Not letting it decline on the declin'd*; And I have seen thee pause, and take thy breath, Hect. Let me embrace thee, good old chronicle, That hast so long walk'd hand in hand with time :Most reverent Nestor, I am glad to clasp thee. Nest. I would, my arms could match thee in con. tention, As they contend with thee in courtesy. Hect. I would they could. Nest. Ha! By this white beard, I'd fight with thee to-morrow. Well, welcome, welcome! I have seen the timeUlyss. I wonder now how yonder city stands, When we have here her base and pillar by us. Hect. I know your favour, lord Ulysses, well. Ah, sir, there's many a Greek and Trojan dead, Since first I saw yourself and Diomed In Ilion, on your Greekish embassy. Ulyss. Sir, I foretold you then what would ensue: My prophecy is but half his journey yet; For yonder walls, that pertly front your town, Hect. And that old common arbitrator, time, Will one day end it. So to him we leave it. Ulyss. To feast with me, and see me at my tent. Achil. I shall forestall thee, lord Ulysses, thou!Now, Hector, I have fed mine eyes on thee; I have with exact view perus'd thee, Hector, And quoted joint by joint. Hect. Achil. I am Achilles. Is this Achilles? Hect. Stand fair, I pray thee: let me look on thee. Achil. Behold thy fill. Hect. Nay, I have done already. Achil. Thou art too brief; I will the second time, As I could buy thee, view thee limb by limb. Hect. O, like a book of sport thou'lt read me o'er; But there's more in me than thou understand'st. Why dost thou so oppress me with thine eye? Achil. Tell me, you heavens, in which part of his body Shall I destroy him; whether there, there, or there? That I may give the local wound a name; And make distinct the very breach whereout Hector's great spirit flew: Answer me, heavens! Hect. It would discredit the bless'd gods, proud man, To answer such a question: Stand again: Where thon wilt hit me dead? Achil. I tell thee, yea. Hect. Wert thou an oracle to tell me so, I'd not believe thee. Henceforth guard thee well; For I'll not kill thee there, nor there, nor there; But, by the forge that stithied Mars his helm, + Forename. • Observed. I'll kill thee every where, yea, o'er and o'er.- But I'll endeavour deeds to match these words; Ajax. Do not chafe thee, cousin; And you, Achilles, let these threats alone, Till accident, or purpose, bring you to't: You may have every day enough of Hector, If you have stomach; the general state, I fear, Can scarce entreat you to be odd with him. Hect. I pray you, let us see you in the field; We have had pelting † wars, since you refus'd The Grecians' cause. Achil. Dost thou entreat me, Hector? To-morrow do I meet thee, fell as death; To-night, all friends. Hect. Thy hand upon that match. Agam. First, all you peers of Greece, go to my tent; There in the full convivet we: afterwards, [Exeunt all but Troilus and Ulysses. Tro. Shall I, sweet lord, be bound to you so much, After we part from Agamemnon's tent, To bring me thither? * Inclination. + Petty. Feast. § Small drums. Ulyss. You shall command me, sir. As gentle tell me, of what honour was Tro. O, sir, to such as boasting show their scars, [Exeunt. ACT V. SCENE I. The Grecian camp. Before Achilles' tent. Enter Achilles and Patroclus. Achil. I'll heat his blood with Greekish wine tonight, Which with my scimitar I'll cool to-morrow.- Patr. Here comes Thersites. Achil. Enter Thersites. How now, thou core of envy? Thou crusty batch of nature, what's the news? Ther. Why, thou picture of what thou seemest, and idol of idiot-worshippers, here's a letter for thee. Achil. From whence, fragment? Ther. Why, thou full dish of fool, from Troy. Ther. The surgeon's box, or the patient's wound. Patr. Well said, Adversity*! and what need these tricks? Ther. Pr'ythee be silent, boy; I profit not by * Contrariety. thy talk thou art thought to be Achilles' male varlet. Patr. Male varlet, you rogue! what's that? Ther. Why, his masculine whore. Now the rotten diseases of the south, the guts-griping, ruptures, catarrhs, loads o'gravel i'the back, lethargies, cold palsies, raw eyes, dirt-rotten livers, wheezing lungs, bladders full of imposthume, sciaticas, lime-kilns i'the palm, incurable bone-ach, and the rivelled feesimple of the tetter, take and take again such preposterous discoveries! Patr. Why thou damnable box of envy, thou, what meanest thou to curse thus ? Ther. Do I curse thee? Patr. Why, no, you ruinous butt; you whoreson indistinguishable cur, no. Ther. No? why art thou then exasperate, thou idle immaterial skein of sleive silk, thou green sarcenet flap for a sore eye, thou tassel of a prodigal's purse, thou? Ah, how the poor world is pestered with such water-flies; diminutives of nature! Putr. Out, gall! Ther. Finch-egg! Achil. My sweet Patroclus, I am thwarted quite A token from her daughter, my fair love; An oath that I have sworn. I will not break it: Come, come, Thersites, help to trim my tent: [Exeunt Achilles and Patroclus. Ther. With too much blood, and too little brain, these two may run mad; but if with too much brain, and too little blood, they do, I'll be a curer of mad * Coarse, unwrought. |