DEMETRIUS. Capricious man! to good and ill inconstant, Too much to fear or trust is equal weakness. Sometimes the wretch, unaw'd by heav'n or hell, With mad devotion idolizes honour. The bassa, reeking with his master's murder, Perhaps, may start at violated friendship. ASPASIA. How soon, alas! will int'rest, fear, or envy, O'erthrow such weak, such accidental virtue, Nor built on faith, nor fortified by conscience! DEMETRIUS. When desp'rate ills demand a speedy cure, Distrust is cowardice, and prudence folly. ASPASIA. Yet, think a moment, ere you court destruction, What hand, when death has snatch'd away Demetrius, Shall guard Aspasia from triumphant lust. DEMETRIUS. Dismiss these needless fears--a troop of Greeks, Well known, long try'd, expect us on the shore. Borne on the surface of the smiling deep, Soon shalt thou scorn, in safety's arms repos'd, Abdalla's rage and Cali's stratagems. ASPASIA. Still, still, distrust sits heavy on my heart. Will e'er a happier hour revisit Greece? DEMETRIUS. Should heav'n, yet unappeas'd, refuse its aid, Disperse our hopes, and frustrate our designs, Yet shall the conscience of the great attempt Diffuse a brightness on our future days; Nor will his country's groans reproach Demetrius. But how canst thou support the woes of exile? Canst thou forget hereditary splendours, To live obscure upon a foreign coast, Content with science, innocence, and love? ASPASIA. Nor wealth, nor titles, make Aspasia's bliss. O'erwhelm'd and lost amidst the publick ruins, Unmov'd, I saw the glitt'ring trifles perish, And thought the petty dross beneath a sigh. Cheerful I follow to the rural cell; Love be my wealth, and my distinction virtue. DEMETRIUS. Submissive, and prepar'd for each event, Now let us wait the last award of heav'n, Secure of happiness from flight or conquest; Nor fear the fair and learn'd can want protection. The mighty Tuscan courts the banish'd arts To kind Italia's hospitable shades; There shall soft leisure wing th' excursive soul, And peace, propitious, smile on fond desire; There shall despotick eloquence resume Her ancient empire o'er the yielding heart; There poetry shall tune her sacred voice, And wake from ignorance the western world. SCENE II. DEMETRIUS, ASPASIA, CALI. CALI. At length th' unwilling sun resigns the world To silence and to rest. The hours of darkness, Propitious hours to stratagem and death, Pursue the last remains of ling'ring light. DEMETRIUS. Count not these hours, as parts of vulgar time; Think them a sacred treasure lent by heaven, Which, squander'd by neglect, or fear, or folly, No prayer recalls, no diligence redeems. To-morrow's dawn shall see the Turkish king Stretch'd in the dust, or tow'ring on his throne; To-morrow's dawn shall see the mighty Cali The sport of tyranny, or lord of nations. CALI. Then waste no longer these important moments In soft endearments, and in gentle murmurs; Nor lose, in love, the patriot and the hero.