merope. - Institutional Repositories

XXIV PREFACE.
Voltaire as with Maffei; but in some particulars it is
altered, so as to have more probability. Like Maffei's
Egisto, Voltaire's Egisthe does not know his own
origin: like him, youthful curiosity drives him to
quit his aged protector, and to re-enter Messenia.
Like him he has an encounter with a stranger, whom
he slays, and whose blood, staining his clothes, leads
to his apprehension. But this stranger is an emissary
of Polyphontes, sent to effect the young prince's
murder. This is an improvement upon the robber of
Maffei, who has no connexion whatever with the
action of the piece. Suspicion falls upon Egisthe on
the same grounds as those on which it fell upon
Egisto, The suspicion is confirmed in Egisthe's case
by the appearance of a coat of armour, as, in Egisto's
case, it was confirmed by the appearance of a ring.
In neither case does Merope seem to have sufficient
cause to believe the unknown youth to be her son's
murderer. In Voltaire's tragedy, Merope is ignorant
until the end of the third, act that Polyphontes
is her husband's murderer; nay, she believes that
Cresphontes, murdered by the brigands of Pylos,
has been avenged by Polyphontes, who claims her
gratitude on that ground. He desires to marry her
in order to strengthen his position. " Of interests in
the state," he says,
" E ne reste aujourdTiui que le votre et le mien :
Nous devons Tun a I'autre un mqtuel soutien."