Act III: Scene V
How met Nearchus death?
ALBIN.The fiend abhorredHe hailed,--embraced: 'For Christ!' his latest word;No sigh, no tear,--he passed without amazeAdown the narrow vale with upward gaze.
FELIX.And he--his friend?
ALBIN.Is, as I said, unmovedHe looks on death but as a friend beloved,He clasped the scaffold as a guide most sure,And, in his prison, he can still endure.
FELIX.Oh, wretched that I am!
ALBIN.All pity thee.
FELIX.With reason greater than they know. Ah, me!Thought surges upon thought, and has its will,Care, gnawing upon care, my soul must kill;Love--hate--fear--pain: I am of each the prey,I grope for light, but never find the day!Oh, what I suffer thou canst not conceive,Each passion rages, but can ne'er relieve;For I have noble thoughts that die still-born,And I have thoughts so base my soul I scorn.I love the foolish wretch who is my son,I hate the folly which hath all undone;I mourn his death,--yet, if I Polyeucte save,I see of all my hopes the cruel grave!'Gainst Gods and Emperor too sore the strife,For my renown I fear,--fear for my life.I must myself undo to save my son,For, should I spare him, then am I undone!
ALBIN.Decius a father is, and must excuseA father's love--oh, he will not refuse!
FELIX.His edict is most clear:--'All Christians are my foes.'The higher be their rank the more the evil grows.If birth and state be high, their crime shows more notorious,If he who shield be great, his fall the more inglorious;And if I give Nearchus to the flameYet stoop to shield my own--thrice damned my name!
ALBIN.If by thy fiat he cannot escape the grave,Implore of Decius' grace the life thou canst not save.
FELIX.So would Severus work my ruin quite--I fear his power, his wrath,--for might is right--If crime with punishment I do not mate.How high soe'er, worth what it may, I fear his hate,For he is man, and feels as man, and IOnce spurned his suit with base indignity.Yes, he at Decius' ear would work may woe,He loves Pauline, thus Polyeucte is his foe:All weapons possible to love and war,And those who let them rust but laggards are.I fear--and fear doth give our vision scope--E'en now he cherisheth a tender hope;He sees his rival prostrate in the dust,So, as a man he hopes--because he must.Can dark despair to love and hope give placeTo save the guilty from deserved disgrace?And were his worth so matchless, so divine,As to forbear all ill to me and mineStill I must own the base, the coward hope,'Gainst which my strength is all too weak to cope,That hope whose phoenix ashes yet enthrallThe wretch who rises but once more to fall;Ambition is my master, iron Fate,I feel, obey, adore thee, while I hate!Polyeucte was once my guard, my pride, my shield,Yet can I, by Severus, weapons wield,Should he my daughter wed, more tried, more true:What wills Severus--that will Decius do.Upheld by him, e'en Fortune I defyAnd yet I shrink!--for them, thrice base were I!
ALBIN.Perish the word! It ne'er was made for thee,But wilt thou deal just meed to treachery?
FELIX.I go to Polyeucte's cell,--though my poor breathShould there be spent in vain to avert his death;Then, then my fated child her strength shall try.
ALBIN.What wilt thou do if both he still defy?
FELIX.O, press me not in agony so great!To thee alone I turn--resistless Fate!
Words in this poem 16
- amaze v. t.
- To bewilder; to stupefy; to bring into a maze. [Pref. a- + maze.]
- adown adv.
- From a higher to a lower situation; downward; down, to or on the ground. [OE. adun, adoun, adune. AS. of dune off the hill. See Down.]
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- unmoved a.
- Not moved; fixed; firm; unshaken; calm; apathetic.
- relieve v. t.
- To lift up; to raise again, as one who has fallen; to cause to rise. Piers Plowman. [OE. releven, F. relever to raise again, discharge, relieve, fr. L. relevare to lift up, raise, make light, relieve; pref. re- re- + levare to raise, fr. levis l]
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- inglorious a.
- Not glorious; not bringing honor or glory; not accompanied with fame, honor, or celebrity; obscure; humble; as, an inglorious life of ease. [L. inglorious; pref. in- not + gloria glory, fame: cf. F. inglorieux. See Glory.]
- damned a.
- Sentenced to punishment in a future state; condemned; consigned to perdition.
- 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.]
- enthrall v. t.
- To hold in thrall; to enslave. See Inthrall. [Pref. en- + thrall. Cf. Inthrall.]
- 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]
- wield v. t.
- To govern; to rule; to keep, or have in charge; also, to possess. [OE. welden to govern, to have power over, to possess, AS. geweldan, gewyldan, from wealdan; akin to OS. waldan, OFries. walda, G. walten, OHG. waltan, Icel. val]
- defy v. t.
- To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce. [F. défier, OF. deffier, desfier, LL. disfidare to disown faith or fidelity, to dissolve the bond of allegiance, as between the vassal and his lord; hence, to ch]
- meed v. t.
- To reward; to repay. Waytt.
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Act III: Scene V 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 III: Scene V, in Polyeucte (1910), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2543, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/corneille-polyeucte/act-iii-scene-v.html, id L27789.
Form and metre
Act III: Scene V is 91 lines in 15 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 66% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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.
- 2 ---AA albin · abhorred · word · amazeA · gazeA
- 4 ---AA albin · unmoved · beloved · sureA · endureA
- 7 --AABBCCDDEEFFGGEE felix · me · willA · killA · preyB · dayB · conceiveC · relieveC · bornD · scornD · sonE · undoneE · saveF · graveF · strifeG · lifeG · sonE · undoneE
- 8 -AA albin · excuseA · refuseA
- 9 -AABBCC felix · foesA · growsA · notoriousB · ingloriousB · flameC · nameC
- 10 -AA albin · graveA · saveA
- 11 -AABB--CC--DDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMM felix · quiteA · rightA · mateB · hateB · i · indignity · woeC · foeC · war · are · scopeD · hopeD · dustE · mustE · placeF · disgraceF · divineG · mineG · hopeH · copeH · enthrallI · fallI · fateJ · hateJ · shieldK · wieldK · trueL · doL · defyM · iM
- 13 -AA- felix · breathA · deathA · try
- 15 -AA felix · greatA · fateA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| How met Nearchus death? | 5 | ····· |
| ALBIN. | 2 | /˘ |
| The fiend abhorred | 4 | ··˘/ |
| He hailed,--embraced: 'For Christ!' his latest word; | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| No sigh, no tear,--he passed without amaze | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Adown the narrow vale with upward gaze. | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| FELIX. | 2 | /˘ |
| And he--his friend? | 4 | ···· |
| ALBIN. | 2 | /˘ |
| Is, as I said, unmoved | 6 | ····˘/ |
| He looks on death but as a friend beloved, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| He clasped the scaffold as a guide most sure, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And, in his prison, he can still endure. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| FELIX. | 2 | /˘ |
| Oh, wretched that I am! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| ALBIN. | 2 | /˘ |
| All pity thee. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| FELIX. | 2 | /˘ |
| With reason greater than they know. Ah, me! | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Thought surges upon thought, and has its will, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Care, gnawing upon care, my soul must kill; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Love--hate--fear--pain: I am of each the prey, | 10 | ·········· |
| I grope for light, but never find the day! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Oh, what I suffer thou canst not conceive, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Each passion rages, but can ne'er relieve; | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| For I have noble thoughts that die still-born, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And I have thoughts so base my soul I scorn. | 10 | ·········· |
| I love the foolish wretch who is my son, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I hate the folly which hath all undone; | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| I mourn his death,--yet, if I Polyeucte save, | 10 | ·········· |
| I see of all my hopes the cruel grave! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| 'Gainst Gods and Emperor too sore the strife, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| For my renown I fear,--fear for my life. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| I must myself undo to save my son, | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| For, should I spare him, then am I undone! | 10 | ········˘/ |
| ALBIN. | 2 | /˘ |
| Decius a father is, and must excuse | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| A father's love--oh, he will not refuse! | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| FELIX. | 2 | /˘ |
| His edict is most clear:--'All Christians are my foes.' | 12 | ·/˘····/˘··· |
| The higher be their rank the more the evil grows. | 10 | ·/······/· |
| If birth and state be high, their crime shows more notorious, | 13 | ··········˘/˘ |
| If he who shield be great, his fall the more inglorious; | 13 | ··········˘/˘ |
| And if I give Nearchus to the flame | 9 | ········· |
| Yet stoop to shield my own--thrice damned my name! | 10 | ·········· |
| ALBIN. | 2 | /˘ |
| If by thy fiat he cannot escape the grave, | 12 | ···/˘·˘/˘/·· |
| Implore of Decius' grace the life thou canst not save. | 12 | ˘/·········· |
| FELIX. | 2 | /˘ |
| So would Severus work my ruin quite-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I fear his power, his wrath,--for might is right-- | 10 | ···/······ |
| If crime with punishment I do not mate. | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| How high soe'er, worth what it may, I fear his hate, | 11 | ··········· |
| For he is man, and feels as man, and I | 10 | ·········· |
| Once spurned his suit with base indignity. | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| Yes, he at Decius' ear would work may woe, | 10 | ·········· |
| He loves Pauline, thus Polyeucte is his foe: | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| All weapons possible to love and war, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| And those who let them rust but laggards are. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I fear--and fear doth give our vision scope-- | 10 | ······//˘· |
| E'en now he cherisheth a tender hope; | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| He sees his rival prostrate in the dust, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| So, as a man he hopes--because he must. | 10 | ·········· |
| Can dark despair to love and hope give place | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| To save the guilty from deserved disgrace? | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘/ |
| And were his worth so matchless, so divine, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| As to forbear all ill to me and mine | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Still I must own the base, the coward hope, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| 'Gainst which my strength is all too weak to cope, | 10 | ·········· |
| That hope whose phoenix ashes yet enthrall | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The wretch who rises but once more to fall; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Ambition is my master, iron Fate, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| I feel, obey, adore thee, while I hate! | 10 | ··˘/˘/···· |
| Polyeucte was once my guard, my pride, my shield, | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet can I, by Severus, weapons wield, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Should he my daughter wed, more tried, more true: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| What wills Severus--that will Decius do. | 10 | ·········· |
| Upheld by him, e'en Fortune I defy | 10 | ˘/···/˘·˘/ |
| And yet I shrink!--for them, thrice base were I! | 10 | ·········· |
| ALBIN. | 2 | /˘ |
| Perish the word! It ne'er was made for thee, | 10 | /˘········ |
| But wilt thou deal just meed to treachery? | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| FELIX. | 2 | /˘ |
| I go to Polyeucte's cell,--though my poor breath | 10 | ·········· |
| Should there be spent in vain to avert his death; | 11 | ·······˘/·· |
| Then, then my fated child her strength shall try. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| ALBIN. | 2 | /˘ |
| What wilt thou do if both he still defy? | 10 | ········˘/ |
| FELIX. | 2 | /˘ |
| O, press me not in agony so great! | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| To thee alone I turn--resistless Fate! | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘· |
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