Act the Third: Scene III

SIGISMUND. Who has named here Sigismund?

CLARIN [aside.] Ah, I'm but an addled prince, then!

FIRST SOLDIER. Who is Sigismund?

SIGISMUND. Who? I.

SECOND SOLDIER [to CLARIN]. How, then, didst thou, bold and silly,Dare to make thee Sigismund?

CLARIN. I a Sigismund? Thou fibbest;It was you yourselves that thusSigismundized me and princed me:All the silliness and the boldnessHave been by yourselves committed.

FIRST SOLDIER. Great and brave Prince Sigismund(For thy bearing doth convince usThou art he, although on faithWe proclaim thee as our prince here).King Basilius, thy father,Fearful of the Heavens fulfillingA prediction, which declaredHe would see himself submittedAt thy victor feet, attemptsTo deprive thee of thy birthright,And to give it to Astolfo,Muscovy's duke. For this his missivesSummoned all his court: the peopleUnderstanding, by some instinct,That they had a natural king,Did not wish a foreign princelingTo rule o'er them. And 'tis thus,That the fate for thee predictedTreating with a noble scorn,They have sought thee where imprisonedThou dost live, that issuing forth,By their powerful arms assisted,From this tower, thy crown and sceptreThou shouldst thus regain, and quit themOf a stranger and a tyrant.Forth! then; for among these cliffs hereThere is now a numerous army,Formed of soldiers and banditti,That invoke thee: freedom waits thee;To the thousand voices listen.

SIGISMUND. Once again, O Heaven! wouldst wish meOnce again to dream of greatnessWhich may vanish in an instant?Once again to see the glories,That a royal throne encircle,Die in darkness and in gloom,Like a flame the winds extinguish?Once again by sad experienceTo be taught the dangerous limitsHuman power may overleap,At its birth and while it liveth?No, it must not, must not be:--See me now one more submittedTo my fate; and since I knowLife is but a dream, a vision,Hence, ye phantoms, that assumeTo my darkened sense the figureAnd the voice of life -- althoughNeither voice nor form is in them.I no longer now desireA feigned majesty, a fictitiousAnd fantastic pomp -- illusionsWhich the slightest breath that ripplesThe calm ether can destroy,Even as in the early spring-time,When the flowering almond treeUnadvisedly exhibitsAll its fleeting bloom of flowers,The first blast their freshness withers,And the ornament and graceOf its rosy locks disfigures.Now I know ye -- know ye all,And I know the same false glimmerCheats the eyes of all who sleep.Me false shows no more bewilder;Disabused, I now know wellLife is but a dream -- a vision.

SECOND SOLDIER. If thou thinkest we deceive thee,Turn thine eyes to those proud cliffs here,See the crowds that wait there, willing,Eager to obey thee.

SIGISMUND. YetJust as clearly and distinctly,I have seen another timeThe same things that now I witness,And 'twas but a dream.

SECOND SOLDIER. At all timesGreat events, my lord, bring with themTheir own omens; and thy dreamBut the actual fact prefigured.

SIGISMUND. You say well, it was an omen;But supposing the bright visionEven were true, since life is short,Let us dream, my soul a little,Once again, remembering nowWith all forethought and previsionThat we must once more awakeAt the better time not distant;That being known, the undeceiving,When it comes, will be less bitter;For it takes the sting from evilTo anticipate its visit.And with this conviction, too,Even its certainty admitting,That all power being only lentMust return unto the Giver,Let us boldly then dare all.--For the loyalty you exhibit,Thanks, my lieges. See in meOne who will this land deliverFrom a stranger's alien yoke.Sound to arms; you soon shall witnessWhat my valour can effect.'Gainst my father I have liftedHostile arms, to see if HeavenHas of me the truth predicted.At my feet I am to see him . . .But if I, from dreams delivered,Wake ere then, and nothing happens,Silence now were more befitting.

ALL. Long live Sigismund, our king!