The
Count of Lerma
The Grand Inquisitor!
Inquisitor
Am I
before the king...?
Filippo
Yes; I
summoned you, my father!
I am in doubt,
Carlo has filled my heart
with a bitter sadness.
The child is rebelling against me,
Arming himself against his own father.
Inquisitor
What
method of punishment will you choose?
Filippo
Extreme
measures.
Inquisitor
Tell
me.
Filippo
That
he would escape... that he would be executed...
Inquisitor
Well?
Filippo
If I
send my son to his death,
Will you absolve me?
Inquisitor
The
peace of the empire is worth one rebel.
Filippo
Can I
sacrifice my own son for the world
Me, a Christian?
Inquisitor
God
sacrificed His Son to redeem us.
Filippo
But
can you enforce a law that harsh?
Inquisitor
The
same harshness is everywhere,
if it was there on Calvary.
Filippo
Could
nature
And love keep silent in me?
Inquisitor
All
must be silent to exalt the faith.
Filippo
Very
well.
Inquisitor
Does
the king have nothing more to ask me?
Filippo
No.
Inquisitor
Well
then, I will speak with you, Sire.
Heresy has never ruled Spain,
But there is a man who wishes to undermine
the divine structure;
The king’s friend, his faithful companion,
The demon tempter who leads him to ruin.
Carlo’s betrayal has angered you
But that is a silly game by comparison.
And I, the Inquisitor,
I have often raised
My mighty hand above hordes of vile criminals,
For the great men of this world, should I forget my faith,
And quietly let a great rebel go free...
even for the king?
Filippo
To
pass through the sorrows in which we live
I searched in vain within my Court
But I have found what I longed for,
A man! A loyal heart! I have found him!
Inquisitor
Why
do you need a man?
Why do you hold the title of king,
Sire, if there is an equal for you?
Filippo
That’s
enough, priest!
Inquisitor
The
innovator’s ideas have taken root in you!
With your weak hand, you want to break the tare
Of the holy yolk, extended above the Roman orb...!
Return to your duty;
The church for the man who hopes,
for the man who repents,
Can offer a full pardon;
I ask you for Posa.
Filippo
No,
never!
Inquisitor
O King, if I weren’t here with you in this secret meeting
This very day, I swear before God,
Tomorrow you would be brought to the Grand Inquisitor
At the supreme tribunal.
Filippo
Priest!
I have suffered your harsh words long enough!
Inquisitor
Why
are you evoking the ghost of Samuel?
Henceforth I have given two royals
The reign of your kingdom...!
You want to destroy all that work, madman!
Why am I here?
What does the king want from me?
(To leave)
Filippo
My
father, let there be peace between us yet.
Inquisitor
Peace?
Filippo
You
must forget what has passed.
Inquisitor
Perhaps!
(Leaving)
Filippo
(Alone)
So the throne
must always bow to the altar!
Jerome
Hines as the Grand Inquisitor and Paul Plishka as King Phillip in Verdi's
Don Carlo.
Met, 1980. Conductor: James Levine.
