Plays and Poems

Whenas the one is wounded with the bait,
The other rotted with delicious feed.

Sat. But he will not entreat his son 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.
To EMILIUS. Go thou before, be our ambassador:
Say that the emperor requests a parley
Of war-like Lucius, and appoint the meeting
Even at his father's house, the old Andronicus.
Sat. Æmilius, do this message honourably:
And if he stand on hostage for his safety,
Bid him demand what pledge will please him

best.

Emil. Your bidding shall I do effectually.

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SCENE I.-Plains near Rome.

Enter LUCIUS and an army of Goths, with drum and colours.

Luc. Approved warriors, and my faithful friends,

I have received letters from great Rome,
Which signify what hate they bear their emperor,
And how desirous of our sight they are.
Therefore, great lords, be, as your titles witness,
Imperious and impatient of your wrongs;
And wherein Rome hath done you any scath,
Let him make treble satisfaction.

First Goth. Brave slip, sprung from the great
Andronicus,

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 stinging bees in hottest summer's day
Led by their master to the flower'd fields,
And be aveng'd on cursed Tamora.

This growing image of thy fiend-like face?
Why dost not speak? What! deaf? not a word?
A halter, soldiers! hang him on this tree,
And by his side his fruit of bastardy.

Aar. Touch not the boy; he is of royal blood.
Luc. Too like the sire for ever being good. so
First hang the child, that he may see it sprawl;
A sight to vex the father's soul withal.
Get me a ladder!

A ladder brought, which AARON is made to ascend. Aar. Lucius, save the child; And bear it from me to the empress. If thou do this, I'll show thee wondrous 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; an if it please me which thou speak'st,

Thy child shall live, and I will see it nourish'd. Aar. An if it please thee! why, assure thee, Lucius,

"Twill vex thy soul to hear what I shall speak;
For I must talk of murders, rapes, and massacres,
Acts of black night, abominable deeds,
Complots of mischief, treason, villanies
Ruthful to hear, yet piteously perform'd:
And this shall all be buried in 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.

Luc. Who should I swear by thou believ'st no god :

That granted, how canst thou believe an oath!
Aar. What if I do not? as, indeed, I do not;
Yet, for I know thou art religious,

And hast a thing within thee called conscience,
With twenty popish tricks and ceremonies,
Which I have seen thee careful to observe,
Therefore I urge thy oath; for that I know
An idiot 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

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That codding spirit had they from their mother,
As sure a card as ever won the set;
That bloody mind, I think, they learn'd of me,
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 corpse of Bassianus lay;
I wrote the letter that thy father found,
And hid the gold within the letter mention'd,
Confederate with the queen and her two sons:
And what not done, that thou hast cause to rue,
Wherein I had no stroke of mischief in it? 110
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 sons' heads;
Beheld his tears, and laugh'd so heartily,
That both mine eyes were rainy like to his :
And when I told the empress of this sport,
She swooned almost at my pleasing tale,
And for my tidings gave me twenty kisses.
First Goth. What! canst thou say all this,

and never blush?

120

Aar. Ay, like a black dog, as the saying is.
Luc. Art thou not sorry for these heinous
deeds?

Aar. Ay, that I had not done a thousand more.
Even now I curse the day, and yet, I think,
Few come within the compass of my curse,
Wherein I did not some notorious ill:
As kill a man, or else devise his death;
Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it;
Accuse some innocent, and forswear myself;
Set deadly enmity between two friends;
Make poor men's cattle break their necks;
Set fire on barns and hay-stacks in the night,
And bid the owners quench them with their

tears.

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Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves,

And set them upright at their dear friends'
doors,

Even when their sorrows almost were forgot;
And on their skins, as on the bark of trees,
Have with my knife carved in Roman letters,
'Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.'
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.

142

The Roman emperor greets you all by me;
And, for he understands you are in arms,
He craves a parley at your father's house,
Willing you to demand your hostages,
And they shall be immediately deliver'd.
First Goth. What says our general?
Luc. Emilius, let the emperor give his pledges
Unto my father and my uncle Marcus,
And we will come. March away.

Exeunt.

SCENE II. - Rome. Before TITUS's House. Enter TAMORA, DEMETRIUS, and CHIRON, disguised.

Tam. Thus, in this strange and sad habili-
ment,

I will encounter with Andronicus,
And say I am Revenge, sent 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,

And work confusion on his enemies.

Tit. I am not mad; I know thee well enough: Witness this wretched stump, witness these crimson lines;

Witness these trenches made by grief and care;
Witness the tiring day and heavy night;
Witness all sorrow, that I know thee well
For our proud empress, mighty Tamora.
Is not thy coming for my other hand?
Tum. Know, thou sad man, I am not Tamora;
She is thy enemy, and I thy friend:

I am Revenge, sent from the infernal kingdom,

Luc. Bring down the devil, for he must not die To ease the gnawing vulture of thy mind,

So sweet a death as hanging presently.

By working wreakful vengeance on thy foes.

Tam. I am; therefore come down, and wel- Go thou with them; and in the emperor's court

come me.

Tit. Do me some service ere I come to thee. Lo, by thy side where Rape and Murder stands ; Now give some surance that thou art Revenge: 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 globe. Provide two proper palfreys, black as jet, To hale thy vengeful waggon swift 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 servile footman all day long, Even from Hyperion's rising in the east Until his very downfall in the sea : And day by day I'll do this heavy task, So thou destroy Rapine and Murder there. Tam. These are my ministers, and come with me.

Tit. Are these thy ministers? what are they call'd?

Tam. Rapine and Murder; therefore called so, 'Cause they take vengeance of such kind of men. Tit. Good Lord, how like the empress' sons they are,

And you the empress! but we worldly men
Have miserable, mad, mistaking eyes.
O sweet Revenge! now do I come to thee;
And, if one arm's embracement will content thee,
I will embrace thee in it by and by. Exit above.
Tam. This closing with him fits his lunacy. 70
Whate'er I forge to feed his brain-sick fits,
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 send for Lucius his son;
And, whilst I at a banquet hold him sure,
I'll find some 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. 80

Enter TITUS.

Tit. Long have I been forlorn, and all for thee: Welcome, dread Fury, to my woeful house: Rapine and Murder, you are welcome too. How like the empress and her sons you are! Well are you fitted had you but a Moor: Could not all hell afford you such a devil? For well I wot the empress never wags But in her company there is a Moor; And would you represent our queen aright, It were convenient you had such a devil. But welcome as you are. What shall we do? Tam. What would'st thou have us do, Andronicus?

Dem. Show me a murderer, I'll deal with him.

But would it please thee, good Andronicus,
To send for Lucius, thy thrice-valiant son,
Who leads towards Rome a band of war-like
Goths,

And bid him come and banquet at thy house:
When he is here, even at thy solemn feast,
I will bring in the empress and her sons,
The emperor himself, and all thy foes,
And at thy mercy shall they stoop and kneel,
And on them shalt thou ease thy angry heart.
What says Andronicus to this device?
Tit. Marcus, my brother! 'tis sad Titus calls.
Enter MARCUS.

120

Pub. What is your will?

Tit. Know you these two?

Pub. The empress' sons

I take them, Chiron and Demetrius.

Tit. Fie, Publius, fie! thou art too much deceiv'd;

689

More stern and bloody than the Centaurs' feast.
So, now bring them in, for I'll play the cook,
And see them ready 'gainst their mother comes.
Exeunt, bearing the dead bodies.

The one is Murder, Rape is the other's name;
And therefore bind them, gentle Publius;
Caius, and Valentine, lay hands on them.
Oft have you heard me wish for such an hour,
And now I find it: therefore bind them sure,
And stop their mouths if they begin to cry. 162
Exit.
PUBLIUS, etc., lay hold on CHIRON and
DEMETRIUS.
Chi. Villains, forbear! we are the empress'

SCENE III. The Same. Court of TITUS's House.
A banquet set out.

sons.

Pub. And therefore do we what we are commanded.

Stop close their mouths, let them not speak a word.

Is he sure bound? look that you bind them fast. Re-enter TITUS, with LAVINIA; she bearing a basin, and he a knife.

Tit. Come, come, Lavinia; look, thy foes are
bound.

Sirs, stop their mouths, let them not speak to me,
But let them hear what fearful words I utter.
O villains, Chiron and Demetrius !
Here stands the spring whom you have stain'd
with mud,

170

Enter LUCIUS, MARCUS, and Goths; with AARON,
prisoner.

Luc. Uncle Marcus, since 'tis my father's
mind

That I repair to Rome, I am content.

First Goth. And ours with thine, befall what
fortune will.

Luc. Good uncle, take you in this barbarous
Moor,

This ravenous tiger, this accursed devil;
Let him receive no sustenance, fetter him,
Till he be brought unto the empress' face,
For testimony of her foul proceedings:
And see the ambush of our friends be strong;
I fear the emperor means no good to us.

Aar. Some devil whisper curses in mine ear, And prompt me, that my tongue may utter forth The venomous malice of my swelling heart!

Luc. Away, inhuman dog! unhallow'd slave! Sirs, help our uncle to convey him in.

Exeunt Goths, with AARON. Trumpets sound. The trumpets show the emperor is at hand. Enter SATURNINUS and TAMORA, with ÆMILIUS, Senators, Tribunes, and Others.

Sat. What! hath the firmament more suns than one?

Luc. What boots it thee to call thyself a sun?
Marc. Rome's emperor, and nephew, break
the parle ;

These quarrels must be quietly debated.
The feast is ready which the careful Titus
Hath ordain'd to an honourable end,

This goodly summer with your winter mix'd.
You kill'd her husband, and for that vile fault
Two of her brothers were condemn'd to death,
My hand cut off and made a merry jest:
Both her sweet hands, her tongue, and that more
dear

189

Than hands or tongue, her spotless chastity,
Inhuman traitors, you constrain'd and forc'd.
What would you say if I should let you speak?
Villains, for shame you could not beg for grace.
Hark! wretches, how I mean to martyr you. 181
This one hand yet is left to cut your throats,
Whilst that Lavinia 'tween her stumps doth hold
The basin that receives your guilty blood.
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 dust,
And with your blood and it I'll make a paste;
And of the paste a coffin I will rear,
And make two pasties of your shameful heads;
And bid that strumpet, 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;
For worse than Philomel you us'd my daughter,
And worse than Procne I will be reveng'd.
And now prepare your throats. Lavinia, come,
He cuts their throats.
Receive the blood: and when that they are dead,
Let me go grind their bones to powder small,
And with this hateful liquor temper it;
And in that paste let their vile heads be bak'd.
Come, come, be every one officious
To make this banquet, which I wish may prove

200

For peace, for love, for league, and good to
Rome:

places. Please you, therefore, draw nigh, and take your

Sat. Marcus, we will.

Hautboys sound.

young LUCIUS, and Others. TITUS places the Enter TITUS, dressed like a cook, LAVINIA, veiled, dishes on the table.

Tit. Welcome, my gracious lord; welcome, dread queen ;

Welcome, ye war-like Goths; welcome, Lucius ; And welcome, all. Although the cheer be poor, 'Twill fill your stomachs; please you eat of it. 29

Sat. Why art thou thus attir'd, Andronicus ? Tit. Because I would be sure to have all well, To entertain your highness, and your empress. Tam. We are beholding to you, good Andro

nicus.

Tit. An if your highness knew my heart, you

were.

My lord the emperor, resolve me this:
Was it well done of rash Virginius

To slay his daughter with his own right hand,
Because she was enforc'd, stain'd, and de-
flower'd?

Sat. It was, Andronicus.

Tit. Your reason, mighty lord?

2 X

Sat. Because the girl should not survive her shame,

And by her presence still renew his sorrows.

Tit. A reason 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 shame thy father's sorrow die! Kills LAVINIA. Sat. What hast thou done, unnatural and unkind?

Tit. Kill'd her, for whom my tears have made me blind.

I am as woeful as Virginius was,

Whereof their mother daintily hath fed, Eating the flesh that she herself hath bred. 'Tis true, 'tis true; witness my knife's sharp point. Kills TAMORA. Sat. Die, frantic wretch, for this accursed deed! Kills TITUS. Luc. Can the son's eye behold his father bleed? There's meed for meed, death for a deadly deed! Kills SATURNINUS. A great tumult. The people in confusion disperse. MARCUS, LUCIUS, and their partisans, go up into the balcony.

Marc. You sad-fac'd men, people and sons of Rome,

By uproar sever'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;
Lest Rome herself be bane unto herself,
And she whom mighty kingdoms court'sy to,
Like a forlorn and desperate castaway,
Do shameful execution on herself.
But if my frosty signs and chaps of age,
Grave witnesses of true experience,
Cannot induce you to attend my words,

To LUCIUS. Speak, Rome's dear friend, as erst our ancestor,

When with his solemn tongue he did discourse
To love-sick Dido's sad attending ear
The story of that baleful burning night
When subtle Greeks surpris'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,
Nor can I utter all our bitter grief,
But floods of tears will drown my oratory,
And break my utterance, even in the time
When it should move you to attend me most,
Lending your kind commiseration.

Here is a captain, let him tell the tale; Your hearts will throb and weep to hear him speak.

Luc. Then, noble auditory, be it known to you,
That cursed Chiron and Demetrius
Were they that murdered our emperor's brother;
And they it was that ravished our sister.
For their fell faults our brothers were beheaded,
Our father's tears despis'd, and basely cozen'd
Of that true hand that fought Rome's quarrel out,
And sent her enemies unto the grave:
Lastly, myself unkindly banished,

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:
I am the turn'd forth, be it known to you,
That have preserv'd her welfare in my blood, u
And from her bosom took the enemy's point,
Sheathing the steel in my adventurous body.
Alas! you know I am no vaunter, I;
My scars can witness, dumb although they are,
That my report is just and full of truth.
But soft! methinks I do digress too much,
Citing my worthless praise: O! pardon me;
For when no friends are by, men praise them-
selves.

Marc. Now is my turn to speak. Behold this child;

146

And bring our emperor gently in thy hand,
Lucius our emperor; for well I know
The common voice do cry it shall be so.
Marc. Lucius, all hail! Rome's royal emperor!
To Attendants. Go, go into old Titus' sorrowful
house,

And hither hale that misbelieving Moor,
To be adjudg'd some direful slaughtering death.
As punishment for his most wicked life.
Exeunt Attendants.

LUCIUS, MARCUS, and the Others descend.
All. Lucius, all hail! Rome's gracious governor!
Luc. Thanks, gentle Romans: may I govern so,
To heal Rome's harms, and wipe away her woe!
But, gentle people, give me aim awhile,
For nature puts me to a heavy task.
Stand all aloof; but, uncle, draw you near,
To shed obsequious tears upon this trunk.
O! take this warm kiss on thy pale cold lips,
Kisses TITUS

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