Friedrich Schiller

“ Ought that to leave any void in thy heart.
FIESCO (with great emotion) . Leonora—what hast thou done? (He falls, overcome, on her neck.) I shall never more dare to meet the eyes of Genoa's citizens.
LEONORA (with lively expression) . Let us fly, Fiesco! let us with scorn reject these gaudy nothings, and pass our future days only in the retreats of love! (She presses him to her breast with rapture.) Our souls, serene as the unclouded sky, shall never more be blackened by the poisonous breath of sorrow; our lives shall flow harmoniously as the music of the murmuring brook. ”

“ LEONORA. Cold-blooded wretch; canst thou see and hear all this, and yet not rave? The very stones are ready to weep that they have not feet to run and join Fiesco. These palaces upbraid the builder, who had laid their foundations so firmly in the earth that they cannot fly to join Fiesco. The very shores, were they able, would forsake their office in order to follow his glorious banner, though by so doing they abandoned Genoa to the mercy of the ocean. What might shake death himself out of his leaden sleep has not power to rouse thy courage? ”

“ FIESCO. Well spoken. The tyrants. I entreat you weigh well the importance of the word. Is he who threatens the overthrow of liberty—or he who has it in his power—the greater tyrant?
VERRINA. The first I hate, I fear the latter. Let Andreas Doria fall!
CALCAGNO (with emotion) . Andreas? The old Andreas! who perhaps to-morrow may pay the debt of nature——
SACCO. Andreas? That mild old man!
FIESCO. Formidable is that old man's mildness, O my friend—the brutality of Gianettino only deserves contempt. "Let Andreas fall!" There spoke thy wisdom, Verrina. ”

“ VERRINA. Youth, thou say'st true!—it is most horrible. Now who among you will stand forth and prate still of patience and delay? My daughter's fate is linked with that of Genoa. I sacrifice the affections of a father to the duties of a citizen. Who among us is so much a coward as to hesitate in the salvation of his country, when this poor guiltless being must pay for his timidity with endless sufferings? By heavens, 'twas not a madman's speech! I have sworn an oath, and till Doria lie in the agonies of death I will show no mercy to my child. ”

“ No! ye devils! That is not the face of Gianettino—Oh, malicious fiend! Genoa is mine, say you? Mine? (Rushing forward with a dreadful shriek.) Oh, trickery of hell! It is my wife! (He sinks to the ground in agony—The CONSPIRATORS stand around in groups, shuddering—a dead silence.)
FIESCO (raising himself exhausted—in a faint voice) . But tell me truly, Genoese, have I indeed slain my wife? I conjure you look not so ghastly upon this illusion! Heaven be praised! there are fates which man has not to fear, because he is but man. ”

“ CALCAGNO. What! To-night! The tyrants are yet too powerful, our force too small.
SACCO. To-night! And naught prepared? The day is fast declining.
FIESCO. Your doubts are reasonable, but read these papers. (He gives them GIANETTINO'S papers, and walks up and down with a look of satisfaction, whilst they read them eagerly.) Now, farewell, thou proud and haughty star of Genoa, that didst seem to fill the whole horizon with thy brightness. Knowest thou not that the majestic sun himself must quit the heavens, and yield his sceptre to the radiant moon? Farewell, Doria, beauteous star! ”

“ It is my husband! (Throws her arms up in agony.)
ARABELLA. For heaven's sake, my lady!
LEONORA (with wild enthusiasm, calling on all sides) . O my Fiesco! my Fiesco! His firmest friends desert him. The faith of rebels is unsteady (shuddering) . Rebels! Heaven? Is Fiesco, then, a chief of rebels?
ARABELLA. No, signora. He is the great deliverer of Genoa.
LEONORA (emphatically) . Ha! that would indeed be glorious! And shall Leonora tremble?—shall the bravest republican be wedded to the most timid woman? Go, Arabella! When men contend for empires even a woman's soul may kindle into valor. ”

“ Speak thou, Verrina.
VERRINA. An open heart shows a bold front. Assassination degrades us to banditti. The hero advances sword in hand. I propose to give aloud the signal of revolt, and boldly rouse the patriots of Genoa to vengeance. (He starts from his seat, the others do the same.)
BOURGOGNINO (embracing him) . And with armed hand wrest Fortune's favors from her. This is the voice of honor, and is mine.
FIESCO. And mine. Shame on you, Genoese! (to SACCO and CALCAGNO) . Fortune has already done too much for us, let something be our own. Therefore open revolt! ”

“ Throughout Genoa reigns a gloomy silence. This discontent hangs like a threatening tempest over the republic. Come, wind, then hail and lightning will burst forth.
FIESCO. Hush!—hark! What is that confused noise?
MOOR (going to the window) . It is the tumult of the crowd returning from the senate-house.
FIESCO. To-day is the election of a procurator. Order my carriage! It is impossible that the sitting should be over. I'll go thither. It is impossible it should be over if things went right. Bring me my sword and cloak—where is my golden chain? ”

“ SCENE XII.—The Palace of ANDREAS.
GIANETTINO and LOMELLINO enter hastily.
GIANETTINO. Let them roar for their liberty as a lioness for her young. I am resolved.
LOMELLINO. But—most gracious prince!
GIANETTINO. Away to hell with thy buts, thou three-hours procurator! I will not yield a hair's breadth? Let Genoa's towers shake their heads, and the hoarse sea bellow No to it. I value not the rebellious multitude!
LOMELLINO. The people are indeed the fuel; but the nobility fan the flame. The whole republic is in a ferment, people and patricians. ”

“ A virtuous thought strengthens the heart of man, and boldly meets the day. Ha! I know you—robed in the livery of Satan—avaunt! (A pause; he continues with energy.) Fiesco, the patriot! the Duke Fiesco! Peace! On this steep precipice the boundaries of virtue terminate: here heaven and hell are separated. Here have heroes stumbled, here have they fallen, and left behind a name loaded with curses—here, too, have heroes paused, here checked their course, and risen to immortality. (More vehemently.) To know the hearts of Genoa mine! To govern with a master's hand this formidable state! ”

“ LEONORA. Was it not enough to break the sacred seal of confidence? but even on the unsullied mirror of virtue does this hypocrite breathe pestilence, and would seduce my innocence to perjury.
CALCAGNO (hastily) . Perjury, madam, you cannot be guilty of.
LEONORA. I understand thee—thou thoughtest my wounded pride would plead in thy behalf. (With dignity) . Thou didst not know that she who loves Fiesco feels even the pang that rends her heart ennobling. Begone! Fiesco's perfidy will not make Calcagno rise in my esteem—but—will lower humanity. ”

“ ZIBO. The people are enraged. What may we not expect from the fury of the wounded boar!
FIESCO (laughing) . The blind, unwieldy monster, which at first rattles its heavy bones, threatening, with gaping jaws, to devour the high and low, the near and distant, at last stumbles at a thread—Genoese, 'tis in vain! The epoch of the masters of the sea is past—Genoa is sunk beneath the splendor of its name. Its state is such as once was Rome's, when, like a tennis-ball, she leaped into the racket of young Octavius. Genoa can be free no longer; Genoa must be fostered by a monarch ”

“ BOURGOGNINO. Is it thus, Verrina, your hopes are answered?
VERRINA. Take courage, son! The Almighty has rejected the arm of FIESCO. Upon ours he must rely.
FIESCO (to ROMANO) . Well—'tis your last work, Romano. Your powers are exhausted. Lay down your pencil. Yet, whilst I am admiring the artist, I forget to satiate on the work. I could stand gazing on it, regardless of an earthquake. Take away your picture—the wealth of Genoa would scarcely reach the value of this Virginia. Away with it.
ROMANO. Honor is the artist's noblest reward. ”

“ Thou hast committed a crime against the majesty of the eternal God in permitting virtue to lead thy hands to wickedness, and in suffering the patriots of Genoa to violate their country. Fiesco, had thy villany deceived me also!—Fiesco, by all the horrors of eternity! with my own hands I would have strangled myself, and on thy head spurted the venom of my departing soul. A princely crime may break the scale of human justice, but thou hast insulted heaven, and the last judgment will decide the cause. ”

“ I have lulled to sleep the tyrants; the state is ripe for revolution. We are no longer in the hands of Fortune. Nothing is wanting. Verrina is lost in thought.
BOURGOGNINO. Patience! I have a word to say, which will more quickly rouse him than the trumpet of the last day. (To VERRINA—calls out to him emphatically.) Father! Awake! Thy Bertha will despair.
VERRINA. Who spoke those words? Genoese, to arms!
FIESCO. Think on the means of forwarding our plan. Night has advanced upon our discourse; Genoa is wrapped in sleep; the tyrant sinks exhausted beneath the sins of the day. ”

“ Shame on thee, Prince of Genoa! Here, fellow (taking money from an escritoire) , are a thousand for thee. Tell thy master he is a niggardly assassin. (MOOR looks at him with astonishment.) What dost thou gaze at? (MOOR takes up the money—lays it down—takes it up again, and looks at FIESCO with increased astonishment) . What dost thou mean?
MOOR (throwing the money resolutely upon the table) . Sir, that money I have not earned—I deserve it not.
FIESCO. Blockhead, thou hast deserved the gallows; but the offended elephant tramples on men not on worms. ”

“ Long enough have we borne the insolence of Gianettino Doria, and the usurpation of Andreas. My friends, if we would deliver Genoa, no time is to be lost. For what purpose, think you, are those twenty galleys which beset our harbor? For what purpose the alliances which the Dorias have of late concluded? For what purpose the foreign forces which they have collected even in the heart of Genoa? Murmurs and execrations avail no longer. To save all we must dare all. A desperate disease requires a desperate remedy. Is there one base enough in this assembly to own an equal for his master? ”

“ LOMELLINO. Fiesco has become a mere votary of pleasure. The great world has lost much in you.
FIESCO. But Fiesco has lost nothing in giving up the world. To live is to dream, and to dream pleasantly is to be wise. Can this be done more certainly amid the thunders of a throne, where the wheels of government creak incessantly upon the tortured ear, than on the heaving bosom of an enamored woman? Let Gianettino rule over Genoa; Fiesco shall devote himself to love. ”

“ GIANETTINO (aside to LOMELLINO) . Poor frivolous fellow!
FIESCO (engaged about her bosom) . Now see—this I prudently conceal. The senses should always be blind messengers, and not know the secret compact between nature and fancy.
JULIA. That is trifling.
FIESCO. Not at all; for, consider, the prettiest novelty loses all its zest when once become familiar. Our senses are but the rabble of our inward republic. The noble live by them, but elevate themselves above their low, degenerate tastes. (Having adjusted her toilet, he leads her to a glass.) Now, by my honor! ”

“ MOOR. Men like me, sir, receive no favor without acknowledgment. We know what honor is.
FIESCO. The honor of cut-throats?
MOOR. Which is, perhaps, more to be relied on than that of your men of character. They break their oaths made in the name of God. We keep ours pledged to the devil.
FIESCO. Thou art an amusing villain.
MOOR. I rejoice to meet your approbation. Try me; you will find in me a man who is a thorough master of his profession. Examine me; I can show my testimonials of villany from every guild of rogues—from the lowest to the highest. ”