Dionysius

Dio. Base deserters!

Curse on their Punic faith! did they once dare

To grapple with the Greek? Ere yet the main

Was ting'd with blood, they turn'd their ships averse.

May storms and tempests follow in their rear,

And dash their fleet upon the Lybian shore!

Enter Calippus.

Calippus

Cal. My liege, Timoleon, where the harbour opens,

Has storm'd the forts, and even now his fleet

Pursues its course, and steers athwart the bay.

Dio. Ruin impends; and yet, if fall it must,

I bear a mind to meet it undismay'd,

Unconquer'd ev'n by Fate.

Cal. Through ev'ry street

Despair and terror fly. A panic spreads

From man to man, and superstition sees

Jove arm'd with thunder, and the gods against us.

Dio. With sacred rites their wrath must be appeas'd.

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