Moreover Felix hated Paul, as hates The upbraided ever his upbraider, when, The conscience yielding, yet the will withstands. For, during the imprisonment of Paul, And that prolonged delay of trial due Him, this base freedman--basely raised to be A ruler--as a pleasure to his wife, Devised a feast of eloquence for her. She was a Jewess, beautiful as vile, And as in beauty brilliant, so in wit; She would enjoy it, like a spectacle, To sit, in emulated state, a queen Beside her husband in his judgment-hall, And there, at ease reclined, her lord's delight, In her resplendent and voluptuous bloom, Disport herself at leisure, eye and ear Tasting their satisfaction to the full, To see and hear her famous countryman Expound his doctrine and defend his cause. Not often, in his rude Judæan seat Of government in banishment, could he Proffer the stately partner of his throne An equal hope of entertainment rare.
So, royal in their pomp of progress, came, One day, the lustful Felix with his bride, Adulterous Drusilla, guilty pair! And, on his throne of judgment seating him, Bade Paul before them, in his prisoner's chain, To burn the splendors of his oratory In pleading for the faith of Jesus Christ-- Fresh pastime to the cloyed and jaded sense For pleasure those voluptuaries brought! Uncalculated thrills, not of delight, That lawless Roman ruler had purveyed Himself, to chase each other in their chill Procession through the currents of his blood, And, shuddering, shoot along his nerves, and freeze His marrow!--conscience in him her last sign Making perhaps that day.
But will he heed? Or will the terrors of the world to come Vainly appal him with the eternal fear?
Paul discourses solemnly before Felix and his queen Drusilla, treating the topics of righteousness, self-control, and impending judgment. The effect is to make Felix show visible signs of discomposure on his judgment-seat. Drusilla, apprehensive of consequences disastrous to herself from her wicked husband's awakened remorse and fear, invokes the intervention of Simon, that Cyprian Jewish sorcerer who had at first been instrumental in bringing the guilty pair together. Simon plays upon the superstition of Felix with his pretended magic arts.