CHORUS OF ALL.
Arise, all potent ruler, rise,
And vindicate thy people's cause;
Till every tongue in every land 95
Shall offer up unfeign'd applause.
['Exeunt'.
ACT III.
'Scene as before'.
FIRST PRIEST.
RECITATIVE.
YES, my companions, Heaven's decrees are past,
And our fix'd empire shall for ever last;
In vain the madd'ning prophet threatens woe,
In vain rebellion aims her secret blow;
Still shall our fame and growing power be spread,
And still our vengeance crush the traitor's head. 6
AIR.
Coeval with man
Our empire began,
And never shall fail
Till ruin shakes all; 10
When ruin shakes all,
Then shall Babylon fall.
FIRST PROPHET.
RECITATIVE.
'Tis thus that pride triumphant rears the head,
A little while, and all their power is fled;
But ha! what means yon sadly plaintive train, 15
That this way slowly bend along the plain?
And now, methinks, to yonder bank they bear
A palled corse, and rest the body there.
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