Ruine of Greatness in this The Ruine of my Name A Rape were a Glory To thy Affection and though it had Lost It would have Got me Fame the Honour of A Ravish'd Virgin Did'st thou Woe me with the Highest Services as thou com'st in my Fathers Blood I could Reward thee but could Never yeeld thee Love I was too long A Princess and lost the name too Late To entertain so low a thought Pall The World Of Causes that part me and Happyness Eud. Love is soft and full of Curtesie A greater Opposite to Lust than Hate The Flames thou feel'st are more preposterous Than those which burn the Brests of Satyrs or Of Beasts which kill the Young and in that blood Enjoy the Dam. Think'st thou that any is So bold in Lust to imbrance the Fears thy Love Brings with it Pall My Youth and Comliness how Are you obscur'd Eudo. My Miseries have put A new Nature in me chang'd that Calmness I had wont enjoy into the Looks and Language of a Fury How ill does Rage Become a Virgins brest I will suppress it And if it must break forth dissolve it into Tears An Age worn out in thought cannot present One Comfort to me I am so Wretched Oh! My soul 's more Earthy than my body This War that is within me I hope will Gain a Victory o'er my Life at last Pall Accursed that I was to be the Authour Of so much Miserie Is there no way to restore That Peace which you have lost If there be any Despair not of it though it be held within The jawes of Death I 'll snatch it for you Though it were lost in the Darkest Mass of things My Love would distinguish 't in a Chaos If it have no Being but what your Thought Gives Life to I 'll Wish it for you so strong My Phansie is to serve you Let it be Any thing to be done I 'll do it Can I The wretched Cause removed bring ease unto You Sufferings Here on my Knee I yeeld my Life Unto your taking or if you had rather I 'll offer 't up my self Eudo. No and yet There is a way and thou may'st do it Pall Is there a way O my joyes The Gods are Merciful Name it name it to me Eudo. If thou wilt vow to do it presently Pall Need I an Oath to confirm I would be Happy 'T is my own Happyness I thus Eagerly pursue in yours Ev'ry sigh You give doth make me breathless and ev'ry Tear which you let fall doth bow me nearer To the Earth than all the years and Wounds that I have suffer'd Yet I will swear By all things Holy all that I fear and reverence To refuse no Labours Death to gain your Ease And restore joy unto your Life again Eudo. Now thou can'st not thy last words have render'd Thee Unable The Ease was Death which yet I beg from thee Pall From what a Heaven of happyness Am I fallen Eud. Assist me all my strength Ye Gods this way ye have ordained I should Come to you pardon that Fate then which your selves Did give me She makes an offer to stab her self Rod O my Lady Pall Stay O stay that hand Let that Goodness in you which would spare Things Fair and Holy preserve the Fairest and The Holiest The Angells would be proud to take Such Shape upon them when they Visit Earth 'T is such as Your self ought to look with Reverence on Eudor Ther 's a Weapon hid within my Heart which None can take away it wounds deeply now Death thou art a Lover and dost Court me mildly Ladies O my Lady help help O my Lady She faints Rod Give her more air Pall She 's gone my time 's no longer Our Lives were woven on the same Web the Destinies condemn ' me to see her Death And then to follow He prepares to fall upon his Sword Rod She breaths stand off Eud. My Brother O my Father Rod How doe you Madam Eud. Too well my strength returnes to fast unto me Pall Were my Soul fled that Voyce would call it back Again it self would return and choose this Paradise on Earth I 'le not disturbe her With my Longer stay Fair One if your Lady Shall need any thing you may have it with A thought No lesse respect shall wait on her Than if her Father still Rul'd all The Guard Shall be at your Command and attend onely For your Quiet and your Safety Rod Souldier Th' art Noble The Gods reward thy goodnesse Exit Pallantus at one door and Eudora led off by the Ladies at the other CHORUS HE who Unjustly sway'd the State Lives no where now but in their Hate There 's Nothing left of him but Shame Which both Preserves and Clouds his Name When Civill-Beasts fall let it be Call'd Slaughter and not Victory When that He dyes that lived a Shade His Sleep's Continu'd then not Made Arise thou Starre of Honour here And in his Stead shine round our Sphear Grace thou the Throne and let us see Thy Father once more Raign in thee We 'l now in nought but Love Conspire And no brest burn but with True Fire While that such manners rule the Throne Live all by his he by his Own ACTUS 5. SCENA 1. Enter Eudora and Rodia Eud. THis Quiet we enjoy does strike Amazement In me Sure they have Slain the Body with The Head which makes this Generall Calm Rod Madam 'T is much more Innocent And though that part Of it we find by particular Command Be Order'd so yet 't is but an Image Of the Universall Peace that Blesses All the Isle No Noise of Armes Rapine of Souldiers Tumults Slaughters are seen in any Place but Securitie and Joy doe reign As in a long and Setl'd Peace The Conspirators Having brought about their Great Design Desire to have it seen to all the World They Sought a Change but not a Desolation Eud. Their Moderation is too Late nor will It satisfie the Gods when they have spilt So much Bloud that they will Spill no more Rod O Madam how farre you wander and are lost In Error and to all your other Miseries Is added this your Mistaking of the Ground On which you Suffer and whether with my Duty It will stand to inform you of the Right I know not Yet while there is a Charitie In the Rudenesse I shall be bold to tell you This Last Alteration the State has suffer d This wresting of the Scepter from your Name Together with your Fathers Life has not Befallen through the Impious and black Contrivance of a few bloudie and ambitious Lords greedie to assume the Royall Ensignes To themselves but in the Name of Justice And the Owner they have made this Seizure And there stands up a King to Countenance And Justifie the Fact a King not known Unto the Latter Age a Son of Him From whom with the like violence but more Injustice pardon what I say your Father Formerlie did tear the Diadem O Madam Your
speak'st of yet at this time Like a Phisitian that 's himself Distemper'd My Learning and Experience serve me Nothing No Timeus my Reason's darken'd The Clouds of Discontent obscure my soul And in the Mazes of a troubled Mind I wander without a Cleu to guide me Death with his Horrors and Dismay laid-by Drest in a Form bewitching and Uncommon And waited on by Crowds of Sweets and Pleasures As if with Love again he had chang'd his Arrows Most powerfully Charmes and calls me to Him One while presents before me the Famed Examples Of the Romane Fortitude th' exalted Glories of those Ancient Worthies that preferr'd A Noble Death before a Life of Pleasure And of Shame And then pursues this Theam Of Shame though all those steps of low Contempt And Scorn I open'd to you at the first Or the Worlds Censure can be thought to blast The Gallant by Life on the Other side With a Deportment Sad and Face Austere Without all dress or shew of Blandishment But with a kind of Aweful and Divine Authority forbids me hear th' Allurements Sung by Death tells me though the Notes be Sweet Th' are most Pernicious and that a Syrene Sings 'em that the VVorlds Opinions as her Pleasures are False and Impious and by The Vertuous both should be contemn'd Opinions In Truth and not in Number take their VVeight Now well I understand when Both have Pleaded thus 'T is neither Life nor Death the Noble should Desire but Duty The One and Other Ought to be held Indifferent and this Third Alone with Passion be pursu'd But now In which of these two Our Present Duty lies There stands the Scruple I am troubled with There stands the Doubt I would have Solv'd For when I dare meet Death in any Form I would not Have it said Eudora forfeited the Belief Of having a Diviner soul while through Fear Like a Plant or Vegetable she clove To a Being on this Earth Nor yet when I have Greatnesse enough to look on Life In the most Frowning and Unpleasing Aspect That unequall to my Miseries Out-fac'd With Troubles I poorly fled my Station In this World and Crept into the Calm of Death To seek my Peace Like Boasters thus playing The Coward under a Masque of Vallour Time Eudora this part of your Philosophy That Life and Death ought neither to be Consider'd But as they may Conduce unto our Vertue None more firmly does imbrace than I. Nor in the Dayes my Soul was tainted with The Blackest Crimes was an Unmanly Fear Ere part of that my Guilt And yet Eudora I must say I see no reason more than The Scruple the Ruputation of thy Question Put into me why the Prolonging of Our Lives should be Dishonourable to Either of Us And if it be Duty that calls us To our Death it will not be hard to shew Where that Duty is set down If the Worlds Opinion onely what that Opinion is Thou hast already spoken Thy words import Beside that the Discontented Passionate Vain-glorious obtain not by their Contempt Of Life the Honours of a Noble Death But Those alone who have no Other Way To save their Vertue So that 't was not Rome'â— Cato or her Portia which deserv'd this Crown But her Curtius her Regulus her Decius And if any do Object that the first Of these were also Highly Vertuous I readily confess it but all that The Vertuous do is not alwaies Vertuous This is an Immunity of the Gods And not of Good-Men And though One Comm on Glory belong'd unto the Lives of Both Of these the Glory of their Deaths was farre Unequal The One sought Themselves the Other Sought their Duty To bring all this home to Thee Eudora Remember that thy Vertue 's Courted thy Honour 's safe no way Assaulted But ador'd And then for Thee to think of Death Is Idle Vain or Scrupulous Error And not Vertue Superstition and not Enter Pallantus Duty nay worse 't is Dire and Impious Something that might Sute perhaps with the Foul Deeds Of Timeus former Life but not with The Fairer Actions of Eudora Pall How like a Skie troubled with Clouds and Meteors That Heavenly face appears The most Propicious Aspects from on High shine on their present Councels I fear some Deadly Maxime governs And guides their Consultation Eud. Timeus This is the Time allow'd us to work out To Our selves an Everlasting Honour If we let-slip the Opportunity W' are lost unto a Noble Name for ever Time Eudora there 's little danger of an Error Or Omission there where neither Will Nor want of Care betray'd the Business held In Consultation Eud. For should we think To Reassume again hereafter our Councell's now laid-by Our Neglect at present Would not be look'd on as an Error but A most Wretched Poorness and our best Pretences Be judg'd a pittiful afflicted Folly Time There is but one Particular I know Can hinder in Eudora the Choyce of Life From being just and truly Honourable Eud. There spoke my Noble Brother That that particular Timeus That Particular is Undoubtedly The thing we have so long been searching for And never found till now Time 'T is this Eudorn That thou be well perswaded and assur'd Of what thou put'st in Act for the most Just And Lawful Action perform'd with Doubting Becomes Unlawful Eud. Timeus I thank you For your Reproof I shall believe it seasonably Given me It has awak'd me and no longer Will I hover in a Doubtful Mind 'T is true This sence you have delivered coming to me From another Hand I held suspected Thought it not safe too hastily to Credit it From you But seeing you do not onely Affirm But Abide and stand in this your Sentence I likewise as an Undoubted Truth will Accept and rest upon it Say now Timeus Do you know yond Person that did Conduct you To this place Time Know him Eudora Yes When he wander'd in Remotest Nations My Fears held Intelligence on his Motions When first he set his Foot within this Land My Spirit by a kind of Antipathy Did feel it In his Disguise I knew him There is no Place or Shape he can be Hid in But my Soul would find him He was the Meteor first That hung with Direful Threats ore my Impiety But since the Auspicious Star that lead me Both to Honour and to Life 'T is the Valiant Vertuous and Heroick Prince Pallantus Eud. My Obligations are no less to him Than yours Too long we do neglect him And having once resolv'd to accept of Life We ought to acknowledge it to Him that Gave it us Let us joyn our Thanks together Here they both go to Pallantus who sees them not till Eudora begins to speak but then as one surprized he turns to them Eud. My Lord we come to acknowledge our Lives To have been your Gift and in no Common way Bestow'd upon us Mercy must be allow'd A share i' th' Act but had not your Honour And Prudence wrought more Effectually The
hour of Death and ought to be the chief Business of all Men to live and die so who do march every moment from our Cradles dying towards our Graves On Heavenly Joy WHate'er we do on Earth we all pretend Heaven is our Home Heaven is our Journey's end That 's true Seraphick Joy when we do find Such elevated Bliss as fills the Mind With high transports of God's celestial Throne And all our meaner Objects we disown Yet sometimes spoil our bless'd angelick rest To rowl on Roses when on Thorns is best Vainly thinking some diviner Grace May smooth afflictions with a smiling face When sighs and tears if they come not too late More surely can our heavenly Joys create When God observes our Zeal to do our best To please we shall assuredly be bless'd And may expect to find more Penitents Encircling of God's Throne than Innocents Which shews sincere Repentance surely can With a fix'd Faith restore relapsed Man Thus may our high-rais'd warm addresses prove Bright Ecstasies of the divinest Love Then will our Souls from dross be clean refin'd And by our sacred Chymist be calcin'd Fit for a Choir of Angels to attend Such Saints and sing them to their Journey's end On taking heed of all our Ways WHen God reduces Sinners to take heed Of all their ways in thought in word and deed Repentance then will be of little use When all our actions will need no excuse We shall the World subdue and stoutly stand In full obedience unto God's Command And then will Death in glorious Robes descend To guide not fright us at our Journey's end So that if we take heed in all our ways We shall the Devil defeat and wear the Bays To a Friend My dear Friend I Have read in a divine Author That if God be with us he will make us see that he is with us and will not depart from our sight until he has brought us never to depart out of his Which is a Lesson of high concern to Men in this World for Thus to enjoy God here is to be in Heaven before we die When our Souls are thus transported with a continual divine Conversation with Almighty God we may taste and relish his celestial Joys to some degree so as to envite us to value his spiritual Comforts above all carnal Fruitions So that our great Business is to improve this Blessing to the highest reach of humane Fancy by a daily practice of holy Meditations to contemplate and observe how God doth infuse this joyful enjoying of Him into our Souls by the secret working of the Holy Ghost when we set our selves with zealous integrity to find him there to converse with us on this great lesson of his immense Mercy with our humble prayers to be enlightned from above to participate of such angelical Delights as far as our frail Nature will admit of which by frequent use will bring us to such an habit of holy living that God will manifest his presence ever with us by an inward Felicity of divine Comforts to such an assurance of our Election unto eternal Bliss as is ineffable to be described So that when we raise our Thoughts with a divine Desire to know as much of God as we can know and of his being with us he will add of his Grace to enlarge our Capacities to such heavenly Trances in Devotion that we shall be with him and he with us as we do wish with such a joy as will dread all diverting Occasions that shall obstruct those Emanations of his holy Spirit working in us And thus if we do entertain our selves by such frequent addresses to find God he will daily meet and ever dwell with us if we unfelgnedly desire to dwell with him and will give us such a glimpse of his eternal Bliss as may fix our hearts on Heaven and make us live every moment in a joyful Expectation of Death's quickest Summons thither and by this frequent entertainment of thy Soul with God Thou my Friend wilt find such a communication with God on Earth to be the highest Perfection of Piety and a felicity much more delightful than all other Diversions which can never reach such Seraphick Joys as I wish to thee my Friend On the Fear of Death IF we fully consider our manifold Sins and the horrid Judgment due unto us for them it may well be said Happy is that Man who can obtain such a Reconciliation with God before he die as daily to delight in the meditation of a sudden death with inward assurance of his eternal Bliss the moment that he expires Because all our Ideas of the divine Felicities above do seldom invite Men to welcome Death with cheerful Hearts Our fears are so much stronger than our Faith that too many Men do rather think than find they do believe that Christ's plenteous Redemption will cancel all their Crimes and bring them into Heaven and therefore dare not really rejoyce to look on death but start back from such angelick Happiness as he brings good Men to participate of in God's eternal Glory which natural infirmity of doubting can only by an illustrious Faith be removed and that Faith by frequent Prayers be obtained Then thus to live and so to die will make us live and die in great tranquility though not to reach St. Stephen's Faith who saw Heaven open to him yet to so great a degree of divine Raptures in Devotion as to be filled with elevations of an inward assurance of our Election which must come from God when the Soul is in such a blessed Trance of celestial Delight that is ineffable to be described How near such joy is to the joy we read of in Paradise when fervent Zeal is by a lively Faith so raised and sixed in God by frequent Meditations it is a wonder that such Men can fear to die or doubt togo to God with cheerful Hearts when thus invited and thus led by his holy Spirit with such bright illuminations of surprizing joys while those divine Flames last as cannot be related When Men's hearts are warmed with such Seraphick high Transports of Love and Mercy from Almighty God to give true Penitents some taste of their eternal Glory that being thus enlightned they may not fear to die but rather welcome death who comes to carry them to Heaven which is the highest Exaltation of the Soul's joy so to delight in God that the expectation of Heaven may be more pleasant than all the momentary Fruitions of this World are compared unto a blessed incomprehensible Eternity Which neither Wit nor Fancy can express When multiplying numbers make it less When neither first nor last can e'er be known Points so far distant yet so join'd in one That the eternal Circle shews us none But is a secret known to God alone 'T is such a sacred Riddle soâ— profound That humane Wisdom never can expound But leaves us still to wonder and adore What will be after and what was before On