MAHOMET. O! seize the power to bless--Irene's nod Shall break the fetters of the groaning Christian; Greece, in her lovely patroness secure, Shall mourn no more her plunder'd palaces. IRENE. Forbear--O! do not urge me to my ruin! MAHOMET. To state and pow'r I court thee, not to ruin: Smile on my wishes, and command the globe. Security shall spread her shield before thee, And love infold thee with his downy wings. If greatness please thee, mount th' imperial seat; If pleasure charm thee, view this soft retreat; Here ev'ry warbler of the sky shall sing; Here ev'ry fragrance breathe of ev'ry spring: To deck these bow'rs each region shall combine, And e'en our prophet's gardens envy thine: Empire and love shall share the blissful day, And varied life steal, unperceiv'd, away. [_Exeunt_. ACT III.--SCENE I. CALI, ABDALLA. [CALI _enters, with a discontented air; to him enters_ ABDALLA.] CALI. Is this the fierce conspirator, Abdalla? Is this the restless diligence of treason? Where hast thou linger'd, while th' incumber'd hours Fly, lab'ring with the fate of future nations, And hungry slaughter scents imperial blood? ABDALLA. Important cares detain'd me from your counsels. CALI. Some petty passion! some domestick trifle! Some vain amusement of a vacant soul! A weeping wife, perhaps, or dying friend, Hung on your neck, and hinder'd your departure. Is this a time for softness or for sorrow? Unprofitable, peaceful, female virtues! When eager vengeance shows a naked foe, And kind ambition points the way to greatness. ABDALLA. Must then ambition's votaries infringe The laws of kindness, break the bonds of nature, And quit the names of brother, friend, and father? CALI. This sov'reign passion, scornful of restraint, E'en from the birth, affects supreme command, Swells in the breast, and, with resistless force, O'erbears each gentler motion of the mind: As, when a deluge overspreads the plains, The wand'ring rivulet, and silver lake, Mix undistinguish'd with the gen'ral roar. ABDALLA. Yet can ambition, in Abdalla's breast, Claim but the second place: there mighty love Has fix'd his hopes, inquietudes, and fears, His glowing wishes, and his jealous pangs. CALI. Love is, indeed, the privilege of youth; Yet, on a day like this, when expectation Pants for the dread event--But let us reason--