein upon these bursts of passion; 530
Remember what these men have dealt to thee,
And that this sacrifice will be succeeded
By ages of prosperity and freedom
To this unshackled city: a true tyrant[eb]
Would have depopulated empires, nor
Have felt the strange compunction which hath wrung you
To punish a few traitors to the people.
Trust me, such were a pity more misplaced
Than the late mercy of the state to Steno.
_Doge_. Man, thou hast struck upon the chord which jars 540
All nature from my heart. Hence to our task!
[_Exeunt_.
ACT IV.
SCENE I. --_Palazzo of the Patrician_ LIONI. [431] LIONI _laying
aside the mask and cloak which the Venetian Nobles wore in
public, attended by a Domestic_.
_Lioni_.
