SISYPHVS
AN OPERATIC FABLE
BY
R-C-TREVELYAN
LONGMANS, GREEN AND COMPANY
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
NEW YORK AND BOMBAY. 1908
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f<J08
TO
T. S. M.
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SISYPHUS
MEROPE .
SINON
AIDONEUS
HERMES .
CHARON
XANTHIAS
EUDAMIDAS
THANATOS
HUPNOS .
TIME
HEPHAESTUS
HERACLES
APHRODITE
ARTEMIS
A LAWYER
A HERALD
CHORUS
king of Corinth
. his wife
. his son
king of the Underworld
grandfather to Sisyphus
. a slave
king of A rgo lis
. the God of Death
. the God of Sleep
of Corinthian men and women
Shades, Furies, Slaves, Courtiers, Cyclopses, Undertakers,
Doctors, Expectant heirs, Soldiers, Priests, etc.
ACT I. SCENE I.
{In front of the palace of Sisyphus. Before the closed doors
is a platform, raised a few feet above the level of the stage.
In the street below, and on the broad stone steps leading
down to it, groups of men and women are sitting and standing.
It is early dawn when the curtain rises, and becomes con-
tinually lighter during the following chorus?)
CHORUS.
Light dawns; the pale stars waste;
The night is dead :
Yet Sisyphus still lives. O Death, Death!
Hither, we pray thee, haste
To his death-bed.
Haste, oh haste thee hither, Death!
Stone-dead, the proverb saith,
Hath no fellow. Moan by moan,
Gasp by gasp, groan by groan,
O just, benign and holy Death, *
Draw thou forth his sinful breath,
Till he lieth cold as stone.
Thanatos, O just Thanatos!
Oh delay not; hither haste thee,
That this Sisyphus, the tyrannous, the abominable,
Thou may'st carry to Acheron away with thee!
Haste, oh haste thee hither, Death!
Stone-dead, the proverb saith,
Hath no fellow: then haste thee, Death.
(The central doors of the palace open, and SISYPHUS is
carried out on a couch by slaves, and set down on the plat-
form. MEROPE, SlNON, and several courtiers, enter and
range themselves at a little distance belmid and on each side
of Sisyphus.)
i
Act I SISTTHUS.
Scene I Here, slaves, set down my couch.
Here let me rest awhile.
Once more would I behold the dawn with eyes
Death-dimmed, and bid farewell
Both to my loving people and to thee, my wife.
CHO %US.
Oh see! see! He faints.
His eyes close, his pale face is drawn.
Doth he live? Is he dead?
Haste, oh haste thee hither, Death!
Stone-dead, the proverb saith,
Hath no fellow: then haste thee, Death.
M£%OT£. {Aside.)
I too, so do I hate the wretch,
Though I be his wedded queen,
Yet, softly aside to avoid a scene,
In Death's dull ear I whisper thus:
Haste, oh haste thee hither to fetch
The soul of my husband Sisyphus.
Stone-dead, the proverb saith,
Hath no fellow: then haste thee, Death.
CHOTJJS.
Hush! Beware! Beware!
But now his thin lips stirred.
Have a care!
He liveth still.
Speak no rash word,
Lest ye be overheard,
And your expectations crossed,
When he alters a tenth time to your cost,
With a last bitter codicil,
His nine-times altered will.
SISTTHUS.
My wife, my sons, draw near my bed, for I
2
Once more would speak with you before I die. Act I
Where is my lawyer? Let him fetch my will. Scene I
I wish to add another codicil.
CHORUS.
Another codicil!
Another still
To his polycodicilic will!
Ah, what may this portend?
'Tis the tenth he hath penned.
Soon may Death seal an end.
LJIJVYE%. {Stepping forward)
Behold thy will, great king! The new clause drawn
According to thy draft, and in due form
Engrossed, awaits thy signature.
SISTTHUS. 'Tis well.
Prop me on pillows, so, that I may sign,
Then die.
But first, dear wife, thine hand in mine,
Give heed to these my last words ere I pass.
How wicked past all wickedness, alas!
Beyond all vileness vile, my life hath been,
None knows more surely than thou dost, my queen.
Cruel and treacherous, faithless, dissolute, loose,
Yet ever jealous with no least excuse «w
From thy meek virtue, thou pure innocent soul,
Mild martyr of connubial control,
An evil lord thou hast found me; nay, a worse
Perchance proved never blameless woman's curse.
CHO%US.
Oh wondrous! Yea, most strange, if true!
Doth now remorse like gentle dew
Fall softly down in unseen shower
Upon this withered human flower?
Oh truly strange! Nay, strange, if true!
3
Act I SISTTHUS.
Scene I When forth from this crumbling house of clay,
This once so splendid palace of proud sin,
Silently like a thief into vast night
My soul shall glide, mourn me not then with forced
And grudging piety, nor with ironic pomp
Of gorgeous obsequies and prodigal pyre
Presume thou to do honour to my bones;
But unembalmed, unhonoured, unbewailed,
Let some vile slave beyond the gates bear forth
And there, a prey to vultures, dogs and worms,
Upon some dung-heap cast my carrion down.
Ah my loved lord, what strange wild words are these?
Ask me not this. Rather upon some peak
Of ice-helmed Caucasus there bid me freeze
And writhe beneath the ravening eagle's beak.
All direst torments rather would I choose
Than from thy cold dead clay withhold its funeral dues.
SISTTHUS.
Strive not against my dying wish, dear wife.
By my last will in trust to thee for life
I give two thousand talents, and devise,
Together with my park at Sicyon,
My winter palace there. Then be thou wise,
And disobey me not when I am gone;
Else to the priesthood of my grandsire's shrine
The whole must lapse — (The pen, that I may sign!)
— Close-locked in strict implacable mortmain;
Whilst on that day, pious alas in vain,
Shalt thou, poor mourning widow unconsoled,
Upon my interdicted pyre behold
Thy cherished hopes to dust and ash consumed,
Last with me in the avenging urn entombed.
meagre.
If that be so, then to thy strange desire
4
Perforce I yield in grief and heartfelt pain. Act I
The cost of cinerary urn and pyre, Scene I
By this means saved, is so much public gain.
His wise humility I much admire.
CHORUS.
Although the motive for it be not plain,
Such splendid public spirit we admire.
SISTTHUS. (Aside)
Erelong the motive of my strange desire
And posthumous thrift perchance will I make plain.
(To Merope.)
Swear now, as I have bidden thee so to do.
Yea, by thy grandsire Hermes here I swear,
As thou hast said, so shall it be.
SISTTHUS. Tis well.
Slaves bear me now within that I may die.
(Exit carried into the palace. MEROPE remains behind, and
after a pause turns and addresses the people.)
31S%gT8.
People of Corinth, ye have beheld and heard ; this oath
Compelled have I sworn, and without shame or reproach
To the very letter now loyally shall I fulfil it.
Unburned, unembalmed, unburied, his body will I
Beyond the walls cast forth to carrion birds a spoil.
Let none with ill-timed ironic piety presume
To do him honour or mourn for him, thus by his own
Dying remorse convicted and judged past appeal.
Nay, friends, rejoice ye rather, and exultingly
For this deliverance thank the gods no less than I,
His wife, from oppressive conjugal tyranny to-day
5
Act I At length delivered, freely whom I will to wed.
Scene I Let Hymenaeus into glad bridal refrains
Convert the dirge's melancholy melodies, tossing
Bright torches unfunereal on from street to street,
While to Aphrodite's shrine the lord of Argolis,
My kingly paramour, as unabashed I now proclaim,
Leads his betrothed queen, me the much-enduring and
Much-wronged Merope, the widow of accursed Sisyphus.
{Exit through the palace doors, which are closed behind her.)
CHO'KUS.
Oh shameless wife! — Nay
Shameless Sisyphus, I say.
— Wicked and cruel is he, wickeder none upon earth.
— As of men wickedest is he,
So of women she.
— Thanatos, O just Thanatos!
Oh delay not; hither haste thee,
That this Sisyphus, the tyrannous, the abominable,
Thou may'st carry to Acheron away with thee.
Haste, oh haste thee hither, Death!
Stone-dead, the proverb saith,
Hath no fellow: then haste thee, Death.
Hark! Heard'st thou not a cry?
Hark again!
From within the palace a wailing as of women!
Was it a wailing, or was it a clamouring as in joy?
(The doors of the palace are flung open and a HERALD enters?)
People of Corinth, Sisyphus, your king, is dead.
CHOIRS.
Io! Io!
Sisyphus is dead ! Io! Joy, Joy!
Sisyphus is dead! Io! Dead is tyranny!
The wicked, impious and abominable one is no more.
6
SCENE II. Act I
Scene II
(A vast dimly -lighted cavern in Hades. Before Ai'DONEUS
enthroned there stands a huddled group of ghosts, herded
together by torch-bearing Furies.}
Oh all ye murderers and parricides, wife-beaters, kidnappers and thieves,
Bloody tyrants, hard landlords, demagogues, jingoes, public peculators,
Unjust judges, iconoclasts, temple-fresco-and-statue-restorers,
Plagiaries musical and poetic, backbiters, adulterers and bawds,
Lecherous luxurious apes, vultures bureaucratic and sacerdotal,
Knaves, ruffians of every degree, blasphemers against truth, loveliness
and light,
Your righteous dooms ye have heard; tarry not, but away with you
hence to the dismal
Tartarean purgatories, that there by manifold purifications,
Flame-tortured, frozen in ice, hail-scourged, your souls guilt-contaminated,
Plague-stricken, earth-stained, through suffering cleansed at length may
pass to Elysium,
There drink of Lethe, and grown forgetful of all life's anguish, a yearning
Shall within them arise for rebirth and re-embodied inveterate woe.
Alecto and Tisiphone, haste now, spare not, scourge hence from before me
To the fiery floods of Tartarean Phlegethon these doomed shadows of life.
(A loud confused barking behind the scene.)
Ha ! Wherefore wrathfully doth the canine triguttural porter of Hades
So threaten and howl, while Acheron's cliffs shuddering respond to his
outcry?
{Enter CHARON, an unkempt old man carrying an oar, and
quarrelling with HERMES and the ghost tf/"SlSYPHUS.)
Charon, how now?
CHdl^OV^j A'fdoneus hear me, if there is justice in Hades.
Thy faithful ferryman wilt thou endure to be thus wronged, downtrodden
and scorned,
7
Act I Browbeaten, bullied and bilked by a man in league with this shabby
Scene II trickster,
This Olympian patron of all vile thieves and scoundrels?
HE C J^31ES. Peace, villainous slave!
<AIT)03ieUS.
Speak on, good Charon.
CH^T^O^H^ Alone to the wharf this man, this Sisyphus, Hermes
Brings down, whom I foolishly without suspicion or questioning accept,
And ferry o'er Styx: but when for the fare, my legal two obols, I ask,
He has none.
AI<D03i§US.
Why then, ferry him back.
CHtrfl^pZN^ Aye, so would I do, but am hindered
By Hermes, his grandsire forsooth, whom he calls in to abet him.
<AI<DOW§US.
Is this true, Hermes?
HE ( E^\4ES. Yes, it is both true
And as it should be, as I'll soon prove to you.
This man is my grandson, Sisyphus, and as such
By my prerogative he stands protected from the clutch
Of this rude bargeman here.
CH^T^ON^ Oh impudent pretence!
Oh shameless nepotism! Fie!
HETTIES. Thou vile slave, get thee hence!
Silence!
Of thee, O Sisyphus, often have I heard tell,
And of thy craft and wickedness. Yet by such means in Hell
Think not to prosper now. Unfurnished with thy fare
8
It seems thou didst presume to cross, though doubtless well aware Act I
Of our inexorable, adamantine decree: Scene II
Unsepulchred may none cross Styx, nor without the legal fee.
SISTTHUS.
Most dread Ai'doneus, thus to have transgressed
Thine ordinance I grieve; yet by what just
And reasonable cause compelled I stand
Suppliant before thy tribunal, hear now,
And judge. A wife was mine, in name and form
A woman; but all else, heart, thought and deed —
Alas! how might I know myself in truth
Cherishing and caressing and caressed
By a serpent? — Who, no sooner through my mouth
Had Death drawn forth my spirit, than lo now,
She bids slaves from my palace fling my corpse,
Of regal vesture and adornment stript,
Into the public street with ignominy,
Where now it lies rotting 'neath the fierce sun
Like a dead dog, mocked, stared at, spurned by all.
This did I witness, a wronged, homeless ghost,
Hovering unseen around — till Hermes came,
And led me, wailing my forlorn disgrace,
Hither to thy dim realms, O Ai'doneus,
Transgressing, yet not scorning thy commands.
But thou, wilt thou endure the living thus
To scorn and override thy holier laws
Of piety and service, by them due
Even to the worst and vilest of thy dead?
M'<DO&(JUS.
What then, Sisyphus, wouldst thou have me do?
Beyond my justice, while on earth they live,
Are the impious. Their doom awaits them here.
SISTTHUS.
Alas, but little for example serves
Such tardy posthumous justice, unfeared since
Unseen, nay doubted oft, or misbelieved.
9 C
Act I This then I ask, that thou shouldst grant me now
Scene II Leave to revisit earth and there remain,
Till on my wife righteous, exemplary
Punishment I inflict. What subtle choice
Of method to that end shall prove most apt,
Who else but I, her husband, should know best?
Then, my task done, and the dishonoured dead
Avenged and vindicated, willingly
Once more would I yield up my soul to death.
M<D02(jus.
Wisely hast thou argued, Sisyphus: yet this
Likewise must we consider, whether thou,
Amongst mankind in wickedness supreme,
And for thy crimes past esperance of mercy
Foredoomed, canst be the fitting instrument
Of justice to reprove and chastise sin.
SISTTHUS.
My wickedness I seek not to deny:
Nay, therefore the more reason thou shouldst grant
My plea: since, were I righteous, who would marvel?
Whose ears tingle, if Equity divine
Should but avenge the just? Rather let all
Trembling behold even spirits impious
And damned, their fiery dooms postponed, from Hell
Rise wrathfully and re-enter their outcast
Dishonoured bodies, to wreak vengeance due
On those that wrought them outrage and foul shame.
irfi'DOWJUS.
So be it then. Thy prayer I grant. Return :
And till thou hast chastised thine impious wife,
As to thee shall seem best, by Styx I swear
That Death shall have no power upon thy soul.
SISTTHUS.
Just Ai'doneus, for this grace I thank thee.
/ IO
M<D03*JVS. Act I
Yet hope not by such service to redeem Scene III
Thy sinful spirit from the dateless term
Of penal torment that awaits thee here.
Charon, haste now; with Hermes reconciled
Ferry this mortal spirit back to life.
Come then. But next time bid thy good wife bury thee,
Else ne'er again back hither will I ferry thee.
SCENE III.
(Dusk. A street. By a house-door stands a wooden term of
Hermes. Enter XANTHIAS, bearing on his back the dead
body 0/ SISYPHUS, which he lays down in the middle of the
street?}
Thou poor wretch Xanthias,
Here set thy burden down and rest awhile.
(Sitting down on a bench opposite the term y and tviping his
forehead?)
So 'tis because thou art
The vilest of the vilest of all vile
Outcasts and slaves, that thou for this vile part
Wert chosen, to bear forth without the town
Upon thy vilest of all shoulders thus
Thy master Sisyphus,
And there like a dead ass
Upon some dunghill pitch his carcase down.
Poor Xanthias!
So thou in vileness art supreme.
n
Act I Nay, be not downcast, since 'tis well
Scene III In aught, whate'er it be, all mankind to excel.
Yet not to seem
But to be vile, be that thy boast, thy pride.
Bethink thee then, this day
The prince of Argos weds his new-won bride,
Our queen, the widow of this outraged clay;
And in their honour we slaves all
Keep holiday and festival :
All vintners' doors stand open wide;
To none who ask is wine denied :
All Corinth drinks and revels: thou alone,
The sole unfestive thing,
Stupidly dry remainest. How atone
Thy fault? Lo yonder where the Satyr's sign
Invites thee! Here awhile leave this dead king;
Enter, and with one bowl
Of noble Lemnian wine
For thy great task refresh and fortify thy soul.
{Exit.)
{Enter CHORUS, escorting MEROPE and EUDAMIDAS to the
temple of 'Aphrodite.)
cho%us.
Alalalai! Hymenaeus! Io!
Hither, O Hymenaeus!
Stay not away from our revel to-day,
But hither, come hither so blithe and gay,
Tossing aloft thy torch of pine.
From sorrow and care let thy divine
Frolicksome ecstasy free us.
For to-day with gladsome and gamesome dances,
Rollicking hymns and odes hymenaeal our choric procession advances,
Revelling and sporting and jesting, escorting
To the Cyprian's temple our queen Merope;
Fairest of women and widows is she,
(So at least by good judges is everywhere said)
12
And mighty Eudamidas, son of Eublastidas, monarch of Argolis, Tiryns, Act I
Mycenae, Scene III
Since our notorious, happy and glorious queen he alone is found worthy
to wed.
Alalalai! Hymenaeus! Io!
Hither, O Hymenaeus!
Ha!
What lies here in our path? A corpse! Ye Gods,
Avert the omen !
M£%0 T8. What, Sisyphus still !
Where is that wretch whom I charged to bear forth
And cast him on the dunghill?
SUTf^MITf^S. Nay, dear love,
Here in the town this one night let him rest.
To-morrow to the fields with him to feast
The dogs and crows.
^MSI^OTE. So be it. Slaves take yon corpse,
And fling it from our path into the gutter.
Forward now to the Cyprian's shrine, my friends.
CHO<I{US.
Alalalai! Hymenaeus! Io!
Hither, O Hymenaeus!
{Exeunt. Re-enter XANTHIAS, somewhat tipsy.)
Alalalai! Dionysus! Io!
Hither, O Dionysus!
What care I for Hymenaeus?
Hymenaeus is an ass,
13
Act I Fit beast to bear Eudamidas.
Scene III Thou alone, O sweet Lyaeus,
Art the god for Xanthias.
Thou alone from care canst free us.
What's this? What! Tumbled like a drunkard in the gutter! How
did it happen? Alas, poor Sisyphus! {He props him up sitting against the
statue of Hermes?) There! I'll prop thee up, so, against thy grandsire's
term. (Sitting down on the bench opposite?) O thou good-for-nothing,
armless, footless, dumb, daubed stock of rotting wood! What! Thou one
of the twelve great Olympian Gods, yet couldst procure for thine own
grandson's bones no better usage than this? O times! O morals! O
tragic destinies of regal dust! Nay, if here on earth it goes thus ill with
thy carcase, still worse will fare with thy poor ghost before the tribunal
of Hades, where now straightway thou must appear, so soon as I have
given thee secret burial, despite the commands of thy dog-hearted
adulteress of a wife. (SlSYPHUS falls forward on his face?) Ha! Canst
thou not sit upright, but must fall grovelling in terror before me thus, as
though I were Ai'doneus himself, judge of the dead? Be it so then. I am
Ai'doneus, and thou art thine own miserable ghost, led by Hermes
yonder before my throne to receive judgment from my inexorable lips
of adamant. Sisyphus! Sisyphus! I know thee well. Never has it been
my good fortune to pass sentence upon a more unmitigated ruffian and
malefactor than thou art. And yet, evil as thou hast been, at least the
courage and pride of thy wickedness have ever been thine: and for this
thy greatness of spirit, while all else loathed thee, yet one only was there
found humane and noble-hearted enough to esteem and love thee, even
thy poor slave Xanthias, one whose true worth and wisdom, hadst thou
but known them, and had the wit to make him thy friend and counsellor,
would have rescued thee from thy evil ways and brought thee prosperity
and good reputation — kind, simple, honest Xanthias, who alone wept
tears of pity over thy dishonoured corpse, and at his life's peril gave thee
burial by night, that so without delay thy ghost might be ferried across
Styx hither to its well merited damnation, O thou abominable and
perfidious tyrant! thou pest-house of crimes and depravities! {Leaping
up and beating SlSYPHUS with a strap?) thou foul sewer of all the vices!
thou cruel, false-hearted, treacherous, unjust, luxurious, goat-bearded,
lion-taloned, snake-fanged chimaera and prodigy of compound scoundrel-
ism! (SlSYPHUS moves?) Ah! — Apollo, averter of evil!
14
{He slinks away in terror, and tries to hide behind the bench. Act I
Sisyphus, awakening and slowly sitting up, looks round Scene III
him, sighs, and at length speaks?)
sistthus.
Hail, Light! Hail, Earth!
And hail, thou Sky! Life-giving Ether, hail!
{Rising to his feet and addressing the term.)
O Hermes, to thee Sisyphus gives thanks,
To life and kingdom thus by thine aid restored.
Thee too I thank, my wife, whose loving care
Faithfully as I bade thee hath left me thus
Unsepulchred. Now must I haste to bring thee
That reward thou so richly hast deserved.
Night falls. Where am I? Is not that the sign
There of the Drunken Satyr, and beyond
The Cyprian's temple?
{A flourish of trumpets from the temple of Aphrodite.)
Ha!
What mean those trumpets?
{A loud shout is heard.)
That loud acclaiming shout?
{Nuptial music, which is now heard coming nearer and
nearer?)
That blithe nuptial refrain?
{Seeing Xanthias and shaking him?)
Ah! what thing is this?
Thou grovelling, whimpering hound, rise, speak: what art thou?
15
Act I X^O^THI^S.
Scene III Oh! Oh! Oh!
SISTTHUS.
Xanthias, speak vile slave: where is the queen?
Wilt thou keep silence? Nay thus I'll make thee speak.
{Beats him.)
Where is my wife?
X^^THI^S. Oh stay, master; I'll tell thee.
Yea now I know thou art indeed no ghost,
I'll tell thee all.
SISTTHUS. Quick then! Where is the queen ?
X^DiTHI^S.
There! there! Look master! Yonder, see, she comes.
SISTTHUS.
Who with her?
XdNJHItAS.
The prince of Argolis.
SISTTHUS. Eudamidas!
Ah!
Quick aside to the shadow of yonder term!
Quick ere they come!
{Hides behind the term with XANTHIAS.)
Befriend me, Hermes, now.
{Enter CHORUS singing, with EUDAMIDAS and Merope.)
Alalalai! Hymenaeus! Io!
Hither, O Hymenaeus! {Etc.)
16
SISTTHUS. (Coming forward into the torch-light and con- Act I
fronting EUDAMIDAS and MEROPE.) Scene III
Hail, wife of Sisyphus!
(MEROPE shrieks and falls back into the arms ^EUDAMIDAS.)
Fear nought. I am thy husband Sisyphus,
From Hades to his loving spouse restored.
me^pTe.
Hence, fiendish goblin ! Back to the gulfs of Hell
That sent thee hither! Horrible spectre, hence!
SISTTHUS.
Nay verily, dear wife, thou dost mistake.
I am no ghost, but thine own living lord
Returned to bring thy widowed spirit joy.
Doubt not: nay, touch me: in wifely embrace once more
Cast thine arms round me. Shrink not from me amazed
In terror, as though these limbs had known the grave's
Abhorred corruption, and not childlike slept
A noontide slumber merely, while my soul
With venturous flight descending undismayed,
Crossing the Stygian flood, explored the realms
Of Hades, and before his throne appearing
Held parley with him, and thence to execute
His righteous judgments now to earth return.
me^oTe.
Ah me! What judgments meanest thou? On whom?
SISTTHUS.
On those who denied burial to my bones.
ms^Te.
Alas, nought else I did, save what by thee
Compelled I swore to do. And wilt thou then . . .
17 D
Act I SISTTHUS.
Scene III Have patience, wife: listen.
This duty and privilege, with dread Stygian oath
On Ai'doneus' lips confirmed, is mine :
Thus to revisit earth and here remain
Till on my wife righteous exemplary
Punishment I inflict: how long delay
Permitted, and what means to be employed,
Of that was no word said: alone, till she
Be punished. When and how, with me must rest.
CHOTtyS and EVT>^MI C D^S. {Aside.)
If choice of how and when
With Sisyphus must rest,
We see no reason then
Why he need ever perish.
Nay 'tis his wretched wife
Who must die soon or late,
Unpunished, and unblest
By widowhood's estate,
If his own wicked life
More than his spouse he cherish.
.yiSTtOTS. {Aside, with preceding CHORUS.)
If choice of how and when
With Sisyphus must rest,
Alas, I see not then
Why he need ever perish.
Nay 'tis his wretched wife,
Unpunished, and unblest
By widowhood — 'tis I
Who soon or late must die,
If his own wicked life
More than his spouse he cherish.
SWD^JWITf^S. {Aside to MEROPE.)
Ah! my love, my Merope!
Thus by ruthless Fate undone
18
Must our nuptial rapture be — Act I
Lost, ere yet 'tis well begun? Scene III
ME%OTE. {Aside to Eudamidas.)
Nay, courage, love! Leave all to me.
Trick for trick, and guile for guile
I'll pay him back in his own style.
He shall meet his match in me.
{Advancing mid throwing herself at the feet tf/"SlSYPHUS.)
my dear lord, I have sinned, I have sinned!
On my knees I confess it, against thee,
Against the love I bear thee. Ah, would now
1 had hearkened to the promptings of my soul,
And with sublime and pious perjury
Dared violate my oath, and holding void,
As offspring of delirium, thy last strange commands,
Had buried thee! Alas, alas, my lord!
I have sinned. Do thou deal with me as thou wilt;
Strike me, torture me, scourge me with rods, thrust me
Into some noisome dungeon, banish me
Divorced from thy dear presence, till my fault
Be expiated, and thy love redeemed.
SI8FPHUS.
Arise, take courage, O my faithful queen.
Should I with vile ingratitude so stain
This our reunion's holy rapture? No!
Punish thee! Never — thee to whom alone
My life I owe. Nay, doubly wert thou then
Punished, thus widowed by my act once more.
Rather be this thy just reward : never
Again shalt thou be robbed of me by death ;
And when thou diest, nobler and more sublime
Than Alcestis' shall be thy fame : for she
But some few fleeting seasons by her death
Could purchase for her lord ; but thou, to the grave
19
Act I Unpunished passing, to thine shalt bequeath
Scene III A tenure without end of deathless life.
Ah monster accurst!
Hear now the truth; I loathe thee!
Yea, I thy faithful wife loathe and abhor thee.
In this alone ne'er faithless shalt thou find me.
Not thy foul soul only,
Nor thy tongue as a snake's treacherous and cruel,
But thy hands, but thy feet, but every hair
On thy head do I loathe, and every member
Of thy vile body, which, though I ne'er had sworn it,
Yet willingly with gladness had I cast forth
To be entombed in the bellies of offal-scavenging
Vultures and dogs, less loathsome than thou art,
Oh thou fell beast — husband I ne'er have deemed thee,
But a two-footed jackal, a wolf, a scorpion,
A toad — from whose embrace as I long time
Have turned in secret, so now without shame
To whom but thee, my sweet Eudamidas,
My soul's true lord, my refuge, my beloved.
SISTTHUS.
And wherefore not? With what face should I grudge
Such reasonable freedom to thy heart?
Love whom thou wilt. Nay, who am I to judge
Or punish others, I, for mine own part
So far from perfect on that score confessed?
Then patience: set thy passionate heart at rest;
And though my love thou canst no more return,
Yet to preserve appearance thou may'st learn.
Welcome, Eudamidas, my noble guest.
mS^OTe. {Despairingly.)
Woe is me! Woe is me!
Despair not yet. my sweet love, Merope.
There is no need. Listen: consider well
20
Upon what terms this Sisyphus from Hell Act I
Hath respited his life. Scene III
Said he not this? — " Until upon my wife
Punishment I inflict."
Ha, trickster now in turn shalt thou be tricked.
What punishment more dire couldst thou devise
Than thus, like a foul smell
Forgotten as the wind shifts a brief while,
But soon returning fouler and more vile,
So from the dead to rise
In the self-same abominable and loathed
Flesh-garment re-embodied and re-clothed?
Fulfilled by thy mere presence is thy task.
Therefore, my friend, this favour would we ask,
That thou wilt be so good
As thither whence thou earnest to retire with promptitude.
SISTTHUS.
Eudamidas, thou hast a pretty wit:
I pray thee find some worthier use for it.
Thy foolish sophistries I laugh to scorn.
Deemest thou the mere fright at my return
Sufficient vengeance for her monstrous guilt?
Yet, my friend, if thou wilt,
Draw thy sword, and straight put it to the test.
Come, slay me if thou wilt. Behold my breast!
What! Thou dar'st not?
3I8%0T8. {As with a sudden inspiration.)
Triumph not yet. Was this thy compact that to earth
Thou shouldst return to inflict vengeance on thy wife?
Know then, because impossible to be performed,
'Tis void.
SISTTHUS.
How void?
M8%OT8. Who is thy wife?
SISTTHUS. Why, thou. Who else?
21
Act i 34e%p<pe.
Scene III Not so. By death eternally from thee divorced,
The bride now of Eudamidas am I, thou fool.
SISTTHUS.
Deem not, my wife, thus lightly to prove void
The sacred pledge of Ai'doneus. No:
Prove rather, if thou canst, this thine alleged
Contract of marriage with this man, aught else
Than bigamous, and criminal and so void.
^ms^ots.
Ha! Bigamous! And by what law should I,
A dead man's widow, commit bigamy?
SISTTHUS.
Alas, dear wife, some minutes from the dead
Already had I risen, ere thou wast wed.
ME'RQTE.
Oh impudent falsehood!
SISTTHUS. Xanthias, approach.
Xt/IZMJTHIJIS. {Coming forward timidly?)
Behold me, O my master.
SISTTHUS. Without fear
Speak. When the festal trumpets thou didst hear
From yonder temple sound forth loud and shrill,
Was I a living man, or a corpse still?
X^^JTHIdtS.
No corpse, no, master mine, nor yet no ghost,
But a living man in sooth.
Alas, my back bears witness I speak the truth.
SISTTHUS.
Thou hast heard?
22
met^te. Act i
Away with this lying slave to the whipping post! Scene III
And thou, Sisyphus, not long shalt thou boast
To have fooled Fate. Nay 'tis thyself art fooled,
And all thy quibbling pleas by just Death over-ruled.
Bind him, slaves, bind him, and lead him hence to die.
SISTTHUS. {Appealing to the statue 0/HERMES.)
O Hermes, grandsire, hear me!
£ME<%OTE. Bind him, I say!
SISTTHUS.
Protect me and vindicate my truth this day.
ME^OTE.
Bind him, and away with him !
{The wooden term speaks in a solemn manner?)
HETtMES.
My grandson, I have heard thee. Be of good courage.
SISTTHUS.
Oh thou blessed voice, speak again! Oh theophany!
CHOTJJS.
Oh, 'tis the God that speaketh! Oh miracle divine!
METtQTE and EUT>JtmiT>^S.
Oh miracle ill-timed! Oh disastrous epiphany!
HETTIES.
Eudamidas, O thou child of wise Eublastidas,
The marriage ceremony with a living man's wife beyond
All question hast thou bigamously and feloniously
To thine utter confusion and disgrace to-day
Performed : in evidence whereof I here testify
23
Act I That ere the trumpets from the temple of Cypris
Scene III Proclaimed you in bonds of legitimate matrimony
United, I the Chthonian Hermes, already
Some few minutes from Hell returned, had set within
His body the soul of Sisyphus, from Hell reprieved.
Now therefore, O Queen, dismissing futile regrets,
With generous amiability strive to acquiesce
In thy loving lord's strange return, and in the loss
Of widowhood, and its princely consoler, the wise
Eudamidas. And thou, Sisyphus, perchance at length
Grown weary of endless senility's gradual decay,
Willingly with relenting hand shalt thou punish
Thy noble wife, and by that act forthwith summon
Almighty Thanatos, gloriously to make an end.
choirs.
Hail, child of Maia! divine grandsire
Of great Sisyphus, our lord,
By thy power from death restored
To the loving embrace of his wife Merope!
Fairest of women and dowagers she,
As by the best judges was everywhere said.
But mighty Eudamidas, son of Eublastidas, monarch of Argolis, Tiryns,
Mycenae,
Though our notorious, happy and glorious queen he had thought himself
worthy to wed,
Now must pack hence, (we mean no offence)
Ere a warrant for bigamy lights on his head.
SISTTHUS. {With preceding Chorus^
Hail, child of Maia! O sweet grandsire!
Ever be thy power adored
By me, thus from Death restored
To the loving embrace of my wife Merope,
Who never again a sad widow need be,
Since never need punishment light on her head —
Unless perchance I think good so
To summon Thanatos my foe.
But hush! Of that be no word said.
24
^MST^OTS and €UT>^31I ( D^S. ( With preceding Chorus.) Act I
Fie child of Maia! Thou shameless liar! Scene III
Oh thou wicked nepotist
Truth and justice so to twist!
False thy witness : I deny
That even in thought thei " e \ and I
& ^queenj
Have committed bigamy.
But, Sisyphus, though now thou boast
Thus to have fooled Death, yet beware
Lest some day haply thou shouldst appear
To have reckoned without thy host.
END OF ACT I
25
/
ACT II.
{A room in the palace 0/ Sisyphus. Enter Merope by a
door to the right, carrying a dagger?)
M£%OTE.
When I have done it — what then? Why then,
Whether he die or die not, this doubt,
Than his abhorred life more horrible,
Shall die. Why linger then, since to my deed
Hate, revenge, hope, despair, very doubt thus
Conspire to goad me? Nay, though I slay him not,
Yet perchance, wakened by my frustrate blow,
In a blind gust of rage caught unaware,
He will forget, and punish me, and so die.
But if not, if he still mock me, then is this {Holding up the dagger)
Left me: by this, widowed of his one hope
Of Death, to infinite, horrible Old Age
Dying will I dedicate him.
{She goes out by a door to the left. After a short interval she
reappears with the blood-stained dagger in her hand. During
the following speech SISYPHUS appears at the door behind her.)
I have done it. With this dagger to the heart
Thrice did I smite him, and thrice drew it forth
Enriched thus with his life-blood. Hail, dark stream!
Thou perfect witness of imposture! False
Was then that impious boast of deathless life
And Hades by shrewd covenant beguiled.
Dead art thou, Sisyphus; nor will I this time
Grudge thee thy pyre, but the frolicksome winds
Shall waft thy scattered ashes out, far out
O'er the vast deep, while to the Cyprian's shrine
My heart's beloved, Eudamidas —
SISrTHUS. Ha! ha! ha!
(MEROPE starts back in horror)
26
Upon my soul, Act II
A bold attempt, and masterfully planned !
But rise now, wife; retire and wash that hand —
That little tender hand, which yon dark rill
Of curdling husband's blood becomes so ill.
Methinks another time (might I suggest)
'Twere seemliest and cleanliest and best
To employ poison, strangling — it matters nought —
Whatever means may afford you the best sport —
Since all alike must fail.
(Merope attempts to stab herself?)
What wouldst thou do! Oh fie !
No, no, thou shalt not. Give it me!
(He wrests the dagger from her.)
ME'ROTS. Ah husband, let me die !
SISTTHUS.
Art thou in thy right wits ?
METtpTS. Let me die, and in my tomb
Bury thy vengeance unfulfilled; so never to thy doom
In some unguarded hour shall my hated presence tempt
And provoke thy just wrath; but thou from fear of death exempt
Henceforth shalt live.
SISTTHUS. For thy solicitude
Much thanks. Go to thy chamber now and wash.
Have patience yet awhile. Do nothing rash.
Perchance I soon shall need thee — and then not dead,
But living. It may be upon thy head,
For aught that thou canst tell, this very night
Thy punishment so long postponed shall light.
{Exit Merope.)
27
Act II Why comes not Hermes?
I like not in my wife this dangerous mood
Of reckless suicidal wilfulness.
Why comes not Hermes with the magic coffin?
If she should slay herself, gone would be then
For ever my sole means to summon Death,
Whose help I soon shall need for this great game
Which against him, against Time and Old Age,
Against the Olympian Gods and Zeus himself
I now must play for the world's mastery.
{Enter Hermes followed by two Cyclopses carrying a large
coffin with the lid thrown back.)
Ah ! Hermes! At last thou art come. The coffin —
Hast thou not brought it?
HS < K31SS. See, 'tis here!— Now, slaves,
Set it down yonder near the window, gently.
Have a care! The lid, you ambisinistrous slaves !
Shut not the lid. — Back now! Stand back all!
Thank you. Now please retire.
( The Cyclopses remain standing with outstretched palms.)
Nay, get you gone.
Hephaestus is your paymaster, not I.
{Exeunt Cyclopses.)
Sisyphus, hither by command of Zeus
I come, escorting his long-promised gift,
This magic coffin by Hephaestus wrought,
Whose lid once shut no force again may lift.
What innocent or questionable use
It now shall serve, of that must I know nought.
SISTTHUS.
Nay to thee, Hermes, that will I freely tell,
28
Since here I need thine aid. Thou knowest well, Act II
Oft have my cunning wits devised escape
For dull Omnipotence from amorous scrape,
Or with subtlest forethought labouring to devise
Some exquisite new beast or bird disguise,
Oft have I proved at need
The friend of God, though not for nought indeed,
With wealth, dominion, honour for each service fee'd.
Yet unfulfilled remains one dearest hope,
By subtlety with Death's dread might to cope,
And bind him fast my prisoner for life.
But vain were all my craft in such a strife
Without thine aid — which wilt thou lend me now?
HS < nmes.
For shame, Sisyphus! Can it be that thou,
Already against the fear of Death secure,
Wouldst doubly thus insure
Thy craven life by this preposterous act?
SISTTHUS.
Secure! — For so long only as to their pact
Ai'doneus and Thanatos remain true.
And little will it stead me, though they do,
If deathless, hopeless Age must be my fate.
So did I warn thee: but 'tis not yet too late.
The cure is easy. Punish now thy wife,
And forthwith Death shall ease thee of thy life.
But if thou snare Death, what thence shalt thou gain?
How so wilt thou check Age's creeping bane?
SISTTHUS.
Thus, Hermes. When once Death, my prisoner by thine aid,
Beneath these magic unopenable locks is laid,
Swiftly to Olympus shall that mighty rumour spread,
And on their thrones the Gods shall quake grown pale with dread,
Henceforth despised, unreverenced, unadored by men
29
Act II Delivered from all fear of Death. As his peer then
Will I meet Zeus, and on these terms and these alone
Shall he save cult and revenue, nay very throne,
If he surrender now forthwith into my hands
Old Age, man's foe, my captive bound in magic bands.
H8TZMSS.
But can he indeed do this?
SISTPHUS. Why, is not Zeus
Omnipotent? — But how like you my plot?
I like it well : and, for mankind's sake,
Will help you. But how now wilt thou trap Death?
SISTTHUS.
First my long-suffering queen must I punish:
So Death, and Sleep his brother, by that act
From Hades' interdicting oath released,
Hither shall haste to seize their prey, whom craftily
Must I invite, before they slay me, as guests
To drink my wine. Then will we stir between them
Fierce fratricidal strife, till mightier Sleep
Prevail. For our own hands remains the rest.
But say, Hermes, these magic bolts once shot,
On earth, in hell or heaven there is not
Key, chisel, mechanism, juggler's trick,
Witchcraft or incantation, wire or file
Can force them open, or by charms beguile?
Doubt not Hephaestus' skill. Once it shall click,
No skeletonic key so catholick
That it may pick
This lock:
Burglar's chisel, witchcraft, trick,
Strength of arm and mallet's shock,
The star-flung thunderbolts of very Zeus
These bolts shall mock.
30
SISTTHUS. Act II
The deuce!
The very thunderbolts of Zeus
Shall these bolts mock?
Yet I am troubled by one fear,
Lest Kronos' son have guessed
To what sublime and philanthropic use
I'ld put his gift.
HS ( I^\4eS. Of that, believe me, Zeus
Has not the least idea.
By your advice translated to a goose —
SISTTHUS.
Ah Zeus, divinest gander!
HST^HES.
— In mind no less than shape, o'er land and water
To and fro doth he wander,
Seeking Aegina fair, Asopus' daughter.
SISTTHUS.
May his fair nymph, soon found, prove but a goose.
Swear now, Hermes, by Erebus and Styx
Kindly to play me none of your knave's tricks,
But faithfully to stand my friend,
And succour me at need with force or guile.
HEI^HSS.
That will I swear by Erebus and Styx,
To play you no knave's tricks, and stand your friend,
And succour you at need with force or guile.
SISTTHUS.
Then am I ready for my death-bed scene.
Call hither now my household and my queen.
I mean to make an edifying end.
(Exit HERMES. Sisyphus paces meditatively to and fro,
theft takes up a lamp, and approaching the coffin stoops
31
Act II down to examine it outside and in. He taps the sides and
the lid, then anxiously scrutinizes the lock and the hasp.
Rising, he puts down the lamp, and resumes his pacing to
and fro, at times laughing quietly to himself.)
{Re-enter Merope, Hermes and Chorus.)
CHO'RUS.
An open coffin! Ah, what is his intent?
For himself or his consort is it meant?
me'ROTS.
What means this open coffin! Ah, can it be
That thou wilt deign at length to punish me?
SISTTHUS.
Even so, my wife.
Be of good cheer: at length do I relent,
Nor longer will postpone thy punishment.
But first behold, I pray, this magic box.
Touch not the lid, nor trifle with those locks.
Once shut, there is no power on earth, in hell
Or heaven, can unbind that puissant spell.
A token of his esteem sent me by Zeus,
Fresh from Hephaestus' workshop. Now to what use
Think you it were best put?
3I€ c ROTS. Alas, who knows?
SISTTHUS.
Were it not a fitting prison-house for those
Who deny burial to their husbands' dust?
me < ROTs.
Ah me! My lord! My lord!
Outrageous and unjust
Were such ruthless reward
For what by thee, by thee compelled I swore to do, and did.
'Neath this enchanted coffin's lid
32
Alive must I be thrust? Act II
Oh recompense unjust!
SISTTHUS.
Nay, wife, fear nought. To no such wasteful use
Will I employ the magic gift of Zeus.
Merciful, and not rigorously strict
Shall be my justice: therefore I inflict
This purely nominal punishment. Draw near.
CHOl^JS, ME'ROTS, and SISTTHUS.
Now, now once more by an awestricken, eager and ecstatic anticipation
My spirit is thrilled, with a fearful hope in secret joyfully quaking.
CHOTZJJS. ( With MEROPE as follows below.)
For now, grown weary of deathless life, and pitying his penitent queen,
Sisyphus at length with one stroke both shall punish her trespass
against him,
And, summoning so dread Death, once more set forth for the kingdom
of Hades.
MS TiO T£. ( With preceding CHORUS.)
For now doth Sisyphus at length mean to avenge my trespass against him,
And, summoning terrible Thanatos so, once more perish, and dedicate me
To widowed life, and thy comforting arms, O Eudamidas, my beloved
lord.
CHORUS.
Thanatos, O just Thanatos!
Oh delay not ; hither haste thee,
That this Sisyphus, the tyrannous, the abominable,
Thou may'st carry to Acheron away with thee.
Haste, oh haste thee hither, Death!
Stone-dead, the proverb saith,
Hath no fellow: then haste thee, Death.
SISTTHUS. ( With Chorus.)
Death stone-dead, Sisyphus saith,
Hath no fellow: then haste thee, Death.
33 F
Act II (Aside to Hermes.)
Fail not to summon Hupnos, without whom
Vain would my hope be to escape my doom.
HERMES.
Partners inseparable are Sleep and Death,
Twin children of old Night, the poet saith.
SISTTHUS.
Thy deep-sworn oath forget not, Hermes dear.
Fail me not now.
H€ < %3f€S. Rest tranquil without fear.
(SISYPHUS approaches MEROPE and, looking round appre-
hensively, after several timid and awkward attempts, succeeds
in giving his wife a smart box on the ear.)
H6 1^146 S.
Hupnos and Thanatos, arise! appear!
{Enter Thanatos, a veiled figure in long black priestly
robes. HUPNOS, a handsome, corpulent youth, floats in through
the window, slumbering upon a cloud-like couch, which sinks
to the ground near SlSYPHUS. All, except Hermes and
SISYPHUS, flee from the room in terror?)
THtADi^TOS.
Sisyphus, I am come to take thy soul.
First with my sword from thy doomed head this lock
I sever thus. Now, Sisyphus, thou art mine.
Long have I watched and waited for thy life.
Say, willingly dost thou now yield it up,
Or wouldst thou strive and wrestle with my might?
SISTPHUS.
Dread Thanatos, Sisyphus is thy slave,
And willingly to thee yields up his soul,
34
Grown weary of this world and its vain joys. Act II
The cords of Time are bound around us fast:
Like golden sheaves of summer corn we lie,
Till soon or late Time bears us to his mill,
There where all living things are ground to dust.
Why then should I bewail or strive in vain
Against my predetermined end, O Death?
TH^D^fTOS.
Thy fortitude I praise, and much admire
Thy stern philosophy. On dying lips
But seldom such calm wisdom have I heard.
But, Sisyphus, evil have been thy days.
Dost thou not fear what now must be thy doom?
SISTTHUS.
That doom, whate'er it prove, unterrified
I welcome. Evil, not base, have been my days.
Strangely thy noble-hearted pride moves me.
Ask now, and I will grant what boon thou wilt,
Except thy life.
SISTTHUS.
Great Thanatos, not once, but many times
Have I, a mortal guest 'mid highest gods,
Feasted as their companion and their friend ;
And oft to grace my table have they deigned ;
Nay sometimes Zeus himself hath been well pleased
Here to forego his nectar, and partake
Of earthlier vintages and mortal fare.
Then this the boon I crave, that thou, even thou,
Mightiest of Gods and most revered, vouchsafe,
With this thy brother Sleep and Hermes here,
One hour to be my guest before I die.
TH^D^dTOS.
Most highly honoured shall I deem myself
35
Act II SISTTHUS.
And thou, benignest Sleep? —
H€1(3ieS. Nay, wake him not
Until the wine be served. Poor child, he needs
Between his meals what slumber he can get.
Yon soft pneumatic couch, pillowed whereon
He drowses, and with sleep-creative breath
Keeps filled, whence through this tubing the whole world
With bland hypnotic fumes is fed — these bags,
If he should wake too often or too long,
Must needs grow empty, and sink down void and slack;
And that would mean, if not a sleep-famine,
At least some restless nights for gods and men.
(Sisyphus busies himself laying the table. The CHORUS
and Merope appear timidly at the doorway. Some of them
gradually edge into the room?)
CHORUS.
Oh wondrous sight! He liveth yet.
The cloth is laid, the plates are set.
He bringeth forth wine, bread and meat ;
He boweth Thanatos to a seat.
Alas! alas! What may this mean!
If he should make the fiend his friend,
Beguile him to postpone the end,
Deep then indeed were our chagrin.
Alas for thee, poor hapless Queen !
Alas for me, poor hapless Queen!
Ha!
These golden mixing bowls I have seen before.
'Twas when Thyestes banqueted the Gods
Upon his own minced boys, unwittingly.
None knew, save alone Atreus and myself.
36
SISTTHUS. Act II
Even so. But Autolycus, my sire,
Your clever son, Hermes, stole them long since
With these quaint spoons. My mother, wise Amphithea,
Would fain have sent his larcenies back next day,
As was her wont: but this once I o'erruled
Her and my father too, poor guileless kind
Old man. Alone for the theft's sake he stole.
An artist past all rival was my son.
TH^D^TOS.
Sir, I thank you, but I drink no wine.
SISTTHUS.
No wine, great Death?
THtAN^fTOS. Thou knowest, we Chthonian Gods
Of Underworld in wineless offerings,
Honey, milk, blood alone may take delight.
SISTTHUS.
Officially no doubt. But you are here
My guest and friend. This table is no altar,
Nor I its priest. One sober cup or two,
In strictest privacy —
TH^D^TOS. No, no; I must not.
Is there no milk or honey in this house?
SISTTHUS.
Ah!
How came it I could so forget? Of course! —
This is no wine. Wine is the juice of grapes
In earthly vineyards after nature's law
Grown and prepared by human art: but this —
37
Act II HST^IIES.
Of what then was this made? Glucose and gum-dragon?
SISTTHUS. {Frowning at HERMES.)
This divine drink — that day the Tuscan crew
From Bacchus' ship plunged to their snubnosed doom —
Upon that magic vine that o'er the mast
Deck-rooted sprang, by Ariadne's hands
This sacred fruit was gathered, by mad feet
Of Maenads trodden and revelling Satyrs' hooves:
And of this noble vintage by the gift
Of Bacchus' self three dozen skins are mine.
Drink therefore without scruple, O just Death.
No mortal wine is this I pour thee forth,
But of divinest nectar a pure rill.
TH^D^ATOS.
Fill then, Sisyphus; thy wise words prevail.
HS^ieS. (To Hupnos.)
What, lazy varlet! Sleep'st thou still? Awake,
Arise and drink of this immortal wine,
This wine no man hath pressed, nor no man brewed.
HUPNOS.
Who stirs me from slumber?
(Hermes pokes Hupnos with his caduceus.)
Leave me to sleep!
Now you are well awake, try all you can
Awhile to keep so, please. Come, be a man.
Let us see if Sleep is able
To keep awake for once at table.
38
HlfP£S(OS. {Sings vigorously at first, but more and more somnolently as Act II
he proceeds?)
Awake, my soul! With a carol blithe and strong
As lark that mounts and sings,
The filmy curtain of sweet sleep I break.
Loud, loud leap forth, my song;
Note after note thy rapturous music shake
Like morning dew-drops from thy lyric wings.
My song, a little while
Dull slumber from my soul, I pray thee, keep.
Sink not to earth, nor come
With soft hypnotic hum
Like murmuring of innumerable gnats,
Or noontide bees,
Nor with the plash of waves that break asleep
Lapping the sands of some moon-silvered lake:
Not so, please.
But bold and gay through shuddering sharps and flats
Mount higher still and higher, leaping, soaring,
Or soon again softly must I lie sleeping,
Softly now softly lie . . .
HE ( K^iES.
Snoring!
Confound that boy, he 's gone to sleep again.
(He beats HUPNOS with his caduceus.)
HUTNpS.
Ai! Ai!
I wasn't asleep!
(Hermes continues beating him.)
Papapapai ! Papapapapapai !
Sir, I protest, I a primaeval God
Will not be beaten by a lackey's rod.
39
Act II TH^O^TOS
Come, brother, take you wine without more fuss,
And show respect to our kind host Sisyphus.
SISTTHUS.
Great Sleep, I am proud indeed to be your host.
I pray you, taste this wine. I would not boast,
But I think you will not find it much amiss.
A noble and most exquisite wine it is.
SISTTHUS.
Then let me fill thy cup, and, Hermes, thine.
{Aside to Hermes.)
Fail me not, when I nod to thee the sign.
TH^^ATOS. (Rising tipsily.)
I rise now to propose a pleasant toast:
The health of Sisyphus, our noble host.
Sisyphus! Health and honour to thy ghost!
(He sits down.)
HUTOiOS.
Soft slumber to thy soul in Hades' realms!
H8 c Rmes.
Long life to Sisyphus! A pleasant jest!
SISTTHUS.
I thank you, friends. Your kindness overwhelms.
A toast I now would drink : to my great guest,
The eldest of the Gods, and mightiest!
(He signs to Hermes.)
40
mi^es. Act ii
But whom mean you?
THtADitATOS. Ha! Can you doubt?
HSltyieS. I do.
Eldest of Gods, and mightiest! Yes, but who?
HUTSigs.
Brother, whoe'er it be, it is not you.
(THANATOS leaps up and stands speechless with rage at first.)
SISTTHUS.
Alas, I fear I was not quite discreet
HUTOiOS.
Good brother, pray keep calm : resume your seat.
Patiently now give heed, while I expound the truth.
Of Deities I eldest am, for all I seem a youth.
Moreover though so soft, gentle and mild I be,
Yet shalt thou find in heaven or hell no God so strong as me.
Ere Time and Place, ere Earth or Chaos were, I was:
Alone I slept, changeless, without beginning, without cause.
But once, while thus I slept, I dreamed, and from my dream
Forthwith was born this universe of things which change and seem.
Chaos and Darkness first, then Light and Life had birth,
And gods to rule, and beast and man to people my fair earth.
Last, that unfolding Life might nobler forms achieve,
Thee, Death, an afterthought, did I reluctantly conceive.
Thus of Gods art thou last, and held in least esteem,
And all thy might and pride are nought but dreams within my dream.
Helves.
Well have you argued, Sleep. Yet must I grieve to find
That all we Gods are nothing more than nightmares in thy mind.
And by one consequence I own I am appalled:
That hour you choose to cease to dream my hairs, I must be bald.
41 G
Act II TH^Di<ATOS.
You shameless knave! You master of impertinent mendacity!
Nay, wicked boy, soon shall you rue your impudent audacity.
What! Dare you bandy thus with me your philosophic jargon?
In your damned irresponsible conceit are you so far gone?
Beware a rude awakening for your humbugging cosmogony.
What, what! Am I and all the Gods nought else but your dream's progeny?
Oh fie! Wilt thou with foolish lies repudiate your parentage?
Deny with not one particle of proof your most apparent age?
Art thou, a weak and puny brat, mightiest and first of Deities?
If first thou art, in lies alone and insolence I see it is.
HUTO^OS. {Calmly.)
Your argument seems circular, and begs the points at issue.
Age is not proved by looks alone, nor power by bulk and tissue.
TH^O^ATOS.
How comes it then you are sunk so low to functions base and menial?
Found you the lordship of this world so stale and uncongenial,
That to and fro o'er earth below,
Like a bag-piper with your sack
Of worthless dreams upon your back,
Or like some pharmaceutic quack
With charms and medicines in his pack,
You wander thus the slave of all,
Dispensing sleep to beast and man,
Yet still must hasten wheresoe'er I call
To finish where thy master's sword began?
HUT^OS.
Such reasoning cuts both ways at once,
And proves thee, Death, a very dunce.
Wherever Hermes calls, there thou must come,
And play thy loathsome part by rule of thumb.
But I, though oft I bring thee aid, am free.
Not always are thy victims by my grace
Eased of their last pangs, but with eyes by me
Unclosed, undimmed, must oft behold thy face.
Moreover holy, gentle and benign
42
Are my gifts, and by all men loved, but thine Act II
Are cruel, hellish, foul, by all unloved.
What though they be? By them my might and majesty is proved.
To mar thy gifts, things mean and vile suffice, a mouse,
A surfeit, or a barking cur, a gnat, a flea, a louse.
But not the triple throat of Cerberus can break
That perfect gift of rest I bring, that sleep whence none may wake.
HUT Digs.
I know not that : but this full well by all is known ;
Thine abhorred tyranny extends o'er beasts and men alone.
But to my spells must bow all that hath life and breath ;
Yea, proudest Gods have owned my power, as thou too shalt, O Death !
TH^O^TOS.
Detested wretch! No more will I endure thee.
Thus do I smite thee!
(Thanatos threatens HUPNOS with his sword, but before
he can strike him, HUPNOS makes a hypnotic pass with his
hands, and THANATOS falls back asleep with a long sigh.
Sisyphus and Hermes rush forward.)
SISTTHUS.
Quick now, Hermes! Quick with him! You by the
Shoulders and I by the feet let us take him up.
Gently! Softly! Lift him with care.
Lest we should wake him up, oh, beware!
{They lay THANATOS in the coffin?)
Down with the coffin-lid! Quick, oh quick!
Did the lock click?
He%?M£S. Yes, I heard it click.
43
Act II SISTTHUS.
For this good deed I thank thee, noble Sleep.
H€%gtf€S.
He hears thee not, but to soft-pillowed dreams
Sinks wearied back, and through the window floats.
{Exit HUPNOS.)
SISTTHUS.
Io! Io! Look hither, all ye mortals and divinities!
Behold this coffin, and rejoice at hearing who within it is.
I, Sisyphus, have vanquished Death, by subtlety entrapped him,
And underneath this magic lid my prisoner have I clapped him.
Inspired alone by motives pure, sublime, humanitarian,
I did this deed ; and therefore now, in sign of public gratitude,
In every city shall I stand in bronze or sculptured Parian,
Pedestalled upon Death's tomb thus in proud triumphant attitude.
But come forth thou, my noble wife.
Shrink not in dread behind yon screen.
Ended is now the doubtful strife ;
Yea, Death is dead, the monster lean
That sought thy loving husband's life.
A widow's veil ne'er shalt thou don.
Then why so wan and pale, my love?
Come hither, O my spouse, my dove,
My blameless wife, my wedded queen.
END OF ACT II
44
ACT III.
(Same scene as in Act I, Scene I. On the platform is set a
wide throne, with other seats on each side. Towards the
front, below, the populace are singing, dancing and drinking.)
CHORUS.
Io! Io! Death is dead,
Dead and gone to his death-bed.
Is't not fine to dance and sing,
And swim in wine, and have our fling,
And turn upon the toe,
And cry Io! Io!
While the winds blow, and the seas flow!
Since Death is dead! Io! Io!
{Enter SlSYPHUS/;w/z the palace, followed by HERMES and
slaves?)
SISTTHUS.
Go, slaves, bring forth, and set as footstool for my throne
The coffin wherein Thanatos my captive lies.
{Exeunt several slaves.)
Thou, Hermes, as my herald to Olympus speed :
Kind greeting bear from Sisyphus his friend to Zeus,
And to a conference here within my earthly realms
Invite his late Omnipotence and the twelve great Gods.
For since the balance of divine and human power
Is shifted thus by Death's decease, and changed is now
The old cosmic order giving place to new, 'tis best
By a friendly talk to settle much that else might cost
Who knows what useless bitterness and sordid strife.
He%mes.
Grandson, before I go, one word! Of men,
No longer mortal now, the first thou art
And mightiest ; and from highth high-flying thoughts
45
Act III Are born. What matter? so with their own wings
They mount, nor with Icarian wax ill-joined
Drop to earth melted in the sun's hot glance !
SISrPHUS.
Preach not to me, sententious lackey. Go,
Lesson thy master Zeus, who soon perchance
For his decrepit dynasty shall need
More wisdom than thou hast to give.
H8<%3teS. I go. {Exit)
CHOTtUS.
See, see ! the very Gods obey
The will of Sisyphus.
Yet are not we no less than he
Grown deathless now, as all agree?
And can it be that from this day
Ye shall serve, honour and obey,
O ye great Gods, the likes of us?
{Enter slaves bearing the coffin, which they set down before
the throne)
SISrPHUS.
Ye peoples of the earth, behold ! Death have I vanquished for your sake :
Now of his tomb a footstool for my majesty will I thus make.
The champion and the sovereign lord of all mankind enthroned in state,
The accredited ambassadors of the Olympians I await.
The twilight of their tyranny falls round them : unworshipped, unrevered
They sit, while from the Thunderer's hands the bolts drop harmless and
unfeared.
As their peer will I treat with them : and if for the world's benefit
They'll work with me, 'tis well ; if not, back to their heaven let them flit.
Nay, not alone from temples of stone they shall have notice soon to quit.
{Applause.)
But you upon earth with feasting and mirth, and every kind of jollity,
'Neath my paternal despotism in brotherly equality . . .
46
(A Woman's voice: "How about the matriarchy?" Loud Act III
cries of "Away with her!" SlSYrHUS recommences.}
But you upon earth with feasting and mirth, and every kind of jollity,
'Neath my paternal despotism in brotherly equality
Shall dwell united in one vast world-wide Utopian polity. {Applause)
No more shall ye be duped and fleeced by doctor, sorcerer and smug priest,
Who trading on your fear of death,sought not your soul'sand body'shealth,
But aimed alone by tricks and lies to cheat you of your hard-earned wealth.
{Loud cheering.)
No more shall kings and warriors dance to Ares' flute with sword and lance,
While peasant and widow and orphan pay the piper's wage from day to day.
{Loud cheering)
No longer now shall overturns of chariots, conflagrations,
Earthquakes and snakes and falling tiles depopulate your nations ;
But till he hail a passing sail, the shipwrecked mariner shall float,
As safe as in his foundered boat, rocked on the lulling billow:
And when the flames leap o'er his bed, the householder shall raise his head
Then lay it down in confidence upon his fire-girt pillow,
Whence phcenix-wise soon shall he rise from his incinerated home.
The infant with the cockatrice shall through the flowery meadows roam:
Young lads shall twist the tiger's tail ; and the despairing lover's leap
To the Adrian deep from Leucas' rock, beyond a not unpleasant shock,
Wet clothing, and some weeks in jail, shall no ill consequence entail.
{Prolonged, enthusiastic applause)
CHO^S.
Io! Io! Dead is Death,
Dead as a door-nail, Sisyphus saith.
Is't not fine to dance and sing,
And swim in wine, and have our fling,
And turn upon the toe,
And cry Io! Io!
While the winds blow, and the seas flow!
Since Death is dead! Io! Io!
{A venerable old man, supporting himself upon a long staff,
47
Act III steps forward from the crowd, and addresses the people,
turning his back upon SISYPHUS.)
rime.
Hearken to me, ye poor deluded phantoms of mortality,
Vanishing froth and bubbles on the stream of Time, frail, perishable
Castings of ill-kneaded clay, soon-fading flowers of vanity!
Ye fools! Cease from your impious revels: to bitter wailing turn
Your mirth. Not your foe, but your friend and the whole world's, is he
Who here lies snared. Sorrow and pain and labour without hope,
Woe without end, for these alone thank ye this Sisyphus
The wise. Yea, endless generations yet unborn shall curse
This benefactor of mankind. Though proud be his boast now
To have befooled Death, yet a fool him too shall Time soon prove.
SISTTHUS.
Who art thou? What vile hag bare thee, who insolently dar'st lift
Thy dotard's voice against me?
TI318. Who I am, and what thou art,
Will I make plain. No sire begat, no mother gave me birth.
Nought was before me: from the womb of Nought I, Time, came forth.
This universe, and all that therein moves and lives, my will
Conceived and made, and, as I list, shall preserve or destroy.
Last from the dust, noblest of living things, and best beloved,
Mankind I formed, and 'mid the beasts that perish bade them dwell
And bear rule like immortal gods, ageless and passionless.
But soon within their restless souls, for perfect bliss too weak,
Arose desires and nameless discontent, and on the beasts,
That strive and lust and hunger and bring forth their young and die,
Envying they gazed, and to deaf gods, seeking they knew not what,
They cried, in vain : but I had pity and sent among them too
Love and Old Age and Death. Thenceforth, not blissful nor content,
Yet through increase of joy and pain from blank life-weariness
In part delivered, hath man too multiplied and grown old
And perished till this hour. But now that Death is taken from him,
Unchecked shall abhorred Age subdue and wither one by one
Infinite generations wasting ever towards no death,
Till life and birth and Love become a curse, and the wide earth
48
A populous and congested hell. Then, then shall ye repent, Act III
And with thin gnat-like wailings and faint moans from toothless skulls
Through mummied lips call Death and curse this Sisyphus in vain.
SISTTHUS.
What! Yet another traveller in extemporized cosmogony?
A pretty patchwork this of deal and second-hand mahogany!
CHO<%US.
If Time speak true, then woe, woe to us!
Woe to all human kind!
And thou, O Sisyphus,
Thrice cursed be thy mind,
That could conceive so dire a plan
And contrive a plot so base as to betray
And thus of his best friend
Rob miserable Man,
And deliver him a prey
To perpetual senility's slow-mummified decay,
Deathless desolation without hope and without end.
SISTTHUS.
How now, ye mutinous and ungrateful slaves !
What! are ye scared by this vile wizard's croak?
Whoe'er he be, knave, madman, or Time's self,
He knows not what new exploit for your sakes
I had purposed, which, if ye rebell not, yet
Will I perform. The Olympian Gods this day
By treaty will I bind — else to their scorned
Unfeared divinities no sacrifice,
No incense offering nor worship more
Shall Man pay in their confiscated shrines,
If into my hands they deliver not
Abhorred Old Age, in magic gyves fast bound ; -r -
That so beneath my rule from this last plague
Secure, and stablished in felicity
Ye may abide for ever and for ever.
49 . H
Act in rims.
Is Sisyphus so wise, yet knows not this,
How in no visible incarnate form,
Like other gods and demons, doth Old Age,
The first-born emanation of my power,
Embodied dwell? nor by hands is he handled,
Nor yet by any craft may he be snared,
But into every creature that hath life
Secretly at their birth he enters, there
Inseparably with each fine particle
Of blood and tissue intermixed, like frost
In air or water, so through sinew, vein
And nerve insensibly he moves and works,
And with each moment stealthily gathers force
To feed upon the beauty and lay waste
The strength and joy and glory of all flesh.
CHO<R$JS.
Woe to the earth! To all flesh woe!
Ah cruel Sisyphus, give back, give back to us
Our hope, our refuge, Death! Yield us not up,
Oh yield us not a prey to loveless, loathed,
Intolerable Old Age.
SISTTHUS.
Turbulent rebels! Nay then, since Old Age
Must needs devour you, yet, to alleviate
Your doom, this will I do; the Olympian gods
I will compel forthwith to yield me up
The foam-born Aphrodite for my spouse;
And at her bidding from that hour the works
Of Love and generation for all kinds
Throughout all lands shall cease; so with dense swarms
Of pullulating life o'erpeopled, never
Shall the earth become too narrow for your ease,
Nor in your offspring shall your time-dimmed eyes
Envying behold eternally renewed
Youth's brief glad hour that once was yours: but I,
I only with the Cyprian in love's bliss,
50
A god 'mid gods abiding, will create Act III
A noble breed of ageless demigods
With youth and beauty to replenish earth.
Then haply, pitying your sad state, will I
At length contrive some means to set free Death,
Who with your shades will soon repeople hell,
And leave earth purged and vacant for a race
Worthier than was yours to colonize.
CHORUS.
Woe to the earth! To all flesh woe!
Ah cruel Sisyphus, give back, give back to us
Our hope, our refuge, Death! Yield us not up,
Oh yield us not a prey to loveless, loathed,
Intolerable Old Age.
{Enter several groups of prosperous-looking men, forming
depu la lions from various professions. )
S<P0K£S(M*A3<j)f the T>8TUT^TI03^of U^T>e < ^T^fl{€ ( I{S i etc.
Great King, respectfully before thy throne
The honourable guilds of undertakers,
Hired mourners, pyre-constructors, coffin-makers,
Grave-diggers and conveyancers make moan.
Against Death's most inopportune arrest
With manly indignation we protest.
Ever a dying industry was ours.
Now is it dead : before us ruin lowers.
SFOX^SMrftH^of the 'DOCTORS' "DSTUT^TIO^.
Great King, respectfully before thy throne
The medical profession makes its moan.
Since Death is dead, for us there is no place,
And utter ruin stares us in the face.
STO^SSM^N^of T>SPUT^TIO^of SXTSCT^DiT HSI%S.
Great King, we legal heirs before thy throne
With profound indignation must protest.
On Death's salutary activities alone
5i
Act III Our reasonable expectations rest.
Now tradesmen frown, and moneylenders sneer;
Friends shrug their shoulders, younger brothers jeer:
The whole great world of credit's out of gear.
STOKJ.SMtAN^ofthe SOL ( DIE t RS i ( D£TUT<ATION <
Great King, we soldiers against Death's arrest
With noble indignation must protest.
Thy gallant army's occupation 's gone.
No throats now can we cut, not even our own.
STOKJSM^tH^of the TESTS' DSTUT^TIO^i,
King, we priests against Death's foul arrest
With righteous indignation must protest.
On him alone our revenues depend.
Hell and the Gods are mocked: their reign is o'er.
All fear and reverence now is at an end.
We find we are not wanted any more.
SISTTHUS.
My friends, (I say it with sincere regret)
1 fear I cannot see my way as yet
To set Death free. But be not so put out.
Bestir yourselves, I pray you ; look about,
And you will find professions by the score
Nobler than those you fattened on before.
Have we too many poets? Why, scarce two.
Of genuine artists we have far too few.
Philosophers who count, good dancers, singers,
Musicians, one may number on one's fingers.
And if you fail — why, starve! Want of a dinner
Kills no one now; and you might well be thinner.
(Re-enter Hermes, followed by Hephaestus and Hera-
cles, who carries a huge wooden club.)
H8<RMeS.
Sisyphus, I conduct before your throne
These honourable envoys sent by Zeus
52
To readjust in friendly conference Act III
The balance of divine and human power
Somewhat by Death's captivity disturbed.
I think you know each other — Heracles —
Hephaestus!
HETH^ESTUS.
With fair greeting we salute thee.
SISTTHUS.
Wherefore in his own person, as beseems,
Comes not your master Zeus to treat with me?
HE%^CLES.
Insolent mortal! —
SISTTHUS. Nay, no mortal now,
Sir, but your peer.
HE^CLES. Ha! thou vile dog! As once
The Nemean lion I throttled, so now —
HEIiMES. Peace!
Peace, fool ! Govern your tongue.
HET^CLES. Come, let's be gone.
What care I for this Death? Here let him lie
And rot to all eternity. Come, friends!
HETH^ESTUS.
Listen! Stay, Heracles!
SISTTHUS. Nay, get you gone.
If Zeus would treat with me, let him not send
His bastards here to bully and browbeat me.
H€1&f€S.
Be not wroth, grandson ; we are very sorry —
53
Act III SISTTHUS.
And well you may be, as you soon shall find,
Evicted from your shrines, by none feared, mocked,
Unworshipped, starved.
HSTH^SSTUS. See now to what a pass
Your brawling folly has brought the Gods.
SISTTHUS. Yes truly !-
Yet would I be your friend, and treat with you,
But upon this condition, that in place
Of this rude stupid ruffian, I myself
Do now appoint whom of the Gods I choose
To serve as colleague with Hephaestus here.
Hermes.
Name then what God you will, and I will fetch him.
SISTTHUS.
Subtlety, grace, persuasiveness and wit,
Wisdom and charm, these qualities combined
For the true diplomat are requisite.
These among all you Gods I fail to find.
But 'mid your colleagues of the gentler sex
One goddess have I found, and one alone,
Whom every grace and every virtue decks.
Haste therefore, Hermes, and before my throne
With courteous speech invite and hither lead
The foam-born Aphrodite with all speed.
HSTHtASSTUS. {Angrily.)
My wife!
SISTTHUS.
Why yes, your wife.
H€TH^€STUS. I protest, sir.
No, no! I will not have it.
54
SISTTHUS. And why not her? Act m
Her mother-wit will prove, as you will find,
Most useful here. Besides, she knows mankind,
And the gods too. In such a case your queen,
Trust me, will make a perfect go-between.
HE^IES.
Come, give consent, good friend. I guarantee
She will be charmed.
HETH^ESTUS. Ay, so no doubt will he.
I like it not: but if it must be so,
At Paphos you will find her.
HE C I^4ES. Thank you, I go.
{Exit.)
HE^tACLES. {Suddenly after a pause.)
Hephaestus, I am struck by an idea.
HEPHAESTUS.
Well, Heracles?
HE%ACLES. While we stand waiting here,
I mean to try my strength upon this box.
HETHAESTUS.
I made it and should know. These magic locks
No strength may break.
HERACLES . Pshaw! With one mighty pash
Of my great club to fragments will I smash
This paltry chest of yours. — Now stand back there!
By your leave, Sir!
SISTTHUS. {Standing aside.)
With pleasure. Yet beware
Lest Thanatos, who lies beneath the lid,
With one fell blow you slay.
55
Act III HEQ^CLES. {Lifting his club.)
What if I did?
I care not. Now! —
CHOIRS. Behold! Ah me, behold!
(Heracles brings his club down upon the coffi?i. The club
breaks in half.)
HEI^CLES.
A curse upon this club!
HETHMSTUS. As I foretold!
HE %^CL ES. (Picking up the pieces)
Worm-eaten! Well!
SISTTHUS. Omphale's gift, no doubt.
Don't be downcast. Come, try another bout:
Send for your old club, heart of stubborn oak,
Wherewith, before your distaff feats, you broke
The skull of Cacus.
HE^CLES. (In great wrath.)
Hear me, Zeus! O thou
My father hear! —
SISTTHUS. Yea, to thy bastard now,
O Zeus, give ear!
HET^CLES. The Gods wilt thou endure
By this dog to be mocked ? —
SISTTHUS. Ay, to be sure,
Art thou not shocked?
HET^ICLES. From thine Olympian throne
■ Fling down —
56
SISTTHUS. Fling down to this poor dog a bone. Act III
HST^CLSS.
— A fulrainiferous flame-winged thunderbolt,
And shatter this damned coffin.
H£TH<AESTUS. Oh, thou dolt!
This coffin — I who made it best should know —
Is thunderbolt-proof.
{Loud thunder. A bolt crashes down upon the coffin, but
failing to harm it, falls rattling down the steps.)
There! I told you so. {Exit HERACLES.)
SISTTHUS. {Rcascending his throne?)
Not in such wise, ye dunderheaded Deities, with lumps
Of scrap-heaped iron and wooden clubs, shall ye deliver Death.
Yet, if ye swear as I dictate so faithfully to do,
Then at my own price of my craft and wisdom just so much
As may suffice to lift this lid will I lend you, ye fools.
{Re-enter HERMES running?)
Hermes.
From Paphos I thy herald am returned.
Eastward lift now thine eyes, O Sisyphus.
{Enter APHRODITE in a graceful car drawn through the air
by a team of doves?)
SISTTHUS.
Is that the form, the face
That flower-like from the foam of the wild billows,
Ere man had birth, was born?
CHORUS.
Oh majesty! Oh grace!
Oh divine wonder hither hastening
By light doves drawn !
57 I
Act III SISTTHUS.
Haste, slaves, and hither bring
Soft Sardian rugs, rich Babylonian pillows,
That so at my right hand, upon my throne
With sumptuous delicacy strovvn
Meet for ambrosial limbs divine,
The Queen of Love and Beauty may recline.
CHO^JS.
Oh majesty! Oh grace!
Oh loveliness divine!
Is that the form, the face
That flower-like from the foam of the wild billows,
Ere man had birth, was born?
{The car alights at the foot of the throne. SISYPHUS steps
down and hands out APHRODITE.)
cATHTtOTUTS.
Art thou the mortal that hath vanquished Death?
SISTTHUS.
Bright Cypris, I am he, I, Sisyphus.
Wilt thou ascend my throne and sit beside me?
Death was my friend. I loved him, dearly loved.
SISTTHUS.
Nay, had I known thou lovedst him —
JlTH'ROTUTE. Oh why
Didst thou so wrong him? Ah cruel Sisyphus!
SISTTHUS.
Unscathed beneath yon magic lock he sleeps.
58
^TH < Kg < DIT8. Act III
Then open, open quickly, that I forthwith
May wake him with my kisses. Alas, poor Death !
SISTTHUS.
Not yet, dear Goddess. But come, here at ease
Reclining let us bargain at what price
The Gods shall purchase Death's release.
(Sisyphus leads Aphrodite to his throne.)
HSTH^SSTUS. Wife, here
Beside me, as my colleague, is your seat.
f ATH c RQ c DlTE.
Husband, this throne seems softer. I sit here.
(Aphrodite and SISYPHUS seat themselves side by side on
the throned)
HS'HMeS. {Aside to Hephaestus.)
Please now, Hephaestus, do not interfere,
Or you'll spoil all. Leave this affair to us.
Your wife and I must deal with Sisyphus.
HSTH^esrus.
Then deal more wisely with him than last time,
When you played the mere accomplice to his crime.
Well, you're responsible for this damned mess.
I am so, I confess.
HETH^SSTUS.
And you must find us the way out of it.
Why, so I will, if you'll but trust my wit.
59
Act III <ATH%OT>m.
Thou art wise, Sisyphus ; yet much I wonder
How, by what art, thou even wilt compel
And reverse now the witchcraft of this lock.
SISTTHUS.
Of that hereafter.
^TH%pT)ITe.
Listen, Sisyphus.
All that is mine to give, all sights, all forms
Of enchantment and beauty and wanton bliss
Thy dreams have imaged or thy heart desired,
Think but the thought, and forthwith they are thine.
Nay in thine arms, if so thou wilt, no dream
Vainly embraced, but real and divine,
Ambrosial Pandora's self shall lie,
Or human Helen, if that please thee best.
SISTTHUS.
No longer doth the soul of Sisyphus
Lust for such trivial dull delights as these.
t ATH ( RQT>ITE.
Ah stern man, wilt thou alone scorn my gifts? Ah heart of stone!
SISTTHUS. {Rising.)
Nay, not so, fair Cytherean: thy gifts how should I despise?
But now, ye Gods, would ye deliver him who in yonder coffin lies,
To my terms however loath must ye consent, and with an oath
And covenant inviolably bind the unalterable troth
Of Zeus and all you twelve great Gods, that in return for Death's reprieve,
I, guaranteed against his vengeance, from your hands should now receive
Terrestrial godhead coeternal and coequal with your own.
Then let Hades rule in Hell, and let Zeus the clouds compel,
And lord it o'er you Gods in Heaven, so here on earth I reign alone.
H8THMSTUS.
You alone on earth! Oh monstrous!
60
SISrPHUS. And why not, Hephaestus? Act III
HSTH^ESTUS. You
Usurp our shrines, our power and functions, offices and revenue!
Upstart man, wilt thou presume thus to govern in the room
Of Gods through countless years, thou fool, from earliest childhood
trained to rule?
SISTTHUS.
Trained to rule! Shame on you ! Well, at least I scarcely could do worse.
Yet haply I'll not grudge you pensions charged upon my privy purse.
Yes, rent-free your shrines I'll leave you, with what worship you can get.
Come, friend, these terms might well be worse.
SISTTHUS. There 's one last condition yet.
As my Queen and goddess-consort Aphrodite here I claim.
hsth^estus.
What! my wife! Thou impudent blaspheming dog, thou — !
HECHES. Nay, for shame!
Come, come, thou the Olympian plenipotentiary!
HEPHAESTUS. Never, Hermes, no!
Thus with my honour vilely will I traffick.
SISTTHUS. Well, sirs, be it so.
I am sorry that our conference fails thus.
he<%mes.
Hephaestus, come, good friend! Why all this fuss?
{Drawing HEPHAESTUS aside.)
Did I not tell you to leave all to us?
Consent, you old fool, and as I dictate
Swear. Then but one move more, and so checkmate.
61
Act in HSTH^esrus.
How so?
By what has ceased to be a fact
We Gods must swear: void then will prove our pact.
HETH^SSTUS.
Ah!
JI C PH C R0 ( D1TE.
Pray give my husband time, Sisyphus dear.
He will see reason soon. Since many a year
He has ceased to love me, and lived a life as loose
And scandalous as even his father Zeus.
SISTTHUS.
Dear Goddess, may I deem thee mine in truth?
^TH'ROTHTE.
Yes. And with this kiss I seal it — there!
SISTTHUS.
Alas! Would I might now recall my youth!
^TH%OT>ITe.
Ambrosia will restore that, never fear.
HE C R3\4ES. {Returning.)
Hephaestus gives consent.
t ATH < RO < DITE. I knew he would:
He is so generous.
HE < RMES. Although most loath—
SISTTHUS.
'Tis natural.
62
HET^mes. Act in
Yet for the public good —
SISTTHUS.
Hermes, I thank thee for thy zeal and tact.
HE ( I{MSS.
Nay, thank Hephaestus. Now, to seal our pact
Inviolably, I propose this oath.
Kindly repeat each phrase, I pray you both.
I, Hephaestus, Lemnian, Aetnaean, Liparaean,sole God of elemental,
volcanic and household fire, thunderbolt-maker and chief artificer to his
Omnipotence Zeus; and I, Paphian, Cnidian, Erycinian Aphrodite,
Goddess of beauty and love, and mistress of the Graces, in the name and
on behalf of Zeus and the twelve great Olympian Gods do hereby accept,
and without prevarication agree and consent to, each and all of the terms
and stipulations proposed by Sisyphus, the son of Autolycus, the son of
Hermes, King of Corinth and Sicyon ; namely that upon condition and
in consideration of his releasing from captivity Thanatos, otherwise known
as Death, the said Deities do promise and undertake to guarantee and
protect the said Sisyphus against the power, tyranny and vengeance of
the said Thanatos for ever and for ever, and do grant him a godhead
coequal and coeternal with their own, that so he may rule and bear sway
upon Earth, as they in Heaven and Hell, as an independent and auto-
cratic divinity, upon these conditions only on the part of the said Sisyphus,
that the Olympian Gods be left in possession rent-free of all their temples,
shrines and holy places whatsoever, and that a yearly tribute —
SISTTHUS.
Tribute! I said pensions.
HEl^MES.
Well, that yearly pensions (the amount to be arbitrated upon here-
after) be paid by the said Sisyphus to the Olympian Gods; and lastly
that the said foam-born Goddess Aphrodite be given as wife and goddess-
consort in lawful wedlock to the said Sisyphus; and faithfully to observe
the terms of this treaty, we Hephaestus and Aphrodite, in the name of
Zeus and the twelve great Gods, do solemnly and irrevocably swear by
63
Act III the eternal, unique, unimpeachable, inviolable, unquestioned and unques-
tionable chastity of Artemis.
(Aphrodite and Hephaestus swear.)
S1STTHUS.
Artemis' chastity! Upon my word
A pretty oath, and one I ne'er yet heard.
But why no more by Acheron, as of old,
Or Styx?
Such oaths are grown quite out of use
And fashion of late years, you see, since Zeus
Took to philosophizing. Now we hold
One cannot bathe in the same river twice.
Mere sophistry, no doubt: still 'tis more wise
To be quite safe in such a case as this.
sistthus.
Well, I suppose none can doubt Artemis.
Doubt Artemis! I presume not indeed.
To our next business let us now proceed.
You say you know how to unseal this box.
But how?
HETHvteSTUS.
Yes, how indeed? I made these locks,
So should know best. No witchcraft, force nor trick . .
SISTTHUS.
Yes, we all know, Hephaestus: nought can pick
These precious locks of yours. Well, we shall see.
Come hither, Time.
TI316. {Coming forward from the crowd.)
What now wouldst thou with me ?
64
Heqwes. Act ,„
Time, my old friend! I am charmed to meet you here.
hsth^sstus.
How Time will help, to me is far from clear.
SISTTHUS.
Say, old man, hast thou the power to turn back the fleeting hour?
rime.
Forward ever must I hasten, forward without rest or pause.
SISTTHUS.
From confirmed and ancient habit merely, from no deeper cause.
Well we know, when 'tis thy will, thou canst linger, nay stand still,
As once on fair Alcmena's bridal night five long hours at a stretch —
HS'E^ieS.
While I without the palace doors stood sentinel, poor shivering wretch.
rime.
'Tis true. And often in my youth, ere yet were born this earth, this sun,
To and fro, now fast now slow, forward and backward would I run,
With the drifting stars like a child I played, ever unmaking what I had
made,
Thence to refashion worlds more fair. But now am I grown old, and
wearily
Scarce may I drag myself along, onward alone, still onward drearily.
SISTTHUS.
Yet surely now for the world's sake the needful effort thou wilt make,
And backward through the abysm of thy past
Creeping a little distance wilt recall
The midnight before midnight last,
Two days, scarce more than forty hours in all?
rime.
Must I drag back through forty stubborn hours
65 K
Act III This universe of things? No, such a task
I must decline: 'tis far beyond my powers.
SISTTHUS.
Not the whole world; it is not that I ask,
But a mere trifle; just these coffin-locks.
rims.
Come, that's another matter. Just this box!
HE%3iES. {Aside.)
Ha! Ha!
Is that thy game? Now art thou caught, old fox.
rime.
Let me consider. Thus it might be done.
Yes, I must force back the moon and sun.
I think the effort will not prove too much.
The firmament of stars I need not touch.
But first a magic circle round about
This coffin must I trace: then all without
Will remain subject to Time's natural law.
What lies within, the sun and moon shall draw
Backward with swift regressive power —
He^MSS. Till click !-
The locks fly open, and we've done the trick.
SISTTHUS.
For this good turn I thank thee, Time.
CHOIRS and tATH^OTUTE.
Oh wondrous wit! Craft sublime!
Oh my sweet lord, Sisyphus!
HE%MES. {Aside)
Now art thou fallen in thine own pit,
Sisyphus, oh thou old fox!
66
CHOT^US and <ATH < %O c DlTe. Act III
Is this thy trick? Is it thus
Thou wilt pick this magic lock,
Deemed picklock-proof when once 'twas shot?
Is this thy plot, to bid Time
Set back his clock, (oh craft sublime!)
And bring once more what now is not?
Oh wondrous wit! Oh subtle thought!
HEIZJMes. {Aside)
Now art thou fallen in thine own pit:
Now art thou caught, oh thou old fox !
TI3HS. {Solemnly circumambulating the coffin, and tzvice
tracing a circle on the ground with his staff.)
Stand aside. Approach not near.
Come not within the magic sphere
Which thus I trace, once, twice
Round this coffin where Death lies.
{As Time's incantation proceeds, the daylight changes rapidly
through daw?i to night, and then, through dusk, mid-day, and
dawn, to night once more. The sun and moon are seen racing
through the sky from right to left. During the darkness,
the stars appear as though stationary.')
Now, now with a steadfast mind,
By an effort tense
Till thought condense,
My will do I knit and bind
Like a serpent self-entwined,
And I send it forth with power
Backward to force
The sun in his course
Swiftly through hour on hour,
Back to his midnight bower,
6 7
Act III While lo! from the West the moon
Risen pale and aghast
Drifts eastward fast
Through the wondering stars, till soon
Again in the light she swoon,
And again doth the startled sun
From his setting place
Like a madman race,
Till he plunge down through red dawn,
And behold night reborn!
H8 C I{M£S. (Interrupting Time's incantation. The crescent
moon is suddenly arrested in its backward course up the sky,
and remains stationary.)
Stay, Time, I pray you ; a brief while suspend
The potent operation of your spell.
Before you bring this business to an end,
I have a short tale that I first must tell.
SISYTHVS.
A tale! What tale? Hermes, don't be absurd.
Let Time proceed.
HSI^MSS. Grandson, pray take my word,
I absolutely must and will be heard.
S IS r THUS.
Well, be brief please.
HECHES. I will. Listen, my friends.
Last month upon some errand of my master
From Paphos I flew homeward through the night.
The moon was not yet up; but as I neared
The Carian coast, her crescent, rising slow
'Mid Latinos' peaks, revealed with gradual rays
Its valley'd flanks and forests, and beyond,
Inlaid with slumbering archipelagoes,
The tranquil sea, with light mist silvered o'er.
68
Moved by such beauty, on poised wings I sank, Act III
Till I beheld a flock of sheep that slept
Upon a mountain lawn not far below.
Around them lay their dogs in slumber curled,
And in their midst (ah, beauty past all thought!)
Their shepherd, slumbering too.
SISTTHUS. What 's all this nonsense?
^TH ( HOT>ITe.
Nay listen, my dear lord. 'Tis a sweet tale.
Perchance some goddess loves him.
HS%MSS.
Gazing I hovered close above his face,
Like hawk-moth drinking honey on the wing,
When his lips stirred and faintly murmured: " Leave me not!
Leave me not, Goddess, thus! " — and then again:
" Ah slay me with thy silver shafts divine! "
By this I knew it was some youth beloved
Of Artemis. {General sensation.)
Chaste Artemis! Oh shame!
SISTTHUS.
Thou shameless slanderer! dar'st thou traduce
Yon chaste and innocent lady with foul lies?
HET^nes.
How now, Sisyphus! Doth the Moon's disgrace
So grieve thee?
SISTTHUS. Liar! thou hast no proof.
H8 <%J148 S. No proof?
Look up! See, conscious of convicted guilt
Artemis blushes.
69
Act III {The moon is seen to be suffused with red.)
^TH^OTflTe. Oh fie, wicked girl!
SISTTHUS.
Liar unblushing, a blush proves not guilt.
CHO<%lJS.
Oh see, see! she blushes.
Her pale face of pearl
With tell-tale crimson flushes.
Oh fie, wicked girl!
And see now, with good cause
Shamefully o'er her face
A dark cloud she draws,
So to veil her disgrace
From profane eyes' deriding.
But look! (Oh wondrous sight!)
What swift splendour gliding
Down hither through the night?
CHO^JS
Yes, it is she indeed:
Oh scandal ! from her sphere
Descending, lo! with speed
Artemis' self draws near.
and SISTTHUS {together).
Yes, it is she indeed
Descending from her sphere.
Hither she glides with speed
Her character to clear.
{Enter Artemis running, with a bright crescent moon upon
her head. She throws herself at Aphrodite's /<?*?/.)
^TJEMIS.
kind Goddess, Aphrodite, hear me in my distress, Oh hear!
^TH c RQ c Dire.
Shame upon the wicked hussy, caught thus gadding from her sphere!
jt^emis.
1 have sinned ; oh I confess it : yet for thy mercy would I plead.
Queen of Love, 'twas thine almighty power compelled me.
70
^TH < ROT>ITE. Mine indeed! Act III
My power compel the unique vestal virgin goddess, Artemis,
Like some sluttish slave-born cow-girl, 'midst the sheep to fondle and kiss
Handsome shepherd-boys! Oh monstrous!
^'RTSJllIS. Nay kind goddess, pity me :
Let me have my sweet true love, though but a shepherd lad he be.
As my husband in chaste wedlock let me take him, O great queen.
tAPH^ROTHTE.
Oh the artful minx!
e rf c RT€34IS. Nay, chaste and innocent our love hath been.
SISTTHUS.
Ye all hear her; chaste hath been her passion.
^TWROTHTE. Oh doubtless so she saith.
Dost thou deem, thou sly old sophist, thus once more to escape Death?
J[?H C RQ ( DITE. {Raising Artemis.)
Well, I am sorry for thee, Artemis,
Thus sadly fallen from thy sublime renown.
Henceforth on mortal lovers' midnight bliss
With sympathetic beams wilt thou gaze down
Indulgently, not with cold prudish glance,
As heretofore, on naughtiness askance.
Who would have thought it? Well, I wish thee joy.
Wed, if thou wilt, thy darling shepherd boy.
But of thy vaunted chastity, I fear,
The less is said the better now, my dear.
So, friends, void was our covenant and pact,
Being sworn, it seems, by what was not a fact.
I am sorry, Sisyphus; but is't not so?
71
Act III SISTTHUS.
Oh ye just Gods, what, are ye sunk so low
As to repudiate your plighted troth
For a mere sophistry?
HE'RtMSS. An oath's an oath,
I grant; but, to be kept, must exist first;
Ours never did.
S1STTHUS. Wretch perjured and accurst,
Didst thou not swear by Acheron and Styx
To play me none of your vile knavish tricks?
HSTtSMSS.
I did. But, alas! by the best advice
One cannot bathe in the same river twice.
Grandson, trust not these fickle, fleeting streams,
Unstable of identity as dreams.
Now, father Time, I pray proceed ; complete your spells, that Death be
freed :
In thee our hope and trust is.
SISYPHUS.
Great Time, before thy feet I kneel ; to thy compassion I appeal,
And to thy sense of justice.
mi^es.
Time never made the least pretence to any sense of justice.
Yet what he has, at your expense, if he is wise, he'll exercise,
And as to mercy, I surmise, he has but little or none to spend
On such a rogue as you, my friend.
SISTTHUS.
Oh hear me, Time! Was it not I who, trusting to their guarantee,
To please these Gods conceived this plan, and called you in to set Death
free?
And is it just I now should die, a martyr to their vile chicane,
72
Who for the sake of thankless Man first bound their foe, and then again, Act III
Because they murmured, set him loose, though none compelled me?
m%M8S. Oh hypocrite!
When you had made your terms with Zeus ! Prate not of mankind's benefit.
Now art thou fallen in thine own pit ; now art thou caught, O thou old fox !
Come then, delay no more, old Time : the case is plain ; turn back the locks.
SISTTHUS.
To thy just doom, O wise and holy Time,
With confidence my fate do I submit.
TIuWS. (Turning away from HERMES and SlSYPHUS, and
addressing the people.)
Ye children of Mortality, yet once more listen :
Lend heedful ears, then freely choose: say which would you,
Whether should I from forth this enchanted coffin,
Wherein prisoned he sleeps innocuous and secure,
This day release you Thanatos, or insatiably
Doth ambition still hunger in your blind spirits
For perpetual and infinite senile decay,
Slow stealthy mummification of mind and body?
CHOIQUS.
Thanatos, O just Time!
From captivity release him to us, oh release him to us!
Thanatos, and only Thanatos
From interminable, intolerable
And abominable senility,
Thanatos only shall deliver us.
O just and holy Time,
Give him back to us, oh give him back to us again !
rime.
With reasonable and pious instinct, as beseems,
Prudently have ye chosen ; and therefore will I
73 L
Act III From his becharmed captivity now release you Death,
First, O presumptuous Sisyphus, for thy folly's
Mad sacrilegious excess, on thy soul to wreak
Righteous retributive doom of eternal penance.
SISrPHUS.
So be it, O Time, even as thou wilt. Proceed ;
Let loose upon me Thanatos: I scorn his terrors.
Great was the stake, and mightily have I played for it.
Tis lost: yet its loss nobly can my soul support.
CHO c RUS.
Thanatos, O just Time!
From captivity deliver him, oh deliver him to us,
That this Sisyphus, the abominable one,
He may carry to Acheron away with him.
TItMS. {Recommencing his solemn incantation.)
Once more with a steadfast mind,
By an effort tense
Till thought condense,
My will do I knit and bind
Like a serpent self-entwined,
And I send it forth with might
Backward to force
The Moon in her course,
Back with swift spell-bound flight,
Back still, till lo! midnight!—
(As Time utters this last word, the lid of the coffin springs
open, and a moment later THANATOS is seen by the dim moon-
light raising himself slowly to a sitting postwe. He sighs,
and passes his hand across his eyes, like one awakening from
deep slumber, then rises to his feet, steps from the coffin, and
stares around him. Beholding SlSYPHUS, who stands erect
and rigid before him, while all except the Gods have fallen
74
prostrate with terror, he starts violently. SISYPHUS laughs Act III
aloud, and THANATOS, uttering an appalling yell, glides
swiftly upon him, and is seen towering over, and enveloping
him in the folds of his black robe. The earth opens, and as
they disappear beneath it, the laughter of SISYPHUS is heard
once more, and then silence?)
THE END
CHISWICK PRESS: CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO.
TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
BERKELEY
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