MANFRED.' ACT I. SCENE I.-MANFRED alone.-Scene, a Gothic Gallery.-Time, Midnight. Man. THE lamp must be replenish'd, but even then It will not burn so long as I must watch: My slumbers-if I slumber-are not sleep, But a continuance of enduring thought, Which then I can resist not: in my heart There is a vigil, and these eyes but close To look within; and yet I live, and bear The aspect and the form of breathing men. But grief should be the instructor of the wise; Sorrow is knowledge: they who know the most Must mourn the deepest o'er the fatal truth, The Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life. Philosophy and science, and the springs Of wonder, and the wisdom of the world, I have essay'd, and in my mind there is A power to make these subject to itself— But they avail not: I have done men good, And I have met with good even among menBut this avail'd not: I have had my foes, And none have baffled, many fallen before me— But this avail'd not :-Good, or evil, life, Powers, passions, all I see in other beings, Have been to me as rain unto the sands, Since that all-nameless hour. I have no dread, And feel the curse to have no natural fear, Nor fluttering throb, that beats with hopes or wishes, Now to my task. Mysterious Agency! Ye spirits of the unbounded Universe! 2 Whom I have sought in darkness and in light- In subtler essence-ye, to whom the tops And earth's and ocean's caves familiar things- Which gives me power upon you-Rise! Appear! [A pause. They come not yet.--Now by the voice of him [A pause. If it be so-Spirits of earth and air, Ye shall not thus elude me: by a power, A wandering hell in the eternal space; The thought which is within me and around me, I do compel ye to my will.-Appear! [A star is seen at the darker end of the gallery: it is stationary ; and a voice is heard singing. FIRST SPIRIT. Mortal to thy bidding bow'd, Which is mix'd for my pavilion ; 4 To thine adjuration bow'd, Voice of the SECOND SPIRIT.] Mont Blanc is the monarch of mountains; They crown'd him long ago On a throne of rocks, in a robe of clouds, Around his waist are forests braced, I am the spirit of the place, Could make the mountain bow And quiver to his cavern'd baseAnd what with me would'st Thou? Voice of the THIRD SPIRIT. In the blue depth of the waters, To the Spirit of Ocean Thy wishes unfold! FOURTH SPIRIT. Where the slumbering earthquake Lies pillow'd on fire, And the lakes of bitumen Rise boilingly higher; Where the roots of the Andes Strike deep in the earth, As their summits to heaven Shoot soaringly forth; I have quitted my birthplace, FIFTH SPIRIT. I am the Rider of the wind, The fleet I met sail'd well, and yet SIXTH SPIRIT. My dwelling is the shadow of the night, SEVENTH SPIRIT. The star which rules thy destiny And thou beneath its influence born— What would'st thou, Child of Clay! with me? The SEVEN SPIRITS. Earth, ocean, air, night, mountains, winds, thy star, What would'st thou with us, son of mortals--say? Man. Forgetfulness First Spirit. Of what-of whom-and why? Man. Of that which is within me; read it thereYe know it, and I cannot utter it. Spirit. We can but give thee that which we possess: O'er earth-the whole, or portion—or a sign Man. Can Oblivion, self-oblivion! ye not wring from out the hidden realms Ye offer so profusely what I ask? Spirit. It is not in our essence, in our skill; But-thou may'st die. Man. Will death bestow it on me? Spirit. We are immortal, and do not forget; We are eternal; and to us the past Is, as the future, present. Art thou answer'd? Man. Ye mock me-but the power which brought ye here Hath made you mine. Slaves, scoff not at my will! The mind, the spirit, the Promethean spark, The lightning of my being, is as bright, Pervading, and far darting as your own, And shall not yield to yours, though coop'd in clay! Spirit. We answer as we answer'd; our reply Is even in thine own words. Man. Why say ye so? Spirit. If, as thou say'st, thine essence be as ours, We have replied in telling thee, the thing Mortals call death hath nought to do with us. Man. I then have call'd ye from your realms in vain; Ye cannot, or ye will not, aid me. Say, Spirit. |