The Works of Frederick Schiller Part 349

MEISCHEK.

My gracious liege, here, kneeling at your feet, Behold Marina, youngest of my daughters; The prince of Moscow offers her his heart.

Thou art the stay and pillar of our house, And only from thy royal hand 'tis meet That she receive her spouse and sovereign.

[MARINA kneels to the KING.

KING.

Well, if you wish it, cousin, gladly I Will do the father's office to the Czar.

[To DEMETRIUS, giving him MARINA'S hand.

Thus do I bring you, in this lovely pledge, High fortune's blooming G.o.ddess; and may these Old eyes be spared to see this gracious pair Sit in imperial state on Moscow's throne.

MARINA.

My liege, I humbly thank your grace, and shall Esteem me still your slave where'er I be.

KING.

Rise up, Czaritza! This is not a place For you, the plighted bridesmaid of the Czar; For you, the daughter of my foremost Waywode.

You are the youngest of your sisters; yet Your spirit wings a high and glorious course, And n.o.bly grasps the top of sovereignty.

DEMETRIUS.

Be thou, great monarch, witness of my oath, As, prince to prince, I pledge it here to you!

This n.o.ble lady's hand I do accept As fortune's dearest pledge, and swear that, soon As on my father's throne I take my seat, I'll lead her home in triumph as my bride, With all the state that fits a mighty queen.

And, for a dowry, to my bride I give The princ.i.p.alities Pleskow and Great Neugart, With all towns, hamlets, and in-dwellers there, With all the rights and powers of sovereignty, In absolute possession evermore; And this, my gift, will I as Czar confirm In my free city, Moscow. Furthermore, As compensation to her n.o.ble sire For present charges, I engage to pay A million ducats, Polish currency.

So help me G.o.d, and all his saints, as I Have truly sworn this oath, and shall fulfil it.

KING.

You will do so; you never will forget For what you are the n.o.ble Waywode's debtor; Who, for your wishes, perils his sure wealth, And, for your hopes, a child his heart adores, A friend so rare is to be rarely prized!

Then when your hopes are crowned forget not ever The steps by which you mounted to the throne, Nor with your garments let your heart be changed!

Think, that in Poland first you knew yourself, That this land gave you birth a second time.

DEMETRIUS.

I have been nurtured in adversity; And learned to reverence the beauteous bond Which links mankind with sympathies of love.

KING.

But now you enter on a realm where all-- Use, custom, morals--are untried and strange, In Poland here reigns freedom absolute; The king himself, although in pomp supreme, Must ofttime be the serf of his n.o.blesse; But there the father's sacred power prevails, And in the subject finds a pa.s.sive slave.

DEMETRIUS.

That glorious freedom which surrounds me here I will transplant into my native land, And turn these bond-serfs into glad-souled men; Not o'er the souls of slaves will I bear rule.

KING.

Do naught in haste; but by the time be led!

Prince, ere we part, three lessons take from me, And truly follow them when thou art king.

It is a king that gives them, old and tried, And they may prove of profit to thy youth.

DEMETRIUS.

Oh, share thy wisdom with me! Thou hast won The reverence of a free and mighty people; What must I do to earn so fair a prize?

KING.

You come from a strange land, Borne on the weapons of a foreign foe; This first felt wrong thou hast to wash away.

Then bear thee like a genuine son of Moscow, With reverence due to all her usages.

Keep promise with the Poles, and value them, For thou hast need of friends on thy new throne: The arm that placed thee there can hurl thee down.

Esteem them honorably, yet ape them not; Strange customs thrive not in a foreign soil.

And, whatsoe'er thou dost, revere thy mother-- You'll find a mother----

DEMETRIUS.

Oh, my liege!

KING.

High claim Hath she upon thy filial reverence.

Do her all honor. 'Twixt thy subjects and Thyself she stands, a sacred, precious link.

No human law o'errides the imperial power; Nothing but nature may command its awe; Nor can thy people own a surer pledge, That thou art gentle, than thy filial love.

I say no more. Much yet is to be done, Ere thou mak'st booty of the golden fleece.

Expect no easy victory!

Czar Boris rules with strong and skilful hand; You take the field against no common man.

He that by merit hath achieved the throne, Is not puffed from his seat by popular breath; His deeds do serve to him for ancestors.

To your good fortune I commend you now; Already twice, as by a miracle, Hath it redeemed you from the grasp of death; 'Twill put the finish on its work, and crown you.

[Exeunt omnes but MARINA and ODOWALSKY.

ODOWALSKY.

Say, lady, how have I fulfilled my charge?

Truly and well, and wilt thou laud my zeal?

MARINA.

'Tis, Odowalsky, well we are alone; Matters of weight have we to canva.s.s which 'Tis meet the prince know nothing of. May he Pursue the voice divine that goads him on!

If in himself he have belief, the world Will catch the flame, and give him credence too.

He must be kept in that vague, shadowing mist, Which is a fruitful mother of great deeds, While we see clear, and act in certainty.

He lends the name--the inspiration; we Must bear the brain, the shaping thought, for him; And when, by art and craft, we have insured The needful levies, let him still dream on, And think they dropped, to aid him, from the clouds.

ODOWALSKY.

Give thy commands: I live but for thy service.

Think'st thou this Moscovite or his affairs Concern my thoughts? 'Tis thou, thou and thy glory For which I will adventure life and all.

For me no fortune blossoms; friendless, landless, I dare not let my hopes aspire to thee.

Thy grace I may not win, but I'll deserve it.

To make thee great be my one only aim; Then, though another should possess thee, still Thou wilt be mine--being what I have made thee.

MARINA.

Therefore my whole heart do I pledge to thee; To thee I trust the acting of my thoughts.

The king doth mean us false. I read him through.

'Twas a concerted farce with Sapieha, A juggle, all! 'Twould please him well, belike, To see my father's power, which he dreads deeply, Enfeebled in this enterprise--the league Of the n.o.blesse, which shook his heart with fear, Drawn off in this campaign on foreign bounds, While he himself sits neutral in the fray.

He thinks to share our fortune, if we win; And if we lose, he hopes with greater ease To fix on us the bondage of his yoke.

We stand alone. This die is cast. If he Cares for himself, we shall be selfish too.

You lead the troops to Kioff. There let them swear Allegiance to the prince, and unto me;-- Mark you, to me! 'Tis needful for our ends.

I want your eye, and not your arm alone.

ODOWALSKY.

Command me--speak--

MARINA.