_Ber_. Again, I tell thee, ask not; but by all 170 Thou holdest dear on earth or Heaven--by all The Souls of thy great fathers, and thy hope To emulate them, and to leave behind Descendants worthy both of them and thee-- By all thou hast of blessed in hope or memory-- By all thou hast to fear here or hereafter-- By all the good deeds thou hast done to me, Good I would now repay with greater good,[el] Remain within--trust to thy household gods,[em] And to my word for safety, if thou dost, 180 As I now counsel--but if not, thou art lost! _Lioni_. I am indeed already lost in wonder; Surely thou ravest! what have _I_ to dread? Who are my foes? or if there be such, _why_ Art _thou_ leagued with them?--_thou!_ or, if so leagued, Why comest thou to tell me at this hour, And not before? _Ber_. I cannot answer this. Wilt thou go forth despite of this true warning? _Lioni_. I was not born to shrink from idle threats, The cause of which I know not: at the hour 190 Of council, be it soon or late, I shall not Be found among the absent. _Ber_. Say not so! Once more, art thou determined to go forth? _Lioni_. I am. Nor is there aught which shall impede me! _Ber_. Then, Heaven have mercy on thy soul!--Farewell! [_Going_. _Lioni_. Stay--there is more in this than my own safety Which makes me call thee back; we must not part thus: Bertram, I have known thee long. _Ber_. From childhood, Signor, You have been my protector: in the days Of reckless infancy, when rank forgets, 200 Or, rather, is not yet taught to remember Its cold prerogative, we played together; Our sports, our smiles, our tears, were mingled oft; My father was your father's client, I His son's scarce less than foster-brother; years Saw us together--happy, heart-full hours! Oh God! the difference 'twixt those hours and this! _Lioni_. Bertram, 'tis thou who hast forgotten them. _Ber_. Nor now, nor ever; whatsoe'er betide, I would have saved you: when to Manhood's growth 210 We sprung, and you, devoted to the state, As suits your station, the more humble Bertram Was left unto the labours of the humble, Still you forsook me not; and if my fortunes Have not been towering, 'twas no fault of him Who ofttimes rescued and supported me, When struggling with the tides of Circumstance, Which bear away the weaker: noble blood Ne'er mantled in a nobler heart than thine Has proved to me, the poor plebeian Bertram. 220 Would that thy fellow Senators were like thee! _Lioni_. Why, what hast thou to say against the Senate?[en]