Act II: Scene I
SEV.Let Felix bow to Jove and incense pour,I seek a dearer shrine, for I adoreNor Jove, nor Mars, nor Fortune--but Pauline.This fruit now ripening late my hand would glean:You know, my friend, the god who wings my way,You know the only goddess I obey:What reck the gods on high our sacrifice and prayer?An earthly worship mine, sole refuge from despair!
FABIAN.Ah! You may see her----
SEV.Blessed be thy tongue!O magic word, that turns my grief to song!Yet, if she now forget each fair, fond vow?She loved me once,--but does she love me now?On that sweet face shall I but trouble seeWho hope for love undimmed, for ecstasy?Great Decius gives her hand, but if her heartBe mine no more--than let vain hope depart!This mandate binds her father only; sheShall give no captive hand--her heart is free:No promise wrung, no king's command be mine to claim,Her love the boon I crave; all else an empty name!
FABIAN.Yes,--you may--see her--see her--this you may--
SEV.Thy speech is halting--odious thy delay!She loves no more? I grope! O give me light!
FABIAN.O see her not, for painful were the sight!In Rome each matron's kind! In Rome all maids are fair!Let lips meet other lips--seek for caresses there!No stately Claudia will refuse--no Julia proud disdain;A hero captures every heart, from Antioch to Spain!
SEV.To wed a queen--an empress--were only loss and shame;One heart for me--Pauline's! One boast--that dearest name!Her love was virgin gold! O ne'er shall baser metal ringFrom mine, who live her name to bless! her peerless praise to sing!O, words are naught, till that I see her face,Then doubly naught till I my love embrace.In every war my hope was placed in death,Her name upon my lips at every breath:My rank, my fame, now hers and hers alone,What is not hers, hers only--I disown!
FABIAN.Once more, oh see her not, 'twere for thy peace!
SEV.Thy meaning, knave, or let this babble cease!Say, was she cold? My love! My only life!
FABIAN.No--but--my lord----
SEV.Say on!
FABIAN.Another's wife!
SEV.(Reels.)Help!--No, I will not blench--ah, say you lie!If this be true!--ye gods--can I be I?
FABIAN.No, thou art changed. Where is thy courage fled?
SEV.I know not, Fabian. Lost! Gone! Vanished! Dead!I thought my strength was oak--'tis but a reed!Pauline is wed, then am I lost indeed!Hope hid beyond the cloud, yet still fond hope was there:But now all hope is dead, lives only black despair!Pauline another's wife?
FABIAN.Yes, Polyeucte is her lord.He came, he saw, he conquered thine adored.
SEV.Her choice is not unworthy--his a nameIllustrious, from a line of kings he cameCold comfort for a wound no cure can heal!My cause is lost,--foredoomed without appeal!Malignant Jove, to drag me back to-day!Relentless Fate, to quench hope's dawning ray!Take back your gifts! One boon alone I crave,That only boon to none denied--the grave.Yet would I see her, breathe one last good-bye,Would hear once more that voice before I die!My latest breath would still my homage pay,That memory mine, when lost to realms of day.
FABIAN.Yet think, my lord--
SEV.Oh, I have thought of all;What worser ill can dull despair befall?She will not see me?
FABIAN.Yes, my lord, but--
SEV.Cease!
FABIAN.'Twill but enhance the grief I would appease.
SEV.For hopeless ill, good friend, I seek no cure.Who welcomes death can life's short pain endure!
FABIAN.O lost indeed, if round her fatal light you hover!--The lover, losing all, speaks hardly like a lover!While passion still is lord--the passion-swept is slave--From this last bitterness would I Severus save!
SEV.That word, my friend, unsay; tho' grief this bosom tear,The hand that wounds I kiss--love vanquishes despair;Fate only, not Pauline, the foe that I accuse,No plighted faith she breaks who did this hand refuse.Duty--her father--Fate--these willed, she but obeyed;Not hers the woe, the strife that envious Ate made!Untimely, Fortune's shower must drown me, not revive;Too lavish and too late her fatal gifts arrive.The golden apple falls, the gold is turned to dross:When Fate at Fortune mocks, all gain is only loss!
FABIAN.Yes, I will go to tell her thou hast drainedTo the last drop the cup that Fate ordained.She knows thee hero, but she feared that painMight prove thee also man--by passion slain.She feared Despair, who gains the victoryO'er other men, might e'en thy master be!
SEV.Peace! Peace! She comes!
FABIAN.To thine own self be true!
SEV.Nay! True to her! Shall I her life undo?She loves the Armenian!
Words in this poem 18
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- pauline a.
- Of or pertaining to the apostle Paul, or his writings; resembling, or conforming to, the writings of Paul; as, the Pauline epistles; Pauline doctrine. [L. Paulinus, fr. Paulus Paul.]
- glean n.
- Cleaning; afterbirth. Holland.
- reck v. t.
- To make account of; to care for; to heed; to regard. [AS. reccan, remccan, to care for; akin to OS. rokian, OHG. ruochan, G. geruhen, Icel. rækja, also to E. reckon, rake an implement. See Rake, and cf. Reckon.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- knave n.
- A boy; especially, a boy servant. Wyclif. [OE., boy, servant, knave, AS. cnafa boy, youth; cf. AS. cnapa boy, youth, D. kna, G. knabe boy, knappe esquire, Icel. knapi, Sw. knape esquire, knäfvel knave.]
- blench v. t.
- To baffle; to disconcert; to turn away; -- also, to obstruct; to hinder.
- relentless a.
- Unmoved by appeals for sympathy or forgiveness; insensible to the distresses of others; destitute of tenderness; unrelenting; unyielding; unpitying; as, a prey to relentless despotism.
- enhance v. t.
- To raise or lift up; to exalt. Wyclif. [Norm. F. enhauncer, enhaucer, OF. enhaleier, enhaucier; pref. en- (L. in) + haucier to lift, raise up, from an assumed L. altiare, fr. L. altus high; cf. Pr. en]
- hover n.
- A cover; a shelter; a protection. Carew. C. Kingsley. [Etymol. doubtful.]
- unsay v. t.
- To recant or recall, as what has been said; to refract; to take back again; to make as if not said. [1st pref. un- + say.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act II: Scene I is in the public domain. This text is taken from Polyeucte, Project Gutenberg ebook #2543, the Thomas Constable translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Pierre Corneille, Act II: Scene I, in Polyeucte (1910), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2543, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/corneille-polyeucte/act-ii-scene-i.html, id L27779.
Form and metre
Act II: Scene I is 131 lines in 29 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 55% of the lines: heroic couplets. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -AABBCCDD sev · pourA · adoreA · paulineB · gleanB · wayC · obeyC · prayerD · despairD
- 3 ---AAB-CCBBDD sev · tongue · song · vowA · nowA · seeB · ecstasy · heartC · departC · sheB · freeB · claimD · nameD
- 6 A-BBAA fabianA · sight · fairB · thereB · disdainA · spainA
- 7 -AABBCCDDEE sev · shameA · nameA · ringB · singB · faceC · embraceC · deathD · breathD · aloneE · disownE
- 13 --AA sev · reels · lieA · iA
- 15 --AABB- sev · dead · reedA · indeedA · thereB · despairB · wife
- 16 -AA fabian · lordA · adoredA
- 17 -AABBCCDDEECC sev · nameA · cameA · healB · appealB · dayC · rayC · craveD · graveD · byeE · dieE · payC · dayC
- 19 -AA- sev · allA · befallA · me
- 23 -AA sev · cureA · endureA
- 24 -AABB fabian · hoverA · loverA · slaveB · saveB
- 25 -AABBCCDDEE sev · tearA · despairA · accuseB · refuseB · obeyedC · madeC · reviveD · arriveD · drossE · lossE
- 26 ABBAA-- fabianA · drainedB · ordainedB · painA · slainA · victory · be
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| Let Felix bow to Jove and incense pour, | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| I seek a dearer shrine, for I adore | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Nor Jove, nor Mars, nor Fortune--but Pauline. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| This fruit now ripening late my hand would glean: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| You know, my friend, the god who wings my way, | 10 | ·········· |
| You know the only goddess I obey: | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| What reck the gods on high our sacrifice and prayer? | 12 | ······//˘··· |
| An earthly worship mine, sole refuge from despair! | 12 | ·/˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| FABIAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Ah! You may see her---- | 5 | ····· |
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| Blessed be thy tongue! | 4 | ···· |
| O magic word, that turns my grief to song! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Yet, if she now forget each fair, fond vow? | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| She loved me once,--but does she love me now? | 10 | ·········· |
| On that sweet face shall I but trouble see | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Who hope for love undimmed, for ecstasy? | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Great Decius gives her hand, but if her heart | 10 | ·········· |
| Be mine no more--than let vain hope depart! | 10 | ········˘/ |
| This mandate binds her father only; she | 10 | ·/···/˘/˘· |
| Shall give no captive hand--her heart is free: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| No promise wrung, no king's command be mine to claim, | 12 | ·/˘···˘/···· |
| Her love the boon I crave; all else an empty name! | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| FABIAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Yes,--you may--see her--see her--this you may-- | 10 | ·········· |
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| Thy speech is halting--odious thy delay! | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| She loves no more? I grope! O give me light! | 10 | ·········· |
| FABIAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| O see her not, for painful were the sight! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| In Rome each matron's kind! In Rome all maids are fair! | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| Let lips meet other lips--seek for caresses there! | 12 | ···/˘···˘/˘· |
| No stately Claudia will refuse--no Julia proud disdain; | 14 | ·/˘/˘·˘/····˘/ |
| A hero captures every heart, from Antioch to Spain! | 14 | ·/˘/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| To wed a queen--an empress--were only loss and shame; | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| One heart for me--Pauline's! One boast--that dearest name! | 12 | ····˘/···/˘· |
| Her love was virgin gold! O ne'er shall baser metal ring | 14 | ···/˘····/˘/˘· |
| From mine, who live her name to bless! her peerless praise to sing! | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| O, words are naught, till that I see her face, | 10 | ·········· |
| Then doubly naught till I my love embrace. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| In every war my hope was placed in death, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Her name upon my lips at every breath: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| My rank, my fame, now hers and hers alone, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| What is not hers, hers only--I disown! | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| FABIAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Once more, oh see her not, 'twere for thy peace! | 10 | ·········· |
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| Thy meaning, knave, or let this babble cease! | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Say, was she cold? My love! My only life! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| FABIAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| No--but--my lord---- | 4 | ···· |
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| Say on! | 2 | ·· |
| FABIAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Another's wife! | 4 | ˘/˘· |
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| (Reels.) | 1 | · |
| Help!--No, I will not blench--ah, say you lie! | 10 | ·········· |
| If this be true!--ye gods--can I be I? | 10 | ·········· |
| FABIAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| No, thou art changed. Where is thy courage fled? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| I know not, Fabian. Lost! Gone! Vanished! Dead! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| I thought my strength was oak--'tis but a reed! | 10 | ·········· |
| Pauline is wed, then am I lost indeed! | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| Hope hid beyond the cloud, yet still fond hope was there: | 12 | ············ |
| But now all hope is dead, lives only black despair! | 12 | ·······/˘·˘/ |
| Pauline another's wife? | 6 | ˘/˘/˘· |
| FABIAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Yes, Polyeucte is her lord. | 6 | ······ |
| He came, he saw, he conquered thine adored. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| Her choice is not unworthy--his a name | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Illustrious, from a line of kings he came | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Cold comfort for a wound no cure can heal! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| My cause is lost,--foredoomed without appeal! | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Malignant Jove, to drag me back to-day! | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Relentless Fate, to quench hope's dawning ray! | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| Take back your gifts! One boon alone I crave, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| That only boon to none denied--the grave. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Yet would I see her, breathe one last good-bye, | 10 | ·········· |
| Would hear once more that voice before I die! | 10 | ·········· |
| My latest breath would still my homage pay, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| That memory mine, when lost to realms of day. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| FABIAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Yet think, my lord-- | 4 | ···· |
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| Oh, I have thought of all; | 6 | ······ |
| What worser ill can dull despair befall? | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘/ |
| She will not see me? | 5 | ····· |
| FABIAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Yes, my lord, but-- | 4 | ···· |
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| Cease! | 1 | · |
| FABIAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| 'Twill but enhance the grief I would appease. | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| For hopeless ill, good friend, I seek no cure. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Who welcomes death can life's short pain endure! | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| FABIAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| O lost indeed, if round her fatal light you hover!-- | 13 | ··˘/···/˘··/˘ |
| The lover, losing all, speaks hardly like a lover! | 13 | ·/˘/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| While passion still is lord--the passion-swept is slave-- | 12 | ·/˘····/˘··· |
| From this last bitterness would I Severus save! | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| That word, my friend, unsay; tho' grief this bosom tear, | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| The hand that wounds I kiss--love vanquishes despair; | 11 | ·······/˘˘/ |
| Fate only, not Pauline, the foe that I accuse, | 12 | ·/˘·˘/····˘/ |
| No plighted faith she breaks who did this hand refuse. | 12 | ·/˘·······˘/ |
| Duty--her father--Fate--these willed, she but obeyed; | 12 | /˘·/˘·····˘/ |
| Not hers the woe, the strife that envious Ate made! | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Untimely, Fortune's shower must drown me, not revive; | 12 | ˘/˘/˘/····˘/ |
| Too lavish and too late her fatal gifts arrive. | 12 | ·/˘····/˘·˘/ |
| The golden apple falls, the gold is turned to dross: | 12 | ·/˘/˘······· |
| When Fate at Fortune mocks, all gain is only loss! | 12 | ···/˘····/˘· |
| FABIAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Yes, I will go to tell her thou hast drained | 10 | ·········· |
| To the last drop the cup that Fate ordained. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| She knows thee hero, but she feared that pain | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Might prove thee also man--by passion slain. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| She feared Despair, who gains the victory | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| O'er other men, might e'en thy master be! | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| Peace! Peace! She comes! | 4 | ···· |
| FABIAN. | 3 | /˘˘ |
| To thine own self be true! | 6 | ······ |
| SEV. | 1 | · |
| Nay! True to her! Shall I her life undo? | 10 | ········˘/ |
| She loves the Armenian! | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
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