Scene I.--DON RODRIGO and CHIMÈNE.
Chimène.
What! Rodrigo! In broad daylight! Whence comes this audacity?
Go, thou art ruining my honor; retire, I beseech thee.
Don Rodrigo
I go to die, dear lady, and I come to bid you in this
place, before the mortal blow, a last adieu. This unchangeable love,
which binds me beneath your laws, dares not to accept my death without
paying to you homage for it.
Chimène.
Thou art going to death!
Don Rodrigo
I speed to those happy moments which will deliver my life
from your (feelings of) resentment.
Chimène.
Thou art going to death! Is Don Sancho, then, so formidable,
that he can inspire terror in this invincible heart? What has rendered
thee so weak? or what renders him so strong? Does Rodrigo go to fight,
and believe himself already slain [lit. dead]? He who has not feared
the Moors nor my father, goes to fight Don Sancho, and already despairs?
Thus, then, thy courage lowers itself in the [hour of] need.
Don Rodrigo
I speed [lit. I run] to my punishment, and not to the
combat; and, since you seek my death, my faithful ardor will readily
deprive me of the desire of defending my life. I have always the same
courage, but I have not the [strong] arm, when it is needed, to preserve
that which does not please you; and already this night would have been
fatal to me, if I had fought for my own private wrong; but, defending my
king, his people, and my country, by carelessly defending myself, I
should have betrayed them. My high-born spirit does not hate life so
much as to wish to depart from it by perfidy, now that it regards my
interests only. You demand my death--I accept its decree. Your
resentment chose the hand of another; I was unworthy [lit. I did not
deserve] to die by yours. They shall not see me repel its blows; I owe
more respect to him [the champion] who fights for you; and delighted to
think that it is from you these [blows] proceed--since it is your honor
that his arms sustain--I shall present to him my unprotected [or,
defenceless] breast, worshipping through his hand thine that destroys
me.
Chimène.
If the just vehemence of a sad [sense of] duty, which causes
me, in spite of myself, to follow after thy valiant life, prescribes to
thy love a law so severe, that it surrenders thee without defence to him
who combats for me, in this infatuation [lit. blindness], lose not the
recollection, that, with thy life, thine honor is tarnished, and that,
in whatever renown Rodrigo may have lived, when men shall know him to be
dead, they will believe him conquered. Thine honor is dearer to thee
than I am dear, since it steeps thine hands in the blood of my father,
and causes thee to renounce, in spite of thy love, the sweet hope of
gaining me. I see thee, however, pay such little regard to it [honor],
that, without fighting, thou wishest to be overcome. What inconsistency
[lit. unequality] mars thy valor! Why hast thou it [that valor] no
more? or why didst thou possess it [formerly]? What! art thou valiant
only to do me an injury? Unless it be to offend [or, injure] me, hast
thou no courage at all? And dost thou treat my father with such rigor
[i.e. so far disparage the memory of my father], that, after having
conquered him, thou wilt endure a conqueror? Go! without wishing to die,
leave me to pursue thee, and defend thine honor, if thou wilt no longer
live.
Don Rodrigo
After the death of the count and the defeat of the
Moors, will my renown still require other achievements? That [glory] may
scorn the care of defending myself; it is known that my courage dares to
attempt all, that my valor can accomplish all, and that, here below
[lit. under the heavens], in comparison with mine honor, nothing is
precious to me. No! no! in this combat, whatever thou may'st please to
think, Rodrigo may die without risking his renown: without men daring to
accuse him of having wanted spirit: without being considered as
conquered, without enduring a conqueror. They will say only: "He adored
Chimène; he would not live and merit her hatred; he yielded himself to
the severity of his fate, which compelled his mistress to seek his
death; she wished for his life [lit. head], and his magnanimous heart,
had that been refused to her, would have considered it a crime. To
avenge his honor, he lost his love; to avenge his mistress, he forsook
life, preferring (whatever hope may have enslaved his soul) his honor to
Chimène, and Chimène to his existence." Thus, then, you will see that my
death in this conflict, far from obscuring my glory, will increase its
value; and this honor will follow my voluntary death, that no other than
myself could have satisfied you [for the death of your father].
Chimène.
Since, to prevent thee from rushing to destruction, thy life
and thine honor are [but] feeble inducements, if ever I loved thee, dear
Rodrigo, in return [for that love], defend thyself now, to rescue me
from Don Sancho. Fight, to release me from a compact which delivers me
to the object of my aversion. Shall I say more to thee? Go, think of thy
defence, to overcome my sense of duty, to impose on me silence; and if
thou feelest thine heart still enamored for me, come forth, as a
conqueror, from a combat of which Chimène is the reward. Adieu; this
thoughtlessly uttered [lit. let slip] word causes me to blush for
shame!
[Exit Chimène.]
Don Rodrigo
Where is the foe I could not now subdue? Come forth,
[warriors] of Navarre, Morocco, and Castile! and all the heroes that
Spain has produced; unite together and form an army, to contend against
one hand thus nerved [to action]. Unite all your efforts against a hope
so sweet--you have too little power to succeed in destroying it!
Scene II.--THE INFANTA.
Shall I listen to thee still, pride of my birth, that makest a crime out
of my passions? Shall I listen to thee, love, whose delicious power
causes my desires to rebel against this proud tyrant? Poor princess! to
which of the two oughtest thou to yield obedience? Rodrigo, thy valor
renders thee worthy of me; but although thou art valiant, thou art not
the son of a king.
Pitiless fate, whose severity separates my glory and my desires! Is it
decreed [lit. said], that the choice of [a warrior of] such rare merit
should cost my passion such great anguish? O heaven! for how many
sorrows [lit. sighs] must my heart prepare itself, if, after such a
long, painful struggle, it never succeeds in either extinguishing the
love, or accepting the lover!
But there are too many scruples, and my reason is alarmed at the
contempt of a choice so worthy; although to monarchs only my [proud]
birth may assign me, Rodrigo, with honor I shall live under thy laws.
After having conquered two kings, couldst thou fail in obtaining a
crown? And this great name of Cid, which thou hast just now won--does it
not show too clearly over whom thou art destined to reign?
He is worthy of me, but he belongs to Chimène; the present which I made
of him [to her], injures me. Between them, the death of a father has
interposed so little hatred, that the duty of blood with regret pursues
him. Thus let us hope for no advantage, either from his transgression or
from my grief, since, to punish me, destiny has allowed that love should
continue even between two enemies.
Scene III.--THE INFANTA and LEONORA.
Infanta.
Whence [i.e. for what purpose] comest thou, Leonora?
Leonora.
To congratulate you, dear lady, on the tranquillity which at
last your soul has recovered.
Infanta.
From what quarter can tranquillity come [lit. whence should
this tranquillity come], in an accumulation of sorrow?
Leonora.
If love lives on hope, and if it dies with it, Rodrigo can no
more charm your heart; you know of the combat in which Chimène involves
him; since he must die in it, or become her husband, your hope is dead
and your spirit is healed.
Infanta.
Ah! how far from it!
Leonora.
What more can you expect?
Infanta.
Nay, rather, what hope canst thou forbid me [to entertain]?
If Rodrigo fights under these conditions, to counteract the effect of it
[that conflict], I have too many resources. Love, this sweet author of
my cruel punishments, puts into [lit. teaches] the minds of lovers too
many stratagems.
Leonora.
Can you [accomplish] anything, since a dead father has not
been able to kindle discord in their minds? For Chimène clearly shows by
her behavior that hatred to-day does not cause her pursuit. She obtains
the [privilege of a] combat, and for her champion, she accepts on the
moment the first that offers. She has not recourse to those renowned
knights [lit. noble hands] whom so many famous exploits render so
glorious; Don Sancho suffices her, and merits her choice, because he is
going to arm himself for the first time; she loves in this duel his want
of experience; as he is without renown, [so] is she without
apprehension; and her readiness [to accept him], ought to make you
clearly see that she seeks for a combat which her duty demands, but
which yields her Rodrigo an easy victory, and authorizes her at length
to seem appeased.
Infanta.
I observe it clearly; and nevertheless my heart, in rivalry
with Chimène, adores this conqueror. On what shall I resolve, hopeless
lover that I am?
Leonora.
To remember better from whom you are sprung. Heaven owes you
a king; you love a subject!
Infanta.
The object of my attachment has completely changed: I no
longer love Rodrigo as a mere nobleman. No; it is not thus that my love
entitles him. If I love him, it is [as] the author of so many brilliant
deeds; it is [as] the valiant Cid, the master of two kings. I shall
conquer myself, however; not from dread of any censure, but in order
that I may not disturb so glorious a love; and even though, to favor me,
they should crown him, I will not accept again [lit. take back] a gift
which I have given. Since in such a combat his triumph is certain, let
us go once more to give him [or, that gift] to Chimène. And thou, who
seest the love-arrows with which my heart is pierced; come see me finish
as I have begun.
Scene IV.--CHIMÈNE and ELVIRA.
Chimène.
Elvira, how greatly I suffer; and how much I am to be pitied!
I know not what to hope, and I see everything to be dreaded. No wish
escapes me to which I dare consent. I desire nothing without quickly
repenting of it [lit. a quick repentance]. I have caused two rivals to
take up arms for me: the most happy result will cause me tears; and
though fate may decree in my favor, my father is without revenge, or my
lover is dead.
Elvira.
On the one side and the other I see you consoled; either you
have Rodrigo, or you are avenged. And however fate may ordain for you,
it maintains your honor and gives you a spouse.
Chimène.
What! the object of my hatred or of such resentment!--the
slayer of Rodrigo, or that of my father! In either case [lit. on all
sides] they give me a husband, still [all] stained with the blood that I
cherished most; in either case my soul revolts, and I fear more than
death the ending of my quarrel. Away! vengeance, love--which agitate my
feelings. Ye have no gratifications for me at such a price; and Thou,
Powerful Controller of the destiny which afflicts me, terminate this
combat without any advantage, without rendering either of the two
conquered or conqueror.
Elvira.
This would be treating you with too much severity. This combat
is a new punishment for your feelings, if it leaves you [still]
compelled to demand justice, to exhibit always this proud resentment,
and continually to seek after the death of your lover. Dear lady, it is
far better that his unequalled valor, crowning his brow, should impose
silence upon you; that the conditions of the combat should extinguish
your sighs; and that the King should compel you to follow your
inclinations.
Chimène.
If he be conqueror, dost thou believe that I shall
surrender? My strong [sense of] duty is too strong and my loss too
great; and this [law of] combat and the will of the King are not strong
enough to dictate conditions to them [i.e. to my duty and sorrow for
my loss]. He may conquer Don Sancho with very little difficulty, but he
shall not with him [conquer] the sense of duty of Chimène; and whatever
[reward] a monarch may have promised to his victory, my self-respect
will raise against him a thousand other enemies.
Elvira.
Beware lest, to punish this strange pride, heaven may at last
permit you to revenge yourself. What!--you will still reject the
happiness of being able now to be reconciled [lit. to be silent] with
honor? What means this duty, and what does it hope for? Will the death
of your lover restore to you a father? Is one [fatal] stroke of
misfortune insufficient for you? Is there need of loss upon loss, and
sorrow upon sorrow? Come, in the caprice in which your humor persists,
you do not deserve the lover that is destined for you, and we may
[lit. shall] see the just wrath of heaven, by his death, leaving you
Don Sancho as a spouse.
Chimène.
Elvira, the griefs which I endure are sufficient: do not
redouble them by this fatal augury. I wish, if I can, to avoid both; but
if not, in this conflict Rodrigo has all my prayers; not because a weak
[lit. foolish] affection inclines me to his side, but because, if he
were conquered, I should become [the bride] of Don Sancho. This fear
creates [lit. causes to be born] my desire----
[Enter Don Sancho.]
What do I see, unhappy [woman that I am]! Elvira, all is lost!
Scene V.--DON SANCHO, CHIMÈNE, and ELVIRA.
Don Sancho.
Compelled to bring this sword to thy feet----
Chimène.
What! still [all] reeking with the blood of Rodrigo! Traitor,
dost thou dare to show thyself before mine eyes, after having taken from
me that [being] whom I love the best? Declare thyself my love, and thou
hast no more to fear. My father is satisfied; cease to restrain thyself.
The same [death] stroke has placed my honor in safety, my soul in
despair, and my passion at liberty!
Don Sancho.
With a mind more calmly collected----
Chimène.
Dost thou still speak to me, detestable assassin of a hero
whom I adore? Go; you fell upon him treacherously. A warrior so valiant
would never have sunk beneath such an assailant! Hope nothing from me.
Thou hast not served me; and believing that thou wert avenging me, thou
hast deprived me of life.
Don Sancho.
Strange delusion, which, far from listening to me----
Chimène.
Wilt thou that I should listen to thee while boasting of his
death?--that I should patiently hear with what haughty pride thou wilt
describe his misfortune, my own crime, and thy prowess?
Scene VI.--DON FERNANDO, DON DIEGO, DON ARIAS, DON SANCHO, DON ALONZO,
CHIMÈNE, and ELVIRA.
Chimène.
Sire, there is no further need to dissemble that which all my
struggles have not been able to conceal from you. I loved, you knew it;
but, to avenge my father, I even wished to sacrifice so dear a being [as
Rodrigo]. Sire, your majesty may have seen how I have made love yield to
duty. At last, Rodrigo is dead; and his death has converted me from an
unrelenting foe into an afflicted lover. I owed this revenge to him who
gave me existence; and to my love I now owe these tears. Don Sancho has
destroyed me in undertaking my defence; and I am the reward of the arm
which destroys me. Sire, if compassion can influence a king, for mercy's
sake revoke a law so severe. As the reward of a victory by which I lose
that which I love, I leave him my possessions; let him leave me to
myself, that in a sacred cloister I may weep continually, even to my
last sigh, for my father and my lover.
Don Diego.
In brief, she loves, sire, and no longer believes it a
crime to acknowledge with her own lips a lawful affection.
Don Fernando
Chimène, be undeceived [lit. come out from thine
error]; thy lover is not dead, and the vanquished Don Sancho has given
thee a false report.
Don Sancho.
Sire, a little too much eagerness, in spite of me, has
misled her; I came from the combat to tell her the result. This noble
warrior of whom her heart is enamored, when he had disarmed me, spoke to
me thus: "Fear nothing--I would rather leave the victory uncertain, than
shed blood risked in defence of Chimène; but, since my duty calls me to
the King, go, tell her of our combat [on my behalf]; on the part of the
conqueror, carry her thy sword." Sire, I came; this weapon deceived her;
seeing me return, she believed me to be conqueror, and her resentment
suddenly betrayed her love, with such excitement and so much impatience,
that I could not obtain a moment's hearing. As for me, although
conquered, I consider myself fortunate; and in spite of the interests of
my enamored heart, [though] losing infinitely, I still love my defeat,
which causes the triumph of a love so perfect.
Don Fernando
My daughter, there is no need to blush for a passion so
glorious, nor to seek means of making a disavowal of it; a laudable
[sense of] shame in vain solicits thee; thy honor is redeemed, and thy
duty performed; thy father is satisfied, and it was to avenge him that
thou didst so often place thy Rodrigo in danger. Thou seest how heaven
otherwise ordains. Having done so much for him [i.e. thy father], do
something for thyself; and be not rebellious against my command, which
gives thee a spouse beloved so dearly.
Scene VII.--DON FERNANDO, DON DIEGO, DON ARIAS, DON RODRIGO, DON
ALONZO, DON SANCHO, THE INFANTA, CHIMÈNE, LEONORA, and ELVIRA.
Infanta.
Dry thy tears, Chimène, and receive without sadness this
noble conqueror from the hands of thy princess.
Don Rodrigo
Be not offended, sire, if in your presence an impassioned
homage causes me to kneel before her [lit. casts me before her knees].
I come not here to ask for [the reward of] my victory; I come once more
[or, anew] to offer you my head, dear lady. My love shall not employ
in my own favor either the law of the combat or the will of the King. If
all that has been done is too little for a father, say by what means you
must be satisfied. Must I still contend against a thousand and a
thousand rivals, and to the two ends of the earth extend my labors,
myself alone storm a camp, put to flight an army, surpass the renown of
fabulous heroes? If my deep offence can be by that means washed away, I
dare undertake all, and can accomplish all. But if this proud honor,
always inexorable, cannot be appeased without the death of the guilty
[offender], arm no more against me the power of mortals; mine head is at
thy feet, avenge thyself by thine own hands; thine hands alone have the
right to vanquish the invincible. Take thou a vengeance to all others
impossible. But at least let my death suffice to punish me; banish me
not from thy remembrance, and, since my doom preserves your honor, to
recompense yourself for this, preserve my memory, and say sometimes,
when deploring my fate: "Had he not loved me, he would not have died."
Chimène.
Rise, Rodrigo. I must confess it, sire, I have said too much
to be able to unsay it. Rodrigo has noble qualities which I cannot hate;
and, when a king commands, he ought to be obeyed. But to whatever [fate]
you may have already doomed me, can you, before your eyes, tolerate this
union? And when you desire this effort from my feeling of duty, is it
entirely in accord with your sense of justice? If Rodrigo becomes so
indispensable to the state, of that which he has done for you ought I to
be the reward, and surrender myself to the everlasting reproach of
having imbrued my hands in the blood of a father?
Don Fernando
Time has often rendered lawful that which at first
seemed impossible, without being a crime. Rodrigo has won thee, and thou
art justly his. But, although his valor has by conquest obtained thee
to-day, it would need that I should become the enemy of thy
self-respect, to give him so soon the reward of his victory. This bridal
deferred does not break a law, which, without specifying the time,
devotes thy faith to him. Take a year, if thou wilt, to dry thy tears;
Rodrigo, in the mean time, must take up arms. After having vanquished
the Moors on our borders, overthrown their plans, and repulsed their
attacks, go, carry the war even into their country, command my army,
and ravage their territory. At the mere name of Cid they will tremble
with dismay. They have named thee lord! they will desire thee as their
king! But, amidst thy brilliant [lit. high] achievements, be thou to
her always faithful; return, if it be possible, still more worthy of
her, and by thy great exploits acquire such renown, that it may be
glorious for her to espouse thee then.
Don Rodrigo
To gain Chimène, and for your service, what command can
be issued to me that mine arm cannot accomplish? Yet, though absent from
her [dear] eyes, I must suffer grief, sire, I have too much happiness in
being able--to hope!
Don Fernando
Hope in thy manly resolution; hope in my promise, and
already possessing the heart of thy mistress, let time, thy valor, and
thy king exert themselves [lit. do, or act], to overcome a scrupulous
feeling of honor which is contending against thee.