Of ribaldry obscene and impious jests
From these mad sons of Belial, more inflam'd
To deeds of riot by the wanton feast.
Dan. Here part we then! but when again to
Who knows, save Heav'n? Yet, O my friends! I
An impulse more than human stir
my breast.
Rapt in prophetic vision, I behold
Things hid as yet from mortal sight. I see
The dart of vengeance tremble in the air,
Ere long to pierce the impious king.
The desolating angel stalks abroad,
And brandishes aloft the two-edg'd sword
Of retribution keen; he soon will strike,
And Babylon shall weep as Sion wept.
Pass but a little while, and you shall see
This queen of cities prostrate on the earth.
This haughty mistress of the kneeling world,
How shall she sit dishonour'd in the dust,
In tarnish'd pomp and solitary wo!
How shall she shroud her glories in the dark,
And in opprobrious silence hide her head!
Lament, O virgin daughter of Chaldea!
For thou shalt fall! imperial queen, shalt fall!
No more Sidonian robes shall grace thy limbs.
To purple garments, sackcloth shall succeed;
And sordid dust and ashes shall supply
The od❜rous nard and cassia. Thou, who saidst
I AM, and there is none besides me thou,
E'en thou, imperial Babylon, shalt fall!
Thy glory quite eclips'd! The pleasant sound
Of viol and of harp shall charm no more!
Nor song of Syrian damsels shall be heard,
Responsive to the lute's luxurious note:
But the loud bittern's cry, the raven's croak,
The bat's fell scream, the lonely owl's dull plaint,
* See the prophecies of Isaiah, xlvii. and others.
And ev'ry hideous bird, with ominous shriek,
Shall scare affrighted silence from thy walls:
While desolation, snatching from the hand
Of time the scythe of ruin, sits aloft,
Or stalks in dreadful majesty abroad,
I see th' exterminating fiend advance,
Ev'n now I see her glare with horrid joy,
See towers imperial mould'ring at her touch;
She glances on the broken battlement,
She eyes the crumbling column, and enjoys
The work of ages prostrate in the dust—
Then, pointing to the mischiefs she has made,
Exulting cries, This once was Babylon !
SCENE.-The Court of Belshazzar.
The King seated on a magnificent throne. Princes, Nobles Ladies of the Court. Music.
and Attendants.
A superb Banquet.
First Court. (rises and kneels.) Hail, mighty
Belshazzar, live for ever;
Third Court. Sun of the world, and light of kings,
Fourth Court. With lowly rev'rence, such as best becomes
The humblest creatures of imperial power,
Behold a thousand nobles bend before thee!
Princes far fam'd, and dames of high descent:
Yet all this pride of wealth, this boast of beauty,
Shrinks into nought before thine awful eye!
And lives or dies as the king frowns or smiles!
Bel. This is such homage as becomes your love,
And suits the mighty monarch of mankind.
Fifth Court. The bending world should prostrate thus before thee;
And pay not only praise but adoration! Bel. (rises and comes forward.) philosophy preach self-denial;
Let envious poverty and snarling age
Proudly declaim against the joys they know not.
Let the deluded Jews, who fondly hope
Some fancied heav'n hereafter, mortify,
And lose the actual blessings of this world
To purchase others which may never come.
Our gods may promise less, but give us more.
Ill could my ardent spirit be content
With meagre abstinence and hungry hope.
Let those misjudging Israelites, who want
The nimble spirits and the active soul,
Call their blunt feelings virtue: let them drudge,
In regular progression, through the round
Of formal duty and of daily toil;
And, when they want the genius to be happy,
Believe their harsh austerity is goodness.
If there be gods, they meant we should enjoy:
Why give us else these tastes and appetites?
And why the means to crown them with indulgence?
To burst the feeble bonds which hold the vulgar,
Is noble daring.
And is therefore worthy
The high imperial spirit of Belshazzar.
Second Court. Behold a banquet which the gods might share!
Bel. To-night, my friends, your monarch shall be blest
With every various joy; to-night is ours;
Nor shall the envious gods, who view our bliss
And sicken as they view, to-night disturb us.
Bring all the richest spices of the East;
The od'rous cassia and the drooping myrrh,
The liquid amber and the fragrant gums;
Rob Gilead of its balms, Belshazzar bids,
And leave the Arabian groves without an odour.
Bring freshest flow'res, exhaust the blooming spring,
Twine the green myrtle with the short-liv'd rose;
And ever, as the blushing garland fades,
We'll learn to snatch the fugitive delight,
grasp the flying joy ere it escape us.
Come-fill the smiling goblet for the king;
Belshazzar will not let a moment pass
Unmark'd by some enjoyment! The full bowl
Let every guest partake!
[Courtiers kneel and drink.
Light of the world, and glory of the earth,
When we have power, and use it. What is wealth But the rich means to gratify desire?
I will not have a wish, a hope, a thought,
That shall not know fruition. What is empire?
The privilege to punish and enjoy ;
To feel our power in making others fear it;
To taste of pleasure's cup till we grow giddy,
And think ourselves immortal! This is empire!
My ancestors scarce tasted of its joys:
Shut from the sprightly world, and all its charms,
In cumbrous majesty, in sullen state
And dull unsocial dignity they liv'd;
Far from the sight of an admiring world,
That world, whose gaze makes half the charms of greatness;
They nothing knew of empire but the name,
Or saw it in the looks of trembling slaves;
And all they felt of royalty was care.
But I will see and know it of myself;
Youth, wealth, and greatness court me to be blest,
And power and pleasure draw with equal force
And sweet attraction: both I will embrace
In quick succession; this is pleasure's day;
Ambition will have time to reign hereafter;
It is the proper appetite of age.
The lust of power shall lord it uncontroll❜d,
When all the generous feelings grow obtuse,
And stern dominion holds with rigid hand
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