_Chimene._ It is too little to say love, Elvira; I adore him! My passion opposes itself to my resentment; in mine enemy I find my lover, and I feel that in spite of all my rage Rodrigo is still contending against my sire in my heart. He attacks it, he besieges it; it yields, it defends itself; at one time strong, at one time weak, at another triumphant. But in this severe struggle between wrath and love, he rends my heart without shaking my resolution, and although my love may have power over me, I do not consult it [_or_, hesitate] to follow my duty. I speed on [_lit._ run] without halting [_or_, weighing the consequences] where my honor compels me. Rodrigo is very dear to me; the interest I feel in him grieves me; my heart takes his part, but, in spite of its struggles, I know what I am [i.e. a daughter], and that my father is dead. _Elvira._ Do you think of pursuing [_or_, persecuting] him? _Chimene._ Ah! cruel thought! and cruel pursuit to which I see myself compelled. I demand his head [_or_, life] and I dread to obtain it; my death will follow his, and [yet] I wish to punish him! _Elvira._ Abandon, abandon, dear lady, a design so tragic, and do not impose on yourself such a tyrannical law. _Chimene._ What! my father being dead and almost in my arms--shall his blood cry for revenge and I not obtain it? My heart, shamefully led away by other spells, would believe that it owed him only ineffectual tears. And can I endure that an insidious love, beneath a dastardly apathy, should extinguish my resolution [_lit._ beneath a cowardly silence extinguish my honor]? _Elvira._ Dear lady, believe me, you would be excusable in having less wrath against an object so beloved, against a lover so dear; you have done enough, you have seen the King; do not urge on the result [of that interview]. Do not persist in this morbid [_lit._ strange] humor. _Chimene._ My honor is at stake; I must avenge myself; and, however the desires of love may beguile us, all excuse [for not doing one's duty] is disgraceful to [i.e. in the estimation of] noble-minded souls. _Elvira._ But you love Rodrigo--he cannot offend you. _Chimene._ I confess it. _Elvira._ After all, what then do you intend to do? _Chimene._ To preserve my honor and to end my sorrow; to pursue him, to destroy him, and to die after him. Scene IV.--DON RODRIGO, CHIMENE, and ELVIRA. _Don Rodrigo._ Well then, without giving you the trouble of pursuing me, secure for yourself the honor of preventing me from living. _Chimene._ Elvira, where are we, and what do I see? Rodrigo in my house! Rodrigo before me! _Don Rodrigo._ Spare not my blood; enjoy [_lit._ taste], without resistance, the pleasure of my destruction and of your vengeance. _Chimene._ Alas! _Don Rodrigo._ Listen to me. _Chimene._ I am dying. _Don Rodrigo._ One moment. _Chimene._ Go, let me die! _Don Rodrigo._ Four words only; afterwards reply to me only with this sword!