Punishment Without Revenge El castigo sin venganza Punishment Without Revenge EMOTHE0421

Texto utilizado para esta edición digital:
Traducción inédita de Elizabeth Power, realizada para EMOTHE, 2014.

Adaptación digital para EMOTHE:

García Reidy, Alejandro (Dicat)

Prologue

Dear Reader,

This tragedy took place in the Court one day for reasons of little interest to your worship. So many were then anxious to see it that I have decided to print it for their satisfaction. The story was written in the Latin, French, German, Tuscan and Castilian tongues, first in prose and now in verse. Your worship shall read it as mine, for it is not printed in Seville, where booksellers, eager for profits, bandy about the names of poets, regardless of their true merits. For there are those who for money ignore the honour of others, whose poorly written books they buy and sell. It is written in Spanish style and not according to classical Greek and Latin rigour, shunning shadows, heralds and choruses, because taste can change precepts just as fashion changes clothes and time changes customs.

Elenco

The Duke of Ferrara

Count Federico

Albano

Rutilio

Floro

Lucindo

Marquis Gonzaga

Casandra

Aurora

Lucrecia

Batín

Cintia

Febo

Ricardo

ACT I

The Duke of Ferrara, at night; Febo and Ricardo, servants

RICARDO

Endecasílabos sueltos (tirada)

That was some mimicry!

FEBO

Indeed it was,

But who’d believe ‘twas the Duke of Ferrara?

DUKE

I am afraid I will be recognised.

RICARDO

Because it is disguise, all is permitted;

Even the heavens can conceal themselves

By sometimes resorting to camouflage.

What do you think’s the veil that night conceals?

An ornamented cape that hides the heavens,

And, so as to shed some light, the stars it holds

Are silver ornaments; the moon, a cross.

DUKE

How can you say such foolery already?

FEBO

The poet member of the latest sect

Who deem themselves divine has not so thought.

RICARDO

If I employ their licence, don’t blame me,

I know of one who called the moon a cheese.

DUKE

Well, do not think it wrong that poetry

Has reached a state so very miserable

That it has become a conjuror now

–Much sleight of hand and little cognizance–

Who can spit out many-coloured gay ribbons.

But let us set aside to other ends

These jaded themes: that dame is no eyesore.

RICARDO

Eyesore, you say? She is in truth a seraph.

But there’s an obstacle to overcome.

DUKE

What obstacle is that?

RICARDO

A certain spouse

Who accepts favours but will offer none.

FEBO

He fancies to safeguard appearances.

DUKE

Such has e’er been the cruellest pedigree

Of those who dwell in this community.

FEBO

May he who accepts garments and bijous

Have pity on the one who purchased them,

For, should his wife’s demise come before his,

Half will be his according to the law.

RICARDO

It’s true that such people lack charity,

Speak devilish tongues and garble words at will.

DUKE

These cunning men are cousins of the devil,

Who makes them give consent but stalls their acts.

RICARDO

Here I could knock but there’s a lot to say.

DUKE

How’s that?

RICARDO

A devout bawd with two young girls

‘Twixt tender fruit and vines, one pearl, one plate.

DUKE

I never trust their outward appearance.

RICARDO

Nearby there dwells a lady sweet as pie

Fair and dark-skinned.

DUKE

But what about her spirit?

RICARDO

The one who picks her clothes and lives with her

Does ruminate, downhearted, visitors.

FEBO

‘Twas always oxen that would chew the cud.

RICARDO

Nearby I’ve seen a woman whose opinion

Would make one think she held a law degree.

DUKE

Let’s go.

RICARDO

She will not open at this hour.

DUKE

Won’t she? And if I tell her who I am?

RICARDO

In that case, she’ll be sure to open up.

DUKE

Knock on her door without any more fuss!

RICARDO

She was expecting someone, for out she sped.

Cintia, from above

CINTIA

Who goes there at this hour?

RICARDO

It is but I.

CINTIA

Who, may I ask, is “I”?

RICARDO

A friend, Cintia.

Pray open up, the Duke is here with me,

Attracted by the praise I sang of you.

CINTIA

The Duke, you say?

RICARDO

You doubt my word?

CINTIA

I don’t

Doubt that the duke may have come here with you,

But the fact that such an important lord

Should come to visit me at this late hour.

RICARDO

He comes disguised to see a great lady.

CINTIA

Ricardo, if but last month you had said

What now you say to me about the Duke

You’d have persuaded me he’s at my door.

For all his youth he’s lived unworthily,

And all his immoral licentiousness

Is known to every common man and girl.

And since he has not married, to pursue

Still this lecherous way of life of his,

Not minding whether it is a disgrace

To have a bastard heir –though Federico

Is quite a worthy youth– well, I’d believe

The Duke had come to visit me himself.

But now he’s acting as a gentleman

And has left his wanton ways to be betrothed,

And sent his son to Mantua for Casandra,

His wife, he cannot still be running wild

While waiting for her to come at any time.

And if t’were wantonness in Federico

What would it be then in the Duke’s own case?

And were you faithful, though he gave you grounds,

You would not dare to slur his reputation,

For now the Duke, your lord, is fast asleep;

And so I close my window, ‘cause I know

‘Twas an excuse to engage in conversation.

Adieu, farewell, and come again tomorrow.

Exit

DUKE

To what house of repute you have brought me!

RICARDO

I, sir? I’m not to blame.

DUKE

‘Twas a mistake

To leave her unrebuked until tomorrow.

FEBO

I’ll knock the door down should you so desire.

DUKE

I heard you say it!

FEBO

It’s Ricardo’s fault.

But if you want to know the current state

Of those who are in power, my lord, whether

Feared or beloved, forget the smooth-tongued words

Of your obsequious man, and clothed by night

In simple garments or in a charabanc,

Go forth to know their worth. This stratagem

Was known to work for many an emperor.

DUKE

100

Listeners don’t hear any good of themselves,

And they were, although you speak up for them,

Overparticular philosophers,

Because the common people are not fit

To judge the truth, and it is an error

105

Of ignorant minds to trust the good opinion

Of the fickle and the unreliable,

Whose premises defeat all laws of reason.

A whiner or a discontent will lie

To commoners eager for novelties,

110

Whose lowliness will oft impede the news

From reaching them, and they have no access

To palaces and so can hear no rumours.

I say I have lived wanton and unwed,

Preferring not to be restrained, and thinking

115

Federico, although a bastard, is my heir;

But since I now await Casandra’s coming,

Who hies from Mantua in company of my son,

I shall forget all else for the time being.

FEBO

‘Twill do you well to marry.

RICARDO

If you want

120

Some entertainment, listen at this door.

DUKE

Are they singing?

RICARDO

Can you not tell?

DUKE

But who

Is it lives here?

RICARDO

It is a theatrical manager.

FEBO

And he’s the best in Italy, what’s more.

DUKE

They do sing well!

And does he perform good plays?

RICARDO

125

It all depends on whether you’re foe or friend:

His friends exalt them with their loud applause

His enemies have no good word to say.

FEBO

They cannot all be good.

DUKE

For my wedding,

Febo, prepare the best rooms and comedies;

130

For I would not like you to commission

Anything but the very best of plays.

FEBO

We shall put on those praised by wits and lords.

DUKE

Are they rehearsing?

RICARDO

A lady is speaking.

DUKE

If it is Andrelina, she’s well known.

135

What acting! What passion! And what feeling!

From inside the house

Away, my thoughts! No more, no more memory

That my past glory turns into torment,

And I don’t want to recall this distress,

I want not memory, I seek oblivion,

140

For these are sad reflections of lost joys

Although you claim they mitigate my pain.

DUKE

Nice acting!

FEBO

Yes, it’s very nice indeed!

DUKE

I’d listen to some more but I am tired.

I’m off to bed.

RICARDO

So early? It’s just ten.

DUKE

145

I find it dull.

RICARDO

But she is quite unique!

DUKE

I am afraid she’ll have something to say.

RICARDO

Something to do with you? How could that be?

DUKE

You well know, Ricardo, that comedy’s

A mirror where the foolish and the wise,

150

The young, the strong, the brave and monarchs all,

And governors, maidens, married women too

Are used as an example of life and name,

To show our customs, be they loose or pure,

By mixing fiction with reality,

155

Delightfulness with disillusionment.

May it suffice to say that once I heard

One prima donna speak quite ill of me.

And now you would persuade me to stay on

And hear what this one has to say of me.

160

You should remember that to hear such truths

Is not what every gentleman would choose.

Exeunt

Federico, dressed in his walking clothes, and Batín, a servant

BATÍN

I don’t know what it is you wish to do.

Why do you stop among these trees, Federico,

When you have such important things at hand?

FEDERICO

165

Because I feel so very out of sorts,

I am unable, although I would wish,

To proceed fast and more attentively.

Instead I leave my people in this place

And, prey to many thoughts, I stand right here

170

Under the shelter of these trees, whose crowns,

Adorning them with apparel of green,

Watch o’er the sleeping waves of this river,

So musical and cold and crystal clear.

I wish I could escape from being myself

175

For I am tired of hearing all about

My father’s marriage, when I was quite sure

That I would be his rightful heir one day.

And though I put a brave face on the act,

As is expected, it’s with heavy heart

180

That I am off to Mantua against my will

To bring back my stepmother as I’m bid.

BATÍN

Despite your father’s vicious way of life,

So criticised by all and sundry here,

He did fall victim of a virtuous maid

185

And, to assuage his need, must marry her.

A vassal, as a gift to the French king,

Presented him with an untamed wild horse

Endowed with extraordinary grace.

Swan was its name, in honour of its coat

190

Of snowy white and of its curly mane,

That from the neck that held its dainty head

Fell to the ground. Its nature was so wrought

As though its model was a lovely girl,

But so disdainful in its violence

195

That no horse tamer e’er could harness it.

On seeing such beauty and such wild fury,

The king had placed a lion in a den

And there he put the horse, whose vital spirit

Was so intimidated that its mane stood up

200

Around its head, like a white sphere of spears

Or a porcupine, whose every spine oozed ice,

And the proud steed became so tame and calm

That it allowed a tiny dwarf to put

A saddle on its back, and from that day

205

It never caused a worry to its grooms.

FEDERICO

Batín, I know the best solution for

My shameless father would be a marriage,

But I cannot help feeling very sad

For having harboured these false hopes so long.

210

I know the haughty and the most phlegmatic

Can fall under the spell of a lady,

And that quite soon this lion proud and brave

Will hold within his arms the first-born babe

That with its tenderness and babbling words

215

Shall let it take him by his manly beard.

Not even a rough and ready farmer looks

Upon his crops the way a married man

Will look upon his breed, and thus renounce

His every act of immorality.

220

But what is it to me if my father

Should find a quiet life and leave behind

His life of vice, if his offspring inherit

His worldly goods, while I, a lowly serf,

Must carry in a lion that will destroy me?

BATÍN

225

My lord, all sensible and discreet men,

When subject to evils they can’t avoid,

Will clothe themselves in patience and good will,

Put on a happy face and do their best

To show no sign of envy or revenge.

FEDERICO

230

And shall I have to bear a stepmother?

BATÍN

No more than you have consented till now

All of the Duke’s former conquests. And now

You only will have one: a great lady.

FEDERICO

What is that din of voices that I hear?

BATÍN

235

There are some people at the river ford.

FEDERICO

They’re women. I shall go and see.

BATÍN

Stop there!

FEDERICO

Don’t be a coward, it’s the right thing to do.

Exit

BATÍN

It’s brave indeed to face predicaments.

Come Lucindo, Albano and Floro!

Exeunt

LUCINDO

240

The count is calling.

ALBANO

Where is Federico?

FLORO

I wonder if he’s asking for his horses.

BATÍN

The cries of a lady took him away,

Dim-witted and quite firm of foot indeed

While I follow him close upon his footsteps,

245

Call the others.

Exit

LUCINDO

Where are you going? Wait!

ALBANO

I think it is a sham.

FLORO

And so do I,

Although I certainly can hear the voices

Of people walking down by the river.

LUCINDO

Federico seems ill disposed to obey

250

His new mistress, although he’s going for her.

ALBANO

It’s clear for all to see how sad he feels.

Federico enters with Casandra in his arms

FEDERICO

I trust you’ll give me leave to carry you here.

CASANDRA

I thank you for such courtesy, kind sir.

FEDERICO

And I thank my luck for bringing me here

255

To this recondite and secluded copse.

CASANDRA

And who, my lord, I pray, are these good folk?

FEDERICO

They are the servants who accompany me.

Fear not, fair lady, for they’ll serve you too.

Batín enters with the maid Lucrecia in his arms

BATÍN

Tell me, good woman, how you weigh so much

260

When everybody says you are so light?

LUCRECIA

Kind sir, please tell me where you’re taking me.

BATÍN

At least I’ll get you out of all this mud

The river concentrates upon its banks.

I think it played a trick to overturn

265

Your coach as it passed by, so as to have

Such gorgeous nymphs within its view.

And should it not have been so near dry land

You might have found yourselves in grave danger.

FEDERICO

Milady, so that I may address you

270

With all of the respect that is your due

Please tell me who you are.

CASANDRA

Indeed, my lord,

There is no reason why I should not do so.

I am Casandra, Duchess of Ferrara,

The daughter of the Duke of Mantua.

FEDERICO

275

How can your highness travel quite alone?

CASANDRA

I’m not alone, for such could never be.

Not far from here awaits Marquis Gonzaga,

Whom I implored to leave me on the path

And let me cross the river on my own

280

Under this sweltering afternoon sunshine

For I believed the shore to be protected

By leafy trees, but found it was all wet.

‘Twas not so wet that Fortune chose to drown me

But wet enough to stop the carriage wheels.

285

Pray tell me, lord, who you may be, although

Your presence warrants courtesy and valour,

Not I alone would thank you for this favour,

But the Marquis and my father would also

Be very grateful for you kind rescue.

FEDERICO

290

Once you have given me your sweet hand to kiss,

Your Highness will be told just who I am.

CASANDRA

You kneel? It is too much! It is not fair

That I should let you show such high regard.

FEDERICO

Milady, it is fair and it is right,

295

Because I have to tell you I’m your son.

CASANDRA

In faith I’ve been quite foolish not to know you.

Who else but you would save me from my plight?

Embrace me then.

FEDERICO

I kiss your hand instead.

CASANDRA

It’s not enough.

My arms should pay their debt,

300

Federico, kind sir and son-in-law.

FEDERICO

I thank you in my soul for your kindness.

They speak to each other in low voices and Batín speaks

BATÍN

Since we have had such luck that this lady

Is the person we were to seek in Mantua,

All that I need to know is if I’ll call you

305

Your grace, your excellence or milady

So that I can adjust my words full well

To the honour warranted by your merits.

LUCRECIA

Since I was but a child I am, my friend,

A servant to the Duchess, her lady’s maid.

BATÍN

310

Are you a maid-in-waiting then?

LUCRECIA

I’m not.

BATÍN

You’ll be a would-be maid-in waiting then,

That was about to be but never made it.

Sometimes the nobles have what you tell me:

A kind of wild card, between maids and servants,

315

Who are everything and yet nothing to them.

What is your name?

LUCRECIA

It is Lucrecia.

BATÍN

From Rome?

LUCRECIA

From somewhere much closer than that.

BATÍN

I thank the Lord that I ran into you!

Since I have heard your story, my head’s full

320

Of forced restraint and unjust consequence.

Did you see Tarquin?

LUCRECIA

BATÍN

And if you saw him

What would you do?

LUCRECIA

Well, do you have a wife?

BATÍN

Why do you ask?

LUCRECIA

So I can seek her counsel.

BATÍN

Your words offend me. Do you know who I am?

LUCRECIA

325

And how could I? What are you renowned for?

BATÍN

I can’t believe my fame has not reached Mantua.

LUCRECIA

What are your merits? But you must be like

Those fools who think they’re famous the world over

Though hardly anybody knows their name.

BATÍN

330

May God forbid that such should be my case

Or that I envy virtues not my own.

I said it out of verve and not because

I wish to show off or from arrogance.

The truth is that I wish I were well-known

335

Among wise men of science and the arts;

Because in common ignorance one’s fame

Is just the consequence of foolish acts,

For one reaps what one sows, I do declare.

CASANDRA

You can’t believe how glad I am to meet you.

340

I little heard to equal what I see:

The speech, the manners form the character,

My son and lord, in such a way that shows

In these your deeds what a huge soul you have

That lies within your breast and makes you great.

345

What luck that I got lost on my way here,

For it was thanks to that bad luck I met you.

As in the angry sea after the tempest

You see the beautiful St Elmo’s fire,

So was my error night, the river sea,

350

The carriage ship, I pilot, you my star.

As from today your mother I shall be,

My lord Count Federico, and I beg

That you will honour me as such today.

I am so happy with you, and my soul

355

Salutes you as a very fond loved one

And I’m content to have you for my son

More than for being Duchess of Ferrara.

FEDERICO

To see you, lovely lady, is enough

To fill my heart with reverence for you;

360

I trust your kindness will not hinder me

From corresponding to your graciousness.

Today the Duke, my lord, cuts me in two,

For my first body has been born again

So that my soul could occupy its place.

365

For these two births, milady, you’re to blame,

I would be born of you to gain my soul;

Which, though a gift from God, before you came

I knew not where it was; you’ve fashioned me

Anew, who hereto lived without a soul.

370

From this you can deduce, that as I wish

To be the child you carry, I’ll be the son

The Duke expects that you will give birth to.

And it is no chimera that I wish

To be born as a grown man, and my excuse

375

Is that the eye of heaven that’s the sun

Is six thousand years old, and born each day.

Marquis Gonzaga, Rutilio & servants

RUTILIO

And this is where I left them, sir.

MARQUIS

It would

Have been a great misfortune if this man,

This cavalier, had not come to her aid.

RUTILIO

380

He sent me off for snow, for his intent

Was to cool the bright water, and to bathe

Her pure white feet in its precious pearl drops;

And thus I was unable to rescue her

So the Duchess emerged within his arms;

385

But when I saw them safe on the river bank

I ran to call you.

MARQUIS

I see the carriage there

Between the water and the silvery sand.

RUTILIO

Those willow trees impeded seeing her.

But there she is among the gentleman’s crew.

CASANDRA

390

Here come my people!

MARQUIS

Milady!

CASANDRA

Marquis!

MARQUIS

Your Highness had us all in quite a state

Until this moment. Thank God you are safe.

CASANDRA

For that you must thank this gentleman too:

His kindly arms rescued me from the fall.

MARQUIS

395

Dear Count, who else could be the one to favour

Her who is about to be your mother?

FEDERICO

Good Marquis, I would I were a Jupiter

That I might become that imperial eagle,

Although my feathers were scorched by such sun;

400

Like Phaeton I would have sealed my fate

With the Toison clutched in my golden claws,

And in my arms I would have borne the treasure

Into the arms of her enamoured Duke.

MARQUIS

The heavens, Lord, dispose these deeds you see

405

So that Casandra’ll be indebted to you

For such courage; and from this moment on

The affection ‘twixt the mother and the son

Will be renowned all over Italy:

For two such enemies can show their truce

410

And even be like two peas in a pod.

The two go on speaking and Casandra and Lucrecia speak in an aside

CASANDRA

While these two go on talking, tell me please,

Lucrecia, what you think of Federico.

LUCRECIA

Milady, if you give me your permission,

I shall be glad to give you my opinion.

CASANDRA

415

Although I fear what I’m about to hear,

I give you my permission.

LUCRECIA

Well I say…

CASANDRA

So say it.

LUCRECIA

Your luck would be much greater

If the tables were turned.

CASANDRA

You’re right, Lucrecia,

And yet the die is cast; and even if

420

With some pretext I should go back to Mantua,

I’m sure my father would order me killed,

And my folly would be news in all Italy

Besides the fact I could not wed Federico.

And so it is not right that I return

425

To Mantua, but must go to Ferrara,

Wherein I am awaited by the Duke,

Whose wanton ways and lecherous customs

Come to my ears in detail without fail.

MARQUIS

Well! Round up our people and let’s be off

430

Let’s leave this dangerous and barbaric spot.

Go on ahead to Ferrara, Rutilio,

And tell the Duke all about the event,

In case the happy news does not precede us

For mishaps travel faster than good news.

435

Let’s go, milady. Prepare the Count’s horse!

FLORO

May the grooms get the Count’s horse ready!

CASANDRA

Your excellence should travel in my carriage.

FEDERICO

Whatever Your Highness ordains I’ll do.

The Marquis leads Casandra out by the hand and Federico and Batín remain

BATÍN

The Duchess is pretty!

FEDERICO

You think so, Batín?

BATÍN

440

I think she is a lily asking dawn

With the four candid tongues that are her petals

To give her pearls of dew to slake her thirst.

I’ve never seen so fair a gentlewoman.

By God, my lord, if this were but the moment

445

To tell you…

But they’re mounting the carriage.

FEDERICO

Say nothing, for your quick intelligence

Has seen my soul’s desire and flatters me.

BATÍN

Is not this fresh young bud, this orange blossom,

This bunch of flowers, this amber sugar icing,

450

This Venus, this Helen of Troy, the best for you?

I curse all worldly laws that ban her from you!

FEDERICO

Let’s go, don’t give them reason to suspect.

I’m not the first stepson to fall in love

With such a beautiful stepmother.

BATÍN

455

But all you need is patience then, my lord,

For after a stormy exchange or two

You may well find her anything but fair.

Exeunt

Enter the Duke of Ferrara and Aurora, his niece

DUKE

Federico will meet her on her way

If he departed when they say he did.

AURORA

460

He was quite wrong to go because he should

Have waited to accompany Your Grace.

DUKE

I fear some sadness may’ve delayed his parting

For Federico was convinced he’d be

My only heir; ‘twas natural he’d think so

465

Because I really do love Federico

And my consent to marry was betrayal.

It was my vassals who persuaded me

To treat him this inconsiderately,

Although they said they liked him as their lord

470

Was it because they knew the love I felt

For him or they felt that same love themselves?

They say those others with a right to claim

To be my legal heirs will litigate

Or might decide to take up arms against us

475

And if they can’t be otherwise contented

Will lay waste to these lands, for vassals pay

The highest price for wars in every case.

For that reason I gave them my compliance

To wed. I felt unable to refuse.

AURORA

480

My lord, you are forgiven; t’was Fortune’s way,

But the sad melancholy of the Count

Will be alleviated so his trust

May be relieved by patience and endurance;

Although I’ll give you one word of advice

485

In this confusion, in part to assuage

His disappointment and show him your love.

Forgive my boldness, but I shall proceed

To give you my opinion, for I know

Your fondness for me will allow me to.

490

I am, dear Duke, your niece, the daughter of

Your brother, whom inexorable death

Reaped at an early age, but twenty-five

As almond blossom is oft crushed by wind.

You reared me in your house, for very soon,

495

My mother too I lost; and I had only you

As my dear father, who did guide me through

The terrible blind maze of my misfortune.

You gave me Federico as a brother,

My cousin, whose honest trust and sweet nature

500

During my education, I returned

With equal honest fondness and respect.

We loved each other throughout all those years

And lived what was a single life together.

One law, one love, one will, one faith direct us,

505

Which in wedlock will last forever more,

When I am Federico’s and he mine.

Not even death will dare to cut those ties.

Since my beloved father left this world

My patrimony has greatly increased;

510

There is no marriage in all Italy

To bring such affluence and prominence;

And I, as a grandee, don’t look to Spain

Nor do I need to set a pike in Flanders.

If you will wed him to me, do not fear

515

That he will worry should you have an heir.

Although Casandra bears a child, I’ll be

The guarantor and safeguard of his wealth.

I trust my words will bring you solace now

And you will find but comfort in this way.

DUKE

520

Come to my arms, Aurora, for you bring

Great light to me; in honour of your name

You brighten up the sky with your splendour

And sweep away my worries and disquiet.

Today you offer me a way, and your advice

525

I see as solving all my doubts and worries.

You save my life and honour in this way

And so, if he returns your honest love

In kind, of course I’ll wed you to the Count;

I think you’re right to offer him your hand

530

And I am sure your virtue deserves more.

And so if you are both agreed to it

We’ll celebrate our marriages together.

As soon as the Count comes to Ferrara

We’ll have a day of happy celebration.

AURORA

535

I am your daughter and your slave; rest easy

For I shall do your bidding every time.

Enter Batín

BATÍN

My lord, the law would have you give out bounties

To him who brings good news; either to me

Or to the wind, which spreads such good tidings.

540

I know not which of us arrived the sooner

I on the wind or it upon my heels.

The Duchess, my lady, is safe and sound;

And if it got about that the wild river

With foolish daring overturned her coach,

545

The whole event amounted to a scare

Because the Count was there to succour her

And take her from the water in his arms,

Putting an end to that common belief

That stepmothers and stepsons never agree

550

But always hate each other from the start.

They looked so happy after the mishap

They seemed much more like real mother and son.

DUKE

I thank you, friend Batín, for this good news,

Which is not only good but a surprise.

555

God willing, Federico and Casandra

Will get on well and understand each other.

Well then, they’ve met, and it was at a time

When he could be of service to my bride.

BATÍN

I swear, my lord, they both were satisfied.

AURORA

560

I want you to bring news to me as well.

BATÍN

The heavens have given you a name, Aurora,

That merits telling you all kinds of ready wit.

What is it that you wish to ask me then?

AURORA

I really want to know if it is true

565

Casandra is so very beautiful.

BATÍN

That wish to know befits much more the Duke

Than milady, but I think you’re both aware

I’ll say no more, for they are almost here.

DUKE

Batín, please put this chain around your neck.

Enter among a great crowd Rutilio, Floro, Albano, Lucindo, Marquis Gonzaga, Federico, Casandra and Lucrecia

FEDERICO

570

You are to stay, milady, in some chambers

Here, in this orchard. Meanwhile Ferrara

Is being decked out by the Duke to greet you,

Far less than you deserve, but even so

More grandly than all Italy has known.

CASANDRA

575

Well, Federico, this silence made me sad.

FEDERICO

It is because your coming’s unprepared.

FLORO

But here’s the Duke with Aurora to greet you.

DUKE

May heaven guard you, my fair Casandra,

The lady to whom I offer up these states,

580

That you may long enjoy and honour them.

CASANDRA

I have come here to be Your Grace’s slave,

Which only brings more honour to my name.

My father, honour, motherland and glory

I trust will have such merits as to be

585

Worthy of your illustrious lineage.

DUKE

Come to my arms, dear Marquis, on this day

For it’s to you I owe this precious token.

MARQUIS

In her name I’ll accept, and for the part

I’ve played in setting up this union;

590

Until the marriage has been consummated

I’ll have to hold you to your promises.

AURORA

I’m Aurora; so glad to meet Casandra.

CASANDRA

Among the pleasures I expect to gain

From this my happy fate, I hope that one

595

Of them will be sweet Aurora’s friendship.

AURORA

I’ll be so pleased to serve you and to love you

That’s all I’m able to respond to you.

Oh, Casandra, how lucky is Ferrara

To have you as a jewel in its crown!

CASANDRA

600

I am so well received from the beginning

That all bodes well for my good fortune here.

DUKE

Sit down so that my family and serfs

May get to know you.

CASANDRA

I shall not reply;

Your every wish is an order for me.

The Duke, Casandra, the Marquis and Aurora sit under a canopy

CASANDRA

605

The Count will not be seated?

DUKE

No, indeed,

For he shall be the first to kiss your hand.

CASANDRA

Forgive me, I can’t bear such servitude.

FEDERICO

It is an insult to my love; if not,

It would go against my obedience.

CASANDRA

610

Not that.

FEDERICO

(I can’t stop trembling here!)

CASANDRA

Please stop.

FEDERICO

Don’t tell me so. Three times I kiss your hand,

Milady; one for you, with which I pledge

I will be yours as long as I’m alive;

The second for the Duke, my lord, to whom

615

I owe obedience; and the third for me,

Because, not having any obligation,

It is my wish, milady, to assure you

That true obedience is that which comes

Straight from the soul without all influence.

CASANDRA

620

My arms will gladly take the form of chains

To hang around such an obedient neck.

DUKE

Federico is indeed intelligent.

MARQUIS

Your fame precedes you, beautiful Aurora,

For some time I’ve yearned to set eyes on you,

625

And luck would have it that you stand by me

So I can tell you in my own true words

That you’re so fair I long to wait on you.

AURORA

Kind Marquis, I thank you for your esteem.

I was familiar with you for your deeds,

630

But did not know you were a gallant man,

Although it’s fitting that a brave soldier

Be gallant, brave and chivalrous besides.

MARQUIS

Well, since you honour me with your favour

From this day on I do appoint myself

635

Your servant, and I promise to sustain

Before all those who’ve come to Ferrara

For these tournaments that I am the one

Defending the most beautiful of all.

DUKE

It’s fitting that you rest yourself a while.

640

I think it foolish that you waste your time

And twice as foolish that I waste the time

That I can spend with you and disregard

My luck at having time for one I love.

Exit all with great courtesy and Federico and Batín remain

FEDERICO

What foolish thoughts!

BATÍN

Why foolish? What is wrong?

FEDERICO

645

They are right when they say that life’s a dream

For all’s a dream; and not only in sleep

But in his waking hours a man imagines

That it’s impossible to understand

The frenzy of a very feverish man.

BATÍN

650

You are quite right: I often find myself

Among a crowd of gentlemen and then

I get a sudden urge to slap one’s face

Or bite one on the nape of his fat neck.

If I’m on someone’s balcony I fear

655

That I am going to fall and break my neck.

If I’m in church attending to the sermon

I fear I’ll tell the priest it’s plagiary.

I feel the need to laugh at funerals

And if two fellows there are having fun

660

I’ll often throw a candlestick at them.

If they sing I feel inclined to sing as well,

And if I catch sight of some fair lady,

In my wild fancy, I will oft attempt

To take her by the hair, and I will blush

665

As though I had really done all these things.

FEDERICO

Good God! I can’t believe what you are saying.

What wild ideas or daydreams come to you!

“I fancy this, dream that, think otherwise,

Promise one thing, say that, invent another!”

670

This madness you must not commit again!

BATÍN

Well, don’t you keep your things secret from me?

FEDERICO

I’ve done nothing so nothing do I hide;

Imaginings are spirits of the body.

What has not been nor is to be are things

675

So false that why should I hide them from you?

BATÍN

And if I tell you mine, will you refuse me?

FEDERICO

Before you can imagine it there’ll be

Flowers in the sky and in the garden, stars.

BATÍN

I’m right to say you fancy your stepmother

680

And that is why you say these things to me.

FEDERICO

Don’t say it! It’s true but I’m not to blame

If my imagination runs its course.

BATÍN

Your flights of fancy are a true reflection

As in a mirror of immortality.

FEDERICO

685

How lucky is the Duke!

BATÍN

Indeed he is.

FEDERICO

What’s out of bounds for me I envy him.

BATÍN

And well you might, if you could presuppose

That Casandra was really meant for you.

FEDERICO

Thus I can die from my impossible love

690

And suffer from my possible jealousy.

ACT II

Casandra and Lucrecia

LUCRECIA

Your Highness has made me feel quite amazed.

CASANDRA

No highnesses are sad, and less the lowly.

But I would rather be a commoner

Who wakes up next a farmer every day

695

And not a lord in fine accoutrements.

I wish to God I had been born a peasant

So I might find someone who’d cherish me

For my own merits and return my love.

In that low background as in royalty

700

One savours pleasures that are just as great

As those enjoyed by those of lofty birth

If love’s effects each night are tantamount.

The sun does not shine on a married pair

Through stained-glass windows at first light of dawn

705

Embraced with greater love, nor more refreshed

Because they lie at rest in marble halls.

But the sun’s rays perhaps peeped in at dawn

Through broken or cracked walls to shine upon

Two bodies that together formed one soul.

710

How lucky she who does not feel disdain

But rises happily beside her man;

And in the first fountain she comes upon

Looks at her image and with both her hands

Washes her face instead of drying tears

715

Because her husband is a faithless man

However much a duke he claims to be.

Only one night I held him in my arms

In a whole month; I saw him many more

But he had no desire to come to me.

720

Well how can I complain about my lot

When I well knew before of his repute?

And he would not consent to change his ways

Although he went to live in other lands.

A man who arrives home at break of day

725

Having done anything that gives him pleasure

Is taken for a man who lives quite free;

Who is entitled then to clip his wings?

But treating his good wife with such disdain,

Forgetting all about his marriage vows,

730

Either he makes a point of tempting fate

Or he is nothing but an imbecile.

The Duke must be of the opinion then

That, after tying tight the wedding knot,

The wife must be kept like a jewel at home

735

To decorate and beautify the house

As though she were a table or a chair.

But this is something that I don’t condone

For if the husband is exemplary

The wife will always be his loyal slave.

740

A woman who behaves with rectitude

Wants to be deemed a housewife in her home

And not just an old piece of furniture.

Suffice it for him not to be beholden

Without the need to show discourtesy,

745

And he should give no reason for complaint

Rather than later offer remedy.

LUCRECIA

Your speech has made me pity you indeed

For I can see you have just cause for woe.

Who would have thought that after wedding you

750

The Duke would be so vicious, or that he

Would show you no respect or gallantry?

If we were speaking of a paramour,

You could perhaps provoke his jealousy

To stimulate again his interest in you:

755

You might show interest in another man

To try to win him over once again.

But who needs to win over her own spouse?

Have you written to your father of your ills?

CASANDRA

No, Lucrecia, no other knows my plight.

LUCRECIA

760

According to nature and reason both,

It would be better if you’d wooed the Count

So, wed to you, the Duke might have no doubt

That his grandson would be his rightful heir.

The melancholy suffered by the Count

765

Is more than justified, I fear, milady.

CASANDRA

It is not his envy for me, Lucrecia,

For I shall not be giving him siblings;

So Federico can calmly rest assured

That I am not the reason for his ills:

770

It is indeed misfortune for us both.

The Duke, Federico and Batín

DUKE

If I had known that it would make you sad, Count,

I’d never have decided to be wed.

FEDERICO

My lord, it was quite foolish on my part

To feel upset because of your union.

775

I have no doubt at all that you love me.

You’re wise enough to know that if your marriage

Upset me, I’d be sure to cover up.

You can see I am suffering from ill health,

But you can’t see what has brought it about.

DUKE

780

Our physicians in Mantua and Ferrara

Agree that marriage is the remedy

For those affected by melancholy.

FEDERICO

It was considered remedy for maidens

But not for gentlemen of my esteem.

CASANDRA

785

(The Duke has barely looked at me today.

What lack of courtesy and etiquette!

LUCRECIA

You cannot blame him if he hasn’t seen you.

CASANDRA

Pretending not to see me is despotic.

Come on, Lucrecia, one day he’ll be sorry

790

For having treated me with such disdain.)

Exeunt Casandra and Lucrecia

DUKE

Although I realise I am mistaken

Regarding the reason for your poor health,

I still believe that the ideal solution

Is that you marry the one I propose.

FEDERICO

795

Do you by any chance mean Aurora?

DUKE

You’ve taken the words right out of my mouth,

As though you had the very same intention.

I’ve spoken to the assembly of sages,

And they agree it would relieve your woe.

FEDERICO

800

Indeed they know but little of my heart!

They vainly do believe I feel dejected

But think I am offended for no cause.

They know I never disapproved your marriage,

But wanted it for your deliverance.

DUKE

805

So I believe and always have believed it,

And pay for that obedience, Federico,

By feeling self-reproach for having wed.

FEDERICO

My lord, so that you will not think me angered

For something that’s so easy to explain,

810

To pay you for the love that you profess me

I need to know my cousin’s sentiments;

And gladly I shall then obey your order

For otherwise it would be quite unfair.

DUKE

I heard in her own words that she’d be willing.

FEDERICO

815

I know for certain there’s a novelty:

And it is that the Marquis of Ferrara

Has stayed on in this place to pay her court.

DUKE

But what is that to you, my Federico?

FEDERICO

One who is due to wed his heart’s desire

820

After another man has paid her court,

Can be adjudged to write a palimpsest.

DUKE

If men are willing to believe a rumour

And lock up womenfolk in castles

Only to shelter them from spying eyes;

825

The purest looking glass will become tarnished

With your breath if you wish to see yourself,

What does it matter if you look with care?

For then it can be cleaned and made like new

As faultless as it was before you looked.

FEDERICO

830

Your words and wit indeed encourage me.

My Lord, when sparkling rays fly forth

From someone’s forge and the blacksmith attempts

To extinguish the flames that are so caused,

He’ll sprinkle water on the raging fire;

835

The flames will rise again rebelliously

And the blaze will soon devour the damp surrounds.

And thus a spouse who’s not at all aware

Of the existence of a previous lover

May fan the flames and stimulate desire

840

But only manage to revive the fire.

And so I must be wary of a lover

For I have no desire to be the water

That burns my honour and befouls my name.

DUKE

I find you very dull and disrespectful,

845

Dear Count. You speak about Aurora in a way

That smacks of rudeness and indecency.

FEDERICO

Pray, stay!

DUKE

What for?

Exit

FEDERICO

Please wait, my lord, I pray.

BATÍN

How cleverly you have gained the Duke’s favour!

FEDERICO

I expect nothing but his enmity

850

Because I want to be quite miserable;

My desperation has reached such a peak,

That nought can save me but my timely death.

And should I die, I’d nothing loath come back

To die a thousand times each new life gained.

855

I feel so bad that I don’t dare to live

Or die, because I’d see that coming back

To life was only just to die once more.

And if I’m not inclined to kill myself

It is because I am so sick at heart

860

That death means less than life can mean to me.

BATÍN

According to your words, my dearest Count,

You neither want to live nor yet to die;

For you are rather a hermaphrodite

Not knowing whether to choose life or death:

865

Just as a hermaphrodite is a blend

Of two sexes; you’re one of life and death.

But, God Almighty knows that your despair

Obliges me to ask you why you’re sad

Or give me leave to go away and moan

870

Because I am condemned for being loyal.

Please give me your hand so I may kiss it.

FEDERICO

Batín, if I could tell you what is wrong,

I might be able to put an end to it;

But my unhappiness is not cerebral,

875

And only has relation with my sense.

When I attempt to talk to comfort me

I’m given pause each time I realise

From tongue to soul there’s such a great distance.

Be off, if you so wish, and leave me here

880

For there is no sign of relief for me.

Enter Casandra and Aurora

CASANDRA

What is the reason for your tears, my dear?

AURORA

Your Grace, do you not think it cause enough

That I am spurned and ignored by the Count?

He says I am in love with the Marquis,

885

That I’m in love with Carlos Gonzaga.

Me? How? But no, I know what it’s about:

He wants to go to Spain in his disgust

At seeing his father’s marriage to Casandra.

Before I was the apple of his eye

890

But now his eye shows nothing but dislike.

What new auroras brought with them the day

When the Count stopped inquiring for Aurora?

In what garden or at what fresh fountain

Did he not speak to me of his desire?

895

Were not my lips and brow bright flowers to him?

When did he start to move away from me?

What instant did he feel alive without me?

How could he live should I not hearten him?

Living day after day makes love stronger

900

Between two souls that love has made as one.

This has been going on since we were young,

This love he now has killed with his betrayals.

So strong was his desire for his lost legacy!

CASANDRA

I’m sorry I’m to blame for this, Aurora,

905

But try to harness your disquietude

While I talk to him; although I must say

It is not easy to assuage jealousy.

AURORA

Jealousy?

CASANDRA

With the Marquis, so says the Duke.

AURORA

Your Grace, you must believe that melancholy

910

Is neither caused by love nor jealousy.

Exit Aurora

CASANDRA

Federico!

FEDERICO

It is I, milady,

Give me your hand so that your slave may kiss it.

CASANDRA

Down on your knees? Dear Count, don’t bow so low

For I indeed shall call you Excellency.

FEDERICO

915

Thus you would mortify my love for you;

I will not rise till you give me your hand.

CASANDRA

Here are my arms. What’s wrong with you today?

Whatever is it that you’ve seen in me?

You’re trembling! Do you know how I love you?

FEDERICO

920

My soul informed my heart, and then my heart

Informed my face, which caused the blush you see.

CASANDRA

Will you leave us alone a while, Batín?

I’d like to have a few words with the Count.

BATÍN

(The Count is addled and I wonder why

925

Casandra wishes to hold forth with him alone!)

Exit

FEDERICO

(Oh, Heavens! As I die like a phoenix,

Put out the flames at once or I shall have

To suffer another life just like this one.)

CASANDRA

Federico, although I know the words

930

Aurora said about your fervent care,

After the arrival in Ferrara of

Marquis Carlos, the reason you’ll not wed,

I can hardly believe you make so little

Of your merits, which are, as wise men say,

935

Mistrust and envy; he is more soldierly,

Although the Marquis is gallant indeed,

Than a chivalrous courtier. It so happens

That I believe your sadness and reserve,

The consequence of the Duke’s marrying me,

940

Taking away from you your every right,

As soon as I give birth, to his estate,

Makes me the cause of all your misfortune.

Right here and now I’ll set your mind at rest,

For you can rest assured you’ll have no siblings

945

Because the Duke has only married me

To make his subjects happy; his libido

—I cannot call it by another name—

One single night did bring him to my bed

—Which satisfied his needs for many years—

950

And our bodies came together in love.

And now he has returned to past delights

With more frenzy than ever after me.

As a runaway horse avoids drumbeat,

Because I want to use a tasteful term,

955

And leaves bits of his trappings all around:

Thus pieces of his bit become scattered

Spreading around him drops of foamy spittle,

Here are the reins and there the snaffle strap,

Here the crownpiece and there the snaffle bit;

960

So goes the Duke, his marriage vows infringed,

With common whores spreading his seed about.

There go his fame, trophies, triumphal arches,

His titles and ancestors’ reputation.

There go valour, good health and time wasted

965

Turning nights into days with foul lechery.

So it is clear that you can rest assured

That you will still inherit his estate,

Or I shall write a letter to my father

Saying that more than spouse he is a tyrant

970

And he will come and free me from this cell

That is his palace, if death does not come

And put an end to all these outrages.

FEDERICO

Your Grace did start off by berating me

But then you finished off your speech in tears

975

And causing even a heart of stone great grief.

What’s this? No doubt you see me as the son

Of him who has given you so much pain;

But I will have you know I’m not his son

As far as his behaviour is concerned.

980

If you believe the words that I have spoken

I am surprised you still think my anguish

Is caused by such unworthy lucubrations.

Does Federico need wealth to be himself?

Will not my cousin, if I marry her,

985

Also provide me with a rich estate?

Or if I should decide to take my sword

Against some prince and oust him from our land

Would I not gain the spoils I take from him?

My sadness is not caused by interest

990

And though it takes me longer than it should

I’d have you know, milady, that my life

Is sadder far than any human being’s

Since Cupid put his arrows in his bow.

I’m dying now without a remedy;

995

My life is ending slowly like a candle

And I beg death in vain that it not wait

Until the wax has totally been spent,

But show some mercy to me and blow out

The flame and extinguish quickly my life.

CASANDRA

1000

Please dry your tears, gracious Federico,

God has not endowed men with tears but spirits.

Nature associates weeping with women

As their birthright, because they lack backbone.

Not so with men, who in one case may cry

1005

And that is when they’ve relinquished their honour

While they are wreaking vengeance on their foe.

I curse Aurora and her jealousy,

For she has brought a valiant, prudent man,

So sweet and full of dignity, to such

1010

A sorry state.

FEDERICO

It’s not true it’s Aurora.

CASANDRA

Well then, who is it?

FEDERICO

It’s the sun itself,

Auroras I see at every light of day.

CASANDRA

It’s not Aurora?

FEDERICO

My sights are set higher.

CASANDRA

A woman who’s seen and spoken to you

1015

And you’ve declared your love to her outright

Cannot be cruel enough to disdain you!

Don’t you see that’s the opposite effect

That seems impossible for such a cause?

FEDERICO

If you knew the impossible you’d say

1020

I’m made of marble, because I survive

Though my survival is a miracle.

Did Phaethon not dare to confront the sun

With his chariot of gold? And what about

That other who stuck feathers on his back

1025

Which were soon scattered by the wind and heat

And sent him tumbling to his doom below?

What Bellerophon saw when he was mounted

Upon his steed Pegasus, made the world

Look like a dot among the other stars.

1030

The Greek Synon employed a pregnant horse

Filled with armed enemies to enter Troy,

Which was the cause of its downfall at last.

And Jason tried to be the first to cross

Reckless the sea aboard Argus’ vessel?

1035

Can any of these equal my madness?

CASANDRA

Good Count, are you in love with a bronze statue

An alabaster nymph or goddess then?

The souls of women do not wear cold jasper;

A thin light curtain covers human thoughts.

1040

Love never called to any soul with such

Great qualities that it did not respond:

“Here I am, but please enter gingerly.”

Declare your love, and be she who she may,

For the Greeks had good reason to depict

1045

Venus enamoured of a satyr or faun.

The moon is higher, but for Endymion

She often came down from her silver seat

To Mount Latmus to visit him asleep.

Take my advice, dear Count, speak up at once

1050

Don’t hold your tongue, for the purest fortress

Of all has entrances made out of wax.

FEDERICO

The hunter cleverly kindles a fire

Around the nest of a large pelican,

And he, beating his wings with wild abandon,

1055

Climbs down the tree to rescue his offspring;

But by beating his wings he fans the flames

Instead of quenching it as he had wished;

And finally his wings are sorely burnt

So he is captured quickly on the ground

1060

Because he cannot fly up in the air.

My thoughts, which are the offspring of my love,

Which I maintain within the nest of silence,

Are being burnt, milady, without fail;

My love tries beating wings to rescue them,

1065

The fire grows and devours him entirely.

You deceive me and I am burnt alive;

You lead me on and I forget myself;

You hearten me and I rush off in fright;

You exhort me and I escape confused;

1070

You free me and I manacle myself;

You take me off but I remain behind;

You teach me but I am afraid to act,

Because I feel I’m in such grave danger

That I consider that the lesser evil

1075

Would be for me to die –for die I must–

Still suffering and saying not a word.

Exit Federico

CASANDRA

Neither heaven nor earth can ever see

A matter of greater complexity

Than worries caused by man’s imagination.

1080

It turns fire into ice and shifts the image

Of desire, where war and peace and tempest

And tranquillity are waged, and is a thing

That, more than inform the soul, deceives it.

These obscure attempts, these clear confusions,

1085

Rather than clarify my doubts with reasons

Have left me submerged in a quandary.

What tempests do winds move that are more changing

Than these forced truths in an imagination?

Because the worst tempests in all the world

1090

Are those that take their course within the soul.

When I’m inclined to fancy I’m the object

Of what the Count desires with all his heart,

The same deceit tells me what I imagine

Is nothing but impossibility.

1095

My cruel fate shows me my matrimony

And I accept these feelings that I have

For there is nothing so impossible

That the eyes of the conscience can’t peruse.

So many things are happening together,

1100

This loves comes after an unfaithful spouse,

I think all this has come to drive me mad.

The impossible seems easy so I think

That I’m avenging infidelity;

But as this is such an unfair error

1105

I am afraid my love for Federico

Will be avenged yet by my husband’s sword.

The Count has many natural virtues,

But I should be quite mad if I gave in

Without restraint to such a wild passion.

1110

I want no more of this foolish confusion!

Oh holy heavens, come to my defence,

Although it would be justice to believe

That in the world there’d be no man of honour

If t’were offence to imagine offence.

1115

Thus far neither mi honour nor my thoughts

Have betrayed me; all that I consented

Was but a figment of imagination.

It is a misdemeanour, not dishonour,

Before God to consent to imagine.

1120

God sees and judges all our mental process

But our honour cannot be compromised

Unless it comes into the public eye.

Enter Aurora

AURORA

Your Grace and the Count had a lengthy talk,

What did he say?

CASANDRA

He’s grateful for your love.

1125

Rest assured, Aurora, and don’t be jealous.

Exit Casandra

AURORA

What scant comfort you give my ardent wishes!

How can one who adored my very thoughts

Now feel so very much disheartened

Because he’s lost the possibility

1130

Of inheriting the name of Ferrara?

Love is powerful; the soul takes little notice

Of life and honour, but seeks you alone.

And Federico, who once loved me well,

Is maddened by the sadness he imagines

1135

About Casandra’s future progeny.

But he faked jealousy to cover up

The truth, and it is wont to stimulate

Recondite love, so I shall try to make him

Jealous by faking love for the Marquis.

Enter Rutilio and Marquis

RUTILIO

1140

With a rival such as this your crazy hopes

Will never manage to attain their purpose.

MARQUIS

Do hold your tongue, Rutilio, here’s Aurora.

RUTILIO

And you’re beside yourself despite such change.

Exit

MARQUIS

Aurora, since the bright day my eyes gave you,

1145

With my soul as your spoils, my liberty;

Aurora, sent by the sun when night-time falls

Upon my misery; who paints with bright colours

All the pretty flowers that come into bloom,

Dawn comes with pearls and roses from your lips.

1150

Since the day I came here from Mantua,

Unluckily I fell for your beauty,

Which no mortal man can ever resist.

How badly did I predispose my sham

Although my soul adores you, milady,

1155

But it only makes you quickly tire of me

So that I may find sadness within you

When I so eager sigh for you, Aurora.

It was not sadness that I should see you,

For brightness never could be without cheer,

1160

But that my love should cause you to forget.

I’ve organised my parting as the answer;

Escaping from your cruelty, I shall seek

Resistance in the miracles of absence

And in the vengeance of another love.

1165

Give me your hand and let me go away.

AURORA

A lover or a courtesan who takes

So much to heart the first repudiation

Will not die of melancholy, Marquis.

Favours are not the stuff of early loves

1170

But first the lovers must learn to love well.

You little love, you little suffer then;

But in this inequality, as freely

As you request permission to depart

I order you to stay and not to leave.

MARQUIS

1175

Milady, you tell me with much bounty

To wait, although it seems like cruelty,

Not the ten years the Greek beleaguered Troy,

Nor yet the seven Laban promised Rachel,

But never-ending centuries I’ll wait

1180

Like Tantalus, torn between doubt and faith.

I will request rewards for my high hopes.

AURORA

One must gain merits to achieve one’s goal.

Enter Duke, Federico and Batín

DUKE

The Pope’s epistle summons me to Rome.

FEDERICO

And does he name the reason in his letter?

DUKE

1185

That my reply be, Count, to leave at once.

FEDERICO

If you don’t want to say, sir, I’ll not ask.

DUKE

When do I fail to tell you all, dear Count?

I can just say I suspect, with the wars

Waging now in Italy, he may want me

1190

To be a general of the Church to lead

The large army he intends to gather;

I think as well that he would like me to

Contribute money to the cause, unless

He changes his mind about appointing me.

FEDERICO

1195

I’m not surprised you hid the facts from me

If you intended to depart without me;

A more loyal soldier you would never have

To accompany you than your only son.

DUKE

That cannot be, for it would not be fair

1200

To leave my house unattended, dear Count.

No one can care for it like you, so you

Must stay; that is my reason and my wish.

FEDERICO

I do not want to disobey you, father,

But what will Italy think if I don’t go?

DUKE

1205

That this is the proper way to reign supreme

And that I cannot count on my son’s aid.

FEDERICO

A sign of prudence is my obedience!

Exit Duke

BATÍN

While you were talking to the Duke awhile

I saw Aurora talk to the Marquis

1210

Without paying any attention to you.

FEDERICO

To the Marquis?

BATÍN

Why yes, my lord, to him.

FEDERICO

And do you think it matters very much?

AURORA

This sash is a sure token of first favour.

MARQUIS

’Twill be a chain around my neck, milady,

1215

A handcuff on my arm never to leave it.

If you would but request me to wear it

The favour would be doubly accepted.

AURORA

(Although it is a paramour’s vengeance,

It seems just like an insult to my love.)

1220

Because its proprietor is much better,

I beg of you to wear it all the time.

BATÍN

A marvellous invention of nature was

To make women fickle, because if they were not

–Just some of them, I say, and not them all–

1225

The men who love them would idolise them.

Can you not see the sash?

FEDERICO

What sash is that?

BATÍN

What sash? That is a funny thing indeed!

A sash that once was hers, the graceful one,

Planets revolving round the morning sun;

1230

And now, as in an eclipse, the Marquis

Is wearing that token over his shoulder.

I recall it was the apple of discord,

When Paris stood before the three goddesses.

FEDERICO

But those were different times from this, Batín.

AURORA

1235

Come, I beg you enter the garden with me.

Exeunt both [Aurora and Marquis]

BATÍN

How freely does he take her hand in his!

FEDERICO

But what do you expect if they’re soul mates?

BATÍN

Is that your answer?

FEDERICO

What would you have me say?

BATÍN

If one swan cannot contend with another

1240

But flies off with its sash to distant waters;

Should a cock surprise a rival with its hens,

It’ll tear the crest of its crown with its beak,

And fluffing up its own crest and its wattle,

Will try to vanquish it in the night’s singing.

1245

How then can you bear it that the Marquis

Is ready to rob you of your amour?

FEDERICO

Because the best vengeance against fair maids

Who provoke men is just to let them be,

For he who risks his honour may lose it.

BATÍN

1250

Give me, I beg, a copy of this code

Of honour and behaviour for young men,

Because I’d like to learn it off by heart.

No, Count, your patience is a mystery;

Your thoughts of love are jugs in a chain well:

1255

The first one leaves the water that the second

Takes up as soon as it is left inside.

You have a new love to replace Aurora;

If there’s too much water, how can it be

That one can still attend another jug?

FEDERICO

1260

You’re being quite impertinent, Batín,

Because with cautious force you dare to know

What I myself don’t understand about me.

Go in and find out what the Duke is doing

And ask him all about his travel plans.

BATÍN

1265

You call me foolish without cause enough

Because it is more foolish still by far

To give you cause to feel more anguish now.

Exit

FEDERICO

What are you after, impossible thought?

What do you want, what do you lead me to?

1270

Why do you strip me of my senseless life

Up there where you are really out of place?

Hold still the wandering movement that pursues

The death of both; just let me rest awhile

And do not let this glorious hope end sadly.

1275

No vanquished thought can grow without an aim,

But if you give it hope it will endure.

For him who loves and tries all is possible

And only you appeared before my eyes

As something forever impossible.

Enter Casandra

CASANDRA

1280

Between affronts and vengeance love’s desirous

After such fickleness that has aroused

Ill-born expectations against my honour.

Love tries to bring close the inaccessible,

But joy cannot be based on the impossible.

1285

In this my inclination towards betrayal

Caused by the Duke’s blatant debauchery,

I speculate with every kind of madness

To wreak a just revenge upon my spouse.

I’ll have the gallant Count, his son and heir,

1290

To be the instrument of my revenge,

For so much indiscriminate wantonness

Can best be paid with total secrecy.

I saw he was embarrassed when he spoke

And even hesitant to speak his mind

1295

Although, is it a greater insolence

For a man to speak without using words?

My soul rejoiced so much at his dilemma

Because I feel inside me if it’s love

It’s not betrayal after the Duke’s affairs,

1300

And in my desperation I’ll not be

The last enamoured or the first unchaste.

Fathers have had relations with their daughters

And brothers have lain with their sisters too;

Therefore my wishes are not so abnormal

1305

And my decision is not culpable.

But it is no excuse for such an offence

That I should mention others similar;

Because to sin it’s not legitimate

To follow examples that are also crimes.

1310

Ah, here’s the Count, alas! But what’s my fear

Now that my mind has been made up at last?

FEDERICO

Here comes the naked blade that stole my life.

Oh, what divine beauty!

CASANDRA

Are you still sad,

Federico?

FEDERICO

I must answer Your Grace

1315

That haplessly my sadness is immortal.

CASANDRA

Your health will suffer from melancholy.

FEDERICO

I have some foolish ailments, milady,

That I can only say are mine alone.

CASANDRA

If I can be of help, please count on me:

1320

My love for you is greater still than yours.

FEDERICO

I’d count on you but I’m afraid to do so.

CASANDRA

You told me that love was your malady.

FEDERICO

My joy and misery are the consequence.

CASANDRA

I’ll tell you an old story; it will prove

1325

That love requires a lot of gallantry.

When with his step-mother he fell in love,

Antiochus fell gravely sad and ill.

FEDERICO

If he was wise he’d have laid down and died

For I am more disconsolate than he.

CASANDRA

1330

The king, his father, quite preoccupied,

Sent for as many doctors as he could

But it was all in vain, because the cause

Was not a single woman from the court.

But Erasistratus, wiser than Galen

1335

And Hippocrates, examined the prince,

And found out that his malady was lodged

In some place between his heart and his lips.

He took his pulse and made all the ladies

In palace walk before him one by one.

FEDERICO

1340

Milady, I suppose some spirit spoke.

CASANDRA

When the stepmother came into the room

The doctor noticed that she was the cause

Because his pulse began to race wildly.

FEDERICO

What a strange way to act!

CASANDRA

That’s what they say!

FEDERICO

1345

And did they find a remedy for him?

CASANDRA

Do not deny, Count, you show the same signs.

FEDERICO

And are you angry then?

CASANDRA

I am not, sir.

FEDERICO

But do you feel pity for me?

CASANDRA

I do.

FEDERICO

Well, milady, I’ve got to such a stage

1350

Where I no longer fear God or the Duke,

For my impossible infatuation

Has brought me to a state of desperation.

And finally, milady, I am left

Without me, without you and without God:

1355

Without God because I so desire you;

Without me because I am without you,

Without you because I don’t possess you.

And just in case you do not understand,

I’ll make a speech explaining my reasons

1360

So that you may discover you’re to blame

For making me a victim of such passion.

Although, Your Grace, to cease to be they say

Is a great ill, I’d rather cease to be

Than see myself in such a sorry state

1365

As I see myself reduced because of you.

I find myself in this predicament:

With no desire to see if I still am

The same one as I was before, though I’ve

No mortal wish to see myself at all,

1370

Thus finally, milady, I am left.

I dare not say I am the one I am,

And I am now enduring such a state

That still I don’t remember any more

That I owe God the life I give to you.

1375

We’re both to blame for my state of non-being

Because forgotten by yourself I am

Without me, without you and without God.

Without me is not much, for there’s no life

If you don’t pray for it to God for me,

1380

But without God, what life can my love have?

If I continue wanting you and He says

I should renounce the beauty I see in you,

It’s more than clear that I shall find myself

Without God because I so desire you.

1385

What awful madness it is to conserve

One’s life at such a great profundity

When a man can no longer live his life

In you, in God Almighty or himself!

What are we two to do in consequence

1390

Since I lost God for you, for you’re my god;

Without my God, because you are within me,

Without me because I am without you?

I’ll suffer anything to favour you.

I feel love, you feel only disdain;

1395

So much so, I can say without restraint

Look who you’re with and look who you’re without!

Without you and without me I contend

With very little confidence, I fear,

Without me, ’cause in you I see no hope

1400

Without you because I don’t possess you.

CASANDRA

When I imagine, Count, God and the Duke,

I must confess I tremble in some panic

For I see human power and divine

Joined together to form excessiveness;

1405

But seeing that love is pardoned in the world,

I feel less guilty, for such just pardon

Makes culpability seem so much less.

I’ve been given a great deal of examples

That were considered serious misdeeds,

1410

Because all those who wished to leave the path

Always take as their models those who sinned

And never those others who felt remorse.

If there can be a remedy for this

It is not to attempt to see and talk,

1415

Or otherwise our lives will have to end

Or our love will have to be overpowered.

Run far away from me, for I don’t know

If I’ll succeed in running far from you

Or this will lead me to my suicide.

FEDERICO

1420

Milady, I shall die: it is the best

That I can do for me. I want no life;

Already I’m a body without a soul

So I shall be off now to seek my death,

Although I do not think I’ll find it yet

1425

Because of the pleasure I indulge in.

All I ask is that you give me your hand;

To give me the poison that has killed me.

CASANDRA

I condemn any principle if I ignite

The gunpowder, my good Federico.

1430

Go with God.

FEDERICO

What cruel betrayal this is!

CASANDRA

I was quite determined, but it is wise

To warn a hand takes venom to the heart.

FEDERICO

You were a mermaid to me, Casandra,

You sang your song so as to allure me

1435

Into the sea where you put me to death.

CASANDRA

I must go fast away from here! Honour,

Take care! My good name, resist all temptations!

FEDERICO

I’m scarcely able to walk away from here.

CASANDRA

I’ve lost my soul and all my senses too.

FEDERICO

1440

Oh, this is strange and dreadful derangement!

CASANDRA

I’m dying of love for you while I leave here.

FEDERICO

I’m not, because I am already dead.

CASANDRA

Beloved Count, you’ll be the death of me.

FEDERICO

And yet, although I’m dead, I’m glad to say,

1445

That even though I’m losing you forever,

My soul’s immortal and will always love you.

ACTO III

Aurora and the Marquis

AURORA

What I have told you is the honest truth.

MARQUIS

There is no way that you can persuade me.

Make sure we can’t be heard: watch what you say.

AURORA

1450

I wished to give you this sad news, Marquis,

So as to ask you for your kind advice.

MARQUIS

In what predicament was it you saw

Casandra and Federico?

AURORA

Hear me.

I do confess I loved the Count myself

1455

And I can assure you that he loved me,

But he betrayed me like the Greek Ulysses.

In time our love increased; plans were being made

For our wedding when Casandra was brought here,

Trusting in given words, if men’s promises

1460

Are to be trusted among their equals.

Federico went off to bring her here

And he came back so sad that when the Duke

Wanted to know his ills, and I told him

Our straits, he said he was jealous of you;

1465

And as love permits one to cause mistrust

When things are going badly, I did try

To make him jealous of you, dear Carlos.

But my attempt had just the same effect

As on a diamond, because jealousy

1470

Makes no mark when the subject’s not in love.

Well, seeing myself repudiated so

And Federico not in love with me,

I sought to find out what had been the cause

And, as jealousy has very keen eyes

1475

That can even see through walls, I found it out.

Casandra’s dressing table is adorned

With portraits, ornaments and mirrors too

Along with two strongboxes in her chamber.

With my suspicions silently I went

1480

And saw, oh, horror! there before my eyes

Reflected in a glass, how my false Count

Was kissing Casandra upon the lips.

This made me run to weep for my heartache

And also that of the two blind lovers,

1485

Who seem to be competing in their love

And their disdain in absence of the Duke

And there they show for every eye to see

The greatest shamelessness upon this earth.

I thought the looking glass that showed their kiss

1490

Darkened the image to conceal such lust;

But since love is a deal more curious,

Their infamous affair continues still

Much to the discredit of the poor Duke.

They say he returns victorious from the fray

1495

With laurel branches adorning his brow

For the most glorious of feats of arms

With which the Pope puts down the enemy.

Do please tell me what course I am to take

In such a case. I suffer from suspicions

1500

Of worse harm still, if what you say is true

And you sincerely love me, I’m afraid

You’ll imitate the Count and leave me too.

MARQUIS

Aurora, only death cannot be vanquished

And although many Phoenixes revive

1505

Because they say they do not die at all

Those who live only for their own repute.

Go tell the Duke to marry us and if

He says yes we’ll be off to Mantua,

Where you will be completely out of danger.

1510

If a tiger throws itself into the sea

Unable to withstand the dreadful pain

Of having hunters murder its offspring,

What will not do Achilles of Ferrara

To preserve both his honour and good name?

1515

How do you think he’ll wipe that ugly stain

Forever more unless he seeks bloodshed,

If heaven does not first chastise his sins

By having forks of lightning strike him down?

So this is the advice I give to you.

AURORA

1520

My troubled mind is glad to accept it.

MARQUIS

The glass mirror will be Medusa’s shield

In which this new Circe saw the vile kiss.

Federico and Batín

FEDERICO

He didn’t want to wait for a reception?

BATÍN

As soon as he saw the outskirts of Mantua,

1525

He left his people and rode in alone,

Not even wanting you to be alerted;

Love finds it hard to check his need to see you

There is no greater love for the Duchess.

You are indeed the sunshine of his eye

1530

And his patience has known four months’ eclipse.

Dear Count, prepare the triumphal parade

For everyone who enters, for the troops

Shall come adorned with myriad trophies.

FEDERICO

I always see Aurora with the Marquis.

AURORA

1535

How dashing he is!!

FEDERICO

With such mild disdain

Do you attempt to calm my discontent?

AURORA

The Marquis taunted you successfully:

You seem to waken from four months of sleep!

MARQUIS

Good Count, I am afraid I did not know

1540

You felt the way you tell me now you do.

I’ve courted Aurora in the belief

That there was no competitor but me,

But had I known that my rival was you

I’d have been loath to match myself with you.

1545

You know I never saw you pursue her,

But if it is your wish I’ll leave her to you

Because your merits greatly outstrip mine.

Exit Marquis

AURORA

What is it that you are trying to do?

What frenzy has possessed you without love?

1550

How often have you seen the Marquis with me

Since you became so sad and long after,

And yet you did not deign to look at me,

And much less did you deign to woo me?

And now you show your jealousy to me

1555

When I’m about to wed the one I love?

Dear Count, that’s quite enough of this nonsense.

Let me be married and please realise

That I shall die before I shall pretend.

Go back to being sad again, dear Count,

1560

Go back to your previous tranquillity,

For I have suffered very profoundly

For the cruel way in which you treated me.

I have such sentiments for you no longer.

God spare me from deceit and sophistry!

1565

Upon your life, it’s too late now to use me!

Exit Aurora

BATÍN

What have you done?

FEDERICO

Good Lord, I do not know!

BATÍN

You remind me of Emperor Tiberius

If you’ve no reason to split up this pair.

After he had his wife assassinated

1570

He called her to sit down and eat with him.

And Messalla Corvinus was a Roman general

Who was unable to recall his name.

FEDERICO

And I cannot recall that I’m a man.

BATÍN

Or you are like that peasant who, after

1575

Two years of wedlock with his country lass,

Came out and told her: “What black eyes you have!”

FEDERICO

Alas, Batín, it is my poor memory.

BATÍN

You’re like the Basque who left his mule harnessed

And wondered why it didn’t want to eat;

1580

And while he stroked and patted the mule’s mane,

He had an animal doctor examine it.

And when this veterinarian saw the bit,

He sent the Basque man out and on his own

Took off the bit; and when the man came back

1585

The mule had eaten every bite of fodder

And, after that, it ate the manger too.

“Good vet, I swear to God you are a doctor

And from now on I want you to cure me

As well as my poor mule and my family!”

1590

What bit is it that you have in your mouth

That will not let you eat, if I’m your doctor?

Please let me know what you are waiting for.

FEDERICO

Batín, I really am in a sad state.

BATÍN

Well, don’t eat any fodder and say nothing.

Enter Casandra and Lucrecia

CASANDRA

1595

Is he coming now?

LUCRECIA

He is, milady.

CASANDRA

And how so fast?

LUCRECIA

He left them all to see you.

CASANDRA

Don’t believe it. I’d rather see my death.

Well then, kind sir, where is the Duke, my lord?

FEDERICO

They say he is now very close to here;

1600

A sure sign of the love he feels for you.

CASANDRA

Aside

It kills me every time I realise

That I’ll no longer see you as I used to.

FEDERICO

My love could hope for no more cruel death

Than the arrival of the Duke, my sire.

CASANDRA

1605

I am afraid, dear Count, I lose my senses.

FEDERICO

Not I, because I have already lost them.

CASANDRA

I am without a soul.

FEDERICO

I without life.

CASANDRA

So what are we to do?

FEDERICO

We are to die.

CASANDRA

Is there no other remedy than that?

FEDERICO

1610

There’s not, for if I lose you, what reason

Shall I have to go on living this life?

CASANDRA

Is that why you are going to lose me then?

FEDERICO

My plan is to pretend from this day forth

That I’m in love with Aurora and serve her,

1615

I’ll even ask the Duke to give me her hand,

In order to deceive him and the palace,

Where I know they do not speak well of us.

CASANDRA

Affronts? Will not mere jealousy suffice?

And marry her? Are you in your right mind?

FEDERICO

1620

The danger we are in obliges me.

CASANDRA

What? I swear to God that if you laugh at me

When you have been the cause of such distress,

I shall reveal –or else you don’t know me–

Your perfidy and my unfaithfulness.

FEDERICO

1625

But milady…

CASANDRA

There’s no more to be said.

FEDERICO

But they will hear you.

CASANDRA

Don’t try to stop me!

The Duke may have me killed ten times over

But I shall not consent to your marriage.

Enter Floro, Febo, Ricardo, Albano. Lucindo, the Duke behind, gallantly dressed in soldier’s uniform

RICARDO

They were all getting ready to receive you.

DUKE

1630

It was wise to come early for love’s sake.

CASANDRA

How is it, Lord, that you could be persuaded

To come to Ferrara without warning?

FEDERICO

And if milady has reason to complain

It seems my love’s to blame for her anguish.

DUKE

1635

My son, a father’s love, which knows no rest

In devotion for its own flesh and blood,

Was what brought forward the time of my trip;

For neither weariness nor exertion

Can make one with a wish to see his own

1640

Put up with a long wait before returning.

And you, milady, do not take umbrage

If I should love the Count as much as you.

CASANDRA

Your blood and his virtue, my lord, set right

The favour that you show, and I thank you

1645

Because your merit is no less than his.

DUKE

I know the two of you do love me well

And I am so obliged to both of you

That I shall gladly show it when the time comes.

I know that Federico ruled my state,

1650

While I was absent, so well that no subject

Has had the slightest reason to complain.

While in the midst of battle I confess

That I imagined him running the land

As the most perfect senator of all.

1655

Thank God that with dishonourable flight

The enemies of the good Pope of Rome

Respect him in my absence like myself!

With laurel crown upon my brow I kissed

His hand while Rome applauded my triumph

1660

As though I were the Spanish consul Trajan.

And so I do intend from here on forth

To change vice into virtue for my name

To be not only praised for my conquests

But to be celebrated for my worth.

1665

When a man rises to such heights as these

It is not right that he be more acclaimed

For his weaknesses than for his virtues.

RICARDO

Here come Carlos and Aurora, my lord.

Enter Carlos and Aurora

AURORA

Your lordship is most welcome here today

1670

And she who adores you waits anxiously.

MARQUIS

Give good Carlos your hand; he wants his love

To be known.

DUKE

May the arms pay the soul’s debts

Of one who loves so well and passionately.

Although love suffers from long absences

1675

It is repaid upon the happy day

That it enjoys the honey of its bliss.

Herewith, my dear loved ones, I wish to rest

After my long journey and, since it’s late,

You’ll celebrate my coming later on.

FEDERICO

1680

May heaven guard you, sir, a hundred years.

Exeunt all with the Duke, and Batín and Ricardo remain

BATÍN

My friend Ricardo!

RICARDO

My good friend Batín!

BATÍN

How did you fare in those so cruel wars?

RICARDO

All went according as justice would have it

With heaven on our side for our defence.

1685

Lombardy has been freed and the enemy

Has fled most shamefully because the Duke,

The lion of the church, with one sole roar

Defeated them and made them down their arms.

The Duke has made his name in Italy;

1690

For if Saul killed a thousand men one day

And maidens sang his glory, David killed

One hundred thousand men; and now the Duke

Has done a deed that’s tantamount to his.

There are no ladies, no more dinners now,

1695

There are no shields and neither are there swords,

He thinks of nothing now but Casandra;

There is no other love but that professed

For the Count, his son, and the Duchess, his wife:

The Duke has now become quite sanctified.

BATÍN

1700

What’s this I hear? What are you telling me?

RICARDO

While honours make some people proud and cruel,

And hold a poor opinion of everyone,

Thinking themselves immortal as the gods,

The Duke has turned quite humble and modest

1705

And seems to disdain the laurels of success;

The flapping of flags has not turned his head.

BATÍN

Let’s pray to God after these humble ways

He’ll not become like in that tale by Aesop

Where, after plaguing Venus with petitions,

1710

A Dominican cat, all black and white,

Was turned into a woman. Then one day,

All dressed up in her fine clothes and jewels,

She saw pass by one of those animals

That chew on paper like the best of poets

1715

And made a leap to catch the little mouse

Showing that nature rules that once a cat

Always a cat, in secula seculorum.

RICARDO

Don’t be afraid the Duke, in consequence,

Will go back to his youth and his old ways

1720

Especially if he begets offspring,

Whose little hands can soften an old heart.

BATÍN

I’d be so glad if that were to be true.

RICARDO

Goodbye, Batín.

BATÍN

But where are you off to?

RICARDO

I’m off to see my Fabia, who’s waiting.

Exit Ricardo

Enter Duke with some papers

DUKE

1725

Is there some servant here?

BATÍN

Your humblest one.

DUKE

Batín!

BATÍN

God bless you. You are most welcome.

Give me your hand.

DUKE

What were you doing here?

BATÍN

Ricardo was telling me about your deeds,

Comparing you to Hector of Italy.

DUKE

1730

How did the Count rule while I was absent?

BATÍN

My lord, indeed I could say that, in peace,

He equalled your exploits on the battlefield.

DUKE

And did he get on well with Casandra?

BATÍN

I think there is no better stepmother

1735

In all the world; she is extremely wise

The soul of virtue and of holiness.

DUKE

There is nothing I can acknowledge more

Than that she was kind to my son the Count:

And as the Count is the one I most love

1740

Who was so sad when I went off to war

I am extremely pleased to hear you say

Casandra behaved with such kindness to him,

That they are friends and get on famously,

Which is just what my soul wants most badly

1745

Of all the things I could ask heaven for.

Thus in my home there are two victories:

The one I bring from battle and the one

Of fair Casandra conquering Federico.

I think that that she will be my only love

1750

Because of her behaviour towards my son

And I’ll abandon all my wanton ways

As I am tired of my lubricious youth.

BATÍN

The Pope has worked a miracle, my lord,

By sending the Duke of Ferrara to war

1755

And making him come back a virtuous hermit.

By God, you might start up a monastery!

DUKE

I hope my subjects know I’m a changed man.

BATÍN

Why did Your Grace take such a short respite?

DUKE

Because when I was entering the palace

1760

Some men were waiting for me on the steps

To give me these papers, and I preferred

To see what they were before going to rest

In case it happened that they were complaints.

Go now and I shall stay here on my own

1765

For it’s a matter for rulers to see.

BATÍN

The heavens, which remunerate those men

Who give priority to public welfare,

Will shower you with laurels and with fame.

Exit

DUKE

This paper says:

Reads

“My lord, I am Eustacio,

1770

I work in palace gardens and, while teaching

Others to lay fine lawns and plant fair flowers,

I had six sons: I beg you to employ

The two eldest of these…” That is enough!

I’ll take more care of whom I recompense.

Reads

1775

“Lucinda says she’s left without her spouse

Captain Arnaldo…” She requests redress.

Reads

“Albano, six years here…” A new request.

Reads

“Julio Camilo, imprisoned…” Another!

Reads

“Paula de San Germán, an honest maid…”

1780

Well, if she’s honest, she needs nothing else

Unless she wants me to find her a spouse.

This one was sealed, and he who gave it to me

Looked so upset and so disconsolate

That I would like to have found out some more.

Reads

1785

“My Lord, I wish to give you some sad news,

The Count and Duchess, while you were away…”

My thoughts did not deceive me: patience, then!

Reads

“Dared to offend your honour and your bed.”

How shall I overcome such shamelessness?

Reads

1790

“If you watch out, you’ll see it for yourself.”

But what is this I read? Can it be true?

You know I am the father of this man

Who you declare to be cuckolding me!

It is a lie! This viciousness is false!

1795

How could my sweet Casandra offend me?

Do you not know that the Count is my son?

But this paper says they’re woman and man.

What dreadful words and how they injure me!

But you will say there are no evil deeds

1800

That are not to be found in humankind.

The anger of the Lord must fall on them!

This was the curse that Nathan placed on David;

I’m reviled too: my son is Absalom.

But it is sad if God chastises me

1805

For concubines when Casandra’s my wife.

My libidinous ways as a young man

Have brought upon me now this punishment,

Although I did not lie with Bathsheba

Nor did I cause the death of Uriah.

1810

Oh, my perfidious son, if it is true!

Because I don’t believe that any other

Would dare to commit such a heinous sin.

But if you have betrayed me, I do pray

That after I have brought about your death

1815

I might bring back your life eternally

So as to have you killed over again

Every time I engender you afresh.

What great disloyalty! What violence!

Oh, absence, it is truly certified

1820

That even a father cannot trust his son

If he’s away from home for a long time!

How can I know for sure the witnesses

I call to testify won’t slander me?

So what’s the point in checking out the facts?

1825

No one would speak like this of someone’s son

If it were not true that he had betrayed him.

To punish him is not to wreak revenge,

He who punishes is not a revenger

And the news does not make me take revenge,

1830

For damage to one’s honour does not need

Revenge: it is enough to make it known.

Enter Federico

FEDERICO

I know you are not resting, so I have come

To talk to you.

DUKE

May the heavens guard you.

FEDERICO

And I come to ask a favour of you too.

DUKE

1835

My love will grant you anything you ask.

FEDERICO

When you bade me to wed my cousin Aurora,

My lord, I was inclined to do your will;

But Carlos was extremely jealous of me

Which made me decide not to obey you.

1840

But then you went away and then I knew

That my great love had caused such illusions

That were indeed to blame for my confusion.

So we made peace and I promised, my lord,

That, to put right what I had said before,

1845

I’d get married as soon as you allowed

After you’d given up your soldiering.

So that is what I come to beg you for.

DUKE

You couldn’t make me happier, dear Count.

Go now that I may tell it to your mother,

1850

For it is only fair that she should know,

And it is not right that you are to wed

Without her knowledge; and she must give you

Her kind blessing, just as your father does.

FEDERICO

Aurora not being of her flesh and blood,

1855

Why does Your Grace wish to inform Casandra?

DUKE

What does it matter that she’s not related

Seeing that your mother is Casandra?

FEDERICO

For many a years my mother Laurencia

Lies dead and buried in her hallowed grave.

DUKE

1860

Do you not like it that I call her mother?

They say that all the time I was away

You got on very well, I’m glad to say.

FEDERICO

God knows that it’s not so, I promise you,

Though I’ve no reason to complain, I know

1865

Your Grace loves her so much and rightly so,

That although they all thought her an angel

She did not act like an angel to me.

DUKE

I’m sorry they deceive me when they say

There is no one Casandra favours more.

FEDERICO

1870

Sometimes she favours me and other times

She makes it clear that sons of other mothers

Can never be the same as one’s own sons.

DUKE

You speak the truth and I believe your words

And she could do me a great good by loving

1875

You rather than loving me, for in that way

She would be sure of peace. May God guard you.

FEDERICO

And may God bless you too.

Exit

DUKE

I don’t know how

I could peruse the Count’s most guileful face.

What a hypocrite! What a shameless cad!

1880

He uses the false story about Aurora

So that I won’t believe he cuckolds me!

What makes me confident of his betrayal

Is what he has to say about Casandra

Behaving badly towards him in my absence.

1885

He thinks the best way to hush up his crime

Is to cover it up when it’s flagrant.

He does not like to have me call her mother

Because his father’s wife is his own lover

And it’s not right for him to call her mother.

1890

But how can I believe this case so easily?

Couldn’t it be that one of the Count’s foes

Has made up this story with perfidy

In order that I will chastise the Count

And in this way will be himself avenged?

1895

If I believe I’m not avenged but hurt.

Enter Casandra and Aurora

AURORA

My life depends on you, milady, now.

CASANDRA

You’ve made a wise choice indeed, Aurora.

AURORA

Here is the Duke.

CASANDRA

My Lord, you’re working still?

DUKE

I owe my state these signs of my esteem

1900

To compensate for my prolonged absence.

Although I know the Count and you have ruled

Most skilfully and I am grateful to you.

The praise of both of you’s on every lip.

CASANDRA

It is the Count whom you must thank, not me,

1905

I do not flatter him when I confirm

That he is chivalrous in all his acts,

As self-assured as he is talented:

He is the very image of yourself.

DUKE

I know that he has acted so like me

1910

In all his acts that I might have been here.

I promise you, milady, recompense.

CASANDRA

I have a new request to make of you,

It is about Aurora: Carlos loves her

And wants to beg her hand; she loves him too

1915

And I would be so pleased if you would grant it.

DUKE

I think that you have come too late to ask me:

The Count has just made me the same request.

CASANDRA

The Count has asked if he may marry her?

DUKE

That’s so, Casandra.

CASANDRA

The Count, you say?

DUKE

Yes.

CASANDRA

1920

I’d doubt the truth from any other source.

DUKE

I have already given my permission

The two of them are to be wed tomorrow.

CASANDRA

It shall be as Aurora disposes.

AURORA

Forgive me, sire, I’ll not marry the Count.

DUKE

1925

(Oh, why should I wait any longer now?)

Aurora, is the Count not superior

To the Marquis in gallantry, in reason

And in valour?

AURORA

Well, that I cannot say.

When I wanted so badly to wed him

1930

And I begged him, he only turned me down;

So now that he’s the one who desires me

It’s only fair that I should turn him down.

DUKE

But do it for my sake if not for his.

AURORA

Marriage must be with one that deserves love

1935

And I now have no feelings for the Count.

Exit Aurora

DUKE

It is a strange decision that she’s made.

CASANDRA

Aurora’s right, although impertinent.

DUKE

She is not right, and marry him she shall!

CASANDRA

My Lord, don’t use your power in this case

1940

For love needs to be free and not imposed.

Exit Duke

Alas, the faithless Count has tired of me!

Enter Count

FEDERICO

I thought I heard my father here with you.

CASANDRA

Federico, what lying scheme has brought you?

I know you’ve asked the Duke for Aurora’s hand.

FEDERICO

1945

Be careful now, milady: you’re in danger.

CASANDRA

How can I be in danger, hypocrite,

When I’m beside myself?

FEDERICO

Why are you shouting?

Enter Duke, stealthily

DUKE

(I seek testimony. I’ll eavesdrop here;

Although they say eavesdroppers hear no good

1950

About themselves, I need to know it all.)

FEDERICO

Listen, milady, try to save your name.

CASANDRA

What cowardly man in all the world would leave me

After giving such tokens of his love?

FEDERICO

Milady, I am not betrothed yet.

1955

I strove to reassure the Duke to save us,

For our life cannot continue this way.

The Duke is not just any man at all

Who can support to have his name debased.

Suffice the time when our love turned us blind.

CASANDRA

1960

Oh, what a coward, what a shameless man!

The tears and pleas with which you drive us mad

To steal our honour –few of us escape

Undamaged from your wiles– are cowardliness?

Well, you’ve destroyed my soul, you chickenheart!

DUKE

1965

(If I stay here in silence, I’m of stone.

What are you waiting for, my misery?

They have confessed without torturing them,

But it is they who have tormented me.

I need no further evidence than this:

1970

They have confessed it all quite openly.

My honour has to judge, sentence and punish.

But I must do all this in such a way

That it will never sully my good name,

Because in public it cannot be cleared.

1975

And it is not fitting that any man

Should know that I have been so dishonoured

So I shall now attempt to cover it up

As though this thing had never come to pass.

For although satisfaction may avenge

1980

The cuckoldry, the stain cannot be cleaned.)

Exit

CASANDRA

Alas, poor women! Ah, false, faithless men!

FEDERICO

I promise, love, I’ll do whatever you please:

You have my word.

CASANDRA

Is this true?

FEDERICO

Yes, indeed.

CASANDRA

Well then no love is ever impossible.

1985

I have been yours and yours I still shall be.

We’re sure to find a way to be together.

FEDERICO

So go, milady, and to be discreet

Pretend you feel great pleasure with the Duke.

CASANDRA

Well, so I shall and I know you’ll not suffer

1990

Because I know that pretence is not pleasure.

Exeunt. Enter Aurora and Batín

BATÍN

I have been told, oh beautiful Aurora,

You are to wed the Marquis or have done so,

And that you’re off to Mantua, milady:

I’ve come to beg you to take me with you.

AURORA

1995

Batín, I am amazed to hear your words.

Why do you wish to leave the Count, your lord?

BATÍN

Not to be recompensed for serving well

Is something even the most wise and sane

Find very hard to bear; it drives them mad.

2000

I’ll favour you today, but not tomorrow

Maybe some other day. What is this maybe?

Apart from this, the Count is as possessed.

I do not know what is the matter with him:

One minute sad, one minute elated,

2005

One minute sane and the next demented.

The Duchess also has her ups and downs,

So where they’re all in such an awful state

How do you expect me to be all right?

The Duke spends all his time pretending

2010

And speaking to himself like a madman,

He wanders all around as though he’s searching

For some valuable thing that he has lost.

They are all mad in that house, I tell you,

So I’ll away to Mantua with you.

AURORA

2015

If I have the good fortune I desire

And the Duke gives me Carlos, I’ll take you.

BATÍN

I humbly kiss your feet a thousand times

And now I’ll go and speak to the Marquis.

Exit. Enter Duke

DUKE

(Oh, honour, what an enemy you are!

2020

Who was the first on earth to plant your code,

And leave it in the hands of womankind

So that man can do nothing to guard it?

For without blame he who is most honest

Can lose his honour any time at all.

2025

The legislator who imposed this law

Was certainly not an instructed man.

But if he left it to us, it must be

That he was cuckolded by his own wife.)

Aurora!

AURORA

Are you calling me, my lord?

DUKE

2030

I think the Duchess wishes that you marry

The Marquis, and I shall concede her plea.

I thus prefer to make my wife content

Than leave that pleasure to my son, the Count.

AURORA

I am eternally obliged to you.

DUKE

2035

Tell Carlos he may write to his uncle,

The Duke of Mantua, to tell him so.

AURORA

I’ll go to where the Marquis is awaiting

And surprise him with this most happy news.

Exit

DUKE

My house today will see just punishment.

2040

Raise high, oh heavens, your divine gavel!

It’s not revenge for the wrong I was done,

For I don’t seek revenge in your offense

And in a son it was a barbarous deed.

This punishment must be wreaked by gods alone

2045

For only heaven may dispense forgiveness

With moderation and not severity.

I shall be father and not husband here

Assigning holy justice to a sin

Committed in such a licentious way

2050

A punishment without any revenge.

Thus shall the laws of honour be well served

Avoiding recognition of my shame

Which would only serve to double my disgrace.

One who punishes in public does so twice,

2055

For he not only recognises his loss

But shows his disrepute to all the world.

Unfaithful Casandra I tied hand and foot

And covered her body with a thick veil,

And so as not to hear her discontent

2060

I had a gag put on her pretty mouth

For when I told her she’s so much to blame

In my disgrace, she fell into a swoon.

Offended, human piety can bear this

But what heart will not be dispirited

2065

By giving death to his own flesh and blood?

The very thought of it, oh! woe is me,

Will make my body tremble, my soul dismay,

The blood in my veins freeze and my eyes weep,

My breast not breathe, my mind fall powerless,

2070

My memory fail and my willpower malfunction;

Just like a stream that holds the long night’s ice,

From heart to mouth words cause unbearable pain.

What do you expect, love? Do you not see

That God bids children to honour their parents

2075

And the Count has broken this commandment?

Allow me, love, to punish him who sinned

Against this holy law to do his father wrong

Because it’s clear to me that if today

He takes my honour from me, tomorrow

2080

He may just as easily take my life.

Artaxerxes had fifty killed for less

And Darius’, Torquatus’ and Brutus’ swords

Obeyed the laws of justice without revenge.

Forgive me, love, do not reject the right

2085

To punishment when honour is the sin

For which the sentence must be delivered.

The truth has verified the prosecution,

And culpability is clear to see.

Lawyers are there to defend love and blood

2090

But that does not suffice: the other party

Has to support discredit and disgrace.

It is the law of God that tells the blame

And it is his conscience that writes it down.

But why do I feel guilty? Here he comes.

2095

Oh, heavens, please help me to have courage.

Enter Count

FEDERICO

It’s common news around the palace, sire,

That you have instructed Aurora to wed

Marquis Gonzaga and be off to Mantua.

But am I to believe that this is so?

DUKE

2100

I know not what they say, Count, nor have I

Given the Marquis permission to marry.

My mind is occupied with higher things.

FEDERICO

There’s no rest for those who govern a state.

What is it that preoccupies your mind?

DUKE

2105

My son, a nobleman from Ferrara

With other companions was conspiring

Against me; he confided in a woman

And she came and revealed it all to me.

He who trusts women is indeed a fool,

2110

And he who praises them is a wise man!

I called upon the traitor with the pretext

Of doing important business with him,

And then I locked him up inside a barn

And when I told him I knew all about it,

2115

He was so shocked he fell into a faint.

So it was easy to tie him to the chair

And cover him so that the one who comes

To kill him will not see his face

And spread the news all over Italy.

2120

You are the first to come and it is fair

For you to do the deed so no one knows.

Take out your sword, good Count, and take his life.

I want to see from the door of the barn

How valiantly you give death to my foe.

FEDERICO

2125

Is this a test for me or is it true

That they conspired against you, these two men?

DUKE

When a father gives an order to his son,

Whether the order be just or unjust,

Does the son dare to question that order?

2130

Begone, you coward, I’ll do it myself.

FEDERICO

Hold your sword and wait for me here; I’m not

Afraid, for you say he is well tied up.

But I don’t know what has come over me

To make me tremble so from head to foot.

DUKE

2135

Stay here then, you coward!

FEDERICO

No, I shall go,

It is enough for me that you ordain it.

But for the love of God…

DUKE

Oh, you scoundrel!

FEDERICO

I’m going now, stop there, and if I find

The emperor himself for you I shall

2140

Stab him a thousand times, so help me God!

Exit Federico

DUKE

I shall see him from here: there he is now,

He’s stabbing her with the tip of his sword.

He who has executed my disgrace

Has also executed justice for me.

2145

Captains! Good folk! All you who are on duty!

Good gentlemen and servants all, come quick!

Enter Marquis, Aurora, Batín, Ricardo and all the other characters

MARQUIS

Why are you calling us aloud, your grace?

DUKE

Can so much evil be? The Count has killed

Casandra, because she was his stepmother

2150

And said she had a better child inside her

To be my son and heir. Kill him! Kill him!

MARQUIS

Casandra?

DUKE

That is correct, good Marquis.

MARQUIS

I’ll not return to Mantua until

I’ve taken this traitor’s miserable life.

DUKE

2155

Here comes the traitor now with bloody sword.

Enter the Count with drawn sword

FEDERICO

What is all this? When I was just about

To see the face of who you told me was

A traitor, I found…

DUKE

Stop there! Say no more!

Hold your tongue! Kill him! Kill him!

MARQUIS

You die!

FEDERICO

2160

Oh, father, pray, why are they killing me?

The Marquis goes after Federico and kills him

DUKE

In God’s tribunal you will hear the reason,

Traitor. With this example, Aurora,

Be off to Mantua with your Carlos,

For he deserves you and I am willing.

AURORA

2165

I’m so perplexed I know not what to say.

BATÍN

Say yes, Aurora, there’s cause for what you see.

AURORA

My Lord, I’ll give you my reply tomorrow.

Enter Marquis

MARQUIS

The Count is dead.

DUKE

In such unhappiness

I still want to see him dead with Casandra.

He uncovers the bodies

MARQUIS

2170

See again punishment without revenge.

DUKE

It’s not revenge when justice is observed.

No tears must fall and we must be valiant:

He paid for what he did to be my heir.

BATÍN

Here ends, dear public, this great tragedy

2175

Of punishment without revenge, which is

The cause of much astonishment in Italy

And is an example for all in Spain.

Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio, El castigo sin venganza

Punishment Without Revenge

ACT I

ACT II

ACTO III