_ True, I rebelled: But when did I betray?--
Indignities, which man could not support,
Provoked my vengeance to this noble crime;
But he had stripped me first of my command,
Dismissed my service, and absolved my faith;
And, with disdainful language, dared my worst:
I but accepted war, which he denounced.
Else had you seen, not Dorax, but Alonzo,
With his couched lance, against your foremost Moors;
Perhaps, too, turned the fortune of the day,
Made Africk mourn and Portugal triumph.
_Bend._ Let me embrace thee!
_Dor._ Stand off, sycophant,
And keep infection distant.
_Bend._ Brave and honest!
_Dor._ In spite of thy temptations.
_Bend._ Call them, trials;
They were no more. Thy faith was held in balance,
And nicely weighed by jealousy of power.
Vast was the trust of such a royal charge:
And our wise emperor might justly fear,
Sebastian might be freed and reconciled,
By new obligements, to thy former love.
_Dor._ I doubt thee still: Thy reasons were too strong,
And driven too near the head, to be but artifice:
And, after all, I know thou art a statesman,
Where truth is rarely found.
_Bend._ Behold the emperor:--
_Enter Emperor,_ SEBASTIAN, _and_ ALMEYDA.
Ask him, I beg thee,--to be justified,--
If he employed me not to ford thy soul,
And try the footing, whether false or firm.
_Dor._ Death to my eyes, I see Sebastian with him!
Must he be served?--Avoid him: If we meet,
It must be like the crush of heaven and earth,
To involve us both in ruin.
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