That, if such numbers can o'er time prevail,
May tell posterity the wond'rous tale.
When actions, unadorn'd, are faint and weak,
Cities and Countries must be taught to speak ;
Gods may descend in factions from the skies,
And Rivers from their oozy beds arise;
Fiction may deck the truth with spurious rays,
And round the Hero cast a borrow'd blaze.
MARLBRO's exploits appear divinely bright,
And proudly shine in their own native light;
Rais'd of themselves, their genuine charms they boast,
And those who paint 'em truest praise 'em most.

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470

475

САТО.

A

TRAGEDY.

As it is Acted at the

THEATRE-ROYAL in Drury-Lane,

BY

His MAJESTY'S SERVANTS.

Ecce Spectaculum dignum, ad quod respiciat, intentus operi suo, Deus! Ecce par Deo dignum, vir fortis cum malâ fortunâ compositus! Non video, inquam, quid habeat in terris Jupiter pulchrius, si convertere animum velit, quàm ut spectet Catonem, jam partibus non semel fractis, nihilominùs inter ruinas publicas erectum. Sen. de Divin. Prov.

SCENE a large Hall in the Governor's Palace of Utica.

1 In Tickell the names of the characters are followed by the names of the actors who played them at the first performance.

CATO solus, sitting in a thoughtful posture: In his hand Plato's book on the Immortality of the Soul. A drawn sword on the table by him.

It must be so - Plato, thou reason'st well!
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
This longing after immortality?

Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror,

Of falling into nought? why shrinks the soul Back on her self, and startles at destruction? 'Tis the divinity that stirs within us;

'Tis heaven it self, that points out an Hereafter, And intimates eternity to man.

Eternity! thou pleasing, dreadful, thought!

Through what variety of untry'd being,

Through what new scenes and changes must we pass !

The wide, th' unbounded prospect, lyes before me;
But shadows, clouds, and darkness, rest upon it.

5

ΙΟ

Here will I hold. If there's a pow'r above us, (And that there is all nature cries aloud

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Through all her works) he must delight in virtue ;
And that which he delights in, must be happy.

But when! or where ! This world was made for Cæsar.
I'm weary of conjectures - This must end 'em.

[Laying his hand on his sword.
Thus am I doubly arm'd: my death and life,
My bane and antidote are both before me:
This in a moment brings me to an end;

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But this informs me I shall never die.
The soul, secured in her existence, smiles
At the drawn dagger, and defies its point.
The stars shall fade away, the sun himself
Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years,
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
Unhurt amidst the war of elements,

The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds.
What means this heaviness that hangs upon me?
This lethargy that creeps through all my senses?
Nature oppress'd, and harrass'd out with care,
Sinks down to rest. This once I'll favour her,
That my awaken'd soul may take her flight,
Renew'd in all her strength, and fresh with life,
An offering fit for heaven. Let guilt or fear
Disturb man's rest: Cato knows neither of 'em,
Indifferent in his choice to sleep or die.

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330

35

40

SCENE II.

CATO, PORTIUS.

Cato.

But hah! how's this, my son? why this intrusion? Were not my orders that I would be private?

What means this sword? this instrument of death?

Let me convey it hence!

Cato.

Rash youth, forbear!

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