Edw. O, let me not die; yet stay, O, stay awhile. Edw. Something still buzzeth in mine ears, This fear is that which makes me tremble thus. [Act v., Sc. 5.] This tragedy is in a very different style from " mighty Tamburlaine." The reluctant pangs of abdicating Royalty in Edward furnished hints which Shakspeare scarce improved in his Richard the Second; and the death-scene of Marlowe's king moves pity and terror beyond any scene ancient or modern with which I am acquainted. THE RICH JEW OF MALTA. A TRAGEDY [FIRST PLAYED ABOUT 1589]. BY CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE Barabas the Rich Jew in his Counting-house, with heaps of gold before him; in contemplation of his wealth. Bar. So that of thus much that return was made; And of the third part of the Persian ships There was a venture summ'd and satisfied. As for those Samnites,1 and the men of Uzz, That bought my Spanish oils and wines of Greece, Tell that, which may maintain him all his life. But he whose steel-barr'd coffers are cramm'd full, 1["Sabæaus" has been conjectured.] That trade in metal of the purest mould; To ransome great kings from captivity. This is the ware wherein consists wealth: my And thus methinks should men of judgment frame And, as their wealth increaseth, so inclose But now how stands the wind ? Into what corner peers my Halcyon's bill? Ha! to the east? yes: see, how stands the vanes? Laden with spice and silks, now under sail, [Act i., Sc. 1.1] Certain merchants enter and inform Barabas, that his ships from various ports are safe arrived, and riding in Malta roads. He descants on the temporal condition of the Jews, how they thrive and attain to great worldly prosperity, in spite of the curse denounced against them. Thus trolls our fortune in by land and sea, 1 [Edited I. Gollancz, 1897, Temple Dramatists.] To drive their substance with successful blasts ? I cannot tell; but we have scambled up More wealth by far than those that brag of faith. Myself in Malta, some in Italy, Many in France, and wealthy every one: I must confess, we come not to be kings; Or urged by force; and nothing violent, Give us a peaceful rule; make Christians kings, [Act i., Sc. 1.] His Marlowe's Jew does not approach so near to Shakspeare's, as his Edward II. does to Richard II. Shylock, in the midst of his savage purpose, is a man. motives, feelings, resentments, have something human in them. "If you wrong us, shall we not revenge?" Barabas is a mere monster, brought in with a large painted nose, to please the rabble. He kills in sport, poisons whole nunneries, invents infernal machines. He is just such an exhibition as a century or two earlier might have been played before the Londoners, by the Royal Command, when a general pillage and massacre of the Hebrews had been previously resolved on in the cabinet. It is curious to see a superstition wearing out. The idea of a Jew (which our pious ancestors contemplated with such horror) has nothing in it now revolting. We have tamed the claws of the beast, and pared its nails, and now we take it to our arms, fondle it, write plays to flatter it: it is visited by princes, affects a taste, patronises the arts, and is the only liberal and gentlemanlike thing in Christendom. THE TRAGICAL HISTORY OF THE LIFE AND DEATH OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS (FIRST PLAYED ABOUT 1588, FIRST PUBLISHED 1604]1. BY CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE How Faustus fell to the study of magic. born of parents base of stock In Germany, within a town called Rhodes: That shortly he was grac'd with Doctor's name, In the heavenly matters of theology: And glutted now with Learning's golden gifts, Which he prefers before his chiefest bliss. [Chorus.] Faustus in his study runs through the circle of the sciences; and being satisfied with none of them, determines to addict himself to magic. Faust. Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin Yet level at the end of every art, Is, to dispute well, Logic's chiefest end? Then read no more; thou hast attain'd that end. [This play is not divided into acts. Dr. Faustus, ed. A. W. Ward, 4th ed., 1901.] See Marlowe's Tragical History of [Mr. A. H. Bullen suggests On cai me on.] Be a physician, Faustus, heap up gold, Exhereditari filium non potest pater, nisi, &c. And universal body of the Law. This study fits a mercenary drudge, Who aims at nothing but external trash, When all is done, Divinity is best. Jerome's Bible, Faustus: view it well. Stipendium peccati mors est: ha! Stipendium, &c. The reward of sin is death: that's hard. Si peccasse negamus, fallimur, et nulla est in nobis veritas. truth in us. Why then belike we must sin, and so consequently die. Ay, we must die an everlasting death. What doctrine call you this? Che sera sera: What will be shall be. Divinity adieu. These Metaphysics of Magicians, Ay, these are those that Faustus most desires. All things that move between the quiet poles |