Manfred (Act 2 Scene 4)

Scene IV.—The Hall ofArimanes.—Arimanes on his Throne, a Globe of Fire, surrounded by the Spirits.                                         Hymn of The Spirits.         Hail to our Master!—Prince of Earth and Air!                 Who walks the clouds and waters—in his hand         The sceptre of the Elements, which tear                 Themselves to chaos at his high command!         He breatheth—and a tempest shakes the sea;                 He speaketh—and the clouds reply in thunder;         He gazeth—from his glance the sunbeams flee;                 He moveth—Earthquakes rend the world asunder.         Beneath his footsteps the Volcanoes rise;                 His shadow is the Pestilence: his path         The comets herald through the crackling skies;                 And Planets turn to ashes at his wrath.         To him War offers daily sacrifice;                 To him Death pays his tribute; Life is his,         With all its Infinite of agonies—                 And his the Spirit of whatever is!                                 Enter the Destinies and Nemesis. First Des. Glory to Arimanes! on the earth His power increaseth—both my sisters did His bidding, nor did I neglect my duty! Second Des. Glory to Arimanes! we who bow The necks of men, bow down before his throne! Third Des. Glory to Arimanes! we await His nod! Nem. Sovereign of Sovereigns! we are thine, And all that liveth, more or less, is ours, And most things wholly so; still to increase Our power, increasing thine, demands our care, And we are vigilant. Thy late commands Have been fulfilled to the utmost.                                 Enter Manfred. A Spirit.                 What is here? A mortal!—Thou most rash and fatal wretch, Bow down and worship! Second Spirit.                 I do know the man— A Magian of great power, and fearful skill! Third Spirit. Bow down and worship, slave!—What, know'st thou not Thine and our Sovereign?—Tremble, and obey! All The Spirits. Prostrate thyself, and thy condemnéd clay, Child of the Earth! or dread the worst. Man.                 I know it; And yet ye see I kneel not. Fourth Spirit.                 'Twill be taught thee. Man. 'Tis taught already;—many a night on the earth, On the bare ground, have I bowed down my face, And strewed my head with ashes; I have known The fulness of humiliation—for I sunk before my vain despair, and knelt To my own desolation. Fifth Spirit.                 Dost thou dare Refuse to Arimanes on his throne What the whole earth accords, beholding not The terror of his Glory?—Crouch! I say. Man. Bid him bow down to that which is above him, The overruling Infinite—the Maker Who made him not for worship—let him kneel, And we will kneel together. The Spirits.                 Crush the worm! Tear him in pieces!— First Des.                 Hence! Avaunt!—he's mine. Prince of the Powers invisible! This man Is of no common order, as his port And presence here denote: his sufferings Have been of an immortal nature—like Our own; his knowledge, and his powers and will, As far as is compatible with clay, Which clogs the ethereal essence, have been such As clay hath seldom borne; his aspirations Have been beyond the dwellers of the earth, And they have only taught him what we know— That knowledge is not happiness, and science But an exchange of ignorance for that Which is another kind of ignorance. This is not all—the passions, attributes Of Earth and Heaven, from which no power, nor being, Nor breath from the worm upwards is exempt, Have pierced his heart; and in their consequence Made him a thing—which—I who pity not, Yet pardon those who pity. He is mine— And thine it may be; be it so, or not— No other Spirit in this region hath A soul like his—or power upon his soul. Nem. What doth he here then? First Des.                 Let him answer that. Man. Ye know what I have known; and without power I could not be amongst ye: but there are Powers deeper still beyond—I come in quest Of such, to answer unto what I seek. Nem. What would'st thou? Man.                 Thou canst not reply to me. Call up the dead—my question is for them. Nem. Great Arimanes, doth thy will avouch The wishes of this mortal? Ari.                 Yea. Nem.                 Whom wouldst thou Uncharnel? Man.         One without a tomb—call up Astarte.                                 Nemesis.                 Shadow! or Spirit!                         Whatever thou art,                 Which still doth inherit                         The whole or a part                 Of the form of thy birth,                         Of the mould of thy clay,                 Which returned to the earth,                         Re-appear to the day!                 Bear what thou borest,                         The heart and the form,                 And the aspect thou worest                         Redeem from the worm. Appear!—Appear!—Appear! Who sent thee there requires thee here! [The Phantom of Astarte rises and stands in the midst. Man. Can this be death? there's bloom upon her cheek; But now I see it is no living hue, But a strange hectic—like the unnatural red Which Autumn plants upon the perished leaf. It is the same! Oh, God! that I should dread To look upon the same—Astarte!—No, I cannot speak to her—but bid her speak— Forgive me or condemn me.                                 Nemesis.                 By the Power which hath broken                         The grave which enthralled thee,                 Speak to him who hath spoken.                         Or those who have called thee! Man.                 She is silent, And in that silence I am more than answered. Nem. My power extends no further. Prince of Air! It rests with thee alone—command her voice. Ari. Spirit—obey this sceptre! Nem.                 Silent still! She is not of our order, but belongs To the other powers. Mortal! thy quest is vain, And we are baffled also. Man.                 Hear me, hear me— Astarte! my belovéd! speak to me: I have so much endured—so much endure— Look on me! the grave hath not changed thee more Than I am changed for thee. Thou lovedst me Too much, as I loved thee: we were not made To torture thus each other—though it were The deadliest sin to love as we have loved. Say that thou loath'st me not—that I do bear This punishment for both—that thou wilt be One of the blesséd—and that I shall die; For hitherto all hateful things conspire To bind me in existence—in a life Which makes me shrink from Immortality— A future like the past. I cannot rest. I know not what I ask, nor what I seek: I feel but what thou art, and what I am; And I would hear yet once before I perish The voice which was my music—Speak to me! For I have called on thee in the still night, Startled the slumbering birds from the hushed boughs, And woke the mountain wolves, and made the caves Acquainted with thy vainly echoed name, Which answered me—many things answered me— Spirits and men—but thou wert silent all. Yet speak to me! I have outwatched the stars, And gazed o'er heaven in vain in search of thee. Speak to me! I have wandered o'er the earth, And never found thy likeness—Speak to me! Look on the fiends around—they feel for me: I fear them not, and feel for thee alone. Speak to me! though it be in wrath;—but say— I reck not what—but let me hear thee once— This once—once more! Phantom of Astarte.         Manfred! Man.                 Say on, say on— I live but in the sound—it is thy voice! Phan. Manfred! To-morrow ends thine earthly ills. Farewell! Man.         Yet one word more—am I forgiven? Phan. Farewell! Man.                 Say, shall we meet again? Phan.                 Farewell! Man. One word for mercy! Say thou lovest me. Phan. Manfred!                                                                [The Spirit of Astarte disappears. Nem. She's gone, and will not be recalled: Her words will be fulfilled. Return to the earth. A Spirit. He is convulsed—This is to be a mortal, And seek the things beyond mortality. Another Spirit. Yet, see, he mastereth himself, and makes His torture tributary to his will. Had he been one of us, he would have made An awful Spirit. Nem.                 Hast thou further question Of our great Sovereign, or his worshippers? Man. None. Nem.                 Then for a time farewell. Man. We meet then! Where? On the earth?— Even as thou wilt: and for the grace accorded I now depart a debtor. Fare ye well!                                                         [Exit MANFRED.