0
Still let them be made quiet.

_Sar._ Tempt me not;
My word is past.

_Sal._ But it may be recalled.

_Sar._ 'Tis royal.

_Sal._ And should therefore be decisive.
This half-indulgence of an exile serves
But to provoke--a pardon should be full,
Or it is none.

_Sar._ And who persuaded me
After I had repealed them, or at least
Only dismissed them from our presence, who
Urged me to send them to their satrapies?

_Sal._ True; that I had forgotten; that is, Sire, 510
If they e'er reached their Satrapies--why, then,
Reprove me more for my advice.

_Sar._ And if
They do not reach them--look to it!--in safety,
In safety, mark me--and security--
Look to thine own.

_Sal._ Permit me to depart;
Their _safety_ shall be cared for.

_Sar._ Get thee hence, then;
And, prithee, think more gently of thy brother.

_Sal._ Sire, I shall ever duly serve my sovereign.
[_Exit_ SALEMENES.

_Sar._ (_solus_). That man is of a temper too severe;
Hard but as lofty as the rock, and free 520
From all the taints of common earth--while I
Am softer clay, impregnated with flowers:
But as our mould is, must the produce be.
If I have erred this time, 'tis on the side
Where Error sits most lightly on that sense,
I know not what to call it; but it reckons
With me ofttimes for pain, and sometimes pleasure;
A spirit which seems placed about my heart
To count its throbs, not quicken them, and ask
Questions which mortal never dared to ask me, 530
Nor Baal, though an oracular deity--[q]
Albeit his marble face majestical
Frowns as the shadows of the evening dim
His brows to changed expression, till at times
I think the statue looks in act to speak.
Away with these vain thoughts, I will be joyous--
And here comes Joy's true herald.

_Enter_ MYRRHA.

_Myr._ King! the sky
Is overcast, and musters muttering thunder,
In clouds that seem approaching fast, and show
In forked flashes a commanding tempest.[r] 540
Will you then quit the palace