Il Grande Inquisitor - Don Carlo

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.