Mar. A bastard son of Priam's. Ther. I am a bastard too; I love bastards: I am a bastard begot, bastard instructed, bastard in mind, bastard in valour, in every thing illegitimate. One bear will not bite another, and wherefore should one bastard? Take heed, the quarrel's most ominous to us: if the son of a whore fight for a whore, he tempts judgement: Farewell, bastard. Mar. The devil take thee, coward! [Exeunt. SCENE IX. Another part of the field. Enter Hector. Hect. Most putrified core, so fair without, Thy goodly armour thus hath cost thy life. Now is my day's work done; I'll take good breath: Rest, sword; thou hast thy fill of blood and death! [Puts off his helmet, and hangs his shield behind him. Enter Achilles and Myrmidons. Achil. Look, Hector, how the sun begins to set; How ugly night comes breathing at his heels: Even with the veil and dark'ning of the sun, To close the day up, Hector's life is done. seek. Hect. I am unarm'd; forego this vantage*, Greek. Achil. Strike, fellows, strike; this is the man I [Hector falls. So, Ilion, fall thou next! now, Troy, sink down; Here lies thy heart, thy sinews, and thy bone, * Take not this advantage. On, Myrmidons; and cry you all amain, [A retreat sounded. Hark! a retreat upon our Grecian part. Myr. The Trojan trumpets sound the like, my lord. Achil. The dragon wing of night o'erspreads the earth, And, stickler* like, the armies separates. My half-supp'd sword, that frankly + would have fed, Pleas'd with this dainty bit, thus goes to bed.— [Sheaths his sword. Come, tie his body to my horse's tail; Along the field I will the Trojan trail. [Exeunt. SCENE X. The same. Enter Agamemnon, Ajax, Menelaus, Nestor, Diomedes, and others, marching. Shouts within. Agam. Hark! hark! what shout is that? Nest. [Within.] Achilles! Hector's slain! Achilles ! Peace, drums. Achilles ! Dio. The bruitt is-Hector's slain, and by Achilles. Great Hector was as good a man as he. Agam. March patiently along:-Let one be sent To pray Achilles see us at our tent. If in his death the gods have us befriended, [Exeunt, marching. An arbitrator at athletick games. + Fattening. Noise, rumour.į SCENE XI. Another part of the field. Enter Æneas and Trojans. Ene. Stand, ho! yet are we masters of the field: Never go home; here starve we out the night. Enter Troilus. Hector? The gods forbid! Tro. Hector is slain. All. Tro. He's dead; and at the murderer's horse's tail, In beastly sort, dragg'd through the shameful field.- Ene. My lord, you do discomfort all the host. Let him, that will a screech-owl aye* be call'd, * Ever. + Pitched, fixed. Let Titan rise as early as he dare, I'll through and through you!—And thou, greatsiz'd coward! No space of earth shall sunder our two hates; [Exeunt Æneas and Trojans. As Troilus is going out, enter from the other side, Pandarus, Pan. But hear you, hear you! Tro. Hence, broker lackey! ignomy and shame Pursue thy life, and live ayet with thy name! [Exit Troilus. Pan. A goodly med'cine for my aching bones!O world! world! world! thus is the poor agent de spised! O traitors and bawds, how earnestly are you set a' work, and how ill requited! Why should our endeavour be so loved, and the performance so loathed? what verse for it? what instance for it?Let me see: Full merrily the humble-bee doth sing, And being once subdued in armed tail, As many as be here of panders' hall, Your eyes, half out, weep out at Pandar's fall: Canvass hangings for rooms, painted with em. blems and mottoes. Brethren, and sisters, of the hold-door trade, [Exit. This play is more correctly written than most of Shakspeare's compositions, but it is not one of those in which either the extent of his views or elevation of his fancy is fully displayed. As the story abounded with materials, he has exerted little invention; but he has diversified his characters with great variety, and preserved them with great exactness. His vicious characters disgust, but cannot corrupt, for both Cressida and Paudarus are detested and contemned. The comick characters seem to have been the favourites of the writer: they are of the superficial kind, and exhibit more of manners, than nature; but they are copiously filled, and powerfully impressed. Shakspeare has in his story followed, for the greater part, the old book of Caxton, which was then very popular; but the character of Thersites, of which it makes no mention, is a proof that this play was written after Chapman had published his version of Homer. JOHNSON.. |