490 BYRON'S
But let him not insult the last hours ofHim, who, whate’er he now is, ioas a hero,
By the intrusion of his very prayers ;
Nothing of good can come from such a source,
Nor would we aught with him, nor now, norever!
We leave him to himself, that lowest depthOf human baseness. Pardon is for men,
And not for reptiles—we have none for Steno,‘And no resentment .* things like him must sting,And higher beings suffer; ’tis the charterOf life. The man who dies by the adder’s fangMay have the crawler crush’d, but feels noanger;
’Twas the worm’s nature; and some men areworms
In soul, more than the living things of tombs.Doge (to Ben). Signor! complete that whichyou deem your duty.
Ben. Before we can proceed upon that duty,
We would request the princess to withdraw;'Twill move her too much to be witness to it.
Ang. I know it will, and yet I must endure it,For ’tis a part of mine—I will not quit,
Except by force, my husband’s side.—Proceed !Nay, fear not either shriek, or sigh, or tear ;Though my heart burst it shall be silent.—Speak!I have that within which shall o’ermaster all.
Ben. Marino Faliero , Doge of Venice,
Count of Val di Marino, Senator,
And some time General of the Fleet and Army,Noble Venetian, many times and oftIntrusted by the state with high employments,Even to the highest, listen to the sentence.Convict by many witnesses and proofs,
And by thine own confession, of the guiltOf treachery and treason, yet unheard ofUntil this trial—the decree is death.
Thy goods are confiscate unto the state,
Thy name is razed from out her records, save
Upon a public day of thanksgiving
For this our most miraculous deliverance,
When thou art noted in our calendarsWith earthquakes, pestilence, and foreign foes,And the great enemy of man, as subjectOf grateful masses for Heaven’s grace in snatch-ing
Our lives and country from thy wickedness.
The place wherein as Doge thou shouldst bepainted,
With thine illustrious predecessors, isTo he left vacant, with a death-black veilFlung over these dim words engraved beneath,—“ This place is of Marino Faliero ,
Decapitated for his crimes.”
Doge. “ His crimes !”
But let it be so;—it will be in vain.
T-he veil which blackens o’er this blighted name,And hides, or seems to hide, these lineaments,Shall draw more gazers than the thousand por-traits
Which glitter round it in their pictured trap-pings—
Four delegated slaves—the people’s tyrants!
“ Decapitated for his crimes!”— What crimes ?Were it not better to record the facts,
So that the contemplator might approve,
Or at the least learn whence the crimes arose ?When the beholder knows a Doge conspired,
Let him be told the cause—it is your history.
Ben. Time must reply to that! our sons willjudge
WORKS.
Their fathers’ judgment, which I now pro*nounce.
As Doge, clad in the ducal robes and cap,
Thou shall be led hence to the Giants’ Staircase,Where thou and all our princes are invested jAnd there, the ducal crown being first resumedUpon the spot where it was first assumed,
Thy head shall be struck off; and Heaven havemercyUpon thy soul l
Doge. Is this the Giunta’s sentence ?
Ben. It is.
Doge. I can endure it.—And the time PBen. Must be immediate.—Make thy peacewith God :
Within an hour thou must he in His presence.
Doge. I am already ; and my blood will riseTo Heaven before the souls of those who shed itAre all my lands confiscated ?
Ben. • They are ;
And goods, and jewels, and all kind of treasure,Except two thousand ducats—these dispose of.Doge. That’s harsh.—I would have fain re*served the lands
Ne.ir to Treviso, which I hold by investmentFrom Laurence the Count-Bishop of Cencda,
In fief perpetual to myself and heirs,
To portion them (leaving my city spoil,
My palace and my treasures, to your forfeit)Between iny consort and my kinsmen.
Ben. These
Lie under the state’s ban; their chief, thynephew,
In peril of his own life ; but the councilPostpones his trial for the present. IfTliou will’st a state unto thy -widow'd princess,Fear not, for we will do her justice.
Ang. Signors,
I share not in your spoil! From henceforth)know
And take my refuge in the cloister.
Doge. Come!
The hour may be a hard one, but 'twill end.Have I aught else to undergo save death ?
Ben. You have nought to do, except confessand die.
The priest is robed, the scimitar is bare,
And both await without. But, above all,
Think not to speak unto the people; theyAre now by thousands swarming at the gates,But these are closed ; the Ten, the Avogadori,The Giunta, and the chief men of the Forty,Alone will be beholders of thy doom,
And they are ready to attend the Doge.
Doge. The Doge!
Ben. Yes, Doge, thou hast lived and thoishalt die
A sovereign ; till the moment which precedesThe separation of that head and trunk.
That ducal crown and head shall be united.
Thou hast forgot thy dignity in deigningTo plot with petty traitors; not so we,
Who in the very punishment acknowledgeThe Prince. Thy vile accomplices have diedThe dog’s death, and the wolf’s; but thou sh^fall
As falls the lion by the hunters, girtBy those who feel a proud compassion for thee>And mourn even the inevitable deathProvoked by thy wild wrath and regal fiercenessNow we remit thee to thy preparation: