The Cid
Book Excerpt
Scene V.--DON DIEGO.
O rage! O despair! O inimical old age! Have I then lived so long only for this disgrace? And have I grown grey in warlike toils, only to see in one day so many of my laurels wither? Does my arm [i.e. my valor], which all Spain admires and looks up to [_lit._ with respect]--[does] my arm, which has so often saved this empire, and so often strengthened anew the throne of its king, now [_lit._ then] betray my cause, and do nothing for me? O cruel remembrance of my bygone glory! O work of a lifetime [_lit._ so many days] effaced in a day! new dignity fatal to my happiness! lofty precipice from which mine honor falls! must I see the count triumph over your splendor, and die without vengeance, or live in shame? Count, be now the instructor of my prince! This high rank becomes [_lit._ admits] no man without honor, and thy jealous pride, by this foul [_lit._ remarkable] in