The Collected Works of Oscar Wilde: 250+ Titles in One Edition. Оскар Уайльд

I see when men love women

       They give them but a little of their lives,

       But women when they love give everything;

       I see that, Guido, now.

      GUIDO

       Away, away,

       And come not back till you have waked your dead.

      DUCHESS

       I would to God that I could wake the dead,

       Put vision in the glazéd eves, and give

       The tongue its natural utterance, and bid

       The heart to beat again: that cannot be:

       For what is done, is done: and what is dead

       Is dead for ever: the fire cannot warm him:

       The winter cannot hurt him with its snows;

       Something has gone from him; if you call him now,

       He will not answer; if you mock him now,

       He will not laugh; and if you stab him now

       He will not bleed.

       I would that I could wake him!

       O God, put back the sun a little space,

       And from the roll of time blot out tonight,

       And bid it not have been! Put back the sun,

       And make me what I was an hour ago!

       No, no, time will not stop for anything,

       Nor the sun stay its courses, though Repentance

       Calling it back grow hoarse; but you, my love,

       Have you no word of pity even for me?

       O Guido, Guido, will you not kiss me once?

       Drive me not to some desperate resolve:

       Women grow mad when they are treated thus:

       Will you not kiss me once?

      GUIDO

       [holding up knife]

       I will not kiss you

       Until the blood grows dry upon this knife,

       [Wildly] Back to your dead!

      DUCHESS [going up the stairs]

       Why, then I will be gone! and may you find

       More mercy than you showed to me tonight!

      GUIDO Let me find mercy when I go at night

       And do foul murder.

      DUCHESS

       [coming down a few steps.]

       Murder did you say?

       Murder is hungry, and still cries for more,

       And Death, his brother, is not satisfied,

       But walks the house, and will not go away,

       Unless he has a comrade! Tarry, Death,

       For I will give thee a most faithful lackey

       To travel with thee! Murder, call no more,

       For thou shalt eat thy fill.

       There is a storm

       Will break upon this house before the morning,

       So horrible, that the white moon already

       Turns grey and sick with terror, the low wind

       Goes moaning round the house, and the high stars

       Run madly through the vaulted firmament,

       As though the night wept tears of liquid fire

       For what the day shall look upon. Oh, weep,

       Thou lamentable heaven! Weep thy fill!

       Though sorrow like a cataract drench the fields,

       And make the earth one bitter lake of tears,

       It would not be enough. [A peal of thunder.]

       Do you not hear,

       There is artillery in the Heaven tonight.

       Vengeance is wakened up, and has unloosed

       His dogs upon the world, and in this matter

       Which lies between us two, let him who draws

       The thunder on his head beware the ruin

       Which the forked flame brings after.

       [A flash of lightning followed by a peal of thunder.]

      GUIDO

       Away! away!

       [Exit the DUCHESS, who as she lifts the crimson curtain looks back for a moment at GUIDO, but he makes no sign. More thunder.]

       Now is life fallen in ashes at my feet

       And noble love self-slain; and in its place

       Crept murder with its silent bloody feet.

       And she who wrought it - Oh! and yet she loved me,

       And for my sake did do this dreadful thing.

       I have been cruel to her: Beatrice!

       Beatrice, I say, come back.

       [Begins to ascend staircase, when the noise of Soldiers is heard.]

       Ah! what is that?

       Torches ablaze, and noise of hurrying feet.

       Pray God they have not seized her.

       [Noise grows louder.]

       Beatrice!

       There is yet time to escape. Come down, come out!

       [The voice of the DUCHESS outside.]

       This way went he, the man who slew my lord.

       [Down the staircase comes hurrying a confused body of Soldiers; GUIDO is not seen at first, till the DUCHESS surrounded by Servants carrying torches appears at the top of the staircase, and points to GUIDO, who is seized at once, one of the Soldiers dragging the knife from his hand and showing it to the Captain of the Guard in sight of the audience. Tableau.]

      END OF ACT III.

      ACT IV

       Table of Contents

      SCENE

      The Court of Justice: the walls are hung with stamped grey velvet: above the hangings the wall is red, and gilt symbolical figures bear up the roof, which is made of red beams with grey soffits and moulding: a canopy of white satin flowered with gold is set for the Duchess: below it a long bench with red cloth for the Judges: below that a table for the clerks of the court. Two soldiers stand on each side of the canopy, and two soldiers guard the door; the citizens have some of them collected in the Court; others are coming in greeting one another; two tipstaffs in violet keep order with long white wands.

      FIRST CITIZEN

       Good morrow, neighbour Anthony.

      SECOND CITIZEN

       Good morrow, neighbour Dominick.

      FIRST CITIZEN

       This is a strange day for Padua, is it not? - the Duke being dead.

      SECOND CITIZEN

       I tell you, neighbour Dominick, I have not known such a day since the last Duke died.

      FIRST CITIZEN

       They will try him first, and sentence him afterwards, will they not, neighbour Anthony?

      SECOND CITIZEN

       Nay, for he might ‘scape his punishment then; but they will condemn him