The Plays of Shakspeare

He knowing so, put forth to seas,
Where when men been, there's seldom ease:
For now the wind begins to blow;
Thunder above, and deeps below,
Make such unquiet, that the ship
Should house him safe, is wreck'd and split;
And he, good prince, having all lost,
By waves from coast to coast is tost;
All perishen of man, of pelf,
Ne aught escapen but himself;
Till fortune, tir'd with doing bad,
Threw him ashore, to give him glad :
And here he comes: what shall be next,
Pardon old Gower; this long's the text. [Exit.

SCENE 1.-Pentapolis. An open place by the
sea-side.

Enter PERICLES, wet.

Per. Yet cease your ire, ye angry stars of
heaven!

Wind, rain, and thunder, remember, earthly man
Is but a substance that must yield to you;
And I, as fits my nature, do obey you:
Alas, the sea hath cast me on the rocks,
Wash'd me from shore to shore, and left me breath
Nothing to think on, but ensuing death :
Let it suffice the greatness of your powers,
To have bereft a prince of all his fortunes;
And having thrown him from your watry grave,
Here to have death in peace, is all he'll crave,
Enter three Fishermen.

1 Fish. What, ho, Pilche!

2 Fish. Why, man?

3 Fish. Because he should have swallowed me too: and when I had been in his belly, I would have kept such a jangling of the bells, that he should never have left, till he cast bells, steeple, church, and parish, up again. But if the good king Simonides were of my mind

Per. Simonides?

3 Fish. We would purge the land of these drones, that rob the bee of her honey.

Per. How from the finny subject of the sea
These fishers tell the infirmities of men ;
And from their watry empire recollect
All that may men approve, or men detect!—
Peace be at your labour, honest fishermen.

2 Fish. Honest! good fellow, what's that? if it be a day fits you, scratch it out of the calendar, and no body will look after it.

Per. Nay, see, the sea hath cast upon your coast

2 Fish. What a drunken knave was the sea, to cast thee in our way!

Per. A man, whom both the waters and the

wind,

In that vast tennis-court, hath made the ball
For them to play upon, entreats you pity him;
He asks of you, that never us'd to beg.

1 Fish. No, friend, cannot you beg? here's them in our country of Greece, gets more with begging, than we can do with working.

2 Fish. Canst thou catch any fishes then? Per. I never practis'd it.

2 Fish. Nay, then, thou wilt starve sure; for here's nothing to be got now-a-days, unless thou

2 Fish. Ho! come, and bring away the nets. can'st fish for't.
1 Fish. What, Patch-breech, I say!
3 Fish. What say you, master?

1 Fish. Look how thou stirrest now! come away, or I'll fetch thee with a wannion.

3 Fish. 'Faith, master, I am thinking of the poor men that were cast away before us, even now.

1 Fish. Alas, poor souls, it grieved my heart to hear what pitiful cries they made to us, to help them, when, well-a-day, we could scarce help ourselves,

3 Fish. Nay, master, said not I as much, when I saw the porpus, how he bounced and tumbled? they say, they are half fish, half flesh: a plague on them, they ne'er come, but I look to be washed. Master, I marvel how the fishes live in the

sea.

1 Fish. Why, as men do a-land; the great ones eat up the little ones: I can compare our rich misers to nothing so fitly as to a whale; 'a plays and tumbles, driving the poor fry before him, and at last devours them all at a mouthful. Such whales have I heard on a'the land, who never leave gaping, till they've swallowed the whole parish, church, steeple, bells, and all. Per. A pretty moral.

3 Fish. But, master, if I had been the sexton, I would have been that day in the belfry.

Per. What I have been, I have forgot to know;
But what I am, want teaches me to think on;
A man shrunk up with cold: my veins are chill,
And have no more of life, than may suffice
To give my tongue that heat, to ask your help;
Which if you shall refuse, when I am dead,
For I am a man, pray see me buried.

1 Fish. Die, quoth-a? Now gods forbid! I have a gown here; come, put it on; keep the warm. Now, afore me, a handsome fellow! Come, thou shalt go home, and we'll have flesh for holidays, fish for fasting-days, and moreo'er, puddings and flap-jacks; and thou shalt be welcome.

Per. I thank you, sir.

2 Fish. Hark you, my friend, you said you could not beg.

Per. I did but crave.

2 Fish. But crave? Then I'll turn craver too, and so I shall 'scape whipping.

Per. Why, are all your beggars whipped then?

2 Fish. O, not all, my friend, not all; for if all your beggars were whipped, I would wish no better office, than to be beadle. But, master, I'll go draw up the net.

[Exeunt two of the Fishermen. Per. How well this honest mirth becomes their labour!

Per. He is a happy king, since from his subjects

He gains the name of good, by his government. How far is his court distant from this shore? 1 Fish. Marry, sir, half a day's journey; and I'll tell you, he hath a fair daughter, and tomorrow is her birth-day; and there are princes and knights come from all parts of the world, to just and tourney for her love.

Per. Did but my fortunes equal my desires, I'd wish to make one there.

1 Fish. O, sir, things must be as they may; and what a man cannot get, he may lawfully

deal for his wife's soul.

Re-enter the two Fishermen, drawing up a net.

2 Fish. Help, master, help! here's a fish hangs in the net, like a poor man's right in the law; 'twill hardly come out. Ha! bots on't, 'tis come at last,, and 'tis turned to a rusty ar

mour.

Per. An armour, friends! I pray you, let me see it.

Thanks, fortune, yet, that after all my crosses,
Thou giv'st me somewhat to repair myself:
And, though it was mine own, part of mine he-
ritage,

Which my dead father did bequeath to me,
With this strict charge, (even as he left his life,)
Keep it, my Pericles, it hath been a shield

Twixt me and death; (and pointed to this brace :)

For that it sav'd me, keep it; in like necessity,
Which gods protect thee from! it may defend thee.
It kept where I kept, I so dearly lov'd it;
Till the rough seas, that spare not any man,
Took it in rage, though calm'd, they give't again:
I thank thee for't; my shipwreck's now no ill,
Since I have here iny father's gift by will.
1 Fish. What mean you, sir?

1 Fish. Why, do ye take it, and the gods give thee good on't!

2 Fish. Ay, but hark you, my friend; 'twas we that made up this garment through the rough seams of the waters: there are certain condolements, certain vails. I hope, sir, if you thrive, you'll remember from whence you had it. Per. Believe't, I will.

Now, by your furtherance, I am cloth'd in steel;
And spite of all the rupture of the sea,
This jewel holds his biding on my arm;
Unto thy value will I mount myself
Upon a courser, whose delightful steps
Shall make the gazer joy to see him tread.-
Only, my friend, I yet am unprovided
Of a pair of bases.

2 Fish. We'll sure provide: thou shalt have my best gown to make thee a pair; and I'll bring thee to the court myself.

Per. Then honour be but a goal to my will; This day I'll rise, or else add ill to ill. [Exeunt.

SCENE II.-The same. A public way, or platform, leading to the lists. A pavilion by the side of it, for the reception of the King, Princess, Lords, &c.

Enter SIMONIDES, THAISA, Lords, and
Attendants.

Sim. Are the knights ready to begin the tri-
umph?

1 Lord. They are, my liege;

And stay your coming to present themselves. Sim. Return them, we are ready; and our

daughter,

In honour of whose birth these triumphs are, Sits here, like beauty's child, whom nature gat For men to see, and seeing wonder at.

[Exit a Lord. Thai. It pleaseth you, my father, to express My commendations great, whose merit's less.

Sim. "Tis fit it should be so; for princes are A model, which heaven makes like to itself: As jewels lose their glory, if neglected, So princes their renown, if not respected. 'Tis now your honour, daughter, to explain The labour of each knight, in his device.

Thai. Which, to preserve mine honour, I'll perform.

Per. To beg of you, kind friends, this coat of Enter a Knight; he passes over the stage, and

worth,

For it was sometime target to a king ;

I know it by this mark. He lov'd me dearly,
And for his sake, I wish the having of it;
And that you'd guide me to your sovereign's court,
Where with't I may appear a gentleman;
And if that ever my low fortunes better,
I'll pay your bounties; till then, rest your
debtor.

1 Fish. Why, wilt thou tourney for the lady? Per. I'll show the virtue I have borne in arms.

his squire presents his shield to the Princess. Sim. Who is the first that doth prefer himself?

Thai. A knight of Sparta, my renowned fa

ther;

And the device he bears upon his shield
Is a black Ethiop, reaching at the sun;
The word, Lux tua vita mihi.

Thai. He loves you well, that holds his life of you. [The second Knight pusses. Who is the second, that presents himself??¡

Thai. A prince of Macedon, my royal father;
And the device he bears upon his shield
Is an arm'd knight, that's conquer'd by a lady:
The motto thus, in Spanish, Piu per dulcura
que per fuerca.

The third Knight passes.
Sim. And what's the third ?
Thai. The third of Antioch;
And his device, a wreath of chivalry:
The word, Me pompa proverit apex.

The fourth Knight passes.

Sim. What is the fourth?
Thai. A burning torch, that's turned upside
down ;

The word, Quod me alit, me extinguit.

Since every worth in show commends itself.
Prepare for mirth, for mirth becomes a feast:
You are my guests.

Thai. But you, my knight and guest;
To whom this wreath of victory I give,
And crown you king of this day's happiness.
Per. 'Tis more by fortune, lady, than by merit.
Sim. Call it by what you will, the day is yours;
And here, I hope, is none that envies it.
In framing artists, art hath thus decreed,
To make some good, but others to exceed ;
And you're her labour'd scholar. Come, queen
o'the feast,

(For, daughter, so you are,) here take your
place:

Sim. Which shows, that beauty hath his Marshal the rest, as they deserve their grace.
power and will,
Knights. We are honour'd much by good Si-
monides.

Which can as well inflame, as it can kill.
[The fifth Knight passes.
Thai. The fifth, an hand environed with
clouds;
Holding out gold, that's by the touchstone tried:
The motto thus, Sic spectanda fides.

The sixth Knight passes. Sim. And what's the sixth and last, which the knight himself

With such a graceful courtesy deliver❜d?

Thai. He seems a stranger; but his present is A wither'd branch, that's only green at top; The motto, In hac spe vivo.

Sim. A pretty moral;

From the dejected state wherein he is,

He hopes by you his fortunes yet may flourish. 1 Lord. He had need mean better than his outward show

appears

Can any way speak in his just commend:
For, by his rusty outside, he
To have practis'd more the whipstock, than the
lance.

2 Lord. He well may be a stranger, for he

comes

To an honour'd triumph, strangely furnished. 3 Lord. And on set purpose let his armour

rust

Until this day, to scour it in the dust.

Sim. Opinion's but a fool, that makes us scan
The outward habit by the inward man.
But stay, the knights are coming; we'll with-
draw

Into the gallery.

Sim. Your presence glads our days; honour

we love,

For who hates honour, hates the gods above.
Marsh. Sir, yond's your place.
Per. Some other is more fit.

1 Knight. Contend not, sir; for we are gen-
tlemen,

That neither in our hearts, nor outward eyes,
Envy the great, nor do the low despise.

Per. You are right courteous knights.
Sim. Sit, sit, sir; sit.

Per. By Jove, I wonder, that is king of
thoughts,

These cates resist me, she not thought upon.
Thai. By Juno, that is queen
Of marriage, all the viands that I eat
Do seem unsavoury, wishing him my meat!
Sure he's a gallant gentleman.

Sim. He's but

A country gentleman;

He has done no more than other knights have done;

Broken a staff, or so; so let it pass.

Thai. To me he seems like diamond to glass.
Per. Yon king's to me, like to my father's
picture,

Which tells me, in that glory once he was;
Had princes sit, like stars, about his throne,
And he the sun, for them to reverence.
None, that beheld him, but, like lesser lights,
Did vail their crowns to his supremacy;
Where now his son's a glow-worm in the night,
The which hath fire in darkness, none in light;
Whereby I see that Time's the king of men,
For he's their parent, and he is their grave,
A hall of state.-A And gives them what he will, not what they

[Exeunt.
[Great shouts, and all cry, The mean
knight.

SCENE III.-The same.

banquet prepared.

Enter SIMONIDES, THAISA, Lords, Knights, and Attendants.

Sim. Knights,

To say you are welcome, were superfluous.
To place upon the volume of your deeds,
As in a title-page, your worth in arms,
Were more than you expect, or more than's fit,

We drink this standing-bowl of wine to him.
Thai. Alas, my father, it befits not me
Unto a stranger knight to be so bold;
He may my proffer take for an offence,
Since men take women's gifts for impudence.
Sim. How!

Do as I bid you, or you'll move me else.
Thai. Now, by the gods, he could not please
me better.
Aside.
Sim. And further tell him, we desire to know,
Of whence he is, his name and parentage.
Thai. The king my father, sír, has drunk to

life.

Per. I thank both him and you, and pledge him freely.

Thai. And further he desires to know of you, Of whence you are, your name and parentage. Per. A gentleman of Tyre-(my name, Pericles;

My education being in arts and arms;)-
Who, looking for adventures in the world,
Was by the rough seas reft of ships and men,
And, after shipwreck, driven upon this shore.
Thai. He thanks your grace; names himself
Pericles,

A gentleman of Tyre, who only by
Misfortune of the seas has been bereft
Of ships and men, and cast upon this shore.
Sim. Now, by the gods, I pity his misfortune,
And will awake him from his melancholy.
Come, gentlemen, we sit too long on trifles,
And waste the time, which looks for other revels.
Even in your armours, as you are address'd,
Will very well become a soldier's dance.
I will not have excuse, with saying, this
Loud music is too harsh for ladies' heads;
Since they love men in arms, as well as beds.
[The Knights dance.
So, this was well ask'd, 'twas so well perform'd.
Come, sir;

Here is a lady that wants breathing too:
And I have often heard, you knights of Tyre
Are excellent in making ladies trip;
And that their measures are as excellent.

Per. In those that practise them, they are, my lord.

Sim. O, that's as much, as you would be denied [The Knights and Ladies dance. Of your fair courtesy.-Unclasp, unclasp ; Thanks, gentlemen, to all; all have done well, But you the best. [To Pericles.] Pages and lights, conduct

These knights unto their several lodgings: Yours, sir,

We have given order to be next our own.

Per. I am at your grace's pleasure.

Sim. Princes, it is too late to talk of love, For that's the mark I know you level at: Therefore each one betake him to his rest; To-morrow, all for speeding do their best.

[Exeunt.

Due to this heinous capital offence;
Even in the height and pride of all his glory,
In a chariot of inestimable value,
When he was seated, and his daughter with him,

A fire from heaven came, and shrivell'd up
Their bodies, even to loathing; for they so stunk,
That all those eyes ador'd them, ere their fall,
Scorn now their hand should give them burial.
Esca. 'Twas very strange.

Hel. And yet but just; for though This king were great, his greatness was no guard To bar heaven's shaft, but sin had his reward. Esca. 'Tis very true.

Or know what ground's made happy by his breath.
If in the world he live, we'll seek him out;
If in his grave he rest, we'll find him there;
And be resolv'd, he lives to govern us,
Or dead, gives cause to mourn his funeral,
And leaves us to our free election.

2 Lord. Whose death's, indeed, the strongest in our censure:

And knowing this kingdom, if without a head,
(Like goodly buildings left without a roof,)
Will soon to ruin fall, your noble self,
That best know'st how to rule, and how to reign,
We thus submit unto,-our sovereign.
All. Live, noble Helicane!

Hel. Try honour's cause; forbear your suffrages:

If that you love prince Pericles, forbear.
Take I your wish, I leap into the seas,
Where's hourly trouble, for a minute's ease.
A twelvemonth longer, let me then entreat you
To forbear choice i'the absence of your king;
If in which time expir'd, he not return,
I shall with aged patience bear your yoke.
But if I cannot win you to this love,

Go search like noblemen, like noble subjects, And in your search spend your adventurous worth;

Whom if you find, and win unto return,
You shall like diamonds sit about his crown.

1 Lord. To wisdom he's a fool that will not yield;

And, since lord Helicane enjoineth us,
We with our travels will endeavour it.

Hel. Then you love us, we you, and we'll clasp hands;

When peers thus knit, a kingdom ever stands. [Exeunt. SCENE V.-Pentapolis. A room in the palace. Enter SIMONIDES, reading a letter, the Knights

meet him.

| They're well despatch'd; now to my daughter's letter:

She tells me here, she'll wed the stranger knight,
Or never more to view nor day nor light.
Mistress, 'tis well, your choice agrees with mine;
I like that well:-nay, how absolute she's in't,
Not minding whether I dislike or no !
Well, I commend her choice;
And will no longer have it be delay'd.
Soft, here he comes:-I must dissemble it.
Enter PERICLES.

Per. All fortune to the good Simonides!
Sim. To you as much, sir! I am beholden te

A letter, that she loves the knight of Tyre?
'Tis the king's subtilty, to have my life.
Oh, seek not to intrap, my gracious lord,
A stranger and distressed gentleman,
That never aim'd so high, to love your daughter,
But bent all offices to honour her.

Sim. Thou hast bewitch'd my daughter, and

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The Plays of Shakspeare, Volume 2