Phar. Yes. — I have noted with a jealous eye,
The power of this new favourite! Daniel reigns,
And not Darius! Daniel guides the springs
Which move this mighty empire! High he sits,
Supreme in favour both with prince and people!
Where is the spirit of our Median lords,
Tamely to crouch and bend the supple knee
To this new god? By Mithras, 'tis too much!
Shall great Arbaces' race to Daniel bow,
A foreigner, a captive, and a Jew?
Something must be devised, and that right soon,
To shake his credit.
Sor. Rather hope to shake
The mountain pine, whose twisting fibres clasp
The earth, deep rooted! Rather hope to shake
The Scythian Taurus from his central base!
No — Daniel sits too absolute in power,
Too firm in favour, for the keenest shaft
Of nicely-aiming jealousy to reach him.
Phar. Rather he sits too high to sit securely;
Yes! he has reach'd that pinnacle of power
Which closely touches on depression's verge.
Hast thou then lived in courts? hast thou grown grey
Beneath the mask a subtle statesman wears
To hide his secret soul, and dost not know
That of all fickle fortune's transient gifts,
Favour is most deceitful? 'Tis a beam,
Which darts uncertain brightness for a moment!
The faint, precarious, sickly shine of power;
Given without merit, by caprice withdrawn.
No trifle is so small as what obtains,
Save that which loses favour; 'tis a breath,
Which hangs upon a smile! A look, a word,
A frown, the air-built tower of fortune shakes,
And down the unsubstantial fabric falls!
Darius, just and element as he is,
If I mistake not, may be wrought upon
By prudent wiles, by flatt'ry's pleasant cup,
Administer'd with caution.
Sor. But the means?
For Daniel's life (a foe must grant him that)
Is so replete with goodness, so adorn'd
With every virtue, so exactly squar'd
By wisdom's nicest rules, 'twill be most hard
To charge him with the shadow of offence.
Pure is his fame as Scythia's mountain snows,
When not a breath pollutes them! O Pharnaces,
I've scann'd the actions of his daily life
With all th' industrious malice of a foe;
And nothing meets mine eye but deeds of honour!
In office pure; for equitable acts
Renown'd: in justice and impartial truth,
The Grecian Themis is not more severe.
Phar. By you bright sun, thou blazon'st forth his praise,
As if with rapture thou didst read the page
Where these fair deeds are written!
Sor. Thou mistak'st.
I only meant to shew what cause we have
To hate and fear him. I but meant to paint
His pop'lar virtues and eclipsing merit.
Then for devotion, and religious zeal,
Who so renown'd as Daniel? Of his law
Observant in th' extreme. Thrice every day,
With prostrate rev'rence, he adores his God:
With superstitious awe his face he turns
Tow'rds his belov'd Jerusalem, as if
Some local, partial God might there he found
To hear his supplication. No affair
Of state, no business so importunate,
No pleasure so alluring, no employ
Of such high import, to seduce his zeal
From this observance due!
Phar. There, there he falls!
Enough, my friend! His piety destroys him.
There, at the very footstool of his God,
Where he implores protection, there I'll crush him.
Sor. What means Pharances?
Phar. Ask not what I mean.
The new idea floating in my brain
Has yet receiv'd no form. 'Tis yet too soon
To give it body, circumstance, or breath.
The seeds of mighty deeds are lab'ring here,
And struggling for a birth! 'Tis near the hour
The king is went to summon us to council:
Ere that, this big conception of my mind
I'll shape to form and being. Thou, meanwhile,
Convene our chosen friends; for I shall need
The aid of all your counsels, and the weight
Of grave authority.
Sor. Who shall be trusted?
Phar. With our immediate motive none, except
A chosen band of friends, who most repine
At Daniel's exaltation. But the scheme
I meditate must be disclosed to all
Who bear high office; all our Median rulers,
Princes and captains, presidents and lords;
All must assemble. 'Tis a common cause:
All but the young Araspes; he inclines
To Daniel and his God. He sits attent,
With ravish'd ears, to listen to his lore;
With rev'rence names Jerusalem, and reads
The volume of the law. No more he bows
To hail the golden ruler of the day,
But looks for some great prophet, greater far,
So they pretend, than Mithras! — From him, therefore.
Conceal whate'er of injury is devised
'Gainst Daniel. Be it too thy care to-day,
To keep him from the council.
Sor. 'Tis well thought.
'Tis now about the hour of Daniel's prayer:
Araspes too is with him! and to-day
They will not sit in council. Haste we then.
Designs of high importance, once conceiv'd,
Should be accomplish'd. Genius which discerns,
And courage which achieves, despise the aid
Of ling'ring circumspection. The keen spirit
Seizes the prompt occasion, makes the thought
Start into instant action, and at once
Plans and performs, resolves and executes!