SCENE IX
|
||
Giunia, then Cecilio.
|
||
Recitative
|
||
Giunia
|
||
What did I hear, eternal gods? What sinister
|
||
and dreadful secret lay behind his words?
|
||
I shall not die alone? What meanest thou thereby,
|
||
barbarian?… Ah me! Whom do I see?…
|
||
My betrothed?… What was it?… What has befallen?…
|
||
Whither, thoughtless man, goest thou?
|
||
Surely thou knowest that within these walls
|
||
thy life is in jeopardy! And dost thou not fear
|
||
to breathe the air
|
||
that is thine enemies’? At this very moment
|
||
did the tyrant depart. I tremble… I beg thee, flee…
|
||
Oh should the tyrant's eye…
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
’Tis thy peril, Giunia, that is my greatest fear.
|
||
Giunia
|
||
Oh Mercy! Turn back
|
||
if thou dost love me, my dearest. Oh return
|
||
to the gloomy refuge. To see thee,
|
||
oh what torment 'tis for me!
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
Thy fear, my love,
|
||
shall not embitter
|
||
my sweet joy.
|
||
Giunia
|
||
O'ershadowed joy,
|
||
because she leaves my heart with icy fear
|
||
and may decide upon thy fate
|
||
determine. Conceal thyself! Ah, in all my life,
|
||
never such affliction…
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
Thou wouldst have me leave thee to be that coward's prey?
|
||
I know that this guilt-ridden tyrant,
|
||
unjustly and with force,
|
||
before the Senate will take thee to the altar. And I who love thee,
|
||
far from thy side,
|
||
how could I not die of care? If vainly they
|
||
search for an arm, for steel
|
||
to spill the blood of that brutal one,
|
||
here is the steel and here the arm!
|
||
Giunia
|
||
What art thou thinking of?… Expose thyself?…
|
||
Alone to face the utmost danger?…
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
Thou art full of fears, I tremble at naught.
|
||
Restrain thy fear, o thou my hope, and remember this –
|
||
excess of fear in a Roman heart
|
||
may bear the name of cowardice.
|
||
Giunia
|
||
But all too great a daring
|
||
may be foolhardiness. Conceal thyself,
|
||
I beg thee, my beloved, and increase not through danger
|
||
the weeping of these eyes.
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
Eternal gods! Flee from thee?
|
||
Abandon thee? Leave thee
|
||
to the insidious infamy, the wrath
|
||
of that traitor who seeks to wed thee?
|
||
Giunia
|
||
What canst thou fear, when
|
||
steadfastness and love remain with me? Haste,
|
||
haste, to whence thou camest!
|
||
Free this heart that honours thee
|
||
from its pain and fear.
|
||
If thou dost not, then I must command thee.
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
Who will keep guard on this dreadful day
|
||
if I am hidden from the tyrant,
|
||
to protect thee, Giunia?
|
||
Giunia
|
||
The heaven.
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
Oh that the gods…
|
||
Giunia
|
||
Whither doth
|
||
this blind rage lead thee? Despite
|
||
my anxieties thou art still at my side.
|
||
Wilt thou not go? Then I will rush to die, ungrateful one!
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
Stay!… Listen!… Oh gods!
|
||
Thou wilt not leave me thus? Is this your wish?…
|
||
Giunia
|
||
Beware of following
|
||
my steps!
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
How to die, that will I know,
|
||
but not how to leave thee.
|
||
Giunia
|
||
(Oh heaven!
|
||
I lose him! What shall I do?)
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
My love, thou weepest…
|
||
Ah, how thy weeping…
|
||
Giunia
|
||
In sooth, for the sake of these tears,
|
||
for these eyes that are destitute of hope,
|
||
go, go from me! Hide! Live!
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
To what dost thou compel me!
|
||
Giunia
|
||
At last,
|
||
dost thou give me through this token
|
||
a proof of thy inmost love?
|
||
How dost thou answer, my life?
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
I give thee my vow.
|
||
Giunia
|
||
Fly then, beloved, thou fearest without need
|
||
when thou art afraid for me. Consider
|
||
that heaven protects the righteous and that I
|
||
will never belong to another. Here, my hand to pledge
|
||
the steadfast love
|
||
that I promised thee,
|
||
and that doth the vile traitor despise to the death.
|
||
Accompanied Recitative
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
Who knows whether it is riot
|
||
the last time, oh God! that I clasp thee to my breast,
|
||
most precious one, the nobler part of me,
|
||
that art the embodiment of unblemished loyalty?
|
||
Giunia
|
||
My own one, fear not.
|
||
Love me,
|
||
begone and be hopeful.
|
||
No. 14 Aria
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
Alas, if cruel fate
|
||
summons me to death,
|
||
as faithful, guardian shade
|
||
I shall forever be beside thee.
|
||
I would fain give proof of steadfastness,
|
||
dearest, at this parting,
|
||
but now that I leave you, oh God,
|
||
my footsteps falter.
|
||
(Exit.)
|
||
SCENE X
|
||
Giunia, then Celia.
|
||
Recitative
|
||
Giunia
|
||
Why dost thou bound within my breast,
|
||
my timorous heart?
|
||
Why, when now I see not my betrothed at my side,
|
||
do the tears flow coursing down my face?
|
||
Celia
|
||
Heavens, in tears
|
||
thus mourning do I find thee? May thy stubborn spirit
|
||
yield at last to destiny.
|
||
And Rome shall see thee as her ruler's wife.
|
||
Giunia
|
||
Calm yourself, I beg thee.
|
||
Celia
|
||
Did Cecilio in harsh exile die,
|
||
why dost thou for him cherish
|
||
such vain constancy?
|
||
Giunia
|
||
(How his name
|
||
doth chill my heart.)
|
||
Celia
|
||
Thou dost not look at me
|
||
and, with sobs and sighs, thy pale lips keep silence.
|
||
Follow my counsel.
|
||
Giunia
|
||
Peace, I pray thee.
|
||
Celia
|
||
I long to see thee happy. My brother
|
||
will today make me happy also:
|
||
he has promised me
|
||
Cinna's hand. Oh you know
|
||
that I adore him faithfully. No more shall I recall
|
||
the torments I have endured,
|
||
once the tyrannical course of the stars changes at last.
|
||
No. 15 Aria
|
||
Celia
|
||
When upon the parched fields
|
||
summer's rain falls,
|
||
the leaves, the flowers revive,
|
||
forest and meadows
|
||
are beautified
|
||
and once again grow green.
|
||
So likewise this loving soul
|
||
in its sweet hope
|
||
after its long torments
|
||
begins to breathe anew.
|
||
(Exit.)
|
||
SCENE XI
|
||
Giunia alone.
|
||
Accompanied Recitative
|
||
Giunia
|
||
Oh, how a single moment
|
||
has heightened my fear!
|
||
What a baneful presentiment
|
||
of my misfortune! Perchance my incautious bridegroom
|
||
is no longer concealed
|
||
from the wicked tyrant.
|
||
He has already condemned him to death. In my fear,
|
||
in my extremest grief,
|
||
what shall I do? What thoughts are these?… Hapless one, I tremble!
|
||
But no, I may no longer delay,
|
||
I will go before the Senate. At their feet
|
||
I will beg for pardon and mercy
|
||
for my faithful betrothed. It they refuse it,
|
||
let heaven be besought. If heaven has ordained
|
||
this day to be my adored bridegroom's last,
|
||
let the sword which pierced him, likewise pierce me.
|
||
No. 16 Aria
|
||
Giunia
|
||
I go, I hasten; but thus
|
||
breaks my heart, my soul departs.
|
||
I feel the approach of death, and yet I cannot die;
|
||
I pine and shudder, I weep and I suffer.
|
||
Alas, could I but
|
||
die of grief so great!
|
||
But to increase my torment
|
||
death itself today scorns
|
||
a loving soul
|
||
bowed down with care.
|
||
(Exit.)
|
||
The Capitol. |
||
SCENE XII
|
||
Silla enters, with Aufidio, followed by senators, people and soldiers while the following chorus is sung.
|
||
No. 17 Chorus
|
||
Chorus
|
||
Even as fame surrounded thy head
|
||
when thou stoodst in combat against a thousand armies,
|
||
so let love here crown
|
||
the redoutable brow.
|
||
Part of the chorus
|
||
May that unvanquished arm embrace
|
||
the one thou dost adore.
|
||
The entire chorus
|
||
Let the warrior's wreath of laurel
|
||
with myrtles be enhanced.
|
||
(Giunia enters among the senators.)
|
||
Recitative
|
||
Silla
|
||
Patrician and Senators, I who have fought for Rome,
|
||
I who have conquered for Rome,
|
||
I who by my valour stifled
|
||
the torch of civil strife, I who through my works now behold peace
|
||
reign along the Tiber,
|
||
I desire some reward for all my triumphs.
|
||
Giunia
|
||
(Help, eternal gods!)
|
||
Silla
|
||
You surely know
|
||
the former baneful hate
|
||
which prevailed betwixt Marius and Silla. This is the day
|
||
on which I forget it all. With his daughter
|
||
may the sacred bond unite me. And this sweet covenant
|
||
may soothe the father's shade. A ruler,
|
||
a Roman, in spite of glory and the laurel wreath,
|
||
seeks only this reward for all his toil.
|
||
Giunia
|
||
(The Senate keeps silent and with its silence approves
|
||
the will of the tyrant.)
|
||
Silla
|
||
Senators, I do perceive
|
||
in your countenances
|
||
common consent.
|
||
The joyful cries that echo round about
|
||
are a sure token of public opinion.
|
||
Follow me, now, to the altar…
|
||
Giunia
|
||
Forbear, wretch!
|
||
Do Rome and the Senate stoop
|
||
to such cowardice? Does some rascally, insane
|
||
fear compel you to favour the shameful villainies
|
||
of a godless man? No, none among you,
|
||
not one
|
||
who has a Roman heart in his breast…
|
||
Silla
|
||
Be silent. 'Twere wiser to give me thy hand.
|
||
Aufidio
|
||
That is the desire of all the people.
|
||
I speak on their behalf.
|
||
Silla
|
||
Come, follow me…
|
||
Giunia
|
||
(Makes to stab herself.)
|
||
Approach me not,
|
||
else this iron shall pierce my breast.
|
||
Silla
|
||
Take from this proud woman
|
||
the blade and she shall do my bidding.
|
||
SCENE XIII
|
||
Cecilio with drawn sword; the aforementioned.
|
||
Recitative
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
My bride, have no fear.
|
||
Silla
|
||
(Whom do I see?)
|
||
Giunia
|
||
(Oh God!)
|
||
Aufidio
|
||
(Cecilio?)
|
||
Silla
|
||
In this wise
|
||
am I betrayed by you? In defiance of my ban
|
||
and the laws
|
||
Cecilio has returned, and with Giunia at his side
|
||
he ventures to seek the ruler's life.
|
||
Bind that criminal!
|
||
Giunia
|
||
(Imprudent one!)
|
||
My lord…
|
||
Silla
|
||
Be silent! Wretch!
|
||
I feel only rage.
|
||
(To Cecilio.)
|
||
At sunrise,
|
||
traitor, shalt thou die.
|
||
SCENE XIV
|
||
Cinna with drawn sword; the aforementioned.
|
||
Recitative
|
||
Silla
|
||
What? Cinna?
|
||
With drawn sword,
|
||
confused and undecided?…
|
||
Cinna
|
||
(Oh heaven! All is lost.
|
||
Some way I seek
|
||
out of this disastrous plight.) To my astonishment
|
||
did I see how Cecilio, with drawn sword,
|
||
did make his way
|
||
through the throng. His proud,
|
||
threatening eye, his fury caused me
|
||
to fear treachery.
|
||
Thee from this murderous hand to deliver and to defend
|
||
did I draw my sword.
|
||
Silla
|
||
Go, friend, to discover
|
||
if other faithless…
|
||
Cinna
|
||
Upon my loyalty depend,
|
||
o master. Fear naught.
|
||
(Nearly did I lose myself in the violent encounter.)
|
||
(Exit.)
|
||
Silla
|
||
Bring here the traitor,
|
||
Aufidio, disarm him.
|
||
Giunia
|
||
Oh God! Withhold.
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
So long I have the sword,
|
||
so long I know what makes thee tremble.
|
||
Silla
|
||
Is this the measure
|
||
of thy arrogance?
|
||
Giunia
|
||
(Oh gods!)
|
||
Silla
|
||
Surrender thy sword
|
||
else I…
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
Thou dost hope in vain.
|
||
Giunia
|
||
Surrender it, o dearest one.
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
Doth my bride instruct me
|
||
to be cowardly?
|
||
Giunia
|
||
Defy him not!
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
What wilt thou?…
|
||
Giunia
|
||
A proof
|
||
of thy regard.
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
Must I?…
|
||
Giunia
|
||
Thou needs must
|
||
place thy trust in my constancy and heaven's favour,
|
||
and hope. Shouldst thou still cherish doubt, my love,
|
||
thou dost offend the righteous gods
|
||
and thy bride.
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
(Rage consumes me.)
|
||
(To Giunia.)
|
||
Content thyself.
|
||
(He drops the sword.)
|
||
Take it! – Barbarian.
|
||
Silla
|
||
Into the darkest dungeon
|
||
cast him! But a brief while yet
|
||
shall I suffer thee to breathe the vital breath
|
||
which thou hast forfeited.
|
||
In chains
|
||
thou too, deceitful jade,
|
||
shalt rue thy bold treason.
|
||
No. 18 Trio
|
||
Silla
|
||
This criminal temerity
|
||
I shall know today how to subdue.
|
||
Cecilio
|
||
Give over thy hope, villain,
|
||
thus would I act at any time again.
|
||
Giunia
|
||
Here, o my husband, a pledge
|
||
that I shall die at thy side.
|
||
Silla
|
||
Godless pair, your hands
|
||
are fit for chains alone.
|
||
Giunia and Cecilio
|
||
If my dearest treasure loves me,
|
||
I shall walk gladly to my death.
|
||
|
||
Silla
|
||
This constancy undaunted,
|
||
this love so true,
|
||
maddens my heart,
|
||
inflames me.
|
||
Giunia and Cecilio
|
||
My constancy undaunted,
|
||
my love so true,
|
||
sweetly comforts my heart
|
||
and leaves me free of fear.
|
||
|
||
End of the second act.
|