DEMETRIUS.
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ALI.Forgive an old man's weakness,And share the deepest secrets of my soul,My wrongs, my fears, my motives, my designs.--When unsuccessful wars, and civil factionsEmbroil'd the Turkish state, our sultan's father,Great Amurath, at my request, forsookThe cloister's ease, resum'd the tott'ring throne,And snatch'd the reins of abdicated pow'rFrom giddy Mahomet's unskilful hand.This fir'd the youthful king's ambitious breast:He murmurs vengeance, at the name of Cali,And dooms my rash fidelity to ruin. DEMETRIUS.Unhappy lot of all that shine in courts,For forc'd compliance, or for zealous virtue,Still odious to the monarch, or the people. CALI.Such are the woes, when arbitrary pow'rAnd lawless passion hold the sword of justice.If there be any land, as fame reports,Where common laws restrain the prince and subject,A happy land, where circulating pow'rFlows through each member of th' embodied state;Sure, not unconscious of the mighty blessing,Her grateful sons shine bright with every virtue;Untainted with the lust of innovation,Sure, all unite to hold her league of ruleUnbroken, as the sacred chain of natureThat links the jarring elements in peace.
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