Knowing, that with the shadow of his wings He can at pleasure stint their melody : Even so may'st thou the giddy men of Rome. Then cheer thy spirit: for know, thou emperor, I will enchant the old Andronicus
With words more sweet, and yet more dangerous, Then baits to fish, or honey-stalks to sheep; When as the one is wounded with the bait, The other rotted with delicious feed.
Go thou before, be our embassador: [To Æmiliuse Say, that the emperor requests a parley Of warlike Lucius, and appoint the meeting.
Sat. Æmilius, do this message honourably:
5 And if he stand on hostage for his fafety, Bid him demand what pledge will please him best. Emil. Your bidding shall I do effectually. [Ex. Tam. Now will I to that old Andronicus;
And temper him with all the art I have, IC To pluck proud Lucius from the warlike Goths. And now, sweet emperor, be blith again, And bury all thy fear in my devices.
Sat. But he will not entreat his fon for us. Tam. If Tamora entreat him, then he will: For I can smooth, and fill his aged ear With golden promises; that were his heart Almost impregnable, his old ears deaf, Yet should both ear and heart obey my tongue.-15
Sat. Then go successfully, and plead to him. [Exeunte
"For I must bear thee to a trusty Goth; "Who, when he knows thou art the emperess' babe, "Will nold thee dearly for thy mother's fake." With this, my weapon drawn, I rush'd upon him,
To use as you think needful of the man. [vil, Luc. O worthy Goth! this is the incarnate de- That robb'd Andronicus of his good hand: This is the pearl that pleas'd your emperefs' eye; 35 And here's the base fruit of his burning lust.--- Say, wall-ey'd flave, whither would'st thou convey This growing image of thy fiend-like face? Why dost not speak? What! deaf? No! not a
I have received letters from great Rome, Which fignify, what hate they bear their emperor, 30 Surpriz'd him suddenly; and brought him hither, And how defirous of our fight they are. Therefore, great lords, be, as your titles witness, Imperious, and impatient of your wrongs; And, wherein Rome hath done you any fcathe, Let him make treble fatisfaction.
Goth. Brave flip, sprung from the great An- dronicus,
Whose name was once our terror, now our comfort; Whose high exploits, and honourable deeds, Ingrateful Rome requites with foul contempt, Be bold in us: we'll follow where thou lead'st,--- Like ftinging bees in hottest summer's day, Led by their master to the flower'd fields,---
And be aveng'd on curfed Tamora.
40 A halter, foldiers; hang him on this tree, And by his fide his fruit of bastardy.
Aar. Touch not the boy, he is of royal blood. Luc. Too like the fire for ever being good.--First, hang the child, that he may fee it sprawl;
Omn. And, as he faith, so say we all, with him. 45 A fight to vex the father's foul withal. Luc. I humbly thank him, and I thank you all.
But who comes here, led by a lusty Goth?
Enter a Goth, leading Aaron, with his child in bis
Get me a ladder 2.
Aar. Lucius, fave the child;
And bear it from me to the emperess. If thou do this, I'll show thee wond'rous things, That highly may advantage thee to hear: If thou wilt not, befall what may befall, I'll speak no more; But vengeance rot you all!
Luc. Say on; and, if it please me which thou fpeak'ft,
Goth. Renowned Lucius, from our troops 150 To gaze upon a ruinous monaftery; And as I earnestly did fix mine eye Upon the wasted building, suddenly I heard a child cry underneath a wall: I made unto the noife; when foon I heard The crying babe controul'd with this difcourse: "Peace, tawny flave; half me, and half thy dam! "Did not thy hue bewray whose brat thou art, "Had nature lent thee but thy mother's look, "Villain, thou might'st have been an emperor: 60 Acts of black night, abominable deeds,
55 Thy child shall live, and I will fee it nourish'd. Aur. An if it please thee? why, affure thee, Lucius,
'Twill vex thy foul to hear what I shall speak; For I must talk of murders, rapes, and maffacres,
" But where the bull and cow are both milk-white,
Complots of mischief, treason; villainies
■ Honcy-talks are clover-flowers, themselves with clover, and die. and properly, as meaning bang me.
which contain a sweet juice. It is common for cattle to overcharge 2 Get me a ladder, has been in most of the editions given to Aaron, Ruthful
Ruthful to hear, yet piteously perform'd: And this shall all be buried by my death, Unless thou swear to me, my child shall live. Luc. Tell on thy mind; I say, thy child shall live. Aar. Swear that he shall, and then I will begin. 5 Few come within the compass of my curse)
Aar. Ay, like a black dog, as the saying is. Luc. Art thou not forry for these heinous deeds? Aar. Ay, that I had not done a thousand more.
Luc. Who should I swear by? thou believ'st no
That granted, how canft thou believe an oath ? Aar. What if I do not? as, indeed, I do not: Yet, for I know thou art religious, And haft a thing within thee, called confcience; With twenty popish tricks and ceremonies, Which I have feen thee careful to observe, - Therefore I urge thy oath;-For that, I know, An ideot holds his bauble for a god, And keeps the oath, which by that god he swears; To that I'll urge him: -Therefore thou shalt vow By that fame god, what god foe'er it be, That thou ador'st and haft in reverence, To fave my boy, nourish, and bring him up; Or elfe I will discover nought to thee.
Luc. Even by my god, I swear to thee, I will. Aar. First, know thou, I begot him on the
Luc. O most infatiate, luxurious woman!
Aar. Tut, Lucius! this was but a deed of charity,
To that which thou shalt hear of me anon.
'I was her two fons, that murder'd Baffianus:
They cut thy fister's tongue, and ravish'd her,
Even now I curse the day, (and yet, I think,
Wherein I did not fome notorious ill: As kill a man, or elfe devise his death; Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it; Accuse some innocent, and forfwear myself;
10 Set deadly enmity between two friends; Make poor men's cattle break their necks; Set fire on barns and hay-ftacks in the night, And bid the owners quench them with their tears. Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves, 15 And fet them upright at their dear friends' doors, Even when the forrow almost was forgot; And on their skins, as on the bark of trees, Have with my knife carved in Roman letters, Let not your forrow die, though I am dead.
20 Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things, As willingly as one would kill a fly; And nothing grieves me heartily indeed, But that I cannot do ten thousand more.
Luc. Bring down the devil2; for he must not die
25 So sweet a death, as hanging presently.
Aar. If there be devils, 'would I were a devil,
To live and burn in everlasting fire; So I might have your company in hell, But to torment you with my bitter tongue!
And cut her hands off; and trimm'd her as thou 30 Luc. Sirs, stop his mouth, and let him fpeak
[ming? Luc. O, detestable villain! call'st thou that trim
Aar. Why, she was wash'd, and cut, and
Goth. My lord, there is a meffenger from Rome Defires to be admitted to your prefence.
Luc. Let him come near. Welcome, Æmilius, what's the news from Rome? Emil. Lord Lucius, and you princes of the
As fure a card as ever won the fet;
The Roman emperor greets you all by me:
That bloody mind, I think, they learn'd of me, 40 And, for he understands you are in arms,
As true a dog as ever fought at head.
Well, let my deeds be witness of my worth. I train'd thy brethren to that guileful hole, Where the dead corps of Baffianus lay:
He craves a parley at your father's house; Willing you to demand your hoftages, And they shall be immediately deliver'd.
I wrote the letter that thy father found,
And hid the gold within the letter mention'd, Confederate with the queen, and her two fons : And what not done, that thou haft caufe to rue, Wherein I had no stroke of mischief in it? I play'd the cheater for thy father's hand; And, when I had it, drew myself apart, And almost broke my heart with extreme laughter. I pry'd me through the crevice of a wall, When, for his hand, he had his two ions' heads; Beheld his tears, and laugh'd so heartily, That both mine eyes were rainy like to his; And when I told the emperess of this sport, She fwooned almost at my pleasing tale,
And, for my tidings, gave me twenty kisses.
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Enter Tamora, Chiron, and Demetrius, disguis'd. Tam. Thus, in this strange and fad habiliment I will encounter with Andronicus;
55 And fay, I am Revenge, fent from below, To join with him, and right his heinous wrongs. Knock at his study, where, they say, he keeps, To ruminate strange plots of dire revenge; Tell him, Revenge is come to join with him,
Goth. What! canft thou say all this, and never 60 And work confufion on his enemies.
[They knock, and Titus opens bis study door.
1 i. e. that love of bed-Sports. Cod is a word till used in Yorkshire for a pilloru. here obferves, that it appears, from these words, that the audience were entertained with part of the apparatus of an execution, and that Aaron was mounted on a ladder, as ready to be turned off.
Tit. Who doth moleft my contemplation? Is it your trick to make me ope the door; That fo my fad decrees may fly away, And all my study be to no effect? You are deceiv'd: for what I mean to do, See here, in bloody lines I have fet down; And what is written shall be executed.
Tam. Titus, I am come to talk with thee. Tit. No; not a word: How can I grace my talk, Wanting a hand to give it that accord? Thou hast the odds of me, therefore no more. Tam. If thou did'st know me, thou would'st talk with me.
I will embrace thee in it by and by.
Tam. This closing with him fits his lunacy: Whate'er I forge, to feed his brain-fick fits, 5 Do you uphold and maintain in your speeches. For now he firmly takes me for Revenge; And, being credulous in this mad thought, I'll make him fend for Lucius, his fon; And, whilft I at a banquet hold him sure, 10 I'll find fome cunning practice out of hand, To scatter and disperse the giddy Goths, Or, at the least, make them his enemies. See, here he comes, and I must ply my theme.
Tit. I am not mad: I know thee well enough: Witness this wretched stump, these crimfon lines; 15 Witness these trenches, made by grief and care; Witness the tiring day, and heavy night; Witness all forrow, that I know thee well For our proud emperess, mighty Tamora: Is not thy coming for my other hand 3?
Tam. Know thou, fad man, I am not Tamora; She is thy enemy, and I thy friend: I am Revenge; fent from the infernal kingdom, To eafe the gnawing vulture of thy mind, By working wreakful vengeance on thy foes. Come down, and welcome me to this world's light; Confer with me of murder, and of death: There's not a hollow cave, nor lurking-place, No vast obscurity, or misty vale, Where bloody murder, or detested rape, Can couch for fear, but I will find them out; And in their ears tell them my dreadful name, Revenge, which makes the foul offenders quake. Tit. Art thou Revenge? and art thou fent to me To be a torment to mine enemies?
Tam. I am; therefore come down, and wel
Tit. Do me fome service, ere I come to thee. Lo, by thy fide where Rape, and Murder, stands;
Tit. Long have I been forlorn, and all for thees Welcome, dread fury, to my woeful house;- Rapine, and Murder, you are welcome too:- How like the emperess and her fons you are! Well are you fitted, had you but a Moor :- 20 Could not all hell afford you fuch a devil?- For, well I wot, the emperess never wags, But in her company there is a Moor; And, would you reprefent our queen aright, It were convenient you had fuch a devil: 25 But welcome, as you are. What shall we do? Tam. What wouldst thou have us do, Andronicus? Dem. Shew me a murderer, I'll deal with him. Chi. Shew me a villain, that hath done a rape, And I am fent to be reveng'd on him. [wrong, Tam. Shew me a thousand, that have done thee And I will be revenged on them all. [Rome; Tit. Look round about the wicked streets of And when thou find'ît a man that's like thyself, Good Murder, stab him; he's a murderer.- 35 Go thou with him, and, when it is thy hap To find another that is like to thee, Good Rapine, stab him; he is a ravisher.- Go thou with them; and in the emperor's court There is a queen, attended by a Moor;
Now give fome 'furance that thou art Revenge, 40 Well may'st thou know her by thy own proportion,
Stab them, or tear them on thy chariot wheels; And then I'll come, and be thy waggoner, And whirl along with thee about the globes. Provide two proper palfries, black as jet, To hale thy vengeful waggon fwift away, And find out murderers in their guilty caves : And, when thy car is loaden with their heads, I will dismount, and by the waggon wheel Trot, Like a fervile footman, all day long; Even from Hyperion's rifing in the east, Until his very downfal in the fea. And day by day I'll do this heavy task, So thou destroy Rapine and Murder there.
For up and down the doth resemble thee; I pray thee, do on them some violent death, They have been violent to me and mine. Tam. Well haft thou leffon'd us; this shall we
45 But would it please thee, good Andronicus, To fend for Lucius, thy thrice valiant son, Who leads towards Rome a band of warlike Goths, And bid him come and banquet at thy house: When he is here, even at thy folemn feast, 5° I will bring in the emperess and her fons, The emperor himself, and all thy foes; And at thy mercy thall they stoop and kneel, And on them shalt thou ease thy angry heart. What fays Andronicus to this device?
Tam. These are my ministers, and come with me. Tit. Are they thy minifters? what are they 55
Tam. Rapine, and Murder: therefore called fo, 'Cause they take vengeance on fuch kind of men. Tit. Good lord, how like the emperess' fons they are!
Tit. Marcus, my brother!-'tis fad Titus calls.
O fweet Revenge, now do I come to thee: And, if one arm's embracement will content thee, Feast at my house; and he shall feast with them.
Go, gentle Marcus, to thy nephew Lucius; Thou shalt enquire him out among the Goths: 60 Bid him repair to me, and bring with him Some of the chiefeft princes of the Goths; Bid him encamp his foldiers where they are: Tell him, the emperor and the emperess too
And you, the emperess! But we worldly men Have miferable, mad, mistaking eyes.
This do thou for my love; and so let him,
As he regards his aged father's life.
Mar. This will I do, and foon return again.
Tam. Now will I hence about thy business,
And take my minifters along with me.
Tit. Nay, nay, let Rape and Murder stay with Or else I'll call my brother back again,
And cleave to no revenge but Lucius.
Hark, wretches, how I mean to martyr you. This one hand yet is left to cut your throats; Whilft that Lavinia 'twixt her stumps doth hold The bafon, that receives your guilty blood.
5 You know, your mother means to feast with me, And calls herself Revenge, and thinks me mad,- Hark, villains; I will grind your bones to duft, And with your blood and it I'll make a paste; And of the paste a coffin will I rear,
Tam. [to ber fons.] What say you, boys? will 10 And make two pasties of your shameful heads; you abide with him,
Whiles I go tell my lord the emperor, How I have govern'd our determin'd jest? Yield to his humour, smooth and speak him fair, And tarry with him 'till I come again.
And bid that ftrumpet, your unhallow'd dam, Like to the earth, swallow her own increase. This is the feast that I have bid her to,
And this the banquet she shall surfeit on;
[mad; 15 For worse than Philomel you us'd my daughter, And worse than Progne I will be reveng'd: And now prepare your throats.-Lavinia, come, Receive the blood: and, when that they are dead, Let me go grind their bones to powder small,
Tit. I know them all, though they suppose me And will o'er-reach them in their own devices, A pair of curfed hell-hounds, and their dam.
Dem. Madam, depart at pleasure, leave us here. 20 And with this hateful liquor temper it; Tam. Farewel, Andronicus: Revenge now goes To lay a complot to betray thy foes. [Exit Tamora.
Tit. I know, thou dost; and, sweet Revenge, farewel. [ploy'd? Chi. Tell us, old man, how shall we be em-25 Tit. Tut, I have work enough for you to do.- Publius, come hither, Caius, and Valentine! Enter Publius, and Servants.
And in that paste let their vile heads be bak'd. Come, come, be every one officious
To make this banquet; which I with might prove More stern and bloody than the Centaur's feaft. [He cuts their throats. So, now bring them in, for I will play the cook, And fee them ready 'gainst their mother comes. [Exeunt.
SCENE III.
Gorb. And ours with thine, befall what fortune Luc. Good uncle, take you in this barbarous This ravenous tiger, this accursed devil; [Moor, Let him receive no sustenance, fetter him, 'Till he be brought unto the emperor's face, For teftimony of these foul proceedings: [Exit Titus. 40 And see the ambush of our friends be strong; I fear the emperor means no good to us.
And ftop their mouths, if they begin to cry.
Chi. Villains, forbear; we are the emperess' fons. Pub. And therefore do we what we are com- manded.-
Stop close their mouths, let them not speak a word: Is he fure bound? look, that you bind them faft. 45 Re-enter Titus Andronicus with a knife, and Lavinia
Aar. Some devil whisper curses in mine ear, And prompt me, that my tongue may utter forth The venomous malice of my fwelling heart!
Luc. Away, inhuman dog! unhallow'd flave! [Exeunt Goths, with Aaron.
Sirs, help our uncle to convey him in.- [Flourish. The trumpets shew the emperor is at hand. Sound trumpets. Inter Saturninus and Tamera, with
Sat. What, hath the firmament more funs than
Luc. What boots it thee to call thyself a fun? Mar. Rome's emperor, and nephew, break the parle 2;
Two of her brothers were condemn'd to death:
My hand cut off, and made a merry jest:
Both her fweet hands, her tongue, and that, more Than hands or tongue, her spotless chastity,
60 Please you, therefore, draw nigh, and take your
A coffin is the term of art for the cavity of a raised pye. 2 i. e. begin the parley. We yet fay,
A table brought in. Enter Titus, like a cook, placing the meat on the table, and Lavinia, with a veil over ber face.
Tit. Welcome, my gracious lord; welcome, dread queen;
Welcome, ye warlike Goths; welcome, Lucius; And welcome, all: although the cheer be poor, 'Twill fill your stomachs; please you eat of it. Sat. Why art thou thus attir'd, Andronicus? Tit. Because I would be sure to have all well, To entertain your highness, and your emperess. Tam. We are beholden to you, good Andronicus. Tit. An if your highness knew my heart, you
My lord the emperor, refolve me this; Was it well done of rash Virginius,
To flay his daughter with his own right hand, Because she was enforc'd, stain'd, and deflower'd?
Sat. It was, Andronicus.
Do shameful execution on herself.
Mar. But if my frofty signs and chaps of age, Grave witnesses of true experience, Cannot induce you to attend my words,- 5 Speak, Rome's dear friend; as erst our ancestor, [To Lucius.
When with his folemn tongue he did discourse, To love-fick Dido's sad attending ear, The story of that baleful burning night, IC When fubtle Greeks surpriz'd king Priam's Troy; Tell us, what Sinon hath bewitch'd our ears, Or who hath brought the fatal engine in, That gives our Troy, our Rome, the civil wound.- My heart is not compact of flint, nor steel; 15 Nor can I utter all our bitter grief,
But floods of tears will drown my oratory, And break my very utterance; even in the time When it should move you to attend me most, Lending your kind commiferation:
[thame, 20 Here is a captain, let him tell the tale;
Tit. Your reason, mighty lord? Sat. Because the girl should not furvive her
And by her prefence still renew his forrows. Tit. A reafon mighty, strong, and effectual; A pattern, precedent, and lively warrant, For me most wretched to perform the like:- Die, die, Lavinia, and thy shame with thee; And, with thy thame, thy father's forrow die!
Sat. What haft thou done, unnatural, and unkind?
Your hearts will throb and weep to hear him fpeak. Luc. Then, noble auditory, be it known to you, That curfed Chiron and Demetrius Were they that murdered our emperor's brother; 25 And they it was, that ravished our fifter: For their fell faults our brothers were beheaded; Our father's tears despis'd; and bafely cozen'd Of that true hand, that fought Rome's quarrel out, And fent her enemies unto the grave.
[me blind. 30 Lastly, myself unkindly banished,
Tit. Kill'd her, for whom my tears have made I am as woeful as Virginius was: And have a thousand times more cause than he To do this outrage; and it is now done.
The gates shut on me, and turn'd weeping out, To beg relief among Rome's enemies; Who drown'd their enmity in my true tears, And op'd their arms to embrace me as a friend:
Sat. What, was the ravished? tell who did the 35 And I am the turn'd-forth, be it known to you,
deed, [highness feed? Tit. Will't please you eat? will't please your Tam. Why haft thou flain thine only daughter
Whereof their mother daintily hath fed, Eating the fiesh that the herself hath bred, 'Tis true, 'tis true; witness my knife's sharp point. [He ftabs Tamora.
That have preferv'd her welfare in my blood; And from her bosom took the enemy's point, Sheathing the steel in my advent'rous body. Alas! you know, I am no vaunter, I; 40 My scars can witness, dumb although they are, That my report is just, and full of truth. But, foft, methinks, I do digress too much, Citing my worthless praise: O, pardon me; For when no friends are by, men praise themselves. 45 Mar. Now is my turn to speak; Behold this
Of this was Tamora delivered; The iffue of an irreligious Moor,
Chief architect and plotter of these woes;
And as he is, to witness this is true.
Sat. Die, frantick wretch, for this accurfed deed. 50 The villain is alive in Titus' house, [He ftabs Titus. Luc. Can the fon's eye behold his father bleed? There's meed for meed, death for a deadly deed.
[Lucius ftabs Saturninus.
Now judge, what cause had Titus to revenge These wrongs, unspeakable, past patience, Or more than any living man could bear.
Mar. You fad-fac'd men, people and fons of 55 Now you have heard the truth, what fay you,
By uproar fever'd, like a flight of fowl Scatter'd by winds and high tempestuous gusts, O, let me teach you how to knit again This scatter'd corn into one mutual sheaf, These broken limbs again into one body. Goth. Let Rome herself be bane unto herself; And sme, whom mighty kingdoms curtsy to, Like a forlorn and desperate cast-away,
Have we done ought amiss? Shew us wherein, And, from the place where you behold us now, The poor remainder of Andronici
60 Will, hand in hand, all headlong cast us down, And on the ragged stones beat forth our brains, And make a mutual closure of our house. Speak, Romans, speak: and if you fay we shall, Lo hand in hand, Lucius and I will fall,
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