Fasilides

“ Facilidas then ordered his uncle, Sela Christos, to be brought before him, received him kindly, and offered him again his riches and employments. That brave man, Christian in every thing but in his hatred and jealousy against his sovereign and nephew, refused absolutely to barter his faith to obtain the greatest good, or avoid the greatest punishment, it was in the power of the king to inflict. After repeated trials, all to no purpose, the king, overcome by the instigation of his enemies, banished him to Anabra in Shawada, a low, unwholesome district amidst the mountains of Samen. ”

“ My Faustus, be not thou so cowardly minded; for although thou lovest thy body, it is long unto the day of judgment, and thou must die at the last, although thou live many thousand years. The Turks, the Jews, and many an unchristian emperor are in the same condemnation; therefore, my Faustus, be of good courage, and be not discomforted, for the devil hath promised that thou shalt not be in pains, as the rest of the damned are. ”

“ If we are obliged to give his father the preference, from the greater variety of trials which he underwent, we must in justice allow, that, after his father, Facilidas was the greatest king that ever sat upon the Abyssinian throne. He had every good quality necessary to constitute a great prince, without any alloy or mixture, that, upon so much provocation as he had, might have misled him to be a bad one. ”

“ Faust. And in return what service shall I render?
Mephistopheles. There's ample grace—no hurry, not the least.
Faust. No, no, the devil is an egotist,
And does not easily "for God's sake" tender
That which a neighbor may assist.
Speak plainly the conditions, come!
'Tis dangerous taking such a servant home.
Mephistopheles. I to thy service here agree to bind me,
To run and never rest at call of thee;
When over yonder thou shalt find me,
Then thou shalt do as much for me.
Faust. I care not much what's over yonder:
When thou hast knocked this world asunder,
Come if it will the other may! ”

“ We are come to chastise you for your heresy, which is a revolt alike against God and the emperor. We are come to convert you to the true faith; and if your stubbornness will not suffer our object to be accomplished by fair means, you are given over to us as a prize, with your property and lives, bodies and souls, to be tormented by us to our heart's content, until you are brought to repentance and an abandonment of your abominable opinions, or sink in despair.'
'No, captain,' cried Fessel, with manly firmness ”

“ Facilidas, trusting to his former reputation acquired in these mountains in his father’s time, on the 3d of March 1638 advanced with a large army into Lasta, with a design to bring these peasants to a battle. But the rebels, growing wise by their losses, no longer chose to trust themselves on the plain, but, retiring to the strongest posts, fortified them so judiciously, that, without risking any loss themselves, they cut off all supplies or provisions coming to the king’s army. ”

“ The Devil now looked at Faustus with an air of mockery, and said, “Hast thou still doubts whether the gentleman will sell thee his daughter? Thou at least wilt not eat her.”
Faustus. I swear by the black hell which at this moment appears to me a paradise when compared with the earth, that I will henceforward give boundless scope to all my passions, and, by ravaging and destroying, believe that I am acting consistently to such a monster as man. Fly, and purchase me his daughter: she is doomed to destruction, as is every thing that breathes. ”

“ The great are seldom witnesses of the evils which they cause. And shall they, too, do good by stealth and in obscurity? Methinks the duke is not too great to sympathize with a beggar.
FIESCO. Man, thou art dreadful; yet I know not why I must follow thee. (Both go toward the sea.)
VERRINA (stops, much affected) . But once more embrace me, Fiesco. Here is no one by to see Verrina weep, or to behold a prince give way to feeling— (he embraces him eagerly) . Surely never beat two greater hearts together—we loved each other so fraternally— (weeping violently on Fiasco's neck) . Fiesco! Fiesco! ”

“ Condemned to misery shouldst thou fail—if thou succeed, to misery still greater. Here is no choice but evil. Unless he gain the ducal power, Fiesco perishes—if I embrace the duke I lose my husband.
FIESCO. I understand you not.
LEONORA. Ah! my Fiesco, in the stormy atmosphere that surrounds a throne the tender plant of love must perish. The heart of man, e'en were that heart Fiesco's, is not vast enough for two all-powerful idols—idols so hostile to each other. Love has tears, and can sympathize with tears. Ambition has eyes of stone, from which no drop of tenderness can e'er distil. ”

“ The eighth year of the reign of Facilidas, Claudius, governor of Begemder, his brother, revolted and joined the rebels of Lasta. It seems, that this prince had been long encouraged by the Jesuits, and his uncle Sela Christos, in expectation of succeeding his father Socinios, and supplanting Facilidas, his brother, in the kingdom. ”

“ He had the mien of a fallen angel, whose countenance was once illuminated by the Godhead, but which was now obscured by a gloomy veil.
Faustus (in surprise) . Is man, then, every where at home? Who art thou?
Devil. I am a prince of hell, and come because thy mighty call compels me.
Faustus. A prince of hell under this mask; under the figure of a man! I wished for a fiend, and not one of my own race.
Devil. Perhaps, Faustus, we are most so when we resemble ye; at least, no mask suits us better. ”

“ Before dying, Faust feels that a moment might come to which, with all his heart, he could say, “Oh, stay! thou art so fair!” But it is a moment which Mephistopheles, the representative of the evil in his nature, could never have secured for him. It is a moment of pure delight springing from the contemplation of the results of disinterested labour in the service of humanity. ”

“ The Patriarch and Missionaries are Banished — Seek the Protection of a Rebel — Delivered up to the King, and sent to Masuah — Prince Claudius rebels — Sent to Wechne - Death and Character of the King. As soon as the prince Facilidas had paid the last honours to his father, he set about composing those disorders which had so long distracted the kingdom by reason of the difference of religion. ”

“ Therefore sweet Faustus, think with what unquiet life, anger, strife, and debate thou shalt live in when thou takest a wife: therefore change thy mind.
[Pg 82]
Doctor Faustus was with these speeches in despair: and as all that have forsaken the Lord, can build upon no good foundation: so this wretched Faustus having forsook the rock, fell in despair with himself, fearing if he should motion Matrimony any more, that the Devil would tear him in pieces. For this time (quoth he to Mephostophiles) I am not minded to marry. Then you do well, answered his Spirit. ”

“ The Faliscans had just discovered the treachery of their schoolmaster, and, as may be expected, the whole city was filled with mourning at such a calamity, men and women together running in confusion to the gates and walls of the city, when the boys drove in their schoolmaster with blows and insults, calling Camillus their saviour, their father, and their god. Not only those who were parents, but all the citizens were struck with admiration at the goodness of Camillus. They at once assembled, and despatched ambassadors, putting themselves unreservedly in his hands. ”

“ Then he asked how the crops were where Gud came from.
"They are very good," said Gud, "but the morals in your kingdom are not."
To Gud's astonishment, the king replied meekly: "I know it."
Gud now related to the king how the very sandals had been stolen from off his feet as he slept beneath the tree.
"Oh, wise stranger," cried the king, "it grieves me much to have you, who come from a distant realm, discover that I have thus failed in the first duty of government which is the protection of property. Therefore let me make restitution for the injury done you in my kingdom." ”

“ The king then marched upon the tract of Mariam Barea, burning and destroying on each side of him, as wide as possible, by detachments and scouring parties. Allo Fasil, an officer of the king’s household, a man of low birth, of very moderate parts, and one who used to divert the king as a kind of buffoon, otherwise a good soldier, had, as a favour, obtained a small party of horse, with which he ravaged the low country of Begemder. ”

“ At which words the spirit stole away the heart of Faustus, who spake in this sort: "Mephistophiles, tell me how and after what sort God made the world and all the creatures in it? And why man was made after the image of God?"
The spirit hearing this, answered Faustus: "Thou knowest that all this is in vain for thee to ask. I know that thou art sorry for what thou hast done, but it availeth thee not; for I will tear thee in a thousand pieces if thou change not thy opinions." ”

“ FIESCO. This note invites me to her. I'll be with you, madam!—and find means to lure you hither, too. Now haste thee, with all thy speed, and call together the conspirators.
MOOR. This order I anticipated, and therefore at my own risk appointed every one to come at ten o'clock precisely.
FIESCO. I hear the sound of footsteps. They are here. Fellow, thy villany deserves a gallows of its own, on which no son of Adam was ever yet suspended. Wait in the ante-chamber till I call for thee. ”

“ Many others who had stood ready to throw themselves into the ranks of the victors now sought the security of their own houses. All seemed to accept the unhappy fate of Fieschi as the judgment of God against the revolution. Uncertainty, panic and fright filled all breasts. The vassals of the count stood fast from loyalty to their lord, and the soldiers who had deserted the standards of the Republic were firm from desperation. ”

“ Fata obstant; — truth will out. The annals of the country, written without a regard to either party, state, that, in the long reign of Facilidas, notwithstanding the calamitous state in which his father left him the empire, very few misfortunes only are reported to have happened either to himself or lieutenants. ”

“ But the next day Faustus went into the castle where he kept his wives and concubines, in which castle might no man, upon the pain of death, come, except those that were appointed by the Great Turk to do him service, and they were all eunuchs, which when Faustus perceived, he said to his spirit Mephistophiles, "How likest thou this sport? Are not these fair ladies greatly to be pitied that thus consume their youth at the pleasure of one only man?" ”

“ The heart of Faustus was moved, and his eyes began to moisten, while he trembled, and looked angrily upon the Devil. When he asked his wife why she wept, she wrung her hands, and replied, “Ah, Faustus, do you not perceive how the hungry ones examine your pockets for bread? How can I see that without tears? They have eaten nothing for a long time; we have been unfortunate, and all thy friends have forsaken us; but now I see thee again, it is to me as though I saw the countenance of an angel. I and thy father have suffered more on thy account than on our own. ”

“ And now with a mighty dust, and an infinite sound of horns, and tambours, and trumpets, which came filling the valley, the first army of the infidels made its appearance, horses neighing, and a thousand pennons flying in the air. King Falseron led them on, saying to his officers, "Now, gentlemen, recollect what I said. The first battle is for the leaders only;—and, above all, let nobody dare to lay a finger on Orlando. He belongs to myself. The revenge of my son's death is mine. I will cut the man down that comes between us." ”

“ He buries him in a deep sleep, and creates in his place a phantom, with which the cheated devils try successfully the whole process of temptation and seduction. All this appears to Faustus in a dream. He awakes; the Devil discovers his error, and flies with shame and fury, and Faustus, thanking Providence for its warning, clings to truth and virtue more firmly than ever. ”

“ Let love be sacrificed to greatness—and even peace of mind—if Fiesco but remained unchanged. O God! that thought is racking torture. Seldom do angels ascend the throne—still seldomer do they descend it such. Can he know pity who is raised above the common fears of man? Will he speak the accents of compassion who at every wish can launch a bolt of thunder to enforce it. (She stops, then timidly advances, and takes his hand with a look of tender reproach.) Princes, Fiesco—these abortions of ambition and weakness—who presume to sit in judgment 'twixt the godhead and mortality. ”

“ Faustus, in his impatience to fulfil at once, and for a few short years, all the desires and conceptions of his soul, is willing to give in exchange his soul and body to the great enemy of mankind. Whatever he fancies, becomes by this means present to his sense: whatever he commands, is done. ”

“ Next morning the king went out with his son to see the field of battle, where the prince Facilidas is said to have spoke to this effect in name of the army: “These men, whom you see slaughtered on the ground, were neither Pagans nor Mahometans at whose death we should rejoice—they were Christians, lately your subjects and your countrymen, some of them your relations. This is not victory which is gained over ourselves. In killing these you drive the sword into your own entrails. How many men have you slaughtered? How many more have you to kill? ”