ElizabethanDrama.org

presents

the Annotated Popular Edition of

THE VIRGIN-MARTYR

by Thomas Dekker
and Philip Massinger

First Published 1622

Featuring complete and easy-to-read annotations.

Annotations and notes © Copyright Peter Lukacs and ElizabethanDrama.org, 2019.
This annotated play may be freely copied and distributed.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE
	INTRODUCTION to the PLAY
Dioclesian, Emperor of Rome.
Artemia, daughter to Dioclesian.	The Virgin Martyr was a popular play, no doubt in part
Maximinus, Emperor of Rome.	thanks to its bipolar tonality; on the one hand, the play
	includes, in its story of an early Christian martyr, some of
Sapritius, Governor of Caesarea.	the most beautiful and exquisite verse in the entire canon;
Antoninus, son to Sapritius.	on the other hand, the prose dialogues between the two
Sempronius, captain of Sapritius' guards.	base servants, Hircius and Spungius, are among the most
Macrinus, friend to Antoninus.	vulgar of the era. Dekker is considered responsible for
	The Virgin Martyr's rudest sections, while the play's most
Theophilus, a zealous persecutor of the Christians.	affecting scenes are Massinger's.
Calista, daughter to Theophilus.
Christeta, daughter to Theophilus.	OUR PLAY'S SOURCE
Harpax, an evil spirit, following Theophilus in the
shape of a Secretary.	The text of the play is taken from Arthur Symon's edition
Julianus, servant of Theophilus.	of the plays of Philip Massinger, cited in the footnotes
Geta, servant of Theophilus.	below at #4, but with some of the 1622 quarto's original
	spellings and word choices restored.
Dorothea, the Virgin-Martyr.
Angelo, a good spirit, serving Dorothea in the habit	NOTES on the ANNOTATIONS
of a Page.
Hircius, a whoremaster, servant of Dorothea.	Mention of Gifford and Symons in the annotations
Spungius, a drunkard, servant of Dorothea.	refers to the notes provided by these editors in their
	respective editions of our play, each cited fully below.
King of Pontus.	The most commonly cited sources are listed in the
King of Epire.	footnotes immediately below. The complete list of footnotes
King of Macedon.	appears at the end of this play.
	The footnotes in the annotations correspond as follows:
Priest of Jupiter.	1. Oxford English Dictionary (OED) online.
British slave.	2. Crystal, David and Ben. Shakespeare's Words. London,
	New York: Penguin, 2002.
Officers and Executioners.	3. Gifford, William, ed. The Plays of William Massinger.
	New York: H.B. Mahn, 1860.
SCENE: Caesarea in Palestine.	4. Symons, Arthur, ed. Philip Massinger, Volume II.
	London: Vizetelly & Co., 1889.
	12. Humphries, Rolfe, trans. Ovid. Metamorphoses.
	Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1983.

Historical Background to The Virgin Martyr.

The first two centuries A.D. had been witness to the great Roman Peace, or Pax Romana, a long period of growth, success and consolidation of the Roman Empire. The third century, however, introduced five decades (A.D. 235-284) of civil wars and upheavals. Some measure of stability finally returned to the empire in the form of Diocletian (A.D. 245-313), emperor 284-305. Diocletian, a formidable soldier of humble background, was acclaimed emperor by his troops in A.D. 284 at the death of the current emperor Numerianus.

With the empire overwhelmed by invasions of barbarians and uprisings from seemingly all corners, Diocletian erected an unprecedented tetrarchy to rule the empire; he selected Maximian to be co-Augustus (the senior title) with him first in A.D. 286, and later appointed two "junior" rulers, Constantius Chlorus and Galerius Maximianus, titled "Caesars", in 292. Each of the four were responsible for ruling different parts of the empire, Diocletian claiming the wealthy eastern portion for himself, ruling from Nicomedia, located in what now is north-western Turkey.

Diocletian has come down in history most famous for what the Catholic Encyclopedia called the "most terrible of all of the ten persecutions of the early Church".⁶ Interestingly, the church flourished during the early part of his reign, but under the influence of Galerius, Diocletian began in A.D. 303 a general suppression of the newish religion. The Catholic Encyclopedia is worth quoting here:

"An edict was issued 'to tear down the churches to the foundations and to destroy the Sacred Scriptures by fire'...Three further edicts (303-304) marked successive stages in the severity of the persecution: the first ordering that the bishops, presbyters, and deacons should be imprisoned; the second that they should be tortured and compelled by every means to sacrifice; the third including the laity as well as the clergy. The atrocious cruelty with which these edicts were enforced, and the vast numbers of those who suffered for the Faith are attested by Eusebius and the Acts of the Martyrs. We read even of the massacre of the whole population of a town because they declared themselves Christians."⁶

Diocletian continued his string of unique actions by actually retiring from the tetrarchy in 305, living out his remaining years in peace at his newly-built palace in what is now Split, Croatia, spending his time, we have been told, growing cabbages.

Outside St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice stands a porphyry statue of medium height, portraying the four tetrarchs in a show of unity.

Authorship.

All scenes involving Hircius and Spungius are attributed to Dekker (II.i, II.iii, III.iii, IV.ii); Dekker is generally also given credit for the short scenes II.ii and iii, and V.i.
Massinger is unanimously assigned most of the rest of the play, specifically, Act I, then III.i. and ii, IV.iii, and V.ii.
Act IV.i is a little dicier to analyze. Gifford assigned it to Massinger, but there is much stylistic evidence to suggest Dekker had at least a significant hand in this scene. Two key pieces of evidence point to Dekker's authorship of IV.i: these are discussed in the notes appearing at the end of our play.

Settings, Scene Breaks and Stage Directions.

The original quartos do not provide settings for the play; all this edition's indicated settings are adopted from Gifford.
The original quarto of The Virgin Martyr was divided into five Acts, but the Acts were not divided into Scenes; we have adopted the scene breaks employed by all the previous editors.
Finally, as is our normal practice, some stage directions have been added, and some modified, for purposes of clarity. Most of these minor changes are adopted from Gifford.

	ACT I.
	SCENE I.
	The Governor's Palace.	The Scene: the action of the play takes place in Caesarea, a city on the coast of what is now Israel; Caesarea was the capital of the Roman province of Judea.^5 The Time of the Play: the persecution of Christians under Dioclesian began in A.D. 303; since Dioclesian resigned his emperorship in 305, the play must take between those years.
	Enter Theophilus and Harpax.	Entering Characters: Theophilus is the Roman officer in charge of persecuting Christians; Harpax is an evil spirit in human disguise, working as Theophilus' secretary.
1	Theo. Come to Caesarea to-night!	1: The play opens with Theophilus learning from Harpax
2		that the Roman Emperor Dioclesian himself is coming to visit Caesarea. This is a classic Massinger-style opening, in which we join a conversation already in progress.
	Harp. Most true, sir.
4
	Theo. The emperor in person!
6
	Harp. Do I live?
8
	Theo. 'Tis wondrous strange! The marches of great princes,	9: marches = movements, usually applied to an army. princes = sovereigns.
10	Like to the motions of prodigious meteors,	= ominous or evil-omened, a typical attribute of comets (called meteors).
	Are step by step observed; and loud-tongued Fame	= Fame is "rumour" personified; because everyone pays
12	The harbinger to prepare their entertainment:	close attention to the emperor's doings, Fame will let people everywhere know where he is going (hence Fame is a harbinger), which, in this case, would give the governor time to prepare for the emperor's visit.
	And, were it possible so great an army,
14	Though covered with the night, could be so near,	= shrouded with, ie. hidden by.
	The governor cannot be so unfriended	15-18: The governor...purpose = Theophilus can't believe that the emperor, accompanied by an entire army, could be so close to the city without somebody sending the news ahead to the governor, whom he expects would have spies (secret means) in the army or train of the emperor to do so.
16	Among the many that attend his person,
	But, by some secret means, he should have notice
18	Of Caesar's purpose; − in this then excuse me,	18: Caesar = actually, Dioclesian's title was "Augustus", which he shared with his co-emperor, Maximian; Caesar was a junior title, given to two other men who also helped run the empire. Caesar is used throughout the play to refer to Dioclesian. See the Introductory Note to the play for details on Dioclesian's power-sharing. purpose = the reason for Dioclesian's dropping by so unexpectedly.
	If I appear incredulous.	19: Harpax has used his supernatural abilities to learn of, and
20		then warn Theophilus of, the emperor's impending visit. Though Theophilus has become used to his Secretary's miraculous ability to sniff out Christians in the land, this news is still too incredible to be believed.
	Harp. At your pleasure.
22
	Theo. Yet, when I call to mind you never failed me
24	In things more difficult, but have discovered
	Deeds that were done thousand leagues distant from me,	= a league was about three miles.
26	When neither woods, nor caves, nor secret vaults,
	No, nor the Power they serve, could keep these Christians	= ie. the Christian God.
28	Or from my reach or punishment, but thy magic	= either.
	Still laid them open; I begin again
30	To be as confident as heretofore,
	It is not possible thy powerful art	= ie. Harpax's supernatural abilities.
32	Should meet a check, or fail.
34	Enter the Priest of Jupiter, bearing the image of	= king of the gods. = bust.^1
	Jupiter, and followed by Calista and Christeta.	Entering characters: Calista and Christeta are Theo- philus' daughters.
36
	Harp. Look on the Vestals,	= Theophilus' daughters are priestesses, dedicated to serving Jupiter.
38	The holy pledges that the gods have given you,
	Your chaste, fair daughters. Were't not to upbraid	39-41: Were't not…I could say = "except that it would make it seem like I am criticizing you, who have been grateful for my services, I might mention…" Notice that Harpax tells Theophilus anyway that which he says he shouldn't tell him.
40	A service to a master not unthankful,
	I could say these, in spite of your prevention,	41-49: Harpax reminds Theophilus how his daughters had converted to Christianity, but thanks to a combination of begging and the threat of torture from Theophilus, they reverted to the ancient religion. Harpax was responsible for discovering, and reporting to Theophilus, the girls' original conversion. The earliest editions of our play printed this in line 41, but the emendation by earlier editors to these is a satisfactory one, providing a subject for had yielded up themselves in line 44 below.
42	Seduced by an imagined faith, not reason,	42-43: reason…nature = the instinctive side of man, nature, is frequently opposed in the era's literature to reason, the rational side of man, which should control his innate and often self-destructive nature.
	(Which is the strength of nature), quite forsaking
44	The gentile gods, had yielded up themselves	= ie. the gods of the Romans; gentile = pagan.
	To this new-found religion. This I crossed,	= thwarted.
46	Discovered their intents, taught you to use,
	With gentle words and mild persuasiöns,	= Harpax's euphemism for torture or the threat of torture.
48	The power and the authority of a father,
	Set off with cruël threats; and so reclaimed 'em:	= them.
50	And, whereas they with torments should have died,
	− [Aside] (Hell's furies to me, had they undergone it!) −	51: in this aside, Harpax, as a representative of hell, expresses his secret relief that the girls did not choose to submit to torture for their beliefs long enough to die as martyrs - this would have been a black mark against him!
52	They are now votaries in great Jupiter's temple,	= ie. they have vowed to serve the god.
	And, by his priest instructed, grown familiar
54	With all the mysteries, nay, the most abstruse ones,
	Belonging to his deity.
56
	Theo. Twas a benefit,
58	For which I ever owe you. − Hail, Jove's flamen!	= Theophilus greets the priest (flamen) serving Jupiter;
	Have these my daughters reconciled themselves,	Jove is an alternative name for the king of the gods;
60	Abandoning forever the Christian way,	note that dashes are used to indicate when a speaker
	To your opinion?	is switching addressees.
62
	Priest. And are constant in it.
64	They teach their teachers with their depth of judgment,
	And are with arguments able to convert
66	The enemies to our gods, and answer all
	They can object against us.	= their enemies, ie. Christians.
68
	Theo. My dear daughters!
70
	Calis. We dare dispute against this new-sprung sect,	= recently come into existence; since the play would have
72	In private or in public.	taken place sometime between A.D. 303 and 305,
		Christianity could not really be said to be new-sprung, though certainly it was in its infancy compared to the Roman religion.
74	Harp. My best lady,
	Perséver in it.	= in the era's drama, persever (persevere) was normally stressed on the second syllable.
76
	Chris. And what we maintain,	77: "and the position we defend".
78	We will seal with our bloods.	= attest or ratify.^1
80	Harp. Brave resolution!
	I e'en grow fat to see my labours prosper.	= a metaphor for a successful individual, who would have access to enough food to grow fat.
82
	Theo. I young again. − To your devotions.	83: ie. "and I grow young again; - go back, then, to your
84		prayers."
	Harp. Do −
86	My prayers be present with you.
88	[Exeunt Priest, Calista and Christeta.]
90	Theo. O my Harpax!
	Thou engine of my wishes, thou that steel'st	91-93: Theophilus implies that he might find it difficult to
92	My bloody resolutions, thou that arm'st	torture Christians as he does, were it not for Harpax's
	My eyes 'gainst womanish tears and soft compassion;	emotional support. engine = means or instrument.^2
94	Instructing me, without a sigh, to look on	= ie. a sigh of compassion or weakness. = ie. how to.
	Babes torn by violence from their mothers’ breasts
96	To feed the fire, and with them make one flame;
	Old men, as beasts, in beasts' skins torn by dogs;	= like. = as reported in Foxe's Book of Martyrs (1563), under the emperor Nero, Christians might be sewn into the skins of wild beasts, then torn to death by ravenous dogs.^7
98	Virgins and matrons tire the executioners;	98: ie. "there are so many unmarried and married women
	Yet I, unsatisfied, think their torments easy −	(virgins and matrons, respectively) to torture and execute that it exhausts their punishers."
100
	Harp. And in that, just, not cruël.	101: ie. Theophilus' actions are just, not cruel.
102
	Theo. Were all sceptres
104	That grace the hands of kings made into one,
	And offered me, all crowns laid at my feet,
106	I would contemn them all, − thus spit at them;	= scorn.
	So I to all posterities might be called	= so long as. = those who succeed them; posterity was frequently used like this in the plural.
108	The strongest champion of the Pagan gods,
	And rooter-out of Christians.	= one who eradicates something; this interesting noun had
110		been used at least as far back as 1560.^1
	Harp. Oh, mine own,
112	Mine own dear lord! to further this great work,
	I ever live thy slave.
114
	Enter Sapritius and Sempronius.	Entering Characters: Sapritius is the governor of
116		Caesarea; Sempronius is the Captain of the Guards, ie. the head of the soldiery in the city.
	Theo. No more − the governor.
118
	Sap. Keep the ports close, and let the guards be doubled;	= "keep the gates of the city closed"; Sapritius is giving
120	Disarm the Christians; call it death in any	out orders to implement harsher measures against the
	To wear a sword, or in his house to have one.	Christians.
122
	Semp. I shall be careful, sir.
124
	Sap. 'Twill well become you.
126	Such as refuse to offer sacrifice	126-7: being a Christian did not mean one was automatically
	To any of our gods, put to the torture.	destined to be tortured; the Romans generally gave their victims numerous opportunities to recant, by simply disavowing the Christian God, or taking part in a sacrifice. The Romans' primary theological worry was that the gods would not look on them propitiously if they saw that any mortal was neglecting them. The Roman relationship with their gods was one of quid pro quo: in return for prayers and offerings, the gods were expected to bring good fortune to their devotees.
128	Grub up this growing mischief by the roots;	= dig up;^2 note the line's weeding metaphor.
	And know, when we are merciful to them,
130	We to ourselves are cruël.
132	Semp. You pour oil	132-3: ie. "you are instructing me to do that which I am
	On fire that burns already at the height:	already fired up about doing."
134	I know the emperor's edict, and my charge,
	And they shall find no favour.
136
	Theo. My good lord,
138	This care is timely for the entertainment
	Of our great master, who this night in person	= ie. the emperor.
140	Comes here to thank you.
142	Sap. Who! the emperor?
144	Harp. To clear your doubts, he does return in triumph,	144-5: Dioclesian is returning with his army from a
	Kings lackeyíng by his triumphant chariot;	successful campaign against some rebelling provinces, during which he has captured three of the kings who were allied against him. lackeying = running alongside the emperor's chariot, like the servants of wealthy nobles known as "footmen"; the humiliating nature of the punishment is obvious.^3
146	And in this glorious victory, my lord,
	You have an ample share: for know, your son,
148	The ne'er-enough-commended Antoninus,
	So well hath fleshed his maiden sword, and dyed	= the expression flesh one's sword described a man's having fought his first battle, but the addition of the word maiden suggests a further image of one losing one's virginity.
150	His snowy plumes so deep in enemies' blood,	= plumes might be worn in a soldier's helmet; the snowy colour of the feathers is implicitly contrasted with the scarlet colour of the blood of his slain enemies, which has dyed his plume.
	That, besides public grace beyond his hopes,
152	There are rewards propounded.
154	Sap. I would know	154-5: Sapritius seems to be telling Harpax he would have
	No mean in thine, could this be true.	no reason to complain of his rewards, should his report of Antoninus' success in the wars be true. Since no one from the army has actually appeared to report what has happened, Sapritius does not expect Harpax to know what he is talking about. mean = complaint.^1 thine = ie. "your rewards".
156
	Harp. My head	157-8: "cut off my head if what I say is not the truth."
158	Answer the forfeit.
160	Sap. Of his victory
	There was some rumour; but it was assured,
162	The army passed a full day's journey higher,
	Into the country.
164
	Harp. It was so determined;	165: "this is indeed what they had decided to do."
166	But, for the further honour of your son,	166-9: on the return of the triumphant army, Dioclesian is
	And to observe the government of the city,	making a point to visit Caesarea to see how it is being
168	And with what rigour, or remiss indulgence,	governed, with particular attention to how rigorously
	The Christians are pursued, he makes his stay here:	the governor is pursuing the Christians.
170
	[Trumpets afar off.]
172
	For proof, his trumpets speak his near arrival.	= announce.
174
	Sap. Haste, good Sempronius, draw up our guards,
176	And with all ceremonious pomp receive
	The conquering army. Let our garrison speak
178	Their welcome in loud shouts, the city show
	Her state and wealth.
180
	Semp. I'm gone.
182
	[Exit Sempronius.]
184
	Sap. O, I am ravished	= overwhelmed with joy.^2
186	With this great honour! cherish, good Theophilus,
	This knowing scholar. Send [for] your fair daughters;	= this learned person,^2 ie. Harpax. = added by Gifford.
188	I will present them to the emperor,
	And in their sweet conversion, as a mirror,	189-190: Sapritius will describe to the emperor how the
190	Express your zeal and duty.	agreeable return of Theophilus' daughters to the pagan
		religion is a reflection of their father's dedication to his job.
192	Theo. Fetch them, good Harpax.
194	[Exit Harpax.]
196	Enter Sempronius, at the head of the guard,
	soldiers leading three kings bound;
198	Antoninus and Macrinus bearing the Emperor's	Entering characters: Antoninus is the son of Sapritius the governor; Macrinus is his best friend.
	eagles; Dioclesian with a gilt laurel on his head,	= the eagle was the famous Roman military symbol of a sculptured eagle on top of a pole.^1
200	leading in Artemia: Sapritius kisses	Entering character: Artemia is the emperor Dioclesian's
	the Emperor's hand, then embraces his Son;	daughter.
202	Harpax brings in Calista and Christeta.
	Loud shouts.
204
	Diocl. So: at all parts I find Caesarea
206	Completely governed; the licentious soldier	206: Completely governed = thoroughly well-governed.
	Confined in modest limits, and the people	206-211: the licentious…world = Dioclesian is
208	Taught to obey, and, not compelled with rigour:	pleased to find law and order throughout the city, and
	The ancient Roman discipline revived,	credits the governor's success on the revival of the
210	Which raised Rome to her greatness, and proclaimed her	long-lost Roman discipline.
	The glorious mistress of the conquered world;
212	But, above all, the service of the gods	= to.
	So zealously observed, that, good Sapritius,
214	In words to thank you for your care and duty,	214-8: a common sentiment in the era's drama: the emperor
	Were much unworthy Dioclesian's honour,	will demonstrate his gratitude with tangible rewards -
216	Or his magnificence to his loyal servants −	words of thanks alone would be unbefitting and ungra-
	But I shall find a time with noble titles	cious.
218	To recompense your merits.	magnificence (line 216) = generosity.^4
220	Sap. Mightiest Caesar,	220-225: Mightiest Caesar…war = Sapritius compares
	Whose power upon this globe of earth is equal	Dioclesian's victory over the rebellious kings to the
222	To Jove's in heaven; whose victorious triumphs	victory of the Olympian gods (Jupiter and his generation)
	On proud rebellious kings that stir against it,	over the race of Giants who challenged their supremacy
224	Are perfect figures of his immortal trophies	for control of the universe.^8
	Won in the Giants' war; whose conquering sword,	Are perfect figures of = are exactly like.^2
226	Guided by his strong arm, as deadly kills
	As did his thunder! all that I have done,	= "as Jupiter smotes individuals with his lightning-bolt" (his weapon of choice). Note how in lines 224-7, Massinger uses his repeated- ly, and potentially confusingly, to indicate first Jupiter (224), then Dioclesian (226), and finally Jupiter again (227).
228	Or, if my strength were centupled, could do,	= increased a hundredfold.
	Comes short of what my loyalty must challenge.	= demand as a right.
230	But, if in any thing I have deserved
	Great Caesar's smile, 'tis in my humble care
232	Still to preserve the honour of those gods,
	That make him what he is: my zeal to them	= zeal usually refers to a sense of religious devotion.
234	I ever have expressed in my fell hate	= savage.^2
	Against the Christian sect that, with one blow,
236	(Ascribing all things to an unknown Power,)	= ie. the Christian God.
	Would strike down all their temples, and allows them	= the subject of the clause is Theophilus' zeal, which would destroy all the Christians' temples.
238	Nor sacrifice nor altars.	= Theophilus mistakenly believes that Christians sacrifice; the Christian belief that they consume the flesh and blood of Christ during Communion led to accusations of cannibalism in the religion's early years.
240	Diocl. Thou, in this,	= note that Diocletian properly addresses his subjects
	Walk'st hand in hand with me: my will and power	with thee, while the other characters address the emperor with you, both usages indicating the parties' acknowledgment of the emperor's superior social status.
242	Shall not alone confirm, but honour all
	That are in this most forward.	= eager, energetic.
244
	Sap. Sacred Caesar,
246	If your imperial majesty stand pleased
	To shower your favours upon such as are
248	The boldest champions of our religion,
	Look on this reverend man,
250
	[Points to Theophilus.]
252
	to whom the power
254	Of searching out and punishing such delinquents
	Was by your choice committed: and, for proof,
256	He hath deserved the grace imposed upon him,
	And with a fair and even hand proceeded,
258	Partial to none, not to himself, or those	= ie. showing any improper favouritism.
	Of equal nearness to himself, behold
260	This pair of virgins.
262	Diocl. What are these?	= who.
264	Sap. His daughters.
266	Artem. Now by your sacred fortune, they are fair ones,	266-8: Artemia compliments Theophilus' daughters by
	Exceeding fair ones: would 'twere in my power	hypothetically offering to bring them into her service -
268	To make them mine!	it was always an honour to work directly for royalty.
270	Theo. They are the gods', great lady.	= ie. "they are presently dedicated to serving Jupiter".
	They were most happy in your service else:	= would be.
272	On these, when they fell from their father's faith,
	I used a judge's power, entreaties failing
274	(They being seduced) to win them to adore
	The holy Powers we worship; I put on
276	The scarlet robe of bold authority,
	And, as they had been strangers to my blood,	= as if. = ie. "not related to me".
278	Presented them, in the most horrid form,	278-286: wow! It appears that Theophilus, in playing the role of a disinterested public official, actually tortured his own daughters upon their apostasy.
	All kinds of tortures; part of which they suffered	279-280: part of…constancy = to some degree, Calista
280	With Roman constancy.	and Christeta suffered their torture with the famous
		Roman endurance and fortitude.
282	Artem. And could you endure,
	Being a father, to behold their limbs
284	Extended on the rack?	284: the rack was indeed familiar to the Romans: in Book
		15 of his history of Rome, the ancient historian Tacitus writes that the Emperor Nero used the rack to attempt to coerce a confession from one Epicharis, a woman who had been accused of taking part in a conspiracy against him.^9 The Encyclopedia Britannica (1911) reports that the rack was first used in England in 1447, having been introduced by the constable of the Tower, John Holland, the 4^th Duke of Exeter, after which the rack was popularly referred to as "the Duke of Exeter's daughter". In 1628 - just a few years after our play's debut - the rack was declared illegal in England.^5
286	Theo. I did; but must
	Confess there was a strange contention in me,
288	Between the impartial office of a judge,
	And pity of a father; to help justice
290	Religiön stepped in, under which odds
	Compassion fell: − yet still I was a father;
292	For e'en then, when the flinty hangman's whips	= harsh.^2 = torturer's.
	Were worn with stripes spent on their tender limbs,	= worn-out. = ie. the marks of whipping.
294	I kneeled, and wept, and begged them, though they would
	Be cruël to themselves, they would take pity	= "that they should".
296	On my grey hairs: now note a sudden change,
	Which I with joy remember; those, whom torture,
298	Nor fear of death could terrify, were o'ercome
	By seeing of my sufferings; and so won,
300	Returning to the faith that they were born in,
	I gave them to the gods: and be assured,
302	I that used justice with a rigorous hand,
	Upon such beauteous virgins, and mine own,	= ie. "on my own flesh and blood no less".
304	Will use no favour, where the cause commands me,
	To any other; but, as rocks, be deaf	= ie. like rocks; the expression "stone-deaf" first appeared
306	To all entreaties.	around the time of our play, in 1610.
308	Diocl. Thou deserv'st thy place;	= ie. his office of chief persecutor.
	Still hold it, and with honour. Things thus ordered
310	Touching the gods, 'tis lawful to descend
	To human cares, and exercise that power
312	Heaven has conferred upon me; − which that you,	= Dioclesian now turns to address the captive kings.
	Rebels and traitors to the power of Rome,
314	Should not with all extremities undergo,	= ie. "have to undergo".
	What can you urge to qualify your crimes,	= mitigate, ie. excuse.
316	Or mitigate my anger?
318	K. of Epire. We are now	318ff: "K." stands for King. Epire, or Epeiros, was a district on the western shore of Greece, today located in southern Albania.^27
	Slaves to thy power, that yesterday were kings,
320	And had command o'er others; we confess
	Our grandsires paid your tribute, yet left us,	= ie. a nation might be left to govern itself so long as it paid
322	As their forefathers had, desire of freedom.	a tax to Rome to signify its submission.
	And, if you Romans hold it glorious honour
324	Not only to defend what is your own,
	But to enlarge your empire, (though our fortune
326	Denies that happiness,) who can accuse
	The famished mouth, if it attempt to feed?
328	Or such whose fetters eat into their freedoms,	= chains.
	If they desire to shake them off?
330
	K. of Pontus. We stand	= Pontus was a district in Asia Minor on the southern shore of the Black Sea.^27
332	The last examples, to prove how uncertain	= latest.
	All human happiness is; and are prepared
334	To endure the worst.
336	K. of Macedon. That spoke, which now is highest	336: Macedon = the land north of Thessaly in Greece.
	In Fortune's wheel, must, when she turns it next,	336-8: a common reference to personified Fortune,
338	Decline as low as we are. This considered,	who in spinning her wheel arbitrarily raises the circum- stances of some while lowering those of others; spoke refers to the spoke of Fortune's wheel.
	Taught the Ægyptian Hercules, Sesostris,	339-341: the ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote about
340	That had his chariot drawn by captive kings,	a great conquering king of Egypt named Sesostris (though
	To free them from that slavery; − but to hope	there were several kings of that name in the times long predating the Romans). Herodotus wrote that Sesostris celebrated those cities that showed great valour in resisting him by erecting inscribed pillars in those cities, which told the honourable tale of their defense against him.^10
342	Such mercy from a Roman were mere madness:	= would be absolute.
	We are familiar with what cruëlty
344	Rome, since her infant greatness, ever used	= ie. since Rome first became great. = treated.
	Such as she triumphed over; age nor sex
346	Exempted from her tyranny; sceptered princes	= kings, monarchs.
	Kept in her common dungeons, and their children,
348	In scorn trained up in base mechanic arts,	= the lowest forms of manual labour.
	For public bondmen. In the catalogue	= slaves owned by the state.
350	Of those unfortunate men, we expect to have
	Our names remembered.
352
	Diocl. In all growing empires,
354	Even cruëlty is useful; some must suffer,	= even is generally pronounced, for purposes of meter, as
	And be set up examples to strike terror	a one-syllable word: e'en.
356	In others, though far off: but, when a state
	Is raised to her perfection, and her bases	= ie. foundation.^1
358	Too firm to shrink or yield, we may use mercy,
	And do't with safety: but to whom? not cowards,
360	Or such whose baseness shames the conqueror,
	And robs him of his victory, as weak Perseus	361-2: weak Perseus…Aemilius = Perses was the last king
362	Did great Æmilius. Know, therefore, kings	of an independent Macedon, ruling from 179 B.C. until his defeat to Rome in 168 B.C., when he was captured at the Battle of Pydna by the Roman consul L. Aemilius Paulus. Dioclesian is thinking about how Paulus treated Perses with great leniency after Perses had degraded himself with a shameful display of supplication; later Paulus, ever magnanimous, even procured Perses' release after he had been brought to Rome and thrown in prison.^11
	Of Epire, Pontus, and of Macedon,
364	That I with courtesy can use my prisoners,	= treat.
	As well as make them mine by force, provided
366	That they are noble enemies: such I found you,
	Before I made you mine: and, since you were so,
368	You have not lost the courages of princes,	= kings.
	Although the fortune. Had you borne yourselves	= "though you have lost the fortune of kings."
370	Dejectedly, and base, no slavery
	Had been too easy for you: but such is
372	The power of noble valour, that we love it
	Even in our enemies, and, taken with it,
374	Desire to make them friends, as I will you.
376	K. of Epire. Mock us not, Caesar.
378	Diocl. By the gods, I do not.
	Unloose their bonds; − I now as friends embrace you.
380	Give them their crowns again.
382	K. of Pontus. We are twice o'ercome;
	By courage, and by courtesy.
384
	K. of Macedon. But this latter
386	Shall teach us to live ever faithful vassals
	To Dioclesian, and the power of Rome.
388
	K. of Epire. All kingdoms fall before her!
390
	K. of Pontus. And all kings
392	Contend to honour Caesar!
394	Diocl. I believe
	Your tongues are the true trumpets of your hearts,
396	And in it I most happy. Queen of fate,
	Imperious Fortune! mix some light disaster	397-9: Imperious…relish = a nice bit of psychological
398	With my so many joys, to season them,	insight from our author: Dioclesian recognizes that good fortune is easier to appreciate when it is set off by some unhappiness.
	And give them sweeter relish: I'm girt round	= surrounded.^1
400	With true felicity; faithful subjects here,	= bliss.^2
	Here bold commanders, here with new-made friends;	= ie. the now-released kings.
402	But, what's the crown of all, in thee, Artemia,
	My only child, whose love to me and duty
404	Strive to exceed each other!
406	Artem. I make payment
	But of a debt, which I stand bound to tender
408	As a daughter and a subject.
410	Diocl. Which requires yet
	A retributiön from me, Artemia,	= recompense.^1
412	Tied by a father's care, how to bestow
	A jewèl, of all things to me most precious:
414	Nor will I therefore longer keep thee from
	The chief joys of creation, marriage rites;
416	Which that thou mayst with greater pleasures taste of,
	Thou shalt not like with mine eyes, but thine own	417: a nice figure of speech by the emperor: rather than Dioclesian choose Artemia's husband, as is his right to do, she may select her own.
418	Among these kings, forgetting they were captives;	418-9: Artemia may choose a husband from any of the men
	Or these, remembering not they are my subjects,	present, king or noble.
420	Make choice of any: By Jove's dreadful thunder,
	My will shall rank with thine.	421: "what you want is what I want."
422
	Artem. It is a bounty
424	The daughters of great princes seldom meet with;
	For they, to make up breaches in the state,	425-7: For they…affect not = Artemia recognizes Diocle-
426	Or for some other public ends, are forced	sian's exceptional gift; normally the daughters of kings
	To match where they affect not. May my life	are forced to marry husbands who have been selected for
428	Deserve this favour!	political reasons, such as to cement alliances with foreign
		powers. match (line 427) = marry. affect = love.
430	Diocl. Speak; I long to know
	The man thou wilt make happy.
432
	Artem. If that titles,	= "if it was the case that".
434	Or the adorèd name of Queen could take me,	= the sense is, "was important to me".
	Here would I fix mine eyes, and look no further;	= ie. on one of the kings.
436	But these are baits to take a mean-born lady,	= ie. a woman of low rank, who would grab the opportunity to marry a king like it was bait and raise her own status.
	Not her that boldly may call Caesar father;	437: "and not the daughter of the emperor, who is not con- cerned with raising her own rank by marrying a king."
438	In that I can bring honour unto any,	438: instead, it is Artemia who brings status to her husband, no matter who or what rank he is.
	But from no king that lives receives addition:	= the editors generally emend receives to receive. = a title.
440	To raise desert and virtue by my fortune,	440-1: "to marry a virtuous man who deserves such good
	Though in a low estate, were greater glory	fortune would be a more glorious thing to do".
442	Than to mix greatness with a prince that owes	= owns.
	No worth but that name only.
444
	Diocl. I commend thee,
446	'Tis like myself.
448	Artem. If, then, of men beneath me,
	My choice is to be made, where shall I seek,
450	But among those that best deserve from you?	= ie. her father Dioclesian.
	That have served you most faithfully; that in dangers
452	Have stood next to you; that have interposed
	Their breasts as shields of proof, to dull the swords
454	Aimed at your bosom; that have spent their blood
	To crown your brows with laurel?
456
	Mac. Cytherea,	= Macrinus prays to Venus to cause the princess to
458	Great Queen of Love, be now propitious to me!	choose him for a husband; Cytherea was one of Venus' alternative names, which was derived from the Greek island Cythera, from off whose shores she was said to have been born.^11
460	Harp. [to Sapritius.]
	Now mark what I foretold.	461: in this aside, Harpax reminds the governor of another
462		of his predictions.
	Anton. [Aside] Her eye's on me.
464	Fair Venus' son, draw forth a leaden dart,	464-5: Cupid, the cherubic god of love, shot golden arrows
	And, that she may hate me, transfix her with it;	at those he wished to fall deeply in love, but arrows of lead at those whom he would cause to feel hatred for another.
466	Or, if thou needs wilt use a golden one,
	Shoot it in the behalf of any other:
468	Thou know'st I am thy votary elsewhere.	= devotee; Antoninus is in love with someone else.
470	Artem. [Advances to Antoninus.]	470-1: oh no! Artemia has selected Antoninus to be her husband.
	Sir.
472		472: an uncomfortable silence likely follows Artemia's selection; Theophilus and Sapritius react to Antoninus' embarrassment and delay in responding.
	Theo. How he blushes!
474
	Sap. Welcome, fool, thy fortune.	= an imperative: the governor, muttering to himself perhaps, pleads for his son to embrace his good luck.
476	Stand like a block when such an angel courts thee!	476: Stand = "look at you standing there".
		angel = the Romans frequently (and improbably) slip into using Christian imagery.
478	Artem. I am no object to divert your eye
	From the beholding.
480
	Anton. Rather a bright sun,	481-6: Antoninus awkwardly tries to excuse his unexpected
482	Too glorious for him to gaze upon,	reaction, or lack thereof.
	That took not first flight from the eagle’s aerie.	= nest.
484	As I look on the temples, or the gods,
	And with that reverence, lady, I behold you,
486	And shall do ever.
488	Artem. And it will become you,
	While thus we stand at distance; but, if love,
490	Love born out of the assurance of your virtues,
	Teach me to stoop so low −
492
	Anton. O, rather take	493-4: Antoninus suggests Artemia should seek a husband
494	A higher flight.	of higher status than himself.
496	Artem. Why, fear you to be raised?
	Say I put off the dreadful awe that waits	497-8: Say I…majesty = "suppose I peel off the dread- causing awe that attends all members of a royal family".
498	On majesty, or with you share my beams,	= Artemia picks up on Antoninus' sun metaphor, begun at line 481.
	Nay, make you to outshine me; change the name	499-502: change…refuse me? = Artemia is risking
500	Of Subject into Lord, rob you of service	sounding like she is begging: she offers to honour
	That's due from you to me; and in me make it	Antoninus as her superior if he will marry her, rather
502	Duty to honour you, would you refuse me?	than the other way around; Antoninus in turn risks
		offending the princess if he doesn't quickly take up her offer.
504	Anton. Refuse you, madam! such a worm as I am,
	Refuse what kings upon their knees would sue for!
506	Call it, great lady, by another name;
	An humble modesty, that would not match	= marry.
508	A molehill with Olympus.	= the Greek mountain which serves as the home of the gods.
510	Artem. He that's famous
	For honourable actions in the war,
512	As you are, Antoninus, a proved soldier,
	Is fellow to a king.
514
	Anton. If you love valour,
516	As 'tis a kingly virtue, seek it out,
	And cherish it in a king: there it shines brightest,
518	And yields the bravest luster. Look on Epire,
	A prince, in whom it is incorporate;	= ie. virtue. = combined, united in one body.^2
520	And let it not disgrace him that he was
	O'ercome by Caesar; it was victory,
522	To stand so long against him: had you seen him,
	How in one bloody scene he did discharge
524	The parts of a commander and a soldier,
	Wise in direction, bold in execution;	= management of the battle.
526	You would have said, great Caesar's self excepted,
	The world yields not his equal.
528
	Artem. Yet I have heard,
530	Encountering him alone in the head of his troop,
	You took him prisoner.
532
	K. of Epire. 'Tis a truth, great princess;
534	I'll not detract from valour.
536	Anton. 'Twas mere fortune;
	Courage had no hand in it.
538
	Theo. Did ever man
540	Strive so against his own good?
542	Sap. Spiritless villain!	542-4: Sapritius is furious that his son is messing up this
	How I am tortured! By the immortal gods,	great honour - and perhaps recognizing the disgrace this
544	I now could kill him.	might bring upon him.
546	Diocl. Hold, Sapritius, hold,
	On our displeasure hold!
548
	Harp. Why, this would make	549-556: Harpax, in opposition to Dioclesian, encourages
550	A father mad, 'tis not to be endured;	Sapritius to continue to get worked up over the em-
	Your honour's tainted in't.	barrassment Antonius is causing him.
552
	Sap. By heaven, it is;
554	I shall think of it.
556	Harp. 'Tis not to be forgotten.
558	Artem. Nay, kneel not, sir; I am no ravisher,	= ie. she will not force herself on Antoninus.
	Nor so far gone in fond affection to you,	= foolish desire for.
560	But that I can retire, my honour safe: −
	Yet say, hereafter, that thou hast neglected	561-3: Artemia, who has been humiliated, seeks to preserve
562	What, but seen in possession of another,	her pride with this request to Antoninus.
	Will make thee mad with envy.	Yet say (line 561) = ie. "but at least admit".
564
	Anton. In her looks
566	Revenge is written.
568	Mac. As you love your life,	568-9: Macrinus likely speaks this urgent admonition to his friend as an aside.
	Study to appease her.	= ie. do something.
570
	Anton. Gracious madam, hear me.
572
	Artem. And be again refused?	573: Artemia's sarcasm is understandable.
574
	Anton. The tender of	= offer.
576	My life, my service, or, since you vouchsafe it,	= condescend to permit.
	My love, my heart, my all: and pardon me,
578	Pardon, dread princess, that I made some scruple	= objected to or expressed a doubt about.^2
	To leave a valley of security,
580	To mount up to the hill of majesty,
	On which, the nearer Jove, the nearer lightning.	581: Antoninus' recognizes that the closer one lives to great power, the more one exposes oneself to greater punishment or harm should the relationship go sour.
582	What knew I, but your grace made trial of me;	582: to excuse his behavior, Antoninus suggests he thought the princess was only testing him in some way.
	Durst I presume t' embrace, where but to touch
584	With an unmannered hand, was death? the fox,	= ie. inappropriate behavior.
	When he saw first the forest's king, the lion,	584-588: the fox…boldly = a reference to one of
586	Was almost dead with fear; the second view	Aesop's fables; Antoninus' description is pretty much the whole story, with the simple lesson that fear lessens with familiarity. The lion has been called the king of beasts since at least the 14th century.^1 dead = the first quarto alone has drad here, a common alternate spelling for dread; editors unanimously emend this to dead, based on subsequent printings.
	Only a little daunted him; the third,
588	He durst salute him boldly: pray you, apply this;	= dared approach or greet. = ie. "please apply the moral of
	And you shall find a little time will teach me	this fable to me".
590	To look with more familiar eyes upon you,
	Than duty yet allows me.
592
	Sap. Well excused.
594
	Artem. You may redeem all yet.
596
	Diocl. And, that he may	597ff: Dioclesian's reaction suggests that Antoninus'
598	Have means and opportunity to do so,	dissembling has worked!
	Artemia, I leave you my substitute
600	In fair Caesarea.
602	Sap. And here, as yourself,
	We will obey and serve her.
604
	Diocl. Antoninus,
606	So you prove hers, I wish no other heir;
	Think on't: − be careful of your charge, Theophilus;	= responsibilities (as chief persecutor).
608	Sapritius, be you my daughter's guardian.
	Your company I wish, confederate princes,	= allies of the Roman state were known as foederati, usually translated as confederates.
610	In our Dalmatian wars; which finished	= Dalmatia is the narrow coastal region of Croatia, situated on the Adriatic Sea; the region had actually long been pacified by the time of Dioclesian's rule.^5
	With victory I hope, and Maximinus,	611-2: The authors have conflated two historical figures -
612	Our brother and copartner in the empire,	probably to keep things simple for the audience - in the character of Maximinus. When Dioclesian ascended to the throne in 284 A.D., he soon recognized the empire was too large and unwieldy for a single man to rule, so in 286 he chose the soldier Maximian to rule with him as co-emperor, raising him to the level of Augustus the following year; in 292, Dioclesian further divided rule of the empire, creating the tetrarchy, in which Galerius Maximianus and Constantius Chlorus were raised to the rank of Caesar - a step below the rank of Augustus. It was Galerius who had encouraged Dioclesian to begin persecuting Christians. Our play's character Maximinus is a combination of Maximian and Galerius Maximianus.^5
	At my request won to confirm as much,
614	The kingdoms I took from you we'll restore,	614-5: characters sometimes conclude their parts in a scene,
	And make you greater than you were before.	as here, with a rhyming couplet.
616
	[Exeunt all but Antoninus and Macrinus.]
618
	Anton. Oh, I am lost forever! lost, Macrinus!
620	The anchor of the wretched, hope, forsakes me,
	And with one blast of Fortune all my light
622	Of happiness is put out.
624	Mac. You are like to those	= "like those people".
	That are ill only 'cause they are too well;
626	That, surfeiting in the excess of blessings,	= overindulging.^1
	Call their abundance want. What could you wish,	= ie. ironically regard their abundance of good fortune as a lack (want) of the same.
628	That is not fall'n upon you? honour, greatness,
	Respect, wealth, favour, the whole world for a dower;	= ie. dowry; Macrinus recognizes that in marrying Artemia, Antoninus would receive the whole Roman Empire as his dowry!
630	And with a princess, whose excelling form	= form can refer to looks or behavior.^1
	Exceeds her fortune.
632
	Anton. Yet poison still is poison,
634	Though drunk in gold; and all these flattering glories	634-6: and all these…food = ie. the honour and wealth
	To me, ready to starve, a painted banquet,	that Antoninus would gain in marrying Artemia are like
636	And no essential food. When I am scorched	a feast (banquet)^1 depicted in a painting, and not actual food, to a starving man.
	With fire, can flames in any other quench me?	= ie. desire.
638	What is her love to me, greatness, or empire,
	That am slave to another, who alone	639-640: Antoninus already loves another woman.
640	Can give me ease or freedom?
642	Mac. Sir, you point at
	Your dotage on the scornful Dorothea:	643: dotage = infatuation. scornful = contemptible, deserving of scorn. Dorothea = the play's title character, the virgin martyr; she is a devoted Christian, the paragon of morality and chastity - and the target of poor Antoninus' affection.
644	Is she, though fair, the same day to be named	= beautiful.
	With best Artemia? In all their courses,
646	Wise men propose their ends: with sweet Artemia,
	There comes along pleasure, security,
648	Ushered by all that in this life is precious:
	With Dorothea (though her birth be noble,
650	The daughter to a senator of Rome,
	By him left rich, yet with a private wealth,
652	And far inferior to yours) arrives
	The emperor's frown, which, like a mortal plague,	= deadly; Macrinus here is warning Antoninus of all those
654	Speaks death is near; the princess' heavy scorn,	who will be dangerously unhappy with him if he
	Under which you will shrink; your father's fury,	continues to pursue Dorothea, instead of marrying
656	Which to resist, even pity forbids: −	the princess Artemia.
	And but remember that she stands suspected
658	A favourer of the Christian sect; she brings
	Not danger, but assured destruction with her.
660	This truly weighed, one smile of great Artemia
	Is to be cherished, and preferred before
662	All joys in Dorothea: therefore leave her.
664	Anton. In what thou think'st thou art most wise, thou art
	Grossly abused, Macrinus, and most foolish.
666	For any man to match above his rank,	= marry.
	Is but to sell his liberty. With Artemia
668	I still must live a servant; but enjoying
	Divinest Dorothea, I shall rule,
670	Rule as becomes a husband: for the danger,	670-1: the italics indicate Antoninus is quoting Macrinus'
	Or call it, if you will, assured destruction,	own words (see line 659 above).
672	I slight it thus. − If, then, thou art my friend,	= disdain any such danger.
	As I dare swear thou art, and wilt not take	673-4: wilt not…thee = "you will not take on the position
674	A governor's place upon thee, be my helper.	of my guardian (governor),"^1 ie. "tell me what to do".
676	Mac. You know I dare, and will do anything;
	Put me unto the test.
678
	Anton. Go then, Macrinus,
680	To Dorothea; tell her I have worn,
	In all the battailes I have fought, her figure,	= battles. = image.^2
682	Her figure in my heart, which, like a deity,
	Hath still protected me. Thou canst speak well;
684	And of thy choicest language spare a little,
	To make her understand how much I love her,
686	And how I languish for her. Bear these jewels,	= waste away.
	Sent in the way of sacrifice, not service,
688	As to my goddess: all lets thrown behind me,	= obstacles.
	Or fears that may deter me, say, this morning
690	I mean to visit her by the name of friendship:
	− No words to contradict this.
692
	Mac. I am yours:
694	And, if my travail this way be ill spent,	= efforts.
	Judge not my readier will by the event.	694-5: scenes often ended with a rhyming couplet such as
696		this. event = outcome.
	[Exeunt.]
	ACT II.
	SCENE I.
	A Room in Dorothea's House.
	Enter Spungius and Hircius.	Entering characters: Spungius and Hircius are servants of Dorothea; the two despicable men provide the comic relief of the play. The scenes with these characters are of a brand of comedy so low and vulgar that pre-20th century editions of the play sometimes printed it with the servants' scenes excised! As for our plot, it appears that Dorothea had employed Spungius and Hircius at a moment when they were about to be hanged for some unspecified crimes; their lives were spared on the condition that she take custody of them, which she did on the condition that they convert to Christianity - which they did to their eternal regret.
1	Spun. Turn Christian! Would he that first tempted me	= "I wish".
2	to have my shoes walk upon Christian soles, had turned
	me into a capon; for I am sure now, the stones of all	3: capon = castrated young cock.
4	my pleasure, in this fleshly life, are cut off.	3-4: the stones of all my pleasure = stones was common slang for "testicles"; the thing to note about the dialogues of Hircius and Spungius is their employment of hilariously absurd metaphors such as this, as well as their continuous word-play.
6	Hir. So then, if any coxcomb has a galloping desire to	= common term for fool, with cox (or "cocks") punning with capon.
	ride, here's a gelding, if he can but sit him.	7: here's a gelding = ie. "here's a castrated horse", meaning
8		Spungius. sit him = ie. "ride him."
	Spun. I kick, for all that, like a horse; − look else.
10
	Hir. But that is a kickish jade, fellow Spungius. Have	= an irritable (kickish),^1 old, worn-down horse.
12	not I as much cause to complain as thou hast? When I
	was a pagan, there was an infidel punk of mine, would	= prostitute.
14	have let me come upon trust for my corvetting: a pox	14: come upon trust = ie. the prostitute would provide services on credit; but come in its most crude sense was likely already current in the early 17th century, and may indeed have been the intended meaning employed by Hircius.^1 corvetting = curvetting, ie. leaping about, used here as a euphemism for having sex.^1
	of your Christian coxatrices! they cry, like poulterers'	15: coxatrices = cockatrices, ie. prostitutes.^4 poulterers = those who deal in game, eggs and poultry.
16	wives, “No money, no coney.”	= rabbit, but punning with cunny, a term used for the female genitalia.^1
18	Spun. Bacchus, the god of brewed wine and sugar,	= the god of wine; Spungius' name itself, "sponge", sug- gests his predilection for drinking.
	grand patron of rob-pots, upsy-freesy tipplers, and	19: rob-pots = heavy drinkers.^1 upsey-freesy = heavy (with respect to drinking).^1 tipplers = excessive drinkers.^1
20	super-naculum takers; this Bacchus, who is head	= super-naculum is pseudo-Latin, meaning "to the last drop";^1 the phrase, which originated in France, was applied to the following custom: after finishing his drink, a man would pour what he thought would be the literal last drop out of his cup onto a finger nail; if he could not make it stand on his nail (because the drop was too large), he would be obliged to drink again.^4 It is worth noting that the dramatist Thomas Nashe had in 1592 published a pamphlet, Pierce Penniless, in which he described a drinker as follows: "now, he is no body that cannot drinke super nagulum, carouse the hunters' hoope, quaffe vpsey freze crosse, etc."
	warden of Vintners’-hall, ale-conner, mayor of all	21: Vintner's-hall = the vintners of London have had their own guild (or livery) since 1363; their original hall was a large, presumably wooden building which burnt down during the Great Fire of 1666.^13 ale-conner = an officer responsible for ensuring that the price of ale fell within the statutory limit.^1
22	victualling-houses, the sole liquid benefactor to
	bawdy-houses; lanceprezado to red noses, and invincible	23: bawdy-houses = brothels. lanceprezado = lanceprisdao, ie. the lowest grade of non-commissioned officer in a company of foot-soldiers.^4 red-noses = drunks, whose noses are red from ex- cessive drink.
24	adelantado over the armado of pimpled, deep-scarleted,	24: adelantado = a Spanish governor. armado = obvious reference to the Spanish armada, here meaning simply a group of persons.^1
	rubified, and carbuncled faces −	= made red (from drinking). = covered with red postules.^1
26
	Hir. What of all this?	27: "What's your point?"
28
	Spun. This boon Bacchanalian stinker, did I make legs	29: boon = good (from the French bon, surviving in the
30	to.	phrase "boon companion").^1
		stinker = one who stinks, a word used by Dekker in an earlier play, but emended by all the editors of this play to skinker, meaning a tapster, one who draws alcohol.^4 make legs = bow.
32	Hir. Scurvy ones, when thou wert drunk.
34	Spun. There is no danger of losing a man's years by	34: ie. dying early, in retribution or punishment; years was the word which appeared here in all the early editions, but the editors generally emend it to ears, referring to the cropping of one's ears as a form of criminal punish- ment.
	making these indentures; he that will not now and then	= contracts;^1 the quarto has indures here, emended by Gifford.
36	be Calabingo, is worse than a Calamoothe. When I was	36: Dekker seems to be adopting and distorting a couple of words which he used an in earlier play, Sir Thomas Wyatt, a collaboration with John Webster, in which a character abusively describes "a spaniard" as "a camocho, a callimanco." Camocho itself is a unique adaptation of the Italian word camascio, referring to a fabric; camocho appears nowhere else in English literature; callimanco was a more common word referring to a type of woolen fabric in which the woven checkered pattern appears only on one side.^1
	a pagan, and kneeled to this Bacchus, I durst outdrink a	= dared.
38	lord; but your Christian lords out-bowl me. I was in	= out-drink; a bowl was a drinking vessel;^1 Spungius is
	hope to lead a sober life, when I was converted; but,	complaining that the Christians drink more than the
40	now amongst the Christians, I can no sooner stagger	pagans do.
	out of one alehouse, but I reel into another: they have
42	whole streets of nothing but drinking-rooms, and
	drabbing-chambers, jumbled together.	= whoring.
44
	Hir. Bawdy Priapus, the first schoolmaster that taught	= a son of Bacchus and Venus, and a god of fertility, Priapus was known for his extreme ugliness and large genetalia.^11
46	butchers how to stick pricks in flesh, and make it swell,	= a prick was a hole, but the overtly crude play on words is obvious; swell continues the gross punning.
	thou know'st, was the only ningle that I cared for under	= a male friend and perhaps lover.^1
48	the moon; but, since I left him to follow a scurvy lady,	= ie. Dorothea.
	what with her praying and our fasting, if now I come to
50	a wench, and offer to use her anything hardly (telling	= "treat her harshly".
	her, being a Christian, she must endure,) she presently
52	handles me as if I were a clove, and cleaves me with
	disdain, as if I were a calves' head.	= ie. calf's head; in this common expression, calf was
54		normally expressed in the plural. Note also the word-play with clove, cleaves and calves.
	Spun. I see no remedy, fellow Hircius, but that thou
56	and I must be half pagans, and half Christians; for we
	know very fools that are Christians.	= veritable or complete.^1
58
	Hir. Right: the quarters of Christians are good for	= sections of the body, procured as a result of being
60	nothing but to feed crows.	"drawn and quartered", humorously punning on half Christians.
62	Spun. True: Christian brokers, thou know'st, are made	= peddlers, intermediaries, or pimps.^1
	up of the quarters of Christians; parboil one of these
64	rogues, and he is not meat for a dog: no, no, I am	64-66: I am…face = from now on, Spungius will revert
	resolved to have an infidel's heart, though in show I	to his pagan beliefs and behaviour, at least in front of
66	carry a Christian's face.	Dorothea and her faithful servant Angelo.
68	Hir. Thy last shall serve my foot: so will I.	= "the last thing you mentioned (a Christian's face) is suitable for kicking."
70	Spun. Our whimpering lady and mistress sent me with	= ie. Dorothea, whom they work for.
	two great baskets full of beef, mutton, veal, and goose,
72	fellow Hircius −
74	Hir. And woodcock, fellow Spungius.	= a bird proverbially used to refer to a fool or dupe.
76	Spun. Upon the poor lean ass-fellow, on which I ride,	= ie. an ass, a beast of burden.
	to all the almswomen: what think'st thou I have done	= ie. to deliver to. = ie. women who receive alms.^1
78	with all this good cheer?	= typical word-play from Spungius: cheer can refer
		specifically to food or provisions, while the proverbial phrase good cheer refers to one's good humor.^1
80	Hir. Eat it; or be choked else.
82	Spun. Would my ass, basket and all, were in thy maw,	= "I would wish". = throat or stomach.^2
	if I did! No, as I am a demi-pagan, I sold the victuals,	= half or partial:^1 see line 56 above.
84	and coined the money into pottle-pots of wine.	= a large half-gallon vessel or tankard for drinking.^1
		Spungius sold the goods he was supposed to deliver to the poor and used the money to get drunk.
86	Hir. Therein thou showed'st thyself a perfect demi-
	Christian too, to let the poor beg, starve, and hang, or
88	die a the pip. Our puling, snotty-nose lady sent me out	88: a the = used frequently for of the. pip = a disease, perhaps of the mouth; originally a respiratory ailment of birds, characterized by a scaly white patch on the tongue; hence a human disease of the mouth.^1 puling = whining. snotty-nose = one whose nose is dripping with nasal mucus, hence a contemptible person; Dekker had used the term snotty-nose in his play with Thomas Middleton, The Honest Whore, of 1604, though the expression itself dates back to 1578; the word snot in English goes back at least to 1420, and is related to snite (to wipe one's nose, a word in use at least as far back as 1100), and even snout.^1
	likewise with a purse of money, to relieve and release	89-90: to relieve…prisoners = English prisoners were
90	prisoners: − Did I so, think you?	expected to purchase their own provisions; those without money were completely dependent on the alms of others or those on the outside. An imprisoned debtor could be released if he could find a way to pay his debt, or have it paid for him.
92	Spun. Would thy ribs were turned into grates of iron	92: Would = "I wish" or "I expect".
	then.	were = "would be" or "would have".
94		grates of iron = as would appear on a prison window.
	Hir. As I am a total pagan, I swore they should be
96	hanged first; for, sirrah Spungius, I lay at my old ward	96: sirrah = a mock or informal term of address. 96-97: I lay…lechery = Hircius spent the alms money at his favourite brothel.
	of lechery, and cried, “A pox in your two-penny wards!”	= the name for the next-to-lowest section of a London
98	and so I took scurvy common flesh for the money.	prison, the worst being the "hole".
100	Spun. And wisely done; for our lady, sending it to
	prisoners, had bestowed it out upon lousy knaves: and	= filthy.^4
102	thou, to save that labour, cast'st it away upon rotten	= ie. diseased.^2
	whores.
104
	Hir. All my fear is of that pink-an-eye jack-an-apes	105: pink-an-eye = ie. pinkany, a term of endearment, pet. jack-an-apes = a name for a monkey, a common pet of society ladies in those days.
106	boy, her page.	= this is the first mention in the play of Dorothea's "good" servant, Angelo, whom Hircius and Spungius fear and dislike.
108	Spun. As I am a pagan from my cod-piece downward,	= a reference to that most notorious of the era's fashions, the extra appendage attached to the front of a man's hose.
	that white-faced monkey frights me too. I stole but a	= pale, as from illness or shock.^1
110	dirty pudding, last day, out of an alms-basket, to give	110-1: dirty pudding…dog = there is an allusion here to the common proverb, "hungry dogs will eat dirty pudding". last day = yesterday.
	my dog when he was hungry, and the peaking chitface	111: peaking = sneaking.^1
112	page hit me in the teeth with it.	chitface = pinched face; usually written chitty-faced.^1
114	Hir. With the dirty pudding! so he did me once with a
	cow-turd, which in knavery I would have crumbed into	= an ancient word, descended from the Old English tord.^1 In its earliest appearances, we find cow turd written as cow tord.
116	one's porridge, who was half a pagan too. The smug
	dandiprat smells us out, whatsoever we are doing.	= a contemptible word for a dwarf; the two servants refer
118		repeatedly throughout the play to Angelo's smallish stature, which may suggest the part was written with a particular under-sized actor in mind.
	Spun. Does he? let him take heed I prove not his
120	back-friend: I'll make him curse his smelling what I do.	= false friend, ie. secret enemy.^4
122	Hir. 'Tis my lady spoils the boy; for he is ever at her	122-3: he is…tail = he is always beside her, though perhaps
	tail, and she is never well but in his company.	with an additional rude suggestion.
124
	Enter Angelo with a book, and a taper	Entering character: Angelo is Dorothea's "angelic" ser-
126	lighted; seeing him, they counterfeit devotion.	vant: like Harpax, he too is clairvoyant, but he is holy, and devoted to Christianity in general, and Dorothea in particular. taper = light, candle. counterfeit devotion = pretend to be at prayer.
128	Ang. O! now your hearts make ladders of your eyes,	128ff: note that the admirable Angelo speaks in verse,
	In show to climb to Heaven, when your devotion	whereas the vulgar Spungius and Hircius speak only in
130	Walks upon crutches. Where did you waste your time,	prose.
	When the religious man was on his knees,	128-9: make ladders…Heaven = an interesting
132	Speaking the heavenly language?	metaphor for the lifting of one's eyes to the heavens in
		prayer.
134	Spun. Why, fellow Angelo, we were speaking in
	pedlar's French, I hope.	= the slang of the criminal class, and hence gibberish in general.^1
136
	Hir. We ha' not been idle, take it upon my word.	= have.
138
	Ang. Have you the baskets emptied, which your lady
140	Sent, from her charitable hands, to women
	That dwell upon her pity?
142
	Spun. Emptied them! yes; I’d be loth to have my belly	143-5: technically, of course, Spungius is not lying.
144	so empty; yet, I am sure, I munched not one bit of them
	neither.
146
	Ang. And went your money to the prisoners?
148
	Hir. Went! no; I carried it, and with these fingers paid
150	it away.
152	Ang. What way? the devil's way, the way of sin,
	The way of hot damnation, way of lust? −
154	And you, to wash away the poor man's bread
	In bowls of drunkenness?
156
	Spun. Drunkenness! yes, yes, I use to be drunk; our
158	next neighbour's man, called Christopher, hath often	= next door. = servant.
	seen me drunk, hath he not?
160
	Hir. Or me given so to the flesh! my cheeks speak my	= ie. they turn red with shame.
162	doings.
164	Ang. Avaunt, ye thieves and hollow hypocrites!	= "get out of here". = false, insincere.^1
	Your hearts to me lie open like black books,	= ledgers or records of those deserving punishment.^1
166	And there I read your doings.
168	Spun. And what do you read in my heart?
170	Hir. Or in mine? come, amiable Angelo, beat the flint	170-1: beat the …brains = mocking, similar to "rack your
	of your brains.	brain".
172
	Spun. And let's see what sparks of wit fly out to kindle	173-4: sparks and kindle play on Hircius' use of beating
174	your carebruns.	(striking) the flint.
		carebruns = perhaps a malapropism for cerebrum; the editors, assuming the quarto is in error, emend the word to cerebrum.
176	Ang. Your names even brand you; you are Spungius called
	And like a spunge, you suck up liquorous wines,
178	Till your soul reels to hell.	= ie. in drunkenness.
180	Spung. To hell! can any drunkard's legs carry him so far?
182	Ang. For blood of grapes you sold the widows' food,
	And, starving them, 'tis murder; what's this but hell? −
184	Hircius your name, and goatish is your nature:	= hircus is Latin for "goat", thus suggesting Hircius'
	You snatch the meat out of the prisoner's mouth,	perpetual lusty nature.
186	To fatten harlots: is not this hell too?
	No angel, but the devil, waits on you.
188
	Spun. Shall I cut his throat?	189-192: these two lines may be spoken as asides.
190
	Hir. No; better burn him, for I think he is a witch; but
192	soothe, soothe him.	= flatter; having momentarily fantasized about killing
		Angelo, the boys realize they must pacify him instead.
194	Spun. Fellow Angelo, true it is, that falling into the
	company of wicked he-Christians, for my part −
196
	Hir. And she-ones, for mine, − we have them swim in	= Hircius, of course, prefers the company of women.
198	shoals hard by −
200	Spun. We must confess, I took too much out of the
	pot; and he of t'other hollow commodity.	201: pot = drinking vessel, or a tankard of beer more spe- ifically.^1 hollow = false, but also having a hole in it,^1 likely crude. commodity = prostitute.^1
202
	Hir. Yes, indeed, we laid Jill on both of us: we	= Hircius clearly means they have taken women. Jill is slang or a contemptuous term for a woman; lay itself may mean "to place in a recumbent position", or perhaps Hircius means they took women on top of themselves, or perhaps the entire clause is just meant to sound vaguely dirty, but lay did not taken on its modern sense of "have intercourse with" until the 20th century.^1
204	cozened the poor; but 'tis a common thing: many a	= cheated.
	one, that counts himself a better Christian than we two,
206	has done it, by this light.	= common oath or vow affirming the truth of a statement.
208	Spun. But pray, sweet Angelo, play not the tell-tale to	= please.
	my lady; and, if you take us creeping into any of these
210	mouse-holes of sin anymore, let cats flay off our skins.
212	Hir. And put nothing but the poisoned tails of rats into
	those skins.
214
	Ang. Will you dishonour her sweet charity,
216	Who saved you from the tree of death and shame?
218	Hir. Would I were hanged, rather than thus be told of	218-9: Hircius is laying it on thick!
	my faults!
220
	Spun. She took us, 'tis true, from the gallows; yet I
222	hope she will not bar yeomen sprats to have their swinge.	222: yeoman = used here as a title for servants of high standing; with sprats, referring to Spungius and Hircius themselves.^1 sprats = a term of contempt, from the small fish of the same name.^1 swinge = the freedom to do their own thing.^1
224	Ang. She comes − beware and mend.	= ie "mend your ways".
226	Hir. Let's break his neck, and bid him mend.	= "tell him to fix it;" probably spoken as an aside.
228	Enter Dorothea.
230	Dor. Have you my messages, sent to the poor,
	Delivered with good hands, not robbing them
232	Of any jot was theirs?	= ie. the smallest amount intended for them.
234	Spun. Rob them, lady! I hope neither my fellow nor I
	am thieves.
236
	Hir. Delivered with good hands, madam! else let me	= or else, ie. otherwise.
238	never lick my fingers more when I eat buttered fish.
240	Dor. Who cheat the poor, and from them pluck their alms,	= those who.
	Pilfer from Heaven; and there are thunderbolts,	= for purposes of meter, Heaven is almost always
242	From thence to beat them ever. Do not lie;	pronounced as a one-syllable word, with the medial
	Were you both faithful, true distributers?	'v' omitted: H'ean.
244
	Spun. Lie, madam! what grief is it to see you turn
246	swaggerer, and give your poor-minded rascally servants	246: swaggerer = blusterer.^1
	the lie!	246-7: give your...the lie = accuse them of lying.
248
	Dor. I'm glad you do not; if those wretched people
250	Tell you they pine for want of anything,	= waste away. = lack.
	Whisper but to mine ear, and you shall furnish them.
252
	Hir. Whisper! nay, lady, for my part I'll cry whoop.	= shout out "whoop", a cry of summons.^1
254
	Ang. Play no more, villains, with so good a lady;
256	For, if you do −
258	Spun. Are we Christians?
260	Hir. The foul fiend snap all pagans for me!	= seize or capture,^1 ie. take them all to hell.
262	Ang. Away, and, once more, mend.
264	Spun. Takes us for botchers.	264: ie. "she takes us for botchers," who are tailors who repair clothing, punning on mend.
266	Hir. A patch, a patch!	266: Hircius continues the puns: a patch was a fool.
268	[Exeunt Spungius and Hircius.]
270	Dor. My book and taper.	= candle.
272	Ang. Here, most holy mistress.
274	Dor. Thy voice sends forth such music, that I never
	Was ravished with a more celestial sound.	= enraptured.
276	Were every servant in the world like thee,	= if. = were like.
	So full of goodness, angels would come down
278	To dwell with us: thy name is Angelo,
	And like that name thou art; get thee to rest,
280	Thy youth with too much watching is oppressed.	= remaining awake.
282	Ang. No, my dear lady, I could weary stars,
	And force the wakeful moon to lose her eyes,
284	By my late watching, but to wait on you.
	When at your prayers you kneel before the altar,
286	Methinks I'm singing with some quire in Heaven,	= usual spelling for choir through the end of the 17th century; the modern spelling choir did not become common until the early 18th century; earlier variants of quire include quier and queer.^1
	So blest I hold me in your company:
288	Therefore, my most loved mistress, do not bid
	Your boy, so serviceable, to get hence;	= go from here.
290	For then you break his heart.
292	Dor. Be nigh me still, then;	= near. = always.
	In golden letters down I'll set that day
294	Which gave thee to me. Little did I hope
	To meet such worlds of comfort in thyself,
296	This little, pretty body; when I, coming
	Forth of the temple, heard my beggar-boy,	= from. = ie. Dorothea first met Angelo when he was a
298	My sweet-faced, godly beggar-boy, crave an alms,	homeless orphan begging for alms outside the church.
	Which with glad hand I gave, with lucky hand! −
300	And when I took thee home, my most chaste bosom,
	Methought, was filled with no hot wanton fire,	= lustful (as opposed to chaste).
302	But with a holy flame, mounting since higher,
	On wings of cherubins, than it did before.	= ie. cherubs: there are three broad classes (hierarchies) of
304		angels, and three sub-classes (choirs) of angels assigned to each of the hierarchies. The highest hierarchy is called the counselors; the highest choir of the counselors are the seraphim, and the cherubin make up the second choir (Metford, p. 26).^14
	Ang. Proud am I, that my lady's modest eye
306	So likes so poor a servant.
308	Dor. I have offered
	Handfuls of gold but to behold thy parents.
310	I would leave kingdoms, were I queen of some,
	To dwell with thy good father; for, the son
312	Bewitching me so deeply with his presence,
	He that begot him must do't ten times more.
314	I pray thee, my sweet boy, show me thy parents;
	Be not ashamed.
316
	Ang. I am not: I did never
318	Know who my mother was: but, by yon palace,	318-320: by yon palace…hand = Angelo's vigorous
	Filled with bright heavenly courtiers, I dare assure you,	assurance that his father is in Heaven is supported by
320	And pawn these eyes upon it, and this hand,	a series of oaths: in turn, he (1) vows on the church building (yon = yonder), (2) stakes his eyes, and (3) swears on his hand; it was normal to swear on body parts.
	My father is in Heaven: and, pretty mistress,	= Angelo cryptically refers to God.
322	If your illustrious hour-glass spend his sand	322-3: If your…it does = ie. "if you should live out the
	No worse than yet it does, upon my life,	rest of your life behaving as you have until now". The running hour-glass, of course, stands in for the passing of Dorothea's life. spend his sand = ie. spends its sand; note the typical lack of agreement between subject (hour-glass) and verb (spend). upon my life = "I would bet my life".
324	You and I both shall meet my father there,
	And he shall bid you welcome.
326
	Dor. A blessed day!
328	We all long to be there, but lose the way.	= a big idea expressed almost as an afterthought; the Bible
		contains numerous verses alluding to staying on the right path.
330	[Exeunt.]
	ACT II, SCENE II.
	A Street, near Dorothea's House.
	Enter Macrinus, met by Theophilus and Harpax.	Entering Characters: we will remember that Macrinus is Antonius' best friend; Theophilus is our zealous persecutor of Christians, and Harpax serves him as secretary.
1	Theo. The Sun, god of the day, guide thee, Macrinus!	1: note how the allusions to the Christian God in Heaven, which ended the previous scene, are followed, in con- trast, immediately here with a reference to a pagan god.
2
	Mac. And thee, Theophilus!	3: Macrinus will appear highly preoccupied as he crosses the stage.
4
	Theo. Glad'st thou in such scorn?	= "gladest thou", ie "are you gladding me"; to glad means
6	I call my wish back.	"to rejoice", and the sense of the line is "why do you rejoice
		to see me with such disdain?" Theophilus is annoyed that Macrinus put so little effort into his greeting, given Theophilus' own elaborate salute. The OED's earliest recorded use of glad is actually as a verb (c. 825) rather than a noun.
8	Mac. I'm in haste.
10	Theo. One word,
	Take the least hand of time up: − stay.	= this still-common expression first appears in the written
12		record in 1607.
	Mac. Be brief.
14
	Theo. As thought: I prithee tell me, good Macrinus,	15: As thought = ie. "I will be brief as thought itself." I prithee = "I pray thee", ie. please.
16	How health and our fair princess lay together	16f: having promised to be brief, Theophilus chooses to take a rather sinuous path to ask the simple question, "how is Artemia today?"
	This night, for you can tell; courtiers have flies	17-18: courtiers…unto them = a rather clever metaphor
18	That buzz all news unto them.	for the ubiquitous gossiping that attends every court.
20	Mac. She slept but ill.
22	Theo. Double thy courtesy; how does Antoninus?	= "answer me another question please"; Theophilus is
		in a playful mood.
24	Mac. Ill, well, straight, crooked, − I know not how.
26	Theo. Once more; −
	Thy head is full of windmills: − when doth the princess	= ie. Macrinus' mind is not in the real world right now.^15 windmills = fanciful ideas.^1
28	Fill a bed full of beauty, and bestow it	28-29: note that everyone assumes that Antoninus still
	On Antoninus, on the wedding-night?	intends to marry the princess - except Macrinus, who
30		knows better.
	Mac. I know not.
32
	Theo. No! thou art the manuscript	= document;^1 another neat metaphor from Theophilus.
34	Where Antoninus writes down all his secrets:
	Honest Macrinus, tell me.
36
	Mac. Fare you well, sir.
38
	[Exit Macrinus.]
40
	Harp. Honesty is some fiend, and frights him hence;	41: Harpax hints that Macrinus has some terrible secret, but is afraid to speak it or face it.
42	A many courtiers love it not.	= ie. "many a courtier"; a many was a common variant of the more common many a. Harpax comments on the deception that permeates any court.
44	Theo. What piece	44-45: What piece…Antoninus = Theophilus uses the image of a turning wheel to represent the churning forward of government business.
	Of this state-wheel, which winds up Antoninus,	45-46: which winds…jarringly = like Fortune's wheel,
46	Is broke, it runs so jarringly? the man	the state-wheel has lifted Antoninus' status, but some- thing is amiss; though winds up might also mean "ex- cites" in this context.^1
	Is from himself divided. O thou, the eye	= ie. suffers from inner conflict.^1 = ie. Harpax.
48	By which I wonders see, tell me, my Harpax,
	What gad-fly tickles this Macrinus so,	= a type of fly notorious for annoying cattle.^1
50	That, flinging up the tail, he breaks thus from me.	= the phrase suggests "turn tail" (meaning to run away), which itself dates back to the early 16th century.
52	Harp. Oh, sir, his brain-pan is a bed of snakes,	52-63: in this speech, the clairvoyant Harpax suggests that Antoninus and Macrinus are up to no good, but his cryptic language and dense metaphors only confuse Theophilus. brain-pan = skull.^1
	Whose stings shoot through his eye-balls, whose poisonous spawn	53-54: whose poisonous…villainies = whose toxic eggs (spawn) give birth to (or produce, ie. ingender) such a
54	Ingenders such a fry of speckled villainies,	brood (fry) of evil acts (villainies). A typically dense dramatic metaphor. speckled = describes the morally defective nature of sin.^1
	That, unless charms more strong than adamant	= legendary mineral of great hardness.^2
56	Be used, the Roman angel's wings shall melt,	= ie. eagles, referring to the sculptured eagles appearing on Roman standards on the top of the poles; some editors change angels to eagles, but Gifford notes that angel was frequently used to refer to birds in Elizabethan literature.
	And Caesar's diadem be from his head
58	Spurned by base feet; the laurel which he wears,	= kicked.
	Returning victor, be enforced to kiss
60	That which it hates, the fire. And can this ram,	60-61: this ram…engine = Antoninus is compared to a
	This Antoninus-engine, being made ready	battering ram; engine was used to describe any large instrument of warfare.
62	To so much mischief, keep a steady motion? −
	His eyes and feet, you see, give strange assaults.	= assaults continues the war imagery.
64
	Theo. I'm turned a marble statue at thy language,
66	Which printed is in such crabbed characters,	= hard-to-decipher letters, ie. poor penmanship.^1
	It puzzles all my reading: what, in the name
68	Of Pluto, now is hatching?	= god of the underworld. = the use of hatching as applied
		to a plot or idea goes back at least to the mid-16th century.^1
70	Harp. This Macrinus,
	The line is, upon which love-errands run	= the early quartos print time here, which later editors emend to line: Gifford suggests line refers to fire- works, which were often displayed on a rope or line.^1,3
72	'Twixt Antoninus and that ghost of women,	= between. = spirit.
	The bloodless Dorothea, who in prayer	= as a ghost, Dorothea would be literally without blood, but also suggesting the absence of normal human passions.
74	And meditation, mocking all your gods,
	Drinks up her ruby colour: yet Antoninus	= ie. since she is bloodless, Dorothea would be pale.
76	Plays the Endymion to this pale-faced moon,	76: the moon goddess, Selene, put Endymion, who was
	Courts, seeks to catch her eyes −	either a king or shepherd, to perpetual sleep, so that she
78		could lie with him without his knowing;^11 the story of Endymion was the subject of a 1588 play by John Lyly.
	Theo. And what of this?
80
	Harp. These are but creeping billows,	81-82: These are…shore yet = a lovely metaphor of ocean
82	Not got to shore yet: but if Dorothea	swells representing Antoninus' as yet unsuccessful attempts to woo Dorothea. Harpax's speeches in this scene, filled with unusual and often vague allusions and metaphors, are some of the most interesting in the play.
	Fall on his bosom, and be fired with love, −
84	Your coldest women do so, − had you ink
	Brewed from th' infernal Styx, not all that blackness	= the most important river of the underworld.
86	Can make a thing so foul as the dishonours,
	Disgraces, buffetings, and most base affronts	= beatings.^1
88	Upon the bright Artemia, star o' th’ court,
	Great Caesar's daughter.
90
	Theo. I now conster thee.	= early and common form of construe, ie. understand.^1
92
	Harp. Nay, more; a firmament of clouds, being filled	= sky.
94	With Jove's artillery, shot down at once,	= ie. Jupiter's thunderbolts, his weapon of choice for killing people and smashing things.
	To pash your gods in pieces, cannot give,	= smash.
96	With all those thunderbolts, so deep a blow
	To the religion there, and pagan lore,	= doctrine, teachings.^1
98	As this; for Dorothea hates your gods,
	And, if she once blast Antoninus' soul,
100	Making it foul like hers, oh! the example −
102	Theo. Eats through Caesarea's heart like liquid poison.
	Have I invented tortures to tear Christians,
104	To see but which, could all that feel hell's torments	= who.
	Have leave to stand aloof here on earth's stage,	105: Have leave to = have been given permission to. earth's stage = the metaphor of earth as a stage has been used since at least as far back as the mid-16th century.
106	They would be mad till they again descended,
	Holding the pains most horrid of such souls,	= judging.
108	May-games to those of mine: has this my hand	= ie. compared to.
	Set down a Christian's executiön
110	In such dire postures, that the very hangman
	Fell at my foot dead, hearing but their figures;	= ie. fell in a feint. = ie. just to hear their descriptions.
112	And shall Macrinus and his fellow-masquer	= Harpax compares Macrinus and Antoninus to participants in a masked performance (a masque), a common form of entertainment of the era, containing allegorical charac- ters and dancing.
	Strangle me in a dance?	103-113: a typical complex dramatic sentence: "Have I invented new ways to torture Christians (line 103), just so I could live to see (to see but which), despite the most horrible natures of my tortures and executions (summary of 104-111), Macrinus and Antoninus foil my efforts to destroy the Christians?"
114		The middle section (104-111: could all...figures) can be expanded as follows: "were all the occupants of hell released from their torments below in order to be able to witness what I do to the Christians (104-5), they would go mad until they could return to Hades (106), and consider what they undergo in hell to be like the games people play on May Day, compared to my tortures (107-8); my executions are so cruel, even the hangmen faint to hear them described (110-111: that the...figures)."
	Harp. No; − on; I hug thee,	= embrace (for joy).
116	For drilling thy quick brains in this rich plot	= the OED cites this line to suggest drilling refers to
	Of tortures 'gainst these Christians: on; I hug thee!	military training.^1
118
	Theo. Both hug and holy me; to this Dorothea,	= "canonize me", or "make a saint of me"; the Romans
120	Fly thou and I in thunder.	carelessly slip into Christian cant; the fault is the authors', not the characters'.
122	Harp. Not for kingdoms	122-6: Harpax reveals his fear of Angelo.
	Piled upon kingdoms: there's a villain page
124	Waits on her, whom I would not for the world
	Hold traffic with; I do so hate his sight,	= have dealings with.
126	That, should I look on him, I must sink down.
128	Theo. I will not lose thee then, her to confound;	128: "I do not wish to lose you in the process of destroying (confounding) Dorothea."
	None but this head with glories shall be crowned.	128-9: note the rhyming couplet to wrap up the scene.
130
	Harp. Oh! mine own as I would wish thee!
132
	[Exeunt.]
	ACT II, SCENE III.
	A Room in Dorothea's House.
	Enter Dorothea, Macrinus, and Angelo.	= Macrinus is paying a visit to Dorothea in order to press Antoninus' suit.
1	Dor. My trusty Angelo, with that curious eye	= skillful or careful.^2,4
2	Of thine, which ever waits upon my business,
	I prithee watch those my still-negligent servants,	= always. = ie. Spungius and Hircius.
4	That they perform my will, in what's enjoined them
	To the good of others; else will you find them flies,
6	Not lying still, yet in them no good lies:
	Be careful, dear boy.
8
	Ang. Yes, my sweetest mistress.
10
	[Exit Angelo.]
12
	Dor. Now, sir, you may go on.
14
	Mac. I then must study
16	A new arithmetic, to sum up the virtues
	Which Antoninus gracefully become.	= ie. is adorned by.^1
18	There is in him so much man, so much goodness,
	So much of honour, and of all things else,
20	Which make our being excellent, that from his store	20: Which make…excellent = ie. so many of those qualities which make humans excellent. store = abundant supply.
	He can enough lend others; yet, much taken from him,	= "if some of those qualities were taken from him".
22	The want shall be as little as when seas	22: The want = the lack, ie. the amount that would be
	Lend from their bounty, to fill up the poorness	missing.
24	Of needy rivers.	be (line 22) = ie. in comparison seem.
26	Dor. Sir, he is more indebted
	To you for praise, than you to him that owes it.	= given Antoninus' status as both the son of the governor and Macrinus' friend, Macrinus owes him praise.
28
	Mac. If queens, viewing his presents paid to the whiteness	29-32: If queens…counts nothing = "even if queens were
30	Of your chaste hand alone, should be ambitious	desirous (ambitious)^2 to receive a large (numerous)^1 portion of the offerings (presents)^1 Antoninus showers on your virtuous hand alone, he wouldn't care." to be parted = endowed with a share of.^3
	But to be parted in their numerous shares;
32	This he counts nothing: could you see main armies	= great.^2
	Make battailes in the quarrel of his valour,	= battles.
34	That 'tis the best, the truest; this were nothing;
	The greatness of his state, his father's voice	= rank or position.
36	And arm, owing Caesarea, he ne'er boasts of;	36: owing = owning; but subsequent editors change emend owing to awing, meaning "inspiring dread in".^1 he ne'er boasts of = Macrinus comments on Anto- ninus' modesty: he never brags about his father.
	The sunbeams which the emperor throws upon him
38	Shine there but as in water, and gild him
	Not with one spot of pride; no, dearest beauty,
40	All these, heaped up together in one scale,	40-42: "even if all the attributes of Antoninus I have
	Cannot weigh down the love he bears to you,	described were placed on one side of a scale, they
42	Being put into the other.	would not out-weigh his love for you, it being placed on the other side."
44	Dor. Could gold buy you	44-47: Dorothea compliments Macrinus on his persuasive
	To speak thus for a friend, you, sir, are worthy	rhetoric.
46	Of more than I will number; and this your language
	Hath power to win upon another woman,
48	'Top of whose heart the feathers of this world
	Are gaily stuck: but all which first you named,
50	And now this last, his love, to me are nothing.
52	Enter Antoninus.
54	Mac. You make me a sad messenger; − but himself
	Being come in person, shall, I hope, hear from you
56	Music more pleasing.
58	Anton. Has your ear, Macrinus,
	Heard none, then?
60
	Mac. None I like.
62
	Anton. But can there be
64	In such a noble casket, wherein lie	= literally a small box for storing valuables, metaphorically applied to Dorothea's person.
	Beauty and chastity in their full perfections,
66	A rocky heart, killing with cruëlty	= unyielding.^1
	A life that's prostrated beneath your feet?
68
	Dor. I am guilty of a shame I yet ne'er knew,
70	Thus to hold parley with you; − pray, sir, pardon.	= have a conversation. = Dorothea's modesty causes
		her to excuse herself from this possibly inappropriate discussion.
72	[Going.]
74	Anton. Good sweetness, you now have it, and shall go:
	Be but so merciful, before your wounding me
76	With such a mortal weapon as “farewell”,
	To let me murmur to your virgin ear	= chaste.^1
78	What I was loth to lay on any tongue
	But this mine own.
80
	Dor. If one immodest accent
82	Fly out, I hate you everlastingly.
84	Anton. My true love dares not do it.
86	Mac. Hermes inspire thee!	= Hermes is the Greek name for the Roman Mercury; here Macrinus is invoking him in his role as god of eloquence or oratory.^11
88	Enter above, Artemia, Sapritius, Theophilus,	= a convention of the era's drama allowed characters to
	Spungius, and Hircius.	appear on the elevated balcony at the back of the stage
90		in order to spy on others; the princess and court officials have bribed Hircius and Spungius to give them access into Dorothea's house so they could see Antoninus' dealings with Dorothea.
	Spun. See you, do you see? − Our work is done; the
92	fish you angle for is nibbling at the hook, and therefore
	untruss the cod-piece-point of our reward, no matter if	= untie (untruss) the point, which is the lace that attaches the cod-piece to a man's trousers; within this silly metaphor for handing over his reward, Spungius also perhaps inadvertently puns on his fishing metaphor with cod.
94	the breeches of conscience fall about our heels.	94: "Our breeches fell down to our heels." The absurd metaphors continue.
96	Theo. The gold you earn is here; dam up your mouths,	96-97: Theophilus hands payment over to Hircius and
	And no words of it.	Spungius.
98
	Hir. No; nor no words from you of too much damning	= another pun, here on dam / damn.
100	neither. I know women sell themselves daily, and are
	hackneyed out for silver: why may not we, then, betray	= offered for sale;^1 hackney as a noun also could refer
102	a scurvy mistress for gold?	specifically to a prostitute.^1
104	Spun. She saved us from the gallows, and, only to keep
	one proverb from breaking his neck, we'll hang her.	105: one proverb…neck = ie. "one proverb from going unfulfilled"; the specific proverb Spungius is referring to is unclear; candidates include "she's a woman, and therefore to be won", and "he that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned". his = its.
106
	Theo. 'Tis well done; go, go, y'are my fine white boys.	= a term of endearment.^4
108
	Spun. If your red boys, 'tis well known more ill-	109-110: "but if we are your red boys, it is well known that
110	favoured faces than ours are painted.	uglier people than us cover their faces with make-up (ie. are
		painted). red boys = perhaps a reference to the redness of the faces of alcoholics like himself; but red boy had also been used to describe a red-headed child in a 1596 publication.
112	Sap. Those fellows trouble us.
114	Theo. Away, away!
116	Hir. I to my sweet placket.	= the opening at the front of a petticoat;^2 with his new- found money, Hircius is off to see his favourite prostitute.
118	Spun. And I to my full pot.	= ie. of liquor.
120	[Exeunt Hircius and Spungius.]
122	Anton. Come, let me tune you: − glaze not thus your eyes	= ie. "re-fashion your feelings towards me."^1
	With self-love of a vowed virginity;
124	Make every man your glass; you see our sex	= mirror.
	Do never murder propagatiön;	125: the sense is that men are never responsible for re-
126	We all desire your sweet society,	jecting mating, and in turn multiplying the species.
	And, if you bar me from it, you do kill me,
128	And of my blood are guilty.
130	Artem. O base villain!	130: Artemia was still under the impression that Antoninus
		was going to marry her; her outrage is natural.
132	Sap. Bridle your rage, sweet princess.
134	Anton. Could not my fortunes,	134-6: "even if my superior rank and position do not make
	Reared higher far than yours, be worthy of you,	me worthy of your love, then my love for you alone
136	Methinks my dear affection makes you mine.	should be enough to make you mine."
138	Dor. Sir, for your fortunes, were they mines of gold,
	He that I love is richer; and for worth,
140	You are to him lower than any slave
	Is to a monarch.
142
	Sap. So insolent, base Christian!	143: the governor is incensed that Dorothea should speak so insultingly to his son.
144
	Dor. Can I, with wearing out my knees before him,	= "if I". = ie. by praying to God.
146	Get you but be his servant, you shall boast
	You're equal to a king.
148
	Sap. Confusion on thee,	= destruction, ruination.
150	For playing thus the lying sorceress!	= ie. like an actress.
152	Anton. Your mocks are great ones; none beneath the sun
	Will I be servant to. − On my knees I beg it,
154	Pity me, wondrous maid.
156	Sap. I curse thy baseness.
158	Theo. Listen to more.
160	Dor. O kneel not, sir, to me.
162	Anton. This knee is emblem of an humbled heart:
	That heart which tortured is with your disdain,
164	Justly for scorning others, even this heart,	= ie. it is right (just) that Dorothea scorns his heart, just
	To which for pity such a princess sues,	as he has scorned Artemia's.
166	As in her hand offers me all the world,
	Great Caesar's daughter.
168
	Artem. Slave, thou liest.
170
	Anton. Yet this	171-3: Antoninus compares his heart, when he is faced with
172	Is adamant to her, that melts to you	Artemia, to adamant, the legendary mineral proverbial for great hardness, while it easily melts for Dorothea.
	In drops of blood.	= a reference to the belief that heavy sighs draw blood
174		from the heart.
	Theo. A very dog!
176
	Anton. Perhaps	177-8: Antoninus wonders if it is his belief in the pagan gods
178	Tis my religion makes you knit the brow;	that causes Dorothea to reject him. knit the brow = ie. frown.^1
	Yet be you mine, and ever be your own:	179-181: Dorothea may keep her own religion, should she
180	I ne'er will screw your conscience from that Power	love Antoninus.
	On which you Christians lean.
182
	Sap. I can no longer
184	Fret out my life with weeping at thee, villain.	= waste away.
	[Aloud.] Sirrah!	= here, a contemptuous term of address.
186	Would, when I got thee, the high Thunderer's hand	= I wish. = begot. = ie. Jupiter.
	Had struck thee in the womb!	= ie. killed.
188
	Mac. We are betrayed.
190
	Artem. Is that the idol, traitor, which thou kneel'st to,
192	Trampling upon my beauty?
194	Theo. Sirrah bandog!	= a dog so savage it was necessary to keep it chained up; formerly referring specifically to a mastiff, a breed that was used in bear-baiting, a form of entertainment in which a chained bear was set upon by vicious dogs;^3 hence the reference in the next line (195) to tear(ing) to pieces.
	Wilt thou in pieces tear our Jupiter
196	For her? our Mars for her? our Sol for her? −	= the god of war. = the sun personified.^1
	A whore! a hell-hound! In this globe of brains,	= ie. "in my head"; in the succeeding lines, Theophilus promises to devise a torture to inflict on Antoninus, Macrinus and Dorothea that will exceed in savagery any other that he has yet to date invented.
198	Where a whole world of furies for such tortures	= the Furies were goddesses with the appearance of monsters, whose job it was to punish those who committed certain crimes, such as murder or disobedience to one's parents, by bringing perpetual misery to them.^11
	Have fought, as in a chaos, which should exceed,
200	These nails shall grubbing lie from skull to skull,	= scraping or digging.^2
	To find one horrider than all, for you,	= ie. a torture. = horrider does not appear in the OED.
202	You three!
204	Artem. Threaten not, but strike: quick vengeance flies
	Into my bosom! caitiff! here all love dies.	wretch.^2
206
	[Exeunt above.]
208
	Anton. O! I am thunderstruck! We are both o'erwhelmed −	= ie. overcome or defeated in their purpose^1
210
	Mac. With one high-raging billow.	211: ie. with one large wave (billow) they are over- whelmed.
212
	Dor. You a soldier,	213-4: Dorothea mocks Antoninus for being intimidated
214	And sink beneath the violence of a woman!	by a woman, ie. Artemia.
216	Anton. A woman! a wronged princess. From such a star,	= Antoninus means a comet, usually seen as an evil omen.
	Blazing with fires of hate, what can be looked for,
218	But tragical events? my life is now
	The subject of her tyranny.	= ie. subject to.
220
	Dor. That fear is base
222	Of death, when that death doth but life displace
	Out of her house of earth; you only dread	= its, ie. life's.
224	The stroke, and not what follows when you're dead;
	There's the great fear, indeed: come, let your eyes
226	Dwell where mine do, you'll scorn their tyrannies.
228	Re-enter below, Artemia, Sapritius, Theophilus, a	= having left the balcony, the nobles reenter on the main
	guard; Angelo comes and stands close by Dorothea.	stage below.
230
	Artem. My father's nerves put vigour in mine arm,	231-2: My father's…use = Artemia alludes to her authority
232	And I his strength must use. Because I once	to rule Caesarea, as handed to her by her father the emperor.
	Shed beams of favour on thee, and, with the lion,	= perhaps a reference to Aesop's fable of the lion who
234	Played with thee gently, when thou struck'st my heart,	initially intended to angrily kill a mouse when the mouse woke him up; but the mouse begged piteously for its life, and the laughing lion spared him.^16
	I'll not insult on a base, humbled prey,	235-244: Artemia wants Antoninus swiftly put to death,
236	By lingering out thy terrors; but, with one frown,	but Macrinus and Dorothea tortured.
	Kill thee: − hence with ‘em all to execution.
238	Seize him; but let even death itself be weary
	In torturing her. I'll change those smiles to shrieks;
240	Give the fool what she's proud of, martyrdom:
242	[Points to Macrinus.]
244	In pieces rack that bawd too.	244: In pieces rack = literally to rip the arms and legs off via the rack. bawd = pander, referring to Macrinus for his role as the go-between.
246	Sap. Albeit the reverence	= in spite of.
	I owe our gods and you, are, in my bosom,	= ie. there are, there exist.
248	Torrents so strong that pity quite lies drowned	= powerful streams, usually said of water, and used here
	From saving this young man, yet, when I see	metaphorically with drowned.
250	What face death gives him, and that a thing within me
	Says 'tis my son, I am forced to be a man,	= a mere mortal, ie. one who is not as strong as he would like to be; see the note in the next line.
252	And grow fond of his life, which thus I beg.	= tender or anxious for;^1 despite his position and religion,
		Sapritius admits his desire to save his son.
254	Artem. And I deny.
256	Anton. Sir, you dishonour me,	256-7: Antoninus is displeased to have his father plead for
	To sue for that which I disclaim to have.	his life, which he holds of little value.
258	I shall more glory in my sufferings gain
	Than you in giving judgment, since I offer
260	My blood up to your anger; nor do I kneel
	To keep a wretched life of mine from ruin:
262	Preserve this temple, builded fair as yours is,	= metaphorically, "spare Dorothea".
	And Caesar never went in greater triumph,
264	Than I shall to the scaffold.
266	Artem. Are you so brave, sir?
	Set forward to his triumph, and let those two	= a procession the Romans gave to victorious generals;
268	Go cursing along with him.	Artemia here is of course being sarcastic.
270	Dor. No, but pitying,	= ie. "not cursing".
	For my part, I, that you lose ten times more
272	By torturing me, than I that dare your tortures:
	Through all the army of my sins, I have even
274	Laboured to break, and cope with death to th' face.
	The visage of a hangman frights not me;	= face, countenance. = torturer.
276	The sight of whips, racks, gibbets, axes, fires,	= gallows.^1
	Are scaffoldings by which my soul climbs up
278	To an eternal habitatiön.	= ie. Heaven.
280	Theo. Caesar's imperial daughter! hear me speak.
	Let not this Christian thing, in this her pageantry
282	Of proud deriding both our gods and Caesar,
	Build to herself a kingdom in her death,
284	Going laughing from us: no; her bitterest torment
	Shall be to feel her constancy beaten down:	= steadfastness.^1
286	The bravery of her resolution lie	= ie. shall lie.
	Battered, by argument, into such pieces,
288	That she again shall, on her belly, creep
	To kiss the pavements of our paynim gods.	= pagan.^1
290
	Artem. How to be done?
292
	Theo. I'll send my daughters to her,
294	And they shall turn her rocky faith to wax;	= ie. and thus be able to mold Dorothea back to the Roman religion.
	Else spit at me, let me be made your slave,	= or else, ie. "if they do not succeed".
296	And meet no Roman's but a villain's grave.	296: Romans were customarily buried;^17 criminals might be crucified, their bodies left to rot on the cross.
298	Artem. Thy prisoner let her be, then; and, Sapritius,	298-301: Artemia rescinds her death sentence; she allows
	Your son and that, be yours: death shall be sent	Theophilus to take Dorothea into custody, to be "re- educated" by his daughters, and Antoninus (your son) and Macrinus (and that) will be taken into custody by Sapritius, who is to prevent them from communicating with each other.
300	To him that suffers them, by voice or letters,
	To greet each other. Rifle her estate;	= plunder,^1 ie. "confiscate (all her possessions)."
302	Christians to beggary brought grow desperate.
304	Dor. Still on the bread of poverty let me feed.	= always. = the metaphorical phrase bread of poverty first
		appeared in English letters in 1594. Technically, the bread of poverty refers to the unleavened bread eaten during Passover, mentioned in Deuteronomy 16:3.^18
306	Ang. O! my admired mistress, quench not out
	The holy fires within you, though temptations
308	Shower down upon you: clasp thine armour on,	= ie. the armour of God, referred to in Ephesians 6:11 and
	Fight well, and thou shalt see, after these wars,	6:13.
310	Thy head wear sunbeams, and thy feet touch stars.
312	[Exeunt all but Angelo.]
314	Enter Hircius and Spungius.
316	Hir. How now, Angelo; how is it, how is it? What	316-7: Hircius mocks Angelo for the bad turn of his and Dorothea's luck.
	thread spins that whore Fortune upon her wheel now?	= personified Fortune spins her wheel, arbitrarily raising the circumstances of some people while lowering those of others.
318
	Spun. Comesta, comesta, poor knave?	319: Symons takes Spungius' comesta as an attempt at Italian, come sta, meaning "how are you?"^4
320
	Hir. Com a porte vous, com a porte vous, my petite	321-2: Hircius responds with his butchered French version
322	garsoon?	of "how are you" (Comment vous portez-vous), followed by "my little boy?" (mon petite garcon).^4
324	Spun. Me partha wee comrade, my half-inch of man's	324: Me partha = the intended meaning of this phrase is more uncertain; Symons favours reading it as Spungius' mangling of the Italian Mi parla, or "speak to me."^4 wee comrade = various epithets such as this directed towards Angelo suggest he is undersized.
	flesh, how run the dice of this cheating world, ha?	325: how run…world = Spungius suggests Angelo has rolled his metaphorical dice poorly, and that he stands no chance when the fix is in against him.
326
	Ang. Too well on your sides; you are hid in gold,	= ie. "the dice are rolling in your favour;" Angelo has
328	O'er head and ears.	noticed the purses on the servants' persons, their reward for letting Artemia and the other nobles into Dorothea's home. O'er head and ears = completely immersed, a common phrase.
330	Hir. We thank our fates, the sign of the gingle-boys	= a reference to the pictorial signs that identified and hung
	hangs at the doors of our pockets.	in front of shops; gingle-boys means coins; the use
332		of gingle-boys here pre-dates its earliest recorded use in the OED by 20 years.^1
	Spun. Who would think that we, coming forth of the
334	arse, as it were, or fag-end of the world, should yet	334: arse = this enjoyable word has existed in Germanic languages since time out of mind.^1 fag-end = extreme end.^1
	see the golden age, when so little silver is stirring?	= allusion to the ancient Greek notion, as described by the 8th century B.C. poet Hesiod, that humanity has passed through five ages: the golden age first, then silver, bronze, heroic, and iron; the ages describe a decline in the state of mankind.
336
	Hir. Nay, who can say any citizen is an ass, for loading	337-9: a common allusion to the successful man who leaves
338	his own back with money till his soul cracks again, only	his money to a prodigal son who squanders it all; ass
	to leave his son like a gilded coxcomb behind him?	is used both in its derogatory sense and to refer, with loading, to the pack animal. coxcomb = fool.
340	Will not any fool take me for a wise man now, seeing
	me draw out of the pit of my treasury this little god	= ie. his purse.
342	with his belly full of gold?
344	Spun. And this, full of the same meat, out of my ambry.	= food pantry.^4
346	Ang. That gold will melt to poison.
348	Spun. Poison! would it would! whole pints for healths	= ie. "if only it would".
	should down my throat.	= ie. "I would drink".
350
	Hir. Gold, poison! there is never a she-thrasher in	= ie. "call gold poison!" = "not one woman-beater".
352	Caesarea, that lives on the flail of money, will call it so.	= an instrument for threshing corn,^1 punning with thrasher.
354	Ang. Like slaves you sold your souls for golden dross,	= the extraneous matter removed from precious metals which have been melted and purified, a term used contemptuously to describe gold and wealth in general .^1
	Bewraying her to death, who stepped between	= ie. betraying Dorothea.
356	You and the gallows.
358	Spun. It was an easy matter to save us, she being so
	well backed.	= supported, or perhaps mounted like a horse.^1
360
	Hir. The gallows and we fell out: so she did but part us.	= had an argument.
362
	Ang. The misery of that mistress is mine own;
364	She beggared, I left wretched.
366	Hir. I can but let my nose drop in sorrow, with wet	= alternate word for drip.
	eyes for her.
368
	Spun. The petticoat of her estate is unlaced, I confess.	369: a vaguely dirty metaphor for the bad turn of Dorothea's circumstances.
370
	Hir. Yes, and the smock of her charity is now all to	= ladies' underwear.
372	pieces.
374	Ang. For love you bear to her, for some good turns
	Done you by me, give me one piece of silver.
376
	Hir. How! a piece of silver! if thou wert an angel of
378	gold, I would not put thee into white money unless I	= silver.
	weighed thee; and I weigh thee not a rush.	= "I consider you to be of no value", ie. "you have the
380		worth of a rush", referring to the marsh plant.
	Spun. A piece of silver! I never had but two calves in
382	my life, and those my mother left me; I will rather part
	from the fat of them than from a mustard-token's worth	= a chit or token issued by a mustard seller in lieu of change; hence something of no value.^1
384	of argent.	= silver.
386	Hir. And so, sweet nit, we crawl from thee.	= another reference to Angelo's small size.
388	Spun. Adieu, demi-dandiprat, adieu!	= half-dwarf.^4
390	Ang. Stay, − one word yet; you now are full of gold.
392	Hir. I would be sorry my dog were so full of the pox.
394	Spun. Or any sow of mine of the meazles either.	= old spelling of measles.
396	Ang. Go, go! you're beggars both; you are not worth	= ie. "no longer have any wealth equal even to".
	That leather on your feet.
398
	Hir. Away, away, boy!
400
	Spun. Page, you do nothing but set patches on the
402	soles of your jests.
404	Ang. I am glad I tried your love, which, see! I want not,	= tested. = lack; Angelo shows them his purse of gold.
	So long as this is full.
406
	Both. And so long as this, so long as this.	= ie. their purses.
408
	Hir. Spungius, you are a pickpocket.	409: Hircius and Spungius realize their purses have been emptied.
410
	Spun. Hircius, thou hast nimmed: “So long as!” − not	= "robbed (me)".^4
412	so much money is left as will buy a louse.
414	Hir. Thou art a thief, and thou liest in that gut through
	which thy wine runs, if thou deniest it.
416
	Spun. Thou liest deeper than the bottom of mine
418	enraged pocket, if thou affrontest it.	= insults or disrespects, or confronts or faces.^1
420	Ang. No blows, no bitter language; − all your gold gone!
422	Spun. Can the devil creep into one's breeches?
424	Hir. Yes, if his horns once get into the cod-piece.
426	Ang. Come, sigh not; I so little am in love
	With that whose loss kills you, that, see! 'tis yours,	= ie. gold. = Angelo, who had supernaturally relieved the servants of their gold, hands it back to them.
428	All yours: divide the heap in equal share,
	So you will go along with me to prison,	429-431: the return of the gold, however, is conditioned on
430	And in our mistress' sorrows bear a part:	Spungius and Hircius visiting Dorothea in prison with
	Say, will you?	Angelo.
432
	Both. Will we!
434
	Spun. If she were going to hanging, no gallows should	435-6: Spungius' motive for his willingness to go watch
436	part us.	Dorothea be hanged is not necessarily an altruistic one!
438	Hir. Let us both be turned into a rope of onions, if we	= onions strung together, with a pun on the rope of the
	do not.	gallows.
440
	Ang. Follow me, then; repair your bad deeds past;
442	Happy are men, when their best days are last!	= ie. their last ones.
		441-2: Angelo concludes his part in the scene with a rhyming couplet.
444	Spun. True, master Angelo; pray, sir, lead the way.
446	[Exit Angelo.]
448	Hir. Let him lead that way, but follow thou me this
	way.
450
	Spun. I live in a jail!	451: Spungius expresses his astonishment at the idea. jail = the earliest quartos print Iayle here (j's were usually printed as i's), but subsequent editors emend this to gaol; iayle was the preferred spelling until the 1650's.
452
	Hir. Away, and shift for ourselves. She'll do we'll	= take care of, provide for.
454	enough there; for prisoners are more hungry after
	mutton than catchpoles after prisoners.	455: mutton = euphemism for women's genitalia.
456		catchpoles = officers in charge of arresting debtors.^1
	Spun. Let her starve then, if a whole jail will not fill
458	her belly.
460	[Exeunt.]
	ACT III.
	SCENE I.
	A Room in Dorothea's House.
	Enter Sapritius, Theophilus, Priest,	Entering Characters: a reminder: Sapritius is the
	Calista, and Christeta.	governor of Caesarea, and father of Antoninus; Theophilus is in charge of enforcing the Christian persecutions; his daughters are reconverted pagans, Calista and Christeta.
1	Sap. Sick to the death, I fear.	1: Sapritius worries that Antoninus is dying.
2
	Theo. I meet your sorrow,
4	With my true feeling of it.
6	Sap. She's a witch,
	A sorceress, Theophilus; my son
8	Is charmed by her enchanting eyes; and, like
	An image made of wax, her beams of beauty
10	Melt him to nothing: all my hopes in him,
	And all his gotten honours, find their grave
12	In his strange dotage on her. Would, when first	= infatuation. = ie. if only.
	He saw and loved her, that the earth had opened,
14	And swallowed both alive!
16	Theo. There's hope left yet.
18	Sap. Not any: though the princess were appeased,	= Artemia, the daughter of the emperor Dioclesian, had been persuaded not to immediately execute those who had offended her and Rome - Dorothea, Antoninus and Macrinus.
	All title in her love surrendered up;
20	Yet this coy Christiän is so transported	= brought to high emotion.
	With her religion, that unless my son
22	(But let him perish first!) drink the same potion,
	And be of her belief, she'll not vouchsafe	= ie. convert to Dorothea's religion. = deign, agree.
24	To be his lawful wife.
26	Priest. But, once removed
	From her opinion, as I rest assured	= belief.
28	The reasons of these holy maids will win her,	= arguments. = ie. Calista and Christeta.
	You'll find her tractable to anything,
30	For your content or his.
32	Theo. If she refuse it,
	The Stygian damps, breeding infectious airs,	33-34: Theophilus lists several legendary killers:
34	The mandrake's shrieks, the basilisk's killing eye,	(1) the toxic vapors (damps)^1 of the River Styx in Hades (Stygian = "of the River Styx"); (2) the mandrake plant, with its forked roots, was said to resemble a human body; when it was pulled from the ground, it would shriek, and any person who heard it was believed to go mad or die; and (3) the basilisk was a fabled serpent whose glance was believed to be lethal.
	The dreadful lightning that does crush the bones
36	And never singe the skin, shall not appear
	Less fatal to her than my zeal made hot
38	With love unto my gods. I have deferred it,	= ie. torturing Dorothea.
	In hopes to draw back this apostata,	= deserter of the old religion.
40	Which will be greater honour than her death,
	Unto her father's faith; and, to that end,
42	Have brought my daughters hither.	= to here.
44	Cat. And we doubt not
	To do what you desire.
46
	Sap. Let her be sent for.
48	Prosper in your good work; and were I not	48: "if I were not required".
	To attend the princess, I would see and hear
50	How you succeed.
52	Theo. I am commanded too,
	I'll bear you company.
54
	Sap. Give them your ring,
56	To lead her as in triumph, if they win her,
	Before her highness.
58
	[Exit Sapritius.]	59: Theophilus presumably gives his ring, a symbol of his
60		authority and power, to his daughters, as Sapritius exits.
	Theo. Spare no promises,
62	Persuasiöns, or threats, I do conjure you:	= entreat.
	If you prevail, 'tis the most glorious work
64	You ever undertook.
66	Enter Dorothea and Angelo.
68	Priest. She comes.
70	Theo. We leave you;
	Be constant, and be careful.	= steadfast, persistent.
72
	[Exeunt Theophilus and Priest.]
74
	Calis. We are sorry
76	To meet you under guard.
78	Dor. But I more grieved	78-79: But I…liberty = ie. if they were under guard too, it
	You are at liberty. So well I love you,	would mean they had re-professed their Christianity, a more desirable situation.
80	That I could wish, for such a cause as mine,
	You were my fellow-prisoners. Prithee, Angelo,
82	Reach us some chairs. Please you sit −
84	Calis. We thank you:
	Our visit is for love, love to your safety.	= for.
86
	Christ. Our conference must be private; pray you, therefore,	= conversation.^1
88	Command your boy to leave us.
90	Dor. You may trust him
	With any secret that concerns my life;
92	Falsehood and he are strangers: had you, ladies,
	Been blessed with such a servant, you had never
94	Forsook that way, your journey even half ended,	= ie. abandoned Christianity.
	That lead to joys eternal. In the place	= instead, in place.
96	Of loose lascivious mirth, he would have stirred you
	To holy meditations; and so far
98	He is from flattery, that he would have told you,
	Your pride being at the height, how miserable	= its.
100	And wretched things you were, that, for an hour	100-2: for an hour…hereafter = "you would have sold all
	Of pleasure here, have made a desperate sale	of your future happiness just to experience one hour of
102	Of all your right in happiness hereafter.	Christian bliss in Angelo's presence." have (line 101) = ie. "you would have".
	He must not leave me; without him I fall:
104	In this life he's my servant, in the other	= ie. the next life (in Heaven).
	A wished companion.
106
	Ang. 'Tis not in the devil,	107-8: "Even Satan, with all his evil tricks, could not shake
108	Nor all his wicked arts, to shake such goodness.	Dorothea from her faith."
110	Dor. But you were speaking, lady.
112	Calis. As a friend
	And lover of your safety, and I pray you
114	So to receive it; and, if you remember
	How near in love our parents were, that we,	115: Dorothea's parents were friends with Theophilus and
116	Even from the cradle, were brought up together,	his wife.
	Our amity increasing with our years,
118	We cannot stand suspected.
120	Dor. To the purpose.	120: "get to the point."
122	Calis. We come, then, as good angels, Dorothea,	= there is obvious irony in Calista's use of a Christian term
	To make you happy; and the means so easy	to describe her sister and herself.
124	That, be not you an enemy to yourself,
	Already you enjoy it.	= "you would be enjoying it".
126
	Christ. Look on us,
128	Ruined as you are, once, and brought unto it,	128-9: "our lives were almost ruined once before, as yours
	By your persuasion.	is now, thanks to your converting us to Christianity."
130
	Calis. But what followed, lady?
132	Leaving those blessings which our gods gave freely,
	And showered upon us with a prodigal hand, −	= generous.
134	As to be noble born, youth, beauty, wealth,
	And the free use of these without control,	= restraint.
136	Check, curb, or stop, such is our law's indulgence! −
	All happiness forsook us; bonds and fetters,
138	For amorous twines; the rack and hangman's whips,	= in place of. = embraces.^1
	In place of choice delights; our parents' curses
140	Instead of blessings; scorn, neglect, contempt,
	Fell thick upon us.	131-141: Calista blames Christianity for the unhappiness the conversion of she and her sister had brought them, as if torture and hatred for the followers of Christ were innate properties of Christianity, rather than tools and attributes of its enemies.
142
	Christ. This considered wisely,	143: "once we carefully reconsidered our decision".
144	We made a fair retreat; and reconciled
	To our forsaken gods, we live again
146	In all prosperity.
148	Calis. By our example,
	Bequeathing misery to such as love it,
150	Learn to be happy. The Christian yoke's too heavy	= the arguments the sisters make inadvertently reveal both
	For such a dainty neck; it was framed rather	the strengths and limitations of their pagan faith: their
152	To be the shrine of Venus, or a pillar,	gods exist primarily to bring them tangible good fortune
	More preciöus than crystal, to support	on earth, but no more.
154	Our Cupid's image: our religion, lady,
	Is but a varied pleasure; yours a toil
156	Slaves would shrink under.
158	Dor. Have you not cloven feet? are you not devils?	= a reference to the divided hooves ascribed to the devil.
	Dare any say so much, or dare I hear it,
160	Without a virtuous or religious anger?
	Now to put on a virgin modesty,	161-2: Now to put on…silence = ie. "to remain quiet as
162	Or maiden silence, when His power is questioned	would normally become a young lady".
	That is omnipotent, were a greater crime	= who. = would be.
164	Than in a bad cause to be impudent.
	Your gods! your temples! brothel-houses rather,
166	Or wicked actions of the worst of men,
	Pursued and practised. Your religious rites!
168	Oh! call them rather juggling mysteries,	= deceiving.
	The baits and nets of hell: your souls the prey
170	For which the devil angles; your false pleasures	= fishes; part of the fishing metaphor with baits, nets and
	A steep descent, by which you headlong fall	prey.
172	Into eternal torments.
174	Calis. Do not tempt
	Our powerful gods.
176
	Dor. Which of your powerful gods?
178	Your gold, your silver, brass, or wooden ones,
	That can nor do me hurt, nor protect you?
180	Most pitied women! will you sacrifice
	To such, − or call them gods or goddesses,	181-2: or call them…the same = Dorothea asks whether
182	Your parents would disdain to be the same,	the girls would call their parents gods and goddesses if they engaged in the same disgraceful behavior as the Roman deities were known to engage in.
	Or you yourselves? O blinded ignorance!
184	Tell me, Calista, by the truth, I charge you,
	Or any thing you hold more dear, would you,
186	To have him deified to posterity,
	Desire your father an adulterer,	187-9: Dorothea's refers to some of Jupiter's more
188	A ravisher, almost a parricide,	notorious attributes:
	A vile incestuous wretch?	(1) adulterer = Jupiter was a serial rapist; one time, for
190		example, he disguised himself as the husband of Alcimena of Thebes in order to sleep with her; (2) ravisher = Jupiter regularly disguised himself as an animal in order to sneak up on young maidens and take them by force; (3) almost a parricide = in order to become king of the gods, Jupiter overthrew his father, Cronus, afterwards banishing him to Tartarus, a place far below hell; and (4) incestuous = Jupiter married his sister Juno.
	Calis. That, piety
192	And duty answer for me.
194	Dor. Or you, Christeta,
	To be hereafter registered a goddess,
196	Give your chaste body up to the embraces
	Of goatish lust? have it writ on your forehead,
198	“This is the common whore, the prostitute,
	The mistress in the art of wantonness,	= lasciviousness.
200	Knows every trick and labyrinth of desires
	That are immodest?"
202
	Christ. You judge better of me,	203-4: ie. "I think you know me better than that, otherwise
204	Or my affection is ill placed on you;	my affection for you is misplaced."
	Shall I turn strumpet?
206
	Dor. No, I think you would not.
208	Yet Venus, whom you worship, was a whore;
	Flora, the foundress of the public stews,	209: Flora was the goddess of flowers and spring, but later Christian writers reported that she was a prostitute.^11 stews = brothels.
210	And has, for that, her sacrifice; your great god,
	Your Jupiter, a loose adulterer,
212	Incestuous with his sister: read but those	= ie. "read the stories of the gods as recorded by those".
	That have canónized them, you'll find them worse	= who.
214	Than, in chaste language, I can speak them to you.	214: ie. the stories are too vulgar for Dorothea to repeat in
	Are they immortal then, that did partake	detail.
216	Of human weakness, and had ample share
	In men's most base affections; subject to
218	Unchaste loves, anger, bondage, wounds, as men are?
	Here, Jupiter, to serve his lust, turned bull,	219-220: Jupiter famously took the form of a beautiful bull
220	The ship, indeed, in which he stole Europa;	in order to approach the maiden Europa; playfully caressing the bull, Europa jumped on his back, at which point Jupiter plunged into the ocean and swam to Crete (hence the ship), where he raped her; they had three children, including the Minotaur. We should note that most editors, including the usually conservative Gifford, emend ship, which appeared in all the early editions, to shape.
	Neptune, for gain, builds up the walls of Troy	221-2: Neptune…day-labourer = Neptune, the god of the sea, was said to have with Apollo manually built the walls of Troy for Laomedon, the king of Troy.^11
222	As a day-labourer; Apollo keeps	222-3: Apollo…for bread = as punishment for having slain the Cyclops, Apollo was required to act as a servant to Admetus, the king of Pheres, for a year.^11
	Admetus’ sheep for bread; the Lemnian smith	223-4: the Lemnian...for hire = a reference to Vulcan, the god of fire, usually portrayed as a blacksmith; his job was to create lightning bolts for Jupiter, as well as to take on any jobs given him by the other gods, such as making armour and works of art, for deities and humans alike. Vulcan once took the side of his mother Juno when she was arguing with his father Jupiter; the latter was so angry he threw Vulcan off Mt. Olympus down to the earth, where he landed on the island of Lemnos (hence the epithet Lemnian), permanently crippling one of his legs. Lemnos was Vulcan's favourite place on earth, and he enjoyed staying among the natives there who had nursed him after his fall from Olympus.^11
224	Sweats at the forge for hire; Prometheus here,	224-5: Prometheus...vulture = as punishment for having
	With his still-growing liver, feeds the vulture;	delivered fire to mankind, Jupiter had the demi-god^11 Prometheus bound to a pillar, where he was attacked by an eagle which gnawed out his liver every day, the liver growing back every night; this went on for years, until Jupiter permitted Hercules to rescue him.^11 We may note the earliest editions print Lyometheus or Lymotheus for Prometheus in line 224, properly emended by all the editors. still-growing = ever-growing.
226	Saturn bound fast in hell with adamant chains;	226: one of the oldest gods, Saturn, the king of the gods
	And thousands more, on whom abusèd error	in his generation, was overthrown by his son Jupiter, who
228	Bestows a deity. Will you then, dear sisters,	had his father bound in chains for eternity in Tartarus.
	For I would have you such, pay your devotions	adamant (line 226) = legendary material of prover-
230	To things of less power than yourselves?	bially great hardness.
232	Calis. We worship
	Their good deeds in their images.
234
	Dor. By whom fashioned?
236	By sinful men. I'll tell you a short tale,	236-255: Gifford suggests this didactic story of the Egyp- tian god of the dead, Osiris, was invented by Massinger.
	Nor can you but confess it is a true one:
238	A king of Egypt, being to erect	238-9: being…Osiris = creating a bust or statue of the god.
	The image of Osiris, whom they honour,
240	Took from the matrons' necks the richest jewels,
	And purest gold, as the materials,	= ie. raw material.^1
242	To finish up his work; which perfected,
	With all solemnity he set it up,
244	To be adored, and served himself his idol,
	Desiring it to give him victory
246	Against his enemies: but, being overthrown,	= defeated:^1 ie. the god failed to give the king his victory.
	Enraged against his god (these are fine gods,
248	Subject to human fury!), he took down
	The senseless thing, and, melting it again,
250	He made a basing, in which eunuchs washed	= alternate form of basin.
	His concubine's feet; and for this sordid use
252	Some months it served: his mistress proving false, −	= ie. his god was useless to him.
	As most indeed do so, − and grace concluded	= ie. amity was restored.
254	Between him and the priests, of the same basing
	He made his god again! Think, think of this
256	And then consider, if all worldly honours,
	Or pleasures that do leave sharp stings behind them,
258	Have power to win such as have reasonable souls,
	To put their trust in dross.	= the extraneous matter removed from metals which have been melted and purified,^1 but often used as a contemp- tuous term for gold.
260
	Calis. Oh, that I had been born	= ie. "it would have been better if".
262	Without a father!
264	Christ. Piety to him
	Hath ruined us forever.
266
	Dor. Think not so;
268	You may repair all yet: the attribute
	That speaks His Godhead most, is merciful:	= that most represents or signifies God's divine essence.^1
270	Revenge is proper to the fiends you worship,
	Yet cannot strike without His leave. − You weep, −	271: "you cannot seek revenge on others without God's
272	Oh, 'tis a heavenly shower! celestial balm	permission."
	To cure your wounded conscience! let it fall,
274	Fall thick upon it; and, when that is spent,
	I'll help it with another of my tears:
276	And may your true repentance prove the child	276-8: in a play filled with some of Massinger's most
	Of my true sorrow, never mother had	exquisite poetry, this metaphor stands out for its beauty.
278	A birth so happy!
280	Calis. We are caught ourselves,
	That came to take you; and, assured of conquest,
282	We are your captives.
284	Dor. And in that you triumph:
	Your victory had been eternal loss,	= "your victory over me would have been".
286	And this your loss immortal gain. Fix here,
	And you shall feel yourselves inwardly armed
288	'Gainst tortures, death, and hell: − but, take heed, sisters,
	That, or through weakness, threats, or mild persuasions,	= either.
290	Though of a father, you fall not into
	A second and a worse apostacy.
292
	Calis. Never, oh never! steeled by your example,
294	We dare the worst of tyranny.
296	Christ. Here's our warrant,	= guarantee: Christeta gives Dorothea the ring Sapritius
	You shall along and witness it.	had instructed her to hand over (lines 55-57).
298
	Dor. Be confirmed then;
300	And rest assured, the more you suffer here,
	The more your glory, you to Heaven more dear.
302
	[Exeunt.]
	ACT III, SCENE II.
	The Governor's Palace.
	Enter Artemia, Sapritius, Theophilus, and Harpax.
1	Artem. Sapritius, though your son deserves no pity,	1-8: Artemia, having calmed down from when we last saw
2	We grieve his sickness: his contempt of us,	her, actually shows great magnanimity here.
	We cast behind us, and look back upon
4	His service done to Caesar, that weighs down	= outweighs.
	Our just displeasure. If his malady	5-6: If his…restraint = "if his sickness has actually gotten
6	Have growth from his restraint, or that you think	worse because of his sequestering".
	His liberty can cure him, let him have it:
8	Say, we forgive him freely.
10	Sap. Your grace binds us,
	Ever your humblest vassals.
12
	Artem. Use all means
14	For his recovery; though yet I love him,
	I will not force affection. If the Christian,	= ie. Dorothea.
16	Whose beauty hath out-rivalled mine, be won	= surpassed.^1
	To be of our belief, let him enjoy her;
18	That all may know, when the cause wills, I can
	Command my own desires.	= a common dramatic motif was the advisability of keeping
20		one's emotions and passions under check.
	Theo. Be happy then,
22	My lord Sapritius: I am confident,
	Such eloquence and sweet persuasion dwells
24	Upon my daughters' tongues, that they will work her
	To anything they please.
26
	Sap. I wish they may!
28	Yet 'tis no easy task to undertake,
	To alter a perverse and obstinate woman.
30
	[A shout within: loud music.]
32
	Artem. What means this shout?
34
	Sap. 'Tis seconded with music,	= accompanied by.
36	Triumphant music. − Ha!
38	Enter Sempronius.	Entering Character: Sempronius, we remember, is the
		captain of the governor Sapritius' guards.
40	Semp. My lord, your daughters,
	The pillars of our faith, having converted,
42	For so report gives out, the Christian lady,
	The image of great Jupiter borne before them,
44	Sue for accéss.	44: in this period, access was stressed on its second
		syllable.
46	Theo. My soul divined as much.
	Blest be the time when first they saw this light!
48	Their mother, when she bore them to support
	My feeble age, filled not my longing heart
50	With so much joy as they in this good work
	Have thrown upon me.
52
	Enter Priest with the Image of Jupiter,
54	incense and censers; followed by	= vessels used to burn incense;^1 aromatic fumigants were
	Calista and Christeta, leading Dorothea.	used by many of the earliest civilizations.^5
56
	Welcome, oh, thrice welcome,	= typical phrase of emphasis.
58	Daughters, both of my body and my mind!
	Let me embrace in you my bliss, my comfort;
60	And Dorothea, now more welcome too,
	Then if you never had fallen off! I am ravished
62	With the excess of joy: − speak, happy daughters,
	The blest event.
64
	Calis. We never gained so much
66	By any undertaking.
68	Theo. O my dear girl,
	Our gods reward thee!
70
	Dor. Nor was ever time,
72	On my part, better spent.
74	Christ. We are all now
	Of one opiniön.
76
	Theo. My best Christeta! −
78	Madam, if ever you did grace to worth,	= spoken to Artemia.
	Vouchsafe your princely hands.
80
	Artem. Most willingly −	81-82: Artemia offers to grasp hands or embrace the ladies,
82	Do you refuse it!	but they refuse her, perhaps stepping back from her.
84	Calis. Let us first deserve it.
86	Theo. My own child still! here set our god; prepare	= Theophilus understands his daughters' rejection of
	The incense quickly. Come, fair Dorothea,	Artemia's embrace to be a result of their modesty.
88	I will myself support you; − now kneel down,
	And pay your vows to Jupiter.
90
	Dor. I shall do it
92	Better by their example.
94	Theo. They shall guide you;
	They are familiar with the sacrifice. −
96	Forward, my twins of comfort, and, to teach her,
	Make a joint offering.
98
	Christ. Thus −
100
	[They both spit at the image,
102	throw it down, and spurn it.]	= kick.
104	Calis. And thus −
106	Harp. Profane,	106-9: Harpax reacts to Theophilus' failure to stop or move
	And impious! stand you now like a statue?	against the destruction of the statue.
108	Are you the champion of the gods? where is
	Your holy zeal, your anger?
110
	Theo. I am blasted;	= ruined or discredited.
112	And, as my feet were rooted here, I find
	I have no motion; I would I had no sight too!	= wish.
114	Or if my eyes can serve to any use,
	Give me, thou injured Power! a sea of tears,	= ie. Jupiter, and his broken bust.
116	To expiate this madness in my daughters;
	For, being themselves, they would have trembled at	= the sense is, "if they had been in their right minds".
118	So blasphemous a deed in any other: −
	For my sake, hold awhile thy dreadful thunder,
120	And give me patience to demand a reason
	For this accursèd act.
122
	Dor. 'Twas bravely done.
124
	Theo. Peace, damned enchantress, peace! − I should look on you	= "quiet!"
126	With eyes made red with fury, and my hand,
	That shakes with rage, should much outstrip my tongue,
128	And seal my vengeance on your hearts; − but nature,
	To you that have fallen once, bids me again
130	To be a father. Oh! how durst you tempt
	The anger of great Jove?	= alternative name for Jupiter.
132
	Dor. Alack, poor Jove!	= an expression of grief, used here ironically of course by Dorothea; alack appeared in English about two centuries after its synonym alas.^1
134	He is no swaggerer! how smug he stands!	= blusterer, or one who acts in a superior manner;^1 Dorothea mocks the god's inability to defend himself.
	He'll take a kick, or anything.
136
	Sap. Stop her mouth.
138
	Dor. It is the patient'st godling; do not fear him;	139: patient'st = most patient; we should note that all the original editions print ancient'st here, which all the editors emend. godling = little god; Dorothea continues to sneer at the impotent Jupiter.
140	He would not hurt the thief that stole away
	Two of his golden locks; indeed he could not:
142	And still 'tis the same quiet thing.
144	Theo. Blasphemer!
	Ingenious cruëlty shall punish this;
146	Thou art past hope: but for you yet, dear daughters,
	Again bewitched, the dew of mild forgiveness
148	May gently fall, provided you deserve it
	With true contrition: be yourselves again;
150	Sue to th’ offended deity.	= beg (for forgiveness).
152	Christ. Not to be	152-3: Christeta would not ask for forgiveness even to
	The mistress of the earth.	become the mistress of the earth; the expression
154		mistress of the earth appeared in a couple of contem- porary publications as an epithet for Summer, the daughter of Spring.
	Calis. I will not offer
156	A grain of incense to it, much less kneel,
	Nor look on it but with contempt and scorn,
158	To have a thousand years conferred upon me
	Of worldly blessings. We profess ourselves
160	To be, like Dorothea, Christiäns;
	And owe her for that happiness.	= are indebted to her.^4
162
	Theo. My ears
164	Receive, in hearing this, all deadly charms,
	Powerful to make man wretched.
166
	Artem. Are these they
168	You bragged could convert others!
170	Sap. That want strength	= lack the strength.
	To stand, themselves!
172
	Harp. Your honour is engaged,	= the sense is "unavoidably entangled with what is
174	The credit of your cause depends upon it;	happening"; Harpax is addressing Theophilus.
	Something you must do suddenly.
176
	Theo. And I will.
178
	Harp. They merit death; but, falling by your hand,
180	'Twill be recorded for a just revenge,	= ie. for posterity. = as.
	And holy fury in you.
182
	Theo. Do not blow
184	The furnace of a wrath thrice hot already;
	Ætna is in my breast, wildfire burns here,	= ie. Sicily's famous volcano, Mt. Etna.
186	Which only blood must quench. − Incensèd Power!	= Theophilus addresses Jupiter again.
	Which from my infancy I have adored,
188	Look down with favourable beams upon
	The sacrifice, though not allowed thy priest,	= Theophilus' impending act is something only he can do.
190	Which I will offer to thee; and be pleased,
	My fiery zeal inciting me to act it,	= zeal was widely used to indicate a religious passion.
192	To call that justice others may style murder. −
	Come, you accursed, thus by the hair I drag you	= Theophilus addresses his daughters, and roughly grabs them and drags them to Jupiter's altar.
194	Before this holy altar; thus look on you,	= ie. "I look".
	Less pitiful than tigers to their prey:	= with less pity.
196	And thus, with mine own hand, I take that life
	Which I gave to you.
198
	[Kills them.]
200
	Dor. O, most cruël butcher!
202
	Theo. My anger ends not here: hell's dreadful porter,	= Theophilus addresses Pluto, god of the underworld. porter = gatekeeper.
204	Receive into thy ever-open gates
	Their damnèd souls, and let the Furies' whips	= see the note at Act II.iii.198.
206	On them alone be wasted; and, when death
	Closes these eyes, 'twill be Elysium to me	= the part of hell reserved for heroes and relatives of the gods; the afterlife in Elysium was one of bliss; Theophilus compares the joy he will feel hearing the tortured cries of his dead daughters' souls (after he himself is dead) to being in Elysium, where he would not expect his soul to end up.
208	To hear their shrieks and howlings. Make me, Pluto,
	Thy instrument to furnish thee with souls
210	Of that accursèd sect; nor let me fall,
	Till my fell vengeance hath consumed them all.	= savage.^1
212
	[Exit, Harpax hugging him.]
214
	Artem. Tis a brave zeal.	= excellent.
216
	Enter Angelo, smiling.	217: the earliest editions print Enter Artemia laughing,
218		which, as Gifford notes, makes no sense, since Artemia is still on-stage; I have accepted Gifford's suggested emendation to the stage direction of the 1661 quarto, as printed here.
	Dor. Oh, call him back again,
220	Call back your hangman! here's one prisoner left	= meaning herself.
	To be the subject of his knife.
222
	Artem. Not so;
224	We are not so near reconciled unto thee; −
	Thou shalt not perish such an easy way.
226	Be she your charge, Sapritius, now; and suffer	= permit.
	None to come near her, till we have found out
228	Some torments worthy of her.
230	Ang. Courage, mistress,
	These martyrs but prepare your glorious fate;	= ie. Christeta and Calista.
232	You shall exceed them, and not imitate.	= ie. merely imitate them.
234	[Exeunt.]
	ACT III, SCENE III.
	A Room in Dorothea's House.
	Enter Spungius and Hircius, ragged,
	at opposite doors.	= Hircius and Spungius enter from different parts of the
		stage, running onto each other accidentally.
1	Hir. Spungius!
2
	Spun. My fine rogue, how is it? how goes this tottered	= alternate spelling of tattered.
4	world?
6	Hir. Hast any money?	= "have you".
8	Spun. Money! no. The tavern ivy clings about my	8-9: ie. Spungius spent all his money on drink.
	money, and kills it. Hast thou any money?	tavern ivy = taverns might advertise their establish-
10		ment with a bush or ivy in lieu of a sign.
	Hir. No. My money is a mad bull; and finding any gap
12	opened, away it runs.
14	Spun. I see then a tavern and a bawdy-house have	= brothel.
	faces much alike; the one hath red grates next the door,	= a reference to the checker-pattern on a tavern's door- post.^1
16	the other hath peeping-holes within doors: the tavern	= ie. peep-holes.
	hath evermore a bush, the bawdy-house sometimes	= see the note above at lines 8-9.
18	neither hedge nor bush. From a tavern a man comes	= perhaps a particularly vulgar reference to pubic hair.
	reeling; from a bawdy-house, not able to stand. In the	= this phrase parallels reeling, but is clearly bawdy.
20	tavern you are cozened with paltry wine; in a bawdy-	= cheated. = cheap.
	house by a painted whore: money may have wine, and	= covered with make-up. = procure, ie. "get you".
22	a whore will have money; but to neither can you cry,
	“Drawer, you rogue!” or, “Keep door, rotten bawd!”	23: "Drawer, you rogue!" = a call for the attention of the man who draws your drink. "Keep door, rotten bawd!" = an imperative to the house madam to keep anyone out of the room in which the client has engaged a prostitute for her services.
24	without a silver whistle. We are justly plagued,	24: without a silver whistle = ie. without paying; the meta- phor is of a man unsuccessfully whistling for attention, unless the whistle is accompanied by money. In contemporary literature, a person in charge was said to command others by means of a silver whistle. plagued = tormented, ie. punished or paid.
	therefore, for running from our mistress.	= ie. Dorothea.
26
	Hir. Thou didst; I did not: yet I had run too, but that	= would have.
28	one gave me turpentine pills, and that stayed my running.	28: one = ie. someone. turpentine pills = turpentine was known to cause diarrhea.^5 stayed my running = "kept me from running away".
30	Spun. Well! the thread of my life is drawn through the	30ff: vulgar and despicable as they are, Hircius and Spungius must be acknowledged to be entertaining speakers, weaving their dense and rather silly metaphors.
	needle of necessity, whose eye, looking upon my lousy	= filthy, filled with lice.
32	breeches, cries out it cannot mend them; which so pricks
	the linings of my body (and those are, heart, lights,	33: linings = contents.^1 lights = generally understood to mean lungs,^1 though contemporary literature sometimes used the two words separately, as here, as if they referred to different organs.
34	lungs, guts, and midriff), that I beg on my knees to have	= diaphragm.^1
	Atropos, the tailor to the Destinies, to take her shears,	= a goddess, and one of the three Fates (or Destinies), who measured out the length of each person's life on a line of thread; Atropos was responsible for ending one's life by cutting the thread (hence Spungius calls her a tailor).
36	and cut my thread in two; or to heat the iron goose of	= a goose was a tailor's smoothing-iron.^1
	mortality, and so press me to death.
38
	Hir. Sure thy father was some botcher, and thy hungry	= clothing mender;^1 note the metaphor with shreds and patch.
40	tongue bit off these shreds of complaints, to patch up
	the elbows of thy nitty eloquence.	= infested with the eggs of lice.^1
42
	Spun. And what was thy father?
44
	Hir. A low-minded cobbler, a cobbler whose zeal set
46	many a woman upright; the remembrance of whose awl	= a tool for piercing holes.^1
	(I now having nothing) thrusts such scurvy stitches into
48	my soul, that the heel of my happiness is gone awry.	= askew.^1
50	Spun. Pity that e'er thou trod'st thy shoe awry.	= troddest, ie. did tread.
52	Hir. Long I cannot last; for all sowterly wax of comfort	= an adjective for resembling a souter, another name for
	melting away, and misery taking the length of my foot,	a cobbler;^1 note how Hircius continues the absurd shoemaker metaphors in these lines.
54	it boots not me to sue for life, when all my hopes are	= "is useless for me", with obvious pun. = beg for my life.
	seam-rent, and go wet-shod.	= torn at the seams.^1 = with wet feet.^1
56
	Spun. This shows thou art a cobbler 's son, by going
58	through-stitch: O Hircius, would thou and I were so	= a stitch drawn completely through material, hence a
	happy to be cobblers!	metaphor for completing any action or doing something
60		thoroughly.^1
	Hir. So would I; for both of us being weary of our
62	lives, should then be sure of shoemakers’ ends.	= punning on the ends of shoemakers' thread.^1
64	Spun. I see the beginning of my end, for I am almost
	starved.
66
	Hir. So am not I; but I am more than famished.
68
	Spun. All the members in my body are in a rebellion
70	one against another.
72	Hir. So are mine; and nothing but a cook, being a
	constable, can appease them, presenting to my nose,
74	instead of his painted staff, a spit full of roast meat.	= a constable might carry a staff of office, which could be
		tipped with a cap of metal, or painted.^1
76	Spun. But in this rebellion, what uproars do they make!
	my belly cries to my mouth, “Why dost not gape and	= "don't you open wide".
78	feed me?”
80	Hir. And my mouth sets out a throat to my hand, “Why
	dost thou not lift up meat, and cram my chops with it?”	= jaws.
82
	Spun. Then my hand hath a fling at mine eyes, because
84	they look not out, and shark for victuals.	= ie. seek food in the manner of a shark; this use of shark
		as a verb was common in 17th century literature.
86	Hir. Which mine eyes seeing, full of tears, cry aloud,
	and curse my feet, for not ambling up and down to feed	87-88: feed colon = "satisfy my hunger".
88	colon; sithence, if good meat be in any place, 'tis known	= old word for "since".
	my feet can smell.	= (1) can smell out the food, and (2) are smelly.
90
	Spun. But then my feet, like lazy rogues, lie still, and
92	had rather do nothing than run to and fro to purchase
	anything.
94
	Hir. Why, among so many millions of people, should	= the population of London at this time was around half a million;^20 of England, about 5 million.^21
96	thou and I only be miserable tatterdemallions,	= persons in tattered clothing.^1
	ragamuffins, and lousy desperates?
98
	Spun. Thou art a mere I-am-an-o, I-am-an-as: consider	= complete. = Spungius condemns Hircius for feeling
100	the whole world, and 'tis as we are.	sorry for himself: "you are nothing more than an I-am- this and I-am-that"; note that I-am-an-as will sound like "I am an ass".
102	Hir. Lousy, beggarly! thou whoreson assafœtida!	= despicable.^2 = a plant resin that smells like garlic; Hircius is punning with the ass in assafoetida.
104	Spun. Worse; all totterings, all out of frame, thou	= ie. tottering.
	fooliamini!	= fool.^1
106
	Hir. As how, arsenic? come, make the world smart.	= Hircius continues punning on ass, with the arse in arsenic; as a side note, heated arsenic smells like garlic, thus further connecting this line to Hircius' earlier use of assafœtida.
108
	Spun. Old honour goes on crutches, beggary rides	109-114: in this speech, Spungius complains how the world seems to have turned upside down.
110	caroched; honest men make feasts, knaves sit at tables,	= in a luxurious coach or carriage.^1 = prepare.
	cowards are lapped in velvet, soldiers (as we) in rags;	= wrapped.^1
112	beauty turns whore, whore, bawd, and both die of the	= ie. beautiful women become whores, and whores become bawds.
	pox: why, then, when all the world stumbles, should	= syphilis.^1
114	thou and I walk upright?
116	Hir. Stop, look! who's yonder?
118	Enter Angelo.
120	Spun. Fellow Angelo! how does my little man, well?
122	Ang. Yes; And would you did so! Where are your clothes?	122: Angelo notices that the two servants are in rags, and
		not in their own suits of clothes; as we shall see, they have pawned their outfits. It was normal for common people in those days to only own one set of clothing.
124	Hir. Clothes! You see every woman almost go in her
	loose gown, and why should not we have our clothes	125: loose = could mean "wanton".
126	loose?	125-6: our clothes loose = the boy' clothes are loose because they have wasted away from hunger.
128	Spun. Would they were loose!	= "I wish"; Spungius is no doubt thinking about women
		here.
130	Ang. Why, where are they?
132	Spun. Where many a velvet cloak, I warrant, at this
	hour, keeps them company; they are pawned to a
134	broker.	= ie. a pawnbroker, who would have lent them money at
		interest, using their clothing as security.
136	Ang. Why pawned? where's all the gold I left with you?
138	Hir. The gold! we put that into a scrivener's hands, and	= notary's; notaries, in writing out bonds of debt, were, like brokers, part of the legal system involved in the creation of debt.^22
	he hath cozened us.	= deceived.
140
	Spun. And therefore, I prithee, Angelo, if thou hast
142	another purse, let it be confiscate, and brought to	142: another purse = ie. "more gold on you".
	devastation.	confiscate = appropriated.^1
144		142-3: brought to devastation = wasted.
	Ang. Are you made all of lies? I know which way
146	Your gilt-winged pieces flew. I will no more	= Angelo puns on gilt and guilt.^4
	Be mocked by you: be sorry for your riots,	= debouchery;^2 Angelo here begins a series of imperatives, instructing the servants to reform; only when they mend their ways will he help them.
148	Tame your wild flesh by labour; eat the bread
	Got with hard hands; let sorrow be your whip,	= ie. hardened or coarsened with manual labour.
150	To draw drops of repentance from your heart:
	When I read this amendment in your eyes,
152	You shall not want; till then, my pity dies.	= go lacking.
154	[Exit Angelo.]
156	Spun. Is it not a shame, that this scurvy puerilis should	= child.^1
	give us lessons.
158
	Hir. I have dwelt, thou know'st, a long time in the
160	suburbs of the conscience, and they are ever bawdy; but	= the suburbs, found outside the city walls, were the tra- ditional location of the brothels of a Renaissance city.
	now my heart shall take a house within the walls of	161-9: Hircius and Spungius contemplate reforming.
162	honesty.
164	Enter Harpax aloof.	164: note that Harpax only dares appear after Angelo has
		exited the scene. aloof = behind, ie. sneaking; Harpax does not make himself immediately visible to the boys on stage.
166	Spun. O you drawers of wine, draw me no more to the
	bar of beggary; the sound of “Score a pottle of sack” is	166: score = one's debt at a tavern was recorded by a series of markings (scores). pottle = tankard holding a half-gallon. sack = a white wine.
168	worse than the noise of a scolding oyster-wench, or two	= a woman who sells oysters.
	cats incorporating.	= mating.
170
	Harp. This must not be. I do not like when conscience	171-2: Harpax hears in Spungius' words the possibility of the boys' reformation, which he will quickly quash.
172	Thaws; keep her frozen still.	= it.
174	[Comes forward.]
176	How now, my masters!	= ie. gentlemen.
	Dejected? drooping? drowned in tears? clothes torn?
178	Lean, and ill-coloured? sighing? where's the whirlwind
	Which raises all these mischiefs? I have seen you
180	Drawn better on't. O! but a spirit told me
	You both would come to this, when in you thrust
182	Yourselves into the service of that lady,
	Who shortly now must die. Where's now her praying?
184	What good got you by wearing out your feet,	= the original quarto prints wearing your our feete; the emendation is based on the 1631 edition.
	To run on scurvy errands to the poor,
186	And to bear money to a sort of rogues	= collection.
	And lousy prisoners?	= filthy.
188
	Hir. Pox on them! I never prospered since I did it.	= have not.
190
	Spun. Had I been a pagan still, I should not have
192	spit white for want of drink; but come to any vintner	= to froth white sputum from dryness.^1 = wine seller.
	now, and bid him trust me, because I turned Christian,	= ie. serve him alcohol on credit.
194	and he cries, Puh!
196	Harp. You're rightly served; before that peevish lady	= foolish.^4
	Had to do with you, women, wine and money
198	Flowed in abundance with you, did it not?
200	Hir. O, those days! those days!
202	Harp. Beat not your breasts, tear not your hair in madness;
	Those days shall come again, be ruled by me;	= "let me guide your actions".
204	And better, mark me, better.	= ie. things will be better.
206	Spun. I have seen you, sir, as I take it, an attendant on
	the Lord Theophilus.
208
	Harp. Yes, yes; in show his servant; but − hark, hither! −	= "listen up".
210	Take heed nobody listens.
212	Spun. Not a mouse stirs.
214	Harp. I am a prince disguised.	= prince, of course, was used to refer to Satan, but Harpax allows the servants to understand the term in its usual sense.
216	Hir. Disguised! how? drunk?	= disguised was also slang for "drunk".
218	Harp. Yes, my fine boy! I'll drink too, and be drunk;
	I am a prince, and any man by me,
220	Let him but keep my rules, shall soon grow rich,
	Exceeding rich, most infinitely rich:
222	He that shall serve me is not starved from pleasures
	As other poor knaves are; no, take their fill.
224
	Spun. But that, sir, we're so ragged −
226
	Harp. You'll say, you’d serve me?
228
	Hir. Before any master under the zodiac.
230
	Harp. For clothes no matter; I've a mind to both.
232	And one thing I like in you; now that you see
	The bonfire of your lady's state burnt out,
234	You give it over, do you not?	= ie. will abandon Dorothea.
236	Hir. Let her be hanged!
238	Spun. And poxed!	= infected with venereal disease, or ruined generally.^1
240	Harp. Why, now you're mine;
	Come, let my bosom touch you.	= ie. "let us embrace to seal the deal."
242
	Spun. We have bugs, sir.	= ie. bed-bugs.^1
244
	Harp. There's money, fetch your clothes home; there's for you.	= ie. "collect your clothes from the pawnbroker."
246
	Hir. Avoid, vermin! give over our mistress − a man	= "Away!" = "(let us) abandon".
248	cannot prosper worse, if he serve the devil.	= a good example of dramatic irony: the audience knows
		better than Hircius how true his statement is!
250	Harp. How! the devil? I'll tell you what now of the devil,
	He's no such horrid creature: cloven-footed,	251-3: interestingly, Harpax is not lying here: Satan actually
252	Black, saucer-eyed, his nostrils breathing fire, as	has 4 or 6 wings and 4 faces, and his entire being is
	These lying Christians make him.	covered with eyes - a much more terrifying creature than
254		as he is usually pictured.^23
	Both. No!
256
	Harp. He's more loving
258	To man, than man to man is.
260	Hir. Is he so? Would we two might come acquainted
	with him!
262
	Harp. You shall: he's a wondrous good fellow, loves
264	a cup of wine, a whore, anything. You have money; it's
	ten to one but I'll bring him to some tavern to you or
266	other.
268	Spun. I'll bespeak the best room in the house for him.	= reserve.
270	Harp. Some people he cannot endure.
272	Hir. We'll give him no such cause.
274	Harp. He hates a civil lawyer, as a soldier does peace.	= common lawyer, ie. one who practices common law.^1
276	Spun. How a commoner?	= ie. "how come he hates a common lawyer?"
278	Harp. Loves him from the teeth outward.	278: ie. only pretends to love him. from the teeth outward = a common expression: to evince a feeling from the teeth outward meant only in
		show.
280	Spun. Pray, my lord and prince, let me encounter you
	with one foolish question: does the devil eat any mace	= a nutmeg-flavored spice, though derived from the seed
282	in his broth?	covering rather than the seed itself, which is the source of traditional nutmeg.^1
284	Harp. Exceeding much, when his burning fever takes
	him; and then he has the knuckles of a bailiff boiled to	= officer charged with making arrests.^1
286	his breakfast.
288	Hir. Then, my lord, he loves a catchpole, does he not?	= officer charged with arresting debtors.^1
290	Harp. As a bearward doth a dog. A catchpole! he hath	= bear-keeper; the bear was exhibited in bear-baitings, in which a pack of dogs was let loose to torment the chained-up beast.
	sworn, if ever he dies, to make a serjeant his heir, and a	= sheriff's officer charged with making arrests.^1
292	yeoman his overseer.	292: yeoman = one who is a landowner, but not a gentle- man.^2 overseer = one appointed to supervise or assist the executor of a will.^1
294	Spun. How if he come to any great man's gate, will the
	porter let him come in, sir?	= gatekeeper.
296
	Harp. Oh! he loves porters of great men's gates,
298	because they are ever so near the wicket.	= a smaller entrance placed within a larger gate, to be used when the larger gate is closed.^1
300	Hir. Do not they whom he makes much on, for all his	= ie. whom the devil treats generously.
	stroking their cheeks, lead hellish lives under him?
302
	Harp. No, no, no, no; he will be damned before he	= Harpax is disingenuous: the devil is already damned.
304	hurts any man: do but you (when you are thoroughly
	acquainted with him) ask for anything, see if it does not
306	come.	= ie. come through.
308	Spun. Anything!
310	Harp. Call for a delicate rare whore, she is brought you.	= excellent.
312	Hir. Oh! my elbow itches. Will the devil keep the door?	312: my elbow itches = an itchy elbow, according to a
		superstition, meant that one would soon be sleeping in another person's bed;^24 it is no surprise to hear this coming from Hircius. keep the door = ie. guard or watch the door while Hircius is within, sporting with a whore.
314	Harp. Be drunk as a beggar, he helps you home.
316	Spun. O my fine devil! some watchman, I warrant; I	316-7: Spungius, in turn, is glad to know the devil will
	wonder who is his constable.	enable his drinking.
318
	Harp. Will you swear, roar, swagger? he claps you −	= both words suggest boisterous and blustering behavior.
320
	Hir. How? on the chops?	321: on the = the quarto prints ath' here, emended by Gifford. chops = jaws.
322
	Harp. No, on the shoulder; and cries, “O, my brave	323: on the = the quarto prints ath' here too, emended by
324	boys!” Will any of you kill a man?	Gifford. brave = excellent.
326	Spun. Yes, yes; I, I.	= or "ay, ay".
328	Harp. What is his word? “Hang! hang! 'tis nothing.” –	= the regular references to hanging are of course a very
	Or stab a woman?	English trait.
330
	Hir. Yes, yes; I, I.
332
	Harp. Here is the worst word he gives you: “A pox	= ie. the devil.
334	on't, go on!”
336	Hir. O inveigling rascal! − I am ravished.	= seductive. = ecstatic.
338	Harp. Go, get your clothes; turn up your glass of youth,	= hourglass.
	And let the sands run merrily: nor do I care
340	From what a lavish hand your money flies,
	So you give none away to beggars −
342
	Hir. Hang them!
344
	Harp. And to the scrubbing poor.	= squalid.^1
346
	Hir. I'll see them hanged first.
348
	Harp. One service you must do me.
350
	Both. Anything;
352
	Harp. Your mistress, Dorothea, ere she suffers,	= ie. "before she is killed".
354	Is to be put to tortures: have you hearts
	To tear her into shrieks, to fetch her soul	355-6: to fetch…to die? = to viciously torture her without
356	Up in the pangs of death, yet not to die?	killing her, ie. to prolong her agony; Harpax prefers that Dorothea give in to her torturers and renounce her Christianity than die a martyr, which would prevent him from capturing her soul.
358	Hir. Suppose this she, and that I had no hands, here's	= Hircius pretends some nearby object is Dorothea.
	my teeth.
360
	Spun. Suppose this she, and that I had no teeth, here's
362	my nails.
364	Hir. But will not you be there, sir?
366	Harp. No, not for hills of diamonds; the grand master,	= a royal household's chief officer,^1 applied to Angelo.
	Who schools her in the Christian discipline,	= instructs. = a common expression referring to the proper practice of Christianity, as opposed to its doctrine.^1
368	Abhors my company: should I be there,
	You’d think all hell broke loose, we should so quarrel.
370	Ply you this business; he, her flesh who spares,	= ie. "who fails to apply his maximum efforts in torturing
	Is lost, and in my love never more shares.	Dorothea".
372
	[Exit Harpax.]
374
	Spun. Here's a master, you rogue!
376
	Hir. Sure he cannot choose but have a horrible number	= ie. exceedingly high (an intensifier).^1
378	of servants.
380	[Exeunt.]
	ACT IV.
	SCENE I.
	The Governor's Palace.	Scene I: the abusive language in this scene, as well as the
		appearance of words used in previous plays by Dekker, suggests his hand in writing this scene; see the note at the end of the play.
	Antoninus on a bed asleep, with Doctors
	about him; Sapritius and Macrinus.
1	Sap. O you, that are half gods, lengthen that life	= Sapritius is addressing the doctors; he is likely comparing them to the Greek god of medicine, Aesculapius, whose parents were the god Apollo and the mortal Coronis, making him a demi-god, or half-god.^11
2	Their deities lend us; turn o'er all the volumes
	Of your mysterious Æsculapian science,	= obscure or incomprehensible.^1 = ie. healing.^1
4	T' increase the number of this young man's days:	4: Sapritius is begging the doctors to save his son's life.
	And, for each minute of his time prolonged,
6	Your fee shall be a piece of Roman gold	6-7: piece…stamp = Roman gold coin.
	With Caesar's stamp, such as he sends his captains	= military commanders.
8	When in the wars they earn well: do but save him,
	And, as he's half myself, be you all mine.	= the sense is, "I will be forever in your debt".
10
	Doct. What art can do, we promise; physic's hand	= skill. = ie. medical treatment generally.
12	As apt is to destroy as to preserve,	12: allusions were frequently made to the suspicion that doctors were more likely to prolong suffering than to heal.
	If Heaven make not the med’cine: all this while,
14	Our skill hath combat held with his disease;
	But 'tis so armed, and a deep melancholy,	= sullenness or despondency;^1 melancholy was also the name given to "black bile", one of the four fluids (or "humours") contained in the human body, whose proper balance was required to maintain good health. An excess of black bile caused the symptoms of melancholia.
16	To be such in part with death, we are in fear	= the sense is "in league with".^1
	The grave must mock our labours.
18
	Mac. I have been
20	His keeper in this sickness, with such eyes	20-21: with such…o'er me = a particularly lovely image.
	As I have seen my mother watch o'er me;
22	And, from that observation, sure I find
	It is a midwife must deliver him.
24
	Sap. Is he with child? a midwife!
26
	Mac. Yes, with child;
28	And will, I fear, lose life, if by a woman
	He is not brought to bed. Stand by his pillow	= a phrase normally used to describe the bed on which a
30	Some little while, and, in his broken slumbers,	a woman will give birth; Macrinus' metaphor is unclear,
	Him shall you hear cry out on Dorothea;	and perhaps annoying, as evidenced by Sapritius'
32	And, when his arms fly open to catch her,	response at line 25.
	Closing together, he falls fast asleep,
34	Pleased with embracings of her airy form.	= not corporeal, ie. imaginary.
	Physicians but torment him, his disease
36	Laughs at their gibberish language; let him hear	= ie. medical jargon, which is as unintelligible as gibberish.
	The voice of Dorothea, nay, but the name,
38	He starts up with high colour in his face:
	She, or none, cures him; and how that can be,	= it has taken a while for Macrinus to get to the point:
40	The princess' strict command, barring that happiness,	Antoninus will only recover if Dorothea is brought
	To me impossible seems.	in for him to sleep with.
42
	Sap. To me it shall not;	43-46: Sapritius would even defy the greatest emperor if it
44	I'll be no subject to the greatest Caesar	it meant doing something to save his son.
	Was ever crowned with laurel, rather than cease
46	To be a father.
48	[Exit Sapritius.]
50	Mac. Silence, sir, he wakes.
52	Anton. Thou kill'st me, Dorothea; oh, Dorothea!
54	Mac. She's here: − enjoy her.
56	Anton. Where? Why do you mock me?
	Age on my head hath stuck no white hairs yet,
58	Yet I’m an old man, a fond doting fool	= foolish.
	Upon a woman. I, to buy her beauty,
60	(In truth I am bewitched!) offer my life,
	And she, for my acquaintance, hazards hers:	= risks.
62	Yet, for our equal sufferings, none holds out
	A hand of pity.
64
	Doct. Let him have some music.
66
	Anton. Hell on your fiddling!
68
	[Starts from his bed.]
70
	Doct. Take again your bed, sir;
72	Sleep is a sovereign physic.	= excellent or effective medicine; sovereign was used
		frequently to describe medicine.
74	Anton. Take an ass's head, sir:
	Confusion on your fooleries, your charms! −	= ruin.
76	Thou stinking glister-pipe, where's the god of rest,	76: glister-pipe = literally an enema tube,^1 but used here as a contemptuous name for the doctors; sometimes written as clyster-pipe. the god of rest = presumably Antoninus is calling for Somnus, the god of rest; (Morpheus, who is commonly thought to be the god of sleep, is actually the god of dreams.)
	Thy pills and base apothecary drugs
78	Threatened to bring unto me? Out, you impostors!
	Quacksalving, cheating mountebanks! your skill	79: quacksalving = ie. describing a quack, one who sells
80	Is to make sound men sick, and sick men kill.	false cures.
		mountebanks = charlatans.^1
82	Mac. Oh, be yourself, dear friend.
84	Anton. Myself, Macrinus!
	How can I be myself, when I am mangled
86	Into a thousand pieces? here moves my head,
	But where's my heart? wherever − that lies dead.
88
	Re-enter Sapritius, dragging in Dorothea
90	by the hair, Angelo following.
92	Sap. Follow me, thou damned sorceress! Call up thy spirits,
	And, if they can, now let them from my hand
94	Untwine these witching hairs.
96	Anton. I am that spirit:
	Or, if I be not, were you not my father,
98	One made of iron should hew that hand in pieces,
	That so defaces this sweet monument
100	Of my love's beauty.
102	Sap. Art thou sick?
104	Anton. To death.
106	Sap. Wouldst thou recover?	106: ie. "do you want to get better?"
108	Anton. Would I live in bliss!
110	Sap. And do thine eyes shoot daggers at that man	= I have not been able to find an earlier use for this well-
	That brings thee health?	known phrase describing a fierce look; in Hamlet, an earlier play than ours, Shakespeare had used the phrase "speak daggers" to refer to speaking to someone in a hurtful manner (Act III.ii); another line in the same play expresses a similar thought: "These words, like daggers, enter in mine ears" (Act III.iv).
112
	Anton. It is not in the world.	113: "there exists no person on earth who can bring me health."
114
	Sap. It's here.	115: "such a person (meaning Dorothea) is here."
116
	Anton. To treasure, by enchantment locked	117-8: "I am as close to a person who can heal me as I am
118	In caves as deep as hell, am I as near.	to a treasure buried in a cave located as deep as hell."
120	Sap. Break that enchanted cave: entér, and rifle	= plunder.^2
	The spoils thy lust hunts after; I descend
122	To a base office, and become thy pander,
	In bringing thee this proud thing: make her thy whore,
124	Thy health lies here; if she deny to give it,
	Force it: imagine thou assault'st a town's	125-7: Sapritius misunderstands the nature of Antoninus' feelings for Dorothea; he expects his son to heal himself by raping her. Note the violent and aggressive extended military metaphor used by Sapritius.
126	Weak wall: to't, 'tis thine own, but beat this down. −
	Come, and, unseen, be witness to this battery,	127-8: Sapritius here addresses Macrinus and the doctors;
128	How the coy strumpet yields.	they will pretend to leave, but actually intend to watch the ensuing rape from hiding.
130	Doct. Shall the boy stay, sir?	= remain, referring to Angelo.
132	Sap. No matter for the boy: pages are used
	To these odd bawdy shufflings; and, indeed, are	= the sense seems to be "carryings-on" or "shenanigans".
134	Those little young snakes in a Fury's head,	= the avenging Furies were described as having young snakes entwined in their hair.^11
	Will sting worse than the great ones. Let the pimp stay.	= Sapritius has just moments ago referred to himself as
136		a pander (line 122), but now does the same to Angelo.
	[Exeunt Sapritius, Macrinus, and Doctors.]
138
	Dor. O, guard me, angels!
140	What tragedy must begin now?
142	Anton. When a tiger	142-4: Antoninus' ferocious cat analogy is reminiscent of
	Leaps into a timorous herd, with ravenous jaws,	those of Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey.
144	Being hunger-starved, what tragedy then begins?
146	Dor. Death: I am happy so; you, hitherto,	= till now.
	Have still had goodness sphered within your eyes,	147: still = always. sphered = formed into a sphere;^1 the original editions all read spared here, which the editors all emend to sphered.
148	Let not that orb be broken.	= ie. the sphere of goodness.
150	Ang. Fear not, mistress;
	If he dare offer violence, we two
152	Are strong enough for such a sickly man.
154	Dor. What is your horrid purpose, sir? your eye
	Bears danger in it.
156
	Anton. I must −
158
	Dor. What?
160
	Sap. [Within.] Speak it out.	= from off-stage; a director might also have Sapritius remain
162		on-stage but watching the scene from a hiding place.
	Anton. Climb that sweet virgin tree.
164
	Sap. [Within.] Plague o' your trees!
166
	Anton. And pluck that fruit which none, I think, e'er tasted.
168
	Sap. [Within.]
170	A soldier, and stand fumbling so!	170: Sapritius is horrified to see his son wasting time talking
		instead of acting.
172	Dor. [Kneels.] Oh, kill me,
	And Heaven will take it as a sacrifice;
174	But, if you play the ravisher, there is
	A hell to swallow you.
176
	Sap. [Within.] Let her swallow thee!
178
	Anton. Rise: − for the Roman empire, Dorothea,
180	I would not wound thine honour. Pleasures forced
	Are unripe apples; sour, not worth the plucking:
182	Yet, let me tell you, 'tis my father's will,
	That I should seize upon you, as my prey;
184	Which I abhor, as much as the blackest sin
	The villainy of man did ever act.
186
	[Sapritius breaks in with Macrinus.]
188
	Dor. Die happy for this language!
190
	Sap. Die a slave,
192	A blockish idiot!
194	Mac. Dear sir, vex him not.	194: Macrinus begs Sapritius not to aggravate Antoninus.
196	Sap. Yes, and vex thee too; both, I think, are geldings:	= "both of you, it seems, are like castrated horses."
	Cold, phlegmatic bastard, thou'rt no brat of mine;	197: phlegmatic = phlegm was another of the four fluids believed to be contained within the human body; an excess of phlegm was thought to cause sluggishness and apathy. no brat of mine = Sapritius is ashamed that his son is not man enough to take a woman by force when he wants to.
198	One spark of me, when I had heat like thine,
	By this had made a bonfire: a tempting whore,	= ie. "by this time I would have".
200	For whom thou'rt mad, thrust e'en into thine arms,
	And stand'st thou puling! Had a tailor seen her	201: puling = whining or whimpering. Had a tailor seen her = stereotyped as effeminate, tailors were a universal target of contempt by the era's dramatists.
202	At this advantage, he, with his cross capers,	= dance-like movements, usually ascribed to tailors.^1
	Had ruffled her by this. But thou shalt curse	= "would have dealt roughly with her by this time,"^1 ie. he would have taken her by now.
204	Thy dalliance, and here, before her eyes,	= hesitation.^3
	Tear thy own flesh in pieces, when a slave
206	In hot lust bathes himself, and gluts those pleasures
	Thy niceness durst not touch. − Call out a slave;	= fastidiousness.
208	You, captain of our guard, fetch a slave hither.
210	Anton. What will you do, dear sir?
212	Sap. Teach her a trade,
	Which many would learn in less than half an hour, −
214	To play the whore.
216	Enter a Slave.
218	Mac. A slave is come; what now?
220	Sap. Thou hast bones and flesh
	Enough to ply thy labour; from what country
222	Wert thou ta'en prisoner, here to be our slave?
224	Slave. From Britain.
226	Sap. In the west ocean?
228	Slave. Yes.
230	Sap. An island?
232	Slave. Yes.
234	Sap. I'm fitted: of all nations	= satisfied.
	Our Roman swords e'er conquered, none comes near
236	The Briton for true whoring. Sirrah, fellow,	= an appropriate term of address for a menial.
	What wouldst thou do to gain thy liberty?
238
	Slave. Do! liberty! fight naked with a lion,	239ff: this speech was no doubt intended to flatter the pride of the English audience!
240	Venture to pluck a standard from the heart	= the flag of an army.
	Of an armed legion. Liberty! I’d thus
242	Bestride a rampire, and defiance spit	= rampart.
	I’ the face of death, then, when the battering ram
244	Was fetching his career backward, to pash	= smash.
	Me with his horns in pieces. To shake my chains off,	245: Me = "myself". horns = ancient battering rams might have horns like those of a ram carved into their front ends.
246	And that I could not do't but by thy death,
	Stood'st thou on this dry shore, I on a rock
248	Ten pyramids high, down would I leap to kill thee,
	Or die myself: what is for man to do,
250	I'll venture on, to be no more a slave.
252	Sap. Thou shalt, then, be no slave, for I will set thee
	Upon a piece of work is fit for man,
254	Brave for a Briton: − drag that thing aside,
	And ravish her.
256
	Slave. And ravish her! is this your manly service?	257-263: a further bit of hometown cheering; no Englishman
258	A devil scorns to do't; 'tis for a beast,	(even a pre-Anglo-Saxon barbarian) would sink so low as to rape a harmless woman to gain his freedom.
	A villain, not a man: I am, as yet,
260	But half a slave; but, when that work is past,	= ie. "once I performed such an act".
	A damnèd whole one, a black ugly slave,
262	The slave of all base slaves: − do't thyself, Roman,
	'Tis drudgery fit for thee.
264
	Sap. He's bewitched too:
266	Bind him, and with a bastinado give him,	= cudgel or rod.^1
	Upon his naked belly, two hundred blows.
268
	Slave. Thou art more slave than I.
270
	[He is carried off.]
272
	Dor. That Power supernal, on whom waits my soul,	273-4: ie. "God will protect me."
274	Is captain o’er my chastity.	supernal = divine, the opposite of infernal.
276	Anton. Good sir, give o'er:	= "give it up," ie. "stop this."
	The more you wrong her, yourself’s vexed the more.	= irritated or troubled.^1
278
	Sap. Plagues light on her and thee! − thus down I throw	= alight on, ie. descend on or land on.
280	Thy harlot, thus by th' hair nail her to earth.
	Call in ten slaves, let every one discover
282	What lust desires, and surfeit here his fill.	= satiate.
	Call in ten slaves.
284
	Enter Slaves.
286
	Mac. They are come, sir, at your call.
288
	Sap. Oh, oh!	289: Sapritius is stricken with pain or faintness.
290
	[Falls down.]
292
	Enter Theophilus.
294
	Theo. Where is the governor?
296
	Anton. There's my wretched father.
298
	Theo. My lord Sapritius − he's not dead! − my lord!
300	That witch there −
302	Anton. 'Tis no Roman gods can strike
	These fearful terrors. O, thou happy maid,
304	Forgive this wicked purpose of my father.
306	Dor. I do.
308	Theo. Gone, gone; he's peppered. It is thou	= stricken with suffering.^1
	Hast done this act infernal.
310
	Dor. Heaven pardon you!
312	And if my wrongs from thence pull vengeance down,	312: "and if these wrongs you have done me call vengeance
	(I can no miracles work), yet, from my soul,	down from above".
314	Pray to those Powers I serve, he may recover.
316	Theo. He stirs – help, raise him up, − my lord!
318	Sap. Where am I?
320	Theo. One cheek is blasted.	= swollen.^1
322	Sap. Blasted! where's the lamia	= from Greek mythology, a she-demon who consumed the
	That tears my entrails? I'm bewitched; seize on her.	flesh and blood of young men.^11
324
	Dor. I'm here; do what you please.
326
	Theo. Spurn her to th' bar.	= kick. = ie. the bar of judgment.^25
328
	Dor. Come, boy, being there, more near to Heaven we are.
330
	Sap. Kick harder; go out, witch!
332
	[Exeunt all but Antoninus.]
334
	Anton. O bloody hangmen! Thine own gods give thee breath!
336	Each of thy tortures is my several death.	= "an individual death to me"; the scene ends with a
		rhyming couplet.
338	[Exit.]
	ACT IV, SCENE II.
	A Public Square.
	Enter Harpax, Hircius, and Spungius.
1	Harp. Do you like my service now? say, am not I
2	A master worth attendance?	= ie. worth serving.
4	Spun. Attendance! I had rather lick clean the soles
	of your dirty boots, than wear the richest suit of any
6	infected lord, whose rotten life hangs between the two	= ie. perhaps with the plague or venereal disease, but could
	poles.	also refer to moral corruption.^1
8
	Hir. A lord's suit! I would not give up the cloak of
10	your service, to meet the splayfoot estate of any	= an awkward foot that points outward.^1
	left-eyed knight above the antipodes; because they are	11: left-eyed = unable to see clearly.^1
12	unlucky to meet.	antipodes = opposite ends of the earth.^1 11-12: they are…to meet = perhaps a reference to the unlucky nature of the left side.
14	Harp. This day I'll try your loves to me; 'tis only	= today. = test.
	But well to use the agility of your arms.
16
	Spun. Or legs, I'm lusty at them.	17: ie. Spungius' legs are as vigorous (lusty) as his arms.
18
	Hir. Or any other member that has no legs.	= limb;^2 Hircius is being vaguely dirty.
20
	Spun. Thou'lt run into some hole.	= ie. to hide, but also vaguely obscene.
22
	Hir. If I meet one that's more than my match, and that	23-25: Hircius is now more obviously dirty; stand, with
24	I cannot stand in their hands, I must and will creep on	in their hands, is clearly bawdy.
	my knees.
26
	Harp. Hear me, my little team of villains, hear me;	= ie. like a team of horses, working together.^1
28	I cannot teach you fencing with these cudgels,	= here Harpax hands the boys a pair of rods with which to
	Yet you must use them; lay them on but soundly;	beat Dorothea.
30	That's all.
32	Hir. Nay, if we come to mauling once, puh!	= beating.
34	Spun. But what walnut-tree is it we must beat?	= The Encyclopedia Britannica (1911) reports that in
		some parts of England, walnut trees are thrashed with poles to knock down the nuts, but wryly notes "this is not a commendable mode of collecting them."^5
36	Harp. Your mistress.
38	Hir. How! my mistress? I begin to have a Christian
	heart made of sweet butter, I melt; I cannot strike a
40	woman.
42	Spun. Nor I, unless she scratch; − bum my mistress!	= another term for beat or strike.^1
44	Harp. You're coxcombs, silly animals.	= fools.
46	Hir. What's that?	46: "What silly animals?"
48	Harp. Drones, asses, blinded moles, that dare not thrust	48f: Harpax berates the boys for their hesitancy to beat Dorothea, as if they were Christians.
	Your arms out to catch fortune; say, you fall off,	= ie. "you part company from her".^1
50	It must be done. You are converted rascals,
	And, that once spread abroad, why, every slave
52	Will kick you, call you motley Christiäns,
	Arid half-faced Christians.	= with pinched faces.^1
54
	Spun. The guts of my conscience begin to be of
56	whitleather.	= leather which has been softened by treating with alum and salt;^1 hence, Spungius' resolve is weakening.
58	Hir. I doubt me, I shall have no sweet butter in me.	= "I suspect": this is an example of the grammatical form
		known as the ethical dative; the superfluous me after the verb gives adds emphasis.
60	Harp. Deny this, and each pagan whom you meet
	Shall forkèd fingers thrust into your eyes −	61: a surprising reference to a move made popular by the Three Stooges in the 20th century.
62
	Hir. If we be cuckolds.	= men whose wives have cheated on them; the symbol of a cuckold was a pair of horns worn by the husband - Hircius has seized on Harpax's use of the word forked to make a connection.
64
	Harp. Do this, and every god the Gentiles bow to	= pagans, ie. Romans faithful to their own gods.
66	Shall add a fadome to your line of years.	66: Harpax uses a metaphor for determining the depth of
		a body of water, by lowering into it a length of rope (a "plumb line" with a lead ball attached to its end); a fadome - an alternate spelling for fathom - was the length of one's outstretched arms, about 6 feet.^1
68	Spun. A hundred fadome, I desire no more.
70	Hir. I desire but one inch longer.	= it is hardly necessary to point out the gutter in which
		Hircius' mind lies.
72	Harp. The senators will, as you pass along,
	Clap you upon your shoulders with this hand,
74	And with this give you gold: when you are dead,	74-78: when…Hircius = Harpax alludes to the Christian
	Happy that man shall be can get a nail,	obsession with collecting relics of dead saints; it was
76	The paring, − nay, the dirt under the nail,	not unheard of for entrepreneurial vultures to sit outside
	Of any of you both, to say, this dirt	the home of a dying holy person, ready to seize
78	Belonged to Spungius or Hircius.	physical specimens of the body the moment death occurred.
80	Spun. They shall not want dirt under my nails, I will	= lack.
	keep them long of purpose, for now my fingers itch to	= for that.
82	be at her.
84	Hir. The first thing I do, I'll take her over the lips.	= strike.^1
86	Spun. And I the hips, − we may strike anywhere?	= a reference to a wrestling move, in which a wrestler takes
		down his opponent by flipping him over his hips; note Spungius' joke involves rhyming hips with lips.
88	Harp. Yes, anywhere.
90	Hir. Then I know where I'll hit her.	90: again, vaguely bawdy.
92	Harp. Prosper, and be mine own; stand by, I must not	= ie. "cannot be present".
	To see this done; great business calls me hence:
94	He's made can make her curse his violence.	94: "whoever can break Dorothea's stoicism, and get her
		to curse him who tortures her, is made for life." 93-94: Note also that Harpax ends with part in the scene with a rhyming couplet.
96	[Exit Harpax.]
98	Spun. Fear it not, sir; her ribs shall be basted.	= a pun and metaphor; to baste meant to beat, in addition to its meaning in cooking.
100	Hir. I'll come upon her with rounce, robble-hobble,	100-1: both rounce robble hobble and thwick thwack
	and thwick-thwack-thirlery bouncing.	thirlery bouncing were nonsense phrases used by the
102		16th century poet Richard Stanyhurst in his 1582 translation of The First Four Books of the Aeneid of Virgil to describe the sound of thunder. Thwick thwack alone was used to describe the falling of continuous blows.^1
	Enter Dorothea, led prisoner, a Guard attending;
104	Sapritius, Theophilus, Angelo, and a Hangman,	= torturer.
	who sets up a pillar in the middle of the stage;
106	Sapritius and Theophilus sit; Angelo stands by Dorothea.	103-6: Stage Directions: the quarto reads in part, a Hang-
		man with cords in some ugly shape, sets up a pillar in the middle of the stage; I have mostly accepted Gifford's modification of the directions.
108	Sap. According to our Roman customs, bind
	That Christian to a pillar.
110
	Theo. Infernal Furies,
112	Could they into my hand thrust all their whips
	To tear thy flesh, thy soul, 'tis not a torture	113-4: not a torture / Fit to = not a cruel enough torture to be worthy of.
114	Fit to the vengeance I should heap on thee,
	For wrongs done me − me! for flagitious facts,	= wicked deeds, a common collocation.^1
116	By thee done to our gods; yet, so it stand,
	To great Caesarea's governor's high pleasure,
118	Bow but thy knee to Jupiter, and offer	118-120: the Romans were actually lenient to apostates,
	Any slight sacrifice; or do but swear	requiring only a minimum acknowledgment of their gods
120	By Caesar's fortune, and be free.	to avoid retribution; of course, if a Christian refused
		to give in at all, harsh punishment could be expected.
122	Sap. Thou shalt.
124	Dor. Not for all Caesar's fortune, were it chained	124-6: a subtle but quite interesting metaphor of Caesar's
	To more worlds than are kingdoms in the world,	fortune dragging behind it on chains all the nations of
126	And all those worlds drawn after him. I defy	the world.
	Your hangmen; you now show me whither to fly.	= (to) where.
128
	Sap. Are her tormentors ready?
130
	Ang. Shrink not, dear mistress.
132
	Spun. and Hir. My lord, we are ready for the business.	133: we may wonder why Theophilus allowed Harpax to
134		talk him into letting Hircius and Spungius be Dorothea's torturers; no doubt there were more experienced men he could have turned to.
	Dor. You two! whom I like fostered children fed,
136	And lengthened out your starvèd life with bread;
	You be my hangmen! whom, when up the ladder
138	Death haled you to be strangled, I fetched down,	= personified Death had called them to climb the gallows.
	Clothed you, and warmed you, you two my tormentors!
140
	Both. Yes, we.
142
	Dor. Divine Powers pardon you!
144
	Sap. Strike.
146
	[They strike at her. Angelo kneeling holds her fast.]
148
	Theo. Beat out her brains.
150
	Dor. Receive me, you bright angels!	151: Dorothea expects to be killed outright.
152
	Sap. Faster, slaves.
154
	Spun. Faster! I am out of breath, I am sure; if I were
156	to beat a buck, I can strike no harder.	= the phrase refers to the practice of beating clothes with
		a pole to wash them.^3
158	Hir. O mine arms! I cannot lift 'em to my head.
160	Dor. Joy above joys! are my tormentors weary
	In torturing me, and, in my sufferings,
162	I fainting in no limb! tyrants, strike home,
	And feast your fury full.
164
	Theo. These dogs are curs,	= ie. Hircius and Spungius.
166
	[Comes from his seat.]
168
	Which snarl, yet bite not. See, my lord, her face
170	Has more bewitching beauty than before:
	Proud whore, it smiles! cannot an eye start out,	= she.
172	With these?
174	Hir. No, sir, nor the bridge of her nose fall; 'tis full	= Hircius makes a secondary allusion to a symptom of
	of iron-work.	advanced syphilis, in which the body's cartilage deteriorated, causing the patient's nose to collapse.
176
	Sap. Let's view the cudgels, are they not counterfeit?	= rods.
178
	Ang. There fix thine eye still; − thy glorious crown must come	= ie. towards Heaven.
180	Not from soft pleasure, but by martyrdom.
	There fix thine eye still; − when we next do meet,
182	Not thorns, but roses, shall bear up thy feet:
	There fix thine eye still.
184
	[Exit Angelo.]
186
	Dor. Ever, ever, ever!
188
	Enter Harpax, sneaking.	189: terrified of Angelo, Harpax has waited till Angelo left the stage before entering himself.
190
	Theo. We're mocked; these bats have power to fell down giants	191-2: Theophilus, who has been examining the rods, is satisfied they should have caused catastrophic injury
192	Yet her skin is not scarred.	to Dorothea; she, of course, has been supernaturally
		protected from harm.
194	Sap. What rogues are these?
196	Theo. Cannot these force a shriek?
198	[Beats Spungius.]
200	Spun. Oh! a woman has one of my ribs, and now five	= a silly reference to the Biblical Eve.
	more are broken.
202
	Theo. Cannot this make her roar?
204
	[Beats Hircius; he roars.]
206
	Sap. Who hired these slaves? what are they?
208
	Spun. We serve that noble gentleman, there; he enticed
210	us to this dry beating: oh! for one half pot!	210: dry beating = technically a beating that does not draw blood, but used to describe any severe pounding.^1 one half pot = ie. even a small drink.
212	Harp. My servants! two base rogues, and sometime servants	= former.
	To her, and for that cause forbear to hurt her.	= reason. = ie. refuse.
214
	Sap. Unbind her; hang up these.	= these two.
216
	Theo. Hang the two hounds on the next tree.	= Theophilus had previously referred to the two servants as dogs in line 165.
218
	Hir. Hang us! master Harpax, what a devil, shall we be	= a common expression equivalent to the modern "what the hell"; this is not the first time the servants have unintentionally connected Harpax to Satan.
220	thus used?	= treated.
222	Harp. What bandogs but you two would worry a woman?	= chained-up dogs. = used to describe dogs tearing the throats of sheep or other victims.^1
	Your mistress? I but clapped you, you flew on.
224	Say I should get your lives, each rascal beggar	224f: Harpax suggests they are not worth saving, as they would be despised by the citizens of Rome for failing in their task. get your lives = ie. "preserve your lives".
	Would, when he met you, cry out, “Hell-hounds! traitors!”
226	Spit at you, fling dirt at you; and no woman	226-7: and no woman…your sight = this would be
	Ever endure your sight: 'tis your best course	especially grievous to Hircius!
228	Now, had you secret knives, to stab yourselves; −
	But, since you have not, go and be hanged.
230
	Hir. I thank you.
232
	Harp. 'Tis your best course.
234
	Theo. Why stay they trifling here?	235: "what are the hangmen waiting for?"
236	To the gallows drag them by the heels; − away!
238	Spun. By the heels! no, sir, we have legs to do us that
	service.
240
	Hir. Ay, ay, if no woman can endure my sight, away
242	with me.
244	Harp. Dispatch them.
246	Spun. The devil dispatch thee!
248	[Exeunt Guard with Spungius and Hircius.]
250	Sap. Death this day rides in triumph, Theophilus.
	See this witch made away too.
252
	Theo. My soul thirsts for it.
254	Come, I myself the hangman's part could play.
256	Dor. O haste me to my coronation day!
258	[Exeunt]
	ACT IV, SCENE III.
	The Place of Execution.	Scene III: scaffold = the platform on which an execution
	A scaffold, block, &c.	takes place.
		block = the wooden block upon which a criminal sets
		his or her head to be chopped off.
	Enter Antoninus, supported by Macrinus,
	and Servants.
1	Anton. Is this the place where virtue is to suffer,
2	And heavenly beauty, leaving this base earth,	2-3: ie. as a heavenly beauty, Dorothea, in dying, will return
	To make a glad return from whence it came?	to Heaven from where (from whence) she came.
4	Is it, Macrinus?
		5: after Antoninus' opening speech, the quarto has the following stage direction: a scaffold thrust forth.
6	Mac. By this preparation,
	You well may rest assured that Dorothea
8	This hour is to die here.
10	Anton. Then with her dies
	The abstract of all sweetness that's in woman!	= epitome.
12	Set me down, friend, that, ere the iron hand	= before.
	Of death close up mine eyes, they may at once
14	Take my last leave both of this light and her:
	For, she being gone, the glorious sun himself
16	To me's Cimmerian darkness.	= "to me is like". = the land of a people known as the Cim- merians was proverbial for its darkness.
18	Mac. Strange affection!	= unnatural passion.
	Cupid once more hath changed his shafts with Death,	19: changed = exchanged.
20	And kills, instead of giving life.	19-20: Cupid, the god of love, usually shoots an arrow
		at an individual to cause that person to fall in love; here, however, his arrow brings death, albeit indirectly, as the expected deaths of Dorothea and Antonius have come about as a side effect of Antoninus' falling in love with Dorothea. Gifford identifies this allusion as derived from a verse by the Dutch poet Janus Secundus (1511-1536), whose Elegies include the brief tale of Death and Love (Cupid) each shooting and together killing a young man with their respective arrows; the two allegorical characters, in retrieving their missiles, each accidentally picks up the arrow of the other, and havoc ensues (Elegies, Book II, Elegie 6).^3
22	Anton. Nay, weep not;
	Though tears of friendship be a sovereign balm,	= effective healing ointment.^1
24	On me they're cast away. It is decreed	= ie. wasted.
	That I must die with her; our clew of life	= thread of life, as spun by the Fates (see the note at Act
26	Was spun together.	III.iii.35); the earliest meaning of the word clew, or
		clue, is thread, or a ball of thread or yarn.^1
28	Mac. Yet, sir, 'tis my wonder,
	That you, who, hearing only what she suffers,
30	Partake of all her tortures, yet will be,
	To add to our calamity, an eyewitness
32	Of her last tragic scene, which must pierce deeper,
	And make the wound more desperate.
34
	Anton. Oh, Macrinus!
36	'Twould linger out my torments else, not kill me,	= ie. "it would only serve to prolong".
	Which is the end I aim at: being to die too,	= ie. Antoninus hopes to die alongside Dorothea.
38	What instrument more glorious can I wish for,
	Than what is made sharp by my constant love
40	And true affection? It may be, the duty
	And loyal service with which I pursued her,
42	And sealed it with my death, will be remembered
	Among her blessèd actions: and what honour
44	Can I desire beyond it?
46	Enter a Guard, bringing in Dorothea,
	a Headsman before her;	= ie. executioner (who does his job by beheading).
48	followed by Theophilus, Sapritius, and Harpax.
50	See, she comes;
	How sweet her innocence appears! more like	= similar.
52	To Heaven itself than any sacrifice
	That can be offered to it. By my hopes
54	Of joys hereafter, the sight makes me doubtful	54-55: the sight...belief = ie. Antoninus questions his own
	In my belief; nor can I think our gods	belief in the Roman gods.
56	Are good, or to be served, that take delight
	In offerings of this kind: that, to maintain	= the Romans, like the Greeks before them, regularly sacrificed animals to their gods.
58	Their power, deface the master-piece of nature,
	Which they themselves come short of. She ascends,
60	And every step raises her nearer Heaven. −
	What god soe'er thou art, that must enjoy her,	= though done with some uncertainty, Antoninus for the
62	Receive in her a boundless happiness!	first time addresses the Christian God.
64	Sap. You are to blame to let him come abroad.	= go out, ie. leave his sickbed.
66	Mac. It was his will;
	And we were left to serve him, not command him.
68
	Anton. Good sir, be not offended; nor deny
70	My last of pleasures in this happy object,
	That I shall e'er be blest with.
72
	Theo. Now, proud contemner	= scorner (addressing Dorothea).
74	Of us, and of our gods, tremble to think
	It is not in the Power thou serv'st to save thee.	75: Theophilus accuses Dorothea's god of being powerless
76	Not all the riches of the sea, increased	to help her, just as she previously did the Roman gods.
	By violent shipwrecks, nor the unsearched mines
78	(Mammon's unknown exchequer), shall redeem thee;	78: Mammon = personified wealth.^1 exchequer = basically the Royal Treasury, charged with collecting and administering revenue.^1 redeem = ie. pay a sufficient ransom to save her life.^1
	And, therefore, having first with horror weighed
80	What 'tis to die, and to die young; to part with
	All pleasures and delights; lastly, to go
82	Where all antipathies to comfort dwell,	= those things contrary to.^1
	Furies behind, about thee, and before thee;	83: completely surrounded by the Furies.
84	And, to add to affliction, the remembrance
	Of the Elysian joys thou might'st have tasted,	= Theophilus alludes for the second time in the play to Ely- sium, the joyous part of Hades reserved for the blessed; hence suggesting perfect happiness.^1
86	Hadst thou not turned apostata to those gods
	That so reward their servants; let despair
88	Prevent the hangman's sword, and on this scaffold	= anticipate.^4
	Make thy first entrance into hell.
90
	Anton. She smiles,
92	Unmoved, by Mars! as if she were assured	= an oath invoking the Roman god of war; this would be appropriate for the soldier Antoninus.
	Death, looking on her constancy, would forget	= steadfastness.
94	The use of his inevitable hand.
96	Theo. Derided too! dispatch, I say.	= "get on with it"
98	Dor. Thou fool!	= Dorothea now uses the contemptuous and insulting thee to address the Roman officer.
	That gloriest in having power to ravish	= who glories.
100	A trifle from me I am weary of.	= ie. her life.
	What is this life to me? not worth a thought;
102	Or, if it be esteemed, 'tis that I lose it	= ie. "if my life is to be admired for anything".
	To win a better: even thy malice serves
104	To me but as a ladder to mount up
	To such a height of happiness, where I shall
106	Look down with scorn on thee, and on the world;
	Where, circled with true pleasures, placed above
108	The reach of death or time, 'twill be my glory
	To think at what an easy price I bought it.
110	There's a perpetual spring, perpetual youth:	= there exists, there is.
	No joint-benumbing cold, nor scorching heat,
112	Famine, nor age, have any being there.
	Forget, for shame, your Tempe; bury in	113-121: Dorothea names several attractive locations which suffer in comparison to the sublime beauty she expects to find in Heaven. Tempe = a proverbially beautiful river valley in Thessaly, Greece; when Xerxes invaded their land in 480 B.C., the Greeks initially planned to meet the Persians in the defile of the valley, but finding it undefendable, retreated to Thermopylae.^5
114	Oblivion your feigned Hesperian orchards: −	114-116: Hercules' 11th Labour was to bring back several
	The golden fruit, kept by the watchful dragon,	golden apples from an orchard protected by three or four
116	Which did require Hercules to get it,	nymphs known as the Hesperides and a 100-headed dragon called Ladon; unable to find the orchard (which was located at the northern end of the world), Hercules took on the task of holding up the heavens on his shoulders from Atlas, while Atlas (who hated his job) went to procure some of the golden fruit. Atlas was going to leave Hercules to carry his load forever, but Hercules tricked Atlas into taking the heavens back onto his own shoulders by asking Atlas to take the weight for only a moment to allow Hercules to put on some padding; Hercules of course left Atlas at this point, and returned the golden apples to Eurystheus, the king who was in charge of giving Hercules his impossible tasks.^26 require = this is the reading of the original quartos, but the editors add a or your after require; require, however, could be trisyllabic: re-QUI-er.
	Compared with what grows in all plenty there,
118	Deserves not to be named. The Power I serve
	Laughs at your happy Araby, or the	= ie. Arab person.
120	Elysian shades; for He hath made His bowers	120: Elysian shades = those souls that live in Elysium,
	Better in deed, than you can fancy yours.	the joyful part of Hades.
122		bowers = dwelling, ie. Heaven.
	Anton. O, take me thither with you!
124
	Dor. Trace my steps,
126	And be assured you shall.
128	Sap. With my own hands
	I'll rather stop that little breath is left thee,	= "I would"; Sapritius would rather kill Antoninus than let
130	And rob thy killing fever.	him fawningly follow Dorothea up the steps of the
		gallows.
132	Theo. By no means:
	Let him go with her: do, seduced young man,
134	And wait upon thy saint in death; do, do:
	And, when you come to that imagined place,
136	That place of all delights − pray you, observe me, −	= "listen closely".
	And meet those cursèd things I once called daughters,
138	Whom I have sent as harbingers before you:
	If there be any truth in your religion,
140	In thankfulness to me, that with care hasten
	Your journey thither, pray you send me some
142	Small pittance of that curious fruit you boast of.	= see lines 115-8, in which Dorothea brags about the
		fruit that grows in Heaven; Theophilus is of course speaking sarcastically.
144	Anton. Grant that I may go with her, and I will.
146	Sap. Wilt thou in thy last minute damn thyself?
148	Theo. The gates to hell are open.
150	Dor. Know, thou tyrant,
	Thou agent for the devil, thy great master,
152	Though thou art most unworthy to taste of it,
	I can, and will.
154
	Enter Angelo, in the Angel's habit.	= ie. dressed as an angel, perhaps wearing a long, wide-
156		sleeved flowing garment - and of course wings.
	Harp. Oh! mountains fall upon me,
158	Or hide me in the bottom of the deep,
	Where light may never find me!
160
	Theo. What's the matter?	161: only Dorothea can see Angelo.
162
	Sap. This is prodigious, and confirms her witchcraft.	= ominous, a prodigy;^4 Sapritius is concerned that the
164		normally stoic Harpax has lost his composure.
	Theo. Harpax, my Harpax, speak!
166
	Harp. I dare not stay:	167-171: it is possible that Harpax can also see Angelo; or he may be sufficiently experienced in these matters to simply recognize the latter is present based on Dorothea's countenance.
168	Should I but hear her once more, I were lost.	= would be.
	Some whirlwind snatch me from this cursèd place,
170	To which compared (and with what now I suffer,)
	Hell's torments are sweet slumbers!
172
	[Exit Harpax.]
174
	Sap. Follow him.
176
	Theo. He is distracted, and I must not lose him. −	177-180: Theophilus is so dependent on Harpax that he
178	Thy charms upon my servant, cursèd witch,	momentarily halts the execution to find out first what
	Give thee a short reprieve. Let her not die	has happened to his Secretary.
180	Till my return.
182	[Exeunt Sapritius and Theophilus.]
184	Anton. She minds him not: what object	= Antoninus notices that Dorothea, distracted by some
	Is her eye fixed on?	vision, appears not to have heard Theophilus.
186
	Mac. I see nothing.
188
	Anton. Mark her.	= "watch her closely."
190
	Dor. Thou glorious minister of the Power I serve!	= Dorothea has always used thou to address Angelo as
192	(For thou art more than mortal,) is't for me,	a signal of her intimate affection for him.
	Poor sinner, thou art pleased awhile to leave
194	Thy heavenly habitation, and vouchsafest,
	Though glorified, to take my servant's habit? −	= outfit; Dorothea recognizes that Angelo is actually an
196	For, put off thy divinity, so looked	angel of Heaven, and she is astonished and grateful
	My lovely Angelo.	that he condescended (vouchsafest) to play her servant.
198
	Ang. Know, I am the same;	= "I am he".
200	And still the servant to your piety.
	Your zealous prayers and pious deeds first won me
202	(But 'twas by His command to whom you sent them)
	To guide your steps. I tried your charity,	= tested.
204	When in a beggar's shape you took me up,
	And clothed my naked limbs, and after fed,
206	As you believed, my famished mouth. Learn all,	206: As you believed = ie. "as you believed I was hungry". Learn all = "all people should profit (by your example)".
	By your example, to look on the poor
208	With gentle eyes! for in such habits, often,	208-9: for in such…an alms = "Be not forgetful to enter-
	Angels desire an alms. I never left you,	tain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:2, King James version).
210	Nor will I now; for I am sent to carry
	Your pure and innocent soul to joys eternal,
212	Your martyrdom once suffered: and before it,
	Ask any thing from me, and rest assured,
214	You shall obtain it.
216	Dor. I am largely paid
	For all my torments. Since I find such grace,
218	Grant that the love of this young man to me,	= ie. Antoninus.
	In which he languisheth to death, may be
220	Changed to the love of Heaven.
222	Ang. I will perform it:
	And in that instant when the sword sets free
224	Your happy soul, his shall have liberty.
	Is there aught else?	= anything.
226
	Dor. For proof that I forgive
228	My persecutor, who in scorn desired
	To taste of that most sacred fruit I go to,
230	After my death, as sent from me, be pleased
	To give him of it.
232
	Ang. Willingly, dear mistress.
234
	Mac. I am amazed.
236
	Anton. I feel a holy fire,
238	That yields a comfortable heat within me;	= reassuring;^2 up to this point, Antoninus had been feeling
	I am quite altered from the thing I was.	a painful, burning fever.
240	See! I can stand, and go alone; thus kneel
	To heavenly Dorothea, touch her hand
242	With a religious kiss.
244	[Kneels.]
246	Re-enter Sapritius and Theophilus.
248	Sap. He is well now,	= ie. Harpax.
	But will not be drawn back.
250
	Theo. It matters not,
252	We can discharge this work without his help.
	But see your son.
254
	Sap. Villain!
256
	Anton. Sir, I beseech you,
258	Being so near our ends, divorce us not.	= ie. "don't separate me from Dorothea".
260	Theo. I'll quickly make a separation of them:
	Hast thou aught else to say?	= anything.
262
	Dor. Nothing, but to blame	263-4: "why are you taking so long to send me to where I
264	Thy tardiness in sending me to rest;	desire to go?"
	My peace is made with Heaven, to which my soul
266	Begins to take her flight: strike, O! strike quickly;	= the executioner will be chopping her head off.
	And, though you are unmoved to see my death,
268	Hereafter, when my story shall be read,	268-271: a common dramatic motif was to imagine one's
	As they were present now, the hearers shall	tale being told as a moral lesson by future generations.
270	Say this of Dorothea, with wet eyes,
	“She lived a virgin, and a virgin dies.”	= chaste or unspoiled maiden
272
	[Her head is struck off.]	= such dramatic and gory moments were always enjoyed
274		by 16th and 17th century audiences.
	Anton. O, take my soul along, to wait on thine!
276
	Mac. Your son sinks too.
278
	[Antoninus falls.]	279: Antoninus dies.
280
	Sap. Already dead!
282
	Theo. Die all
284	That are, or favour this accursèd sect:	= "who either are members of".
	I triumph in their ends, and will raise up
286	A hill of their dead carcasses, to o'erlook	= ie. "that will be higher than".
	The Pyrenean hills, but I’ll root out	= ie. the Pyrenees mountains.
288	These superstitious fools, and leave the world
	No name of Christian.
290
	[Loud music: Exit Angelo, having first laid
292	his hand upon the mouths of Antoninus and
	Dorothea.]
294
	Sap. Ha! heavenly music!
296
	Mac. ‘Tis in the air.
298
	Theo. Illusions of the devil,
300	Wrought by some witch of her religion,
	That fain would make her death a miracle:	= would like to.
302	It frights not me. Because he is your son,
	Let him have burial; but let her body
304	Be cast forth with contempt in some highway,
	And be to vultures and to dogs a prey.
306
	[Exeunt.]
	ACT V.
	SCENE I.
	The study of Theophilus.
	Entere Theophilus in his Study: books about him.	The scene begins with a monologue by our play's official Christian persecutor, The Virgin Martyr's lengthiest speech.
1	Theo. Is’t holiday, O Caesar, that thy servant,	1-5: Is't holiday…stirring = Theophilus wonders where all the Christians are, that he is having difficulty finding any to torture.
2	(Thy provost, to see execution done
	On these base Christians in Caesarea,)
4	Should now want work? Sleep these idolaters,	= lack. = worshippers of idols, ie. Christians.
	That none are stirring? − As a curious painter,	= "just like a fastidious or highly-skilled painter".^2
6	When he has made some admirable piece,
	Stands off, and with a searching eye examines
8	Each colour, how 'tis sweetened; and then hugs
	Himself for his rare workmanship − so here,	= excellent.
10	Will I my drolleries, and bloody landscapes,	10-12: continuing to compare himself to a painter of great
	Long past wrapped up, unfold, to make me merry	works, Theophilus worries that he will have to live on
12	With shadows, now I want the substances,	memories (shadows) of his tortures, since there seem to be no possibilities for actual ones (substances) left for him to enjoy. drolleries = comic entertainments, referring to Theo- philus' tortures, of course meant ironically. want = lack.
	My muster-book of hell-hounds. Were the Christians,	13: muster-book = a register in which a census is recorded.^1 hell-hounds = fiends, dogs of hell;^1 Theophilus has no more names of Christians to add to his list of victims.
14	Whose names stand here, alive and armed, not Rome
	Could move upon her hinges. What I've done,
16	Or shall hereafter, is not out of hate	= doth Theophilus protest too much? Or, as Gifford suggests, is he speaking the genuine truth? Gifford believes that Theophilus expresses his lack of visceral hate for the Christians to distinguish himself (for the audience's understanding) from Sapritius, whose dislike for the Christians is real and deep-rooted.^3
	To poor tormented wretches; no, I'm carried
18	With violence of zeal, and streams of service	= passion born from religious duty.
	I owe our Roman gods.
20	[Reads.] Great Britain, − what?	20f: Theophilus is reading a treatise on the British barbarians; Britannia was of course a province of the Roman Empire - during the time of Dioclesian, one of his Caesars, Constantius Chlorus, was fighting locals there. Needless to say, the name Great Britain is an anachronism.
22	A thousand wives, with, brats sucking their breasts,	22f: Gifford suggests the gruesome descriptions of torture
	Had hot irons pinch them off, and thrown to swine;	of British barbarians and Christians were derived from
24	And then their fleshy back-parts, hewed with hatchets,	ancient sources, and were likely written by Dekker.
	Were minced, and baked in pies to feed the starvèd Christians.
26
	Ha! − ha!
28	Again, again, − East Anglas, − oh! East Angles:	28: Theophilus originally misreads the name of the tribe or region. There is a bit of anachronism here, as tribes such as the Angles and Saxons did not arrive in Britain until the fifth century, after the Romans had abandoned the island.
30	Bandogs, kept three days hungry, worried	30-32: Theophilus' treatise describes starved, vicious dogs
	A thousand British rascals, stied up fat	(bandogs) being released to attack and tear apart (worry)
32	Of purpose, strippèd naked, and disarmed.	Britons who had been fattened and confined in smallish quarters (stied)^1 like pigs.
34	I could outstare a year of suns and moons,
	To sit at these sweet bull-baitings, so I	= as in bear-baiting, hungry dogs could be released to brawl with a tied-up bull, a familiar entertainment in 16th and 17th century London.
36	Could thereby but one Christian win to fall	= Theophilus seems to be admitting that he has yet to
	In adoration to my Jupiter.	convert one Christian back to the Roman beliefs.
38
	− Twelve hundred
40	Eyes bored with augers out − Oh! eleven thousand	= an auger was a carpenter's tool used to bore holes in wood.^1
	Torn by wild beasts: two hundred rammèd in the earth
42	To the armpits, and full platters round about them,	= full of food, that is.
	But far enough for reaching:	= ie. so that the victims could not reach the food; for here
44		means "to prevent".
	Eat, dogs, ha! ha! ha!
46
	[He rises.]
48
	Tush, all these tortures are but fillipings,	= flicks with a finger.^1
50	Fleabitings; I, before the Destinies	50-53: I…all these = "just once more, before I die, I wish I could practice great violence on one more great Christian." the Destinies = the Fates, the three goddesses that measure out the length of each person's life.
	My bottom did wind up, would flesh myself	56: My bottom did wind up = a metaphor involving a core (bottom)^1 on which thread or yarn could be wound (hence did wind up) to represent Theophilus' life being brought to its end; this is a particularly interesting image, as the Fates (or Destinies) are usually imagined to end a person's life by cutting the thread of life. flesh = gratify one's lust for violence.^1
52	Once more upon someone remarkable
	Above all these. This Christian slut was well,	= ie. Dorothea.
54
	Consort.	= musicians prepare to play.^3
56	Enter Angelo with a basket
	filled with fruit and flowers.
58
	A pretty one; but let such horror follow	= excellent.
60	The next I feed with torments, that when Rome
	Shall hear it, her foundation at the sound	= perhaps referring to the sound of the victim screaming.
62	May feel an earthquake. − How now?	= "What's going on?"
64	[Music.]
66	Ang. Are you amazed, sir?
	So great a Roman spirit − and doth it tremble!	= ie. "he", meaning Theophilus.
68
	Theo. How cam'st thou in? to whom thy business?
70
	Ang. To you;
72	I had a mistress, late sent hence by you
	Upon a bloody errand; you entreated,
74	That, when she came into that blessèd garden
	Whither she knew she went, and where, now happy,
76	She feeds upon all joy, she would send to you
	Some of that garden fruit and flowers; which here,	= Angelo unexpectedly fulfills Dorothea's promise to deliver some of Heaven's fruit to Theophilus (see Act IV.iii.139-142).
78	To have her promise saved, are brought by me.	= maintained,^1 ie. not left unfulfilled.
80	Theo. Cannot I see this garden?
82	Ang. Yes, if the Master
	Will give you entrance.
84
	[He vanishes.]	85: Angelo's appearance and disappearance give the director an opportunity to provide entertaining special effects for the audience; as a messenger from Heaven, Angelo might be lowered onto and raised from the stage by a crane.
86
	Theo. ‘Tis a tempting fruit,	= perhaps a sly reference to the story of Adam and Eve.
88	And the most bright-cheeked child I ever viewed;	= angels generally were considered to be beautiful, if some-
	Sweet smelling, goodly fruit. What flowers are these?	what androgynous, beings (Metford, p.26).^14
90	In Dioclesian's gardens; the most beauteous,
	Compared with these, are weeds: is it not February,
92	The second day she died? frost, ice, and snow	= ie. two days after Dorothea died.
	Hang on the beard of winter: where's the sun
94	That gilds this summer? pretty, sweet boy, say,
	In what country shall a man find this garden? −
96	My delicate boy, − gone! vanished! within there,
	Julianus and Geta! −
98
	Enter Julianus and Geta.	Entering characters: Julianus and Geta are Theophilus'
100		domestic servants.
	Both. My lord.
102
	Theo. Are my gates shut?
104
	Geta. And guarded.
106
	Theo. Saw you not
108	A boy?
110	Jul. Where?
112	Theo. Here he entered; a young lad;
	A thousand blessings danced upon his eyes;
114	A smoothfaced, glorious thing, that brought this basket.	= ie. without facial hair.
116	Geta. No, sir!
118	Theo. Away − but be in reach, if my voice calls you.
120	[Exeunt Julianus and Geta.]
122	No! − vanished, and not seen! − be thou a spirit,
	Sent from that witch to mock me, I am sure
124	This is essential, and, howe'er it grows,	= ie. the fruit is real or tangible^1(unlike the spirit Angelo).
	Will taste it.
126
	[Eats of the fruit.]
128
	Harp. [within.] Ha, ha, ha, ha!	= ie. off-stage.
130
	Theo. So good! I'll have some more, sure.
132
	Harp. Ha, ha, ha, ha! great liquorish fool!	= describing one who enjoys delicious food.^1
134
	Theo. What art thou?	= who; Theophilus hears, but can neither see nor identify Harpax.
136
	Harp. A fisherman.	137-141: Harpax clearly is mocking the famous exchange
138		of the New Testament in which Jesus invites Andrew and Simon to become "fishers of men".
	Theo. What dost thou catch?
140
	Harp. Souls, souls; a fish called souls.	= Harpax puns on "soles".
142
	Theo. Geta!
144
	Enter Geta.
146
	Geta. My lord.
148
	Harp. [Within.] Ha, ha, ha, ha!
150
	Theo. What insolent slave is this, dares laugh at me?
152	Or what is’t the dog grins at so?	= ie. bares its teeth in a snarl.^2
154	Geta. I neither know, my lord, at what, nor whom; for
	there is none without but my fellow Julianus, and he is
156	making a garland for Jupiter.	= ie. a wreath to place on the bust of Jupiter.
158	Theo. Jupiter! all within me is not well;
	And yet not sick.
160
	Harp. [Laughing louder, within.] Ha, ha, ha, ha!
162
	Theo. What's thy name, slave?
164
	Harp. [At one end.] Go look.
166
	Geta. Tis Harpax' voice.
168
	Theo. Harpax! go, drag the caitiff to my foot,	= villain or wretch.^1
170	That I may stamp upon him.
172	Harp. [At the other end.] Fool, thou liest!	= Harpax's voice suddenly seems to come from a different
		direction.
174	Geta. He's yonder, now, my lord.
176	Theo. Watch thou that end,
	Whilst I make good this.
178
	Harp. [In the middle.] Ha, ha, ha, ha ha!
180
	Theo. He is at barley-break, and the last couple	= barley-break was a commonly referred-to game of what
182	Are now in hell.	is basically "tag" played by three couples; while holding
	Search for him.	hands, the couple in the middle tries to catch the other
184		couples. This middle position was referred to as hell; here, Harpax is the game's prey.
	[Exit Geta.]
186
	All this ground, methink, is bloody,	= the editors all change this to methinks, but methink
188	And paved with thousands of those Christians' eyes	was very common in the era.
	Whom I have tortured; and they stare upon me.
190	What was this apparition? sure it had	= ie. Angelo.
	A shape angelical. Mine eyes, though dazzled
192	And daunted at first sight, tell me it wore
	A pair of glorious wings; yes, they were wings;
194	And hence he flew: − 'tis vanished! Jupiter,
	For all my sacrifices done to him,
196	Never once gave me smile. − How can stone smile,
	Or wooden image laugh?
198
	[Music.]
200
	Ha! I remember
202	Such music gave a welcome to my ear,
	When the fair youth came to me: − 'tis in the air,
204	Or from some better place; a Power divine,
	Though my dark ignorance on my soul does shine,
206	And makes me see a conscience all stained o'er,
	Nay, drowned and damned forever in Christian gore.
208
	Harp. [Within.] Ha, ha, ha!
210
	Theo. Again! − What dainty relish on my tongue
212	This fruit hath left! some angel hath me fed;
	If so toothful, I will be banqueted.	= tasty. = feasted.^1
214
	[Eats again.]
216
	Enter Harpax in a fearful shape,	217: Entering Character: Harpax appears in his true
218	fire flashing out of the Study.	satanic guise.
220	Harp. Hold!	= "Stop!"
222	Theo. Not for Caesar.	222: "I wouldn't stop if the emperor himself ordered me to."
224	Harp. But for me thou shalt.	= Harpax has previously always used the respectful you
		when addressing Theophilus; but now, in revealing his true nature, Harpax switches to thee, signifying his assumption of the superior position in the relationship.
226	Theo. Thou art no twin to him that last was here.
	Ye Powers, whom my soul bids me reverence, guard me!
228	What art thou?	= who.
230	Harp. I am thy master.
232	Theo. Mine!
234	Harp. And thou my everlasting slave; that Harpax,
	Who hand in hand hath led thee to thy hell,
236	Am I.
238	Theo. Avaunt!	238: "Begone!"
240	Harp. I will not; cast thou down	= throw.
	That basket with the things in't, and fetch up	= vomit;^1 Harpax uses fetch up as a linguistic contrast
242	What thou hast swallowed, and then take a drink,	to cast down.
	Which I shall give thee, and I'm gone.
244
	Theo. My fruit?
246	Does this offend thee? see!
248	[Eats again.]
250	Harp. Spet it to the earth,	= alternate spelling of spit.
	And tread upon it, or I'll piecemeal tear thee.	= dismember, or tear into small pieces.^1
252
	Theo. Art thou with this affrighted? see, here's more.	= the combination of Angelo's appearance and Theophilus'
254		eating of the fruit has given the latter a level of moral courage Dorothea would have been pleased to see.
	[Pulls out a handful of flowers.]
256
	Harp. Fling them away. I'll take thee else, and hang thee
258	In a contorted chain of icicles,	= twisted.^1
	In the frigid zone: down with them!	= the north or south pole.^1 = ie. "put down the flowers!"
260
	Theo. At the bottom	= ie. of the basket.
262	One thing I found not yet. See!
264	[Holds up a cross of flowers.]
266	Harp. Oh! I am tortured.
268	Theo. Can this do't? hence, thou fiend infernal, hence!	268: thou fiend infernal = Theophilus seems to have
		recognized Harpax's true provenance. hence! = begone!
270	Harp. Clasp Jupiter's image, and away with that.
272	Theo. At thee I'll fling that Jupiter; for methinks,
	I serve a better master: he now checks me	= rebukes.^1
274	For murdering my two daughters, put on by thee −	= instigated.^3
	By thy damned rhetoric did I hunt the life
276	Of Dorothea, the holy virgin-martyr.
	She is not angry with the axe, nor me,	= ie. the one that beheaded Dorothea.
278	But sends these presents to me; and I'll travel
	O'er worlds to find, and from her white hand
280	Beg a forgiveness.
282	Harp. No; I'll bind thee here.
284	Theo. I serve a strength above thine; this small weapon,	= ie. the cross of flowers; Gifford notes the Catholic nature
	Methinks, is armour hard enough.	of the religious imagery and language of the play.
286
	Harp. Keep from me.
288
	[Sinks a little.]
290
	Theo. Art posting to thy centre? down, hell-hound! down!	= "are you hurrying back to where you came from
292	Me hast thou lost. That arm, which hurls thee hence,	(centre)?" Centre could also refer to the center of the earth.^1
294	[Harpax disappears.]	294: stage direction added by Gifford.
296	Save me, and set me up, the strong defence
	In the fair Christian's quarrel!
298
	Enter Angelo.
300
	Ang. Fix thy foot there,
302	Nor be thou shaken with a Caesar's voice,
	Though thousand deaths were in it; and I then
304	Will bring thee to a river, that shall wash	304-5: Angelo describes how Theophilus will be forgiven
	Thy bloody hands clean and more white than snow;	for his sins.
306	And to that garden where these blest things grow,
	And to that martyred virgin, who hath sent
308	That heavenly token to thee: spread this brave wing,	308: token = evidence or proof (of the existence of Heaven, or that everything she said was true). brave = excellent.
	And serve, then Caesar, a far greater king.	= ie. than, meaning "instead of".
310
	[Exit Angelo.]
312
	Theo. It is, it is, some angel. Vanished again!
314	Oh, come back, ravishing boy! bright messenger!
	Thou hast, by these mine eyes fixed on thy beauty,
316	Illumined all my soul. Now look I back
	On my black tyrannies, which, as they did
318	Outdare the bloodiest, thou, blest spirit, that lead'st me,	= dared to be more bloody than those who were the
	Teach me what I must to do, and, to do well,	bloodiest.
320	That my last act the best may parallel.
322	[Exit.]
	ACT V, SCENE II.
	Dioclesian's Palace.	Scene II: Gifford commends the beauty of Massinger's
		poetry in this scene, asserting it to be "unsurpassed in the English language."^3
	Enter Dioclesian, Maximinus,	Entering Characters: Dioclesian is the emperor of Rome,
	the Kings of Epire, Pontus, and Macedon,	and Maximinus, his co-emperor. Artemia is Dioclesian's
	meeting Artemia; Attendants.	daughter, who, we remember, had instigated our entire story
		when she lamentably chose Antoninus for a husband. The three listed kings originally appeared as rebel-captives of Dioclesian, but he had freed them as a token of his magnanimity.
1	Artem. Glory and conquest still attend upon
2	Triumphant Caesar!
4	Diocl. Let thy wish, fair daughter,
	Be equally divided; and hereafter
6	Learn thou to know and reverence Maximinus,
	Whose power, with mine united, makes one Caesar.	7: Maximinus, as discussed earlier at Act I.i.611-2, is a composite of Dioclesian's co-Augustus, Maximian, and the Caesar Galerius Maximianus. This is as good a place as any to mention that the real Diocletian did have a daughter, but her name was Valeria, not Artemia; in real life, she married the Caesar Galerius.^5
8
	Max. But that I fear 'twould be held flattery,	= considered.
10	The bonds considered in which we stand tied,
	As love and empire, I should say, till now
12	I ne'er had seen a lady I thought worthy
	To be my mistress.
14
	Artem. Sir, you shew yourself
16	Both courtier and soldier; but take heed,	= lover or wooer, suggesting one skilled in words or flattery.
	Take heed, my lord, though my dull-pointed beauty,	= the opposite of "well-pointed" (ie. sharp-pointed).^1
18	Stained by a harsh refusal in my servant	18: Artemia is still not able to get over the sting of her rejection by Antoninus; servant technically means "lover", but the sense here is more like "beloved".
	Cannot dart forth such beams as may inflame you,
20	You may encounter such a powerful one,	20-22: Artemia expresses her worry that Maximinus, like
	That with a pleasing heat will thaw your heart,	Antoninus, might fall in love with another woman, even as he is married to her.
22	Though bound in ribs of ice. Love still is Love,	22-23: Love is…the same = Artemia recognizes that Cupid's character never changes, and that whom he causes to fall in love with whom is completely arbitrary; in other words, she understands that people have no control over whom they fall or not fall in love with.
	His bow and arrows are the same: great Julius,	= ie. Julius Caesar.
24	That to his successors left the name of Caesar,
	Whom war could never tame, that with dry eyes	= ie. without crying.
26	Beheld the large plains of Pharsalia covered	= Pharsalus in Greece was the location of Caesar's smashing victory over Pompey in the great Roman Civil War (A.D. 48).^5
	With the dead carcasses of senators	= many of the senators of Rome had fought on the side of Pompey.
28	And citizens of Rome; when the world knew
	No other lord but him, struck deep in years too,	= Caesar would have been 54 years old in 48 B.C. when
30	(And men gray-haired forget the lusts of youth,)	he first met Cleopatra; she would have been about 20 at the time. The couple had a son, Caesarion.^5
	After all this, meeting fair Cleopatra,
32	A suppliant too, the magic of her eye,	32-33: Caesar came to Egypt with his army after the Battle
	Even in his pride of conquest, took him captive:	of Pharsalus to find Cleopatra in a power struggle with
34	Nor are you more secure.	her brother; she appealed to Caesar for help (hence she
		was a suppliant), and quickly won his heart.
36	Max. Were you deformed,
	(But, by the gods, you are most excellent),	= ie. attractive.
38	Your gravity and discretion would o'ercome me;
	And I should be more proud in being prisoner	= Maximinus picks up on Artemia's image of one who
40	To your fair virtues, than of all the honours,	falls in love as being held captive by the target of his
	Wealth, title, empire, that my sword hath purchased.	affection.
42
	Diocl. This meets my wishes. Welcome it, Artemia,
44	With outstretched arms, and study to forget
	That Antoninus ever was: thy fate
46	Reserved thee for this better choice; embrace it.
48	K. of Epire. This happy match brings new nerves to give strength	48-49: Gifford reassigns this speech to Maximinus. nerves = sinew.^2
	To our continued league.	= alliance.
50
	Diocl. Hymen himself	= the god of marriage.
52	Will bless this marriage, which we'll solemnize
	In the presence of these kings.
54
	K. of Pontus. Who rest most happy,	= ie. "we kings, who remain".
56	To be eye-witnesses of a match that brings
	Peace to the empire.
58
	Diocl. We much thank your loves;
60	But where's Sapritius, our governor,
	And our most zealous provost, good Theophilus?
62	If ever prince were blest in a true servant,
	Or could the gods be debtors to a man,
64	Both they and we stand far engaged to cherish
	His piety and service.
66
	Artem. Sir, the governor
68	Brooks sadly his son's loss, although he turned	= ie. is mourning (brooks = tolerates).
	Apostata in death; but bold Theophilus,
70	Who, for the same cause, in my presence sealed	= imposed or bound.^1
	His holy anger on his daughters' hearts,
72	Having with tortures first tried to convert her,
	Dragged the bewitching Christian to the scaffold,
74	And saw her lose her head.
76	Diocl. He is all worthy:
	And from his own mouth I would gladly hear
78	The manner how she suffered.
80	Artem. 'Twill be delivered
	With such contempt and scorn (I know his nature,)
82	That rather 'twill beget your highness' laughter
	Than the least pity.
84
	Diocl. To that end I would hear it.
86
	Enter Theophilus, Sapritius, and Macrinus.
88
	Artem. He comes; with him the governor.
90
	Diocl. O, Sapritius,
92	I am to chide you for your tenderness;	= ie. ought. = ie. over-sensitivity to his son's death.
	But yet, remembering that you are a father,
94	I will forget it. − Good Theophilus,
	I'll speak with you anon –	= shortly.
96
	[To Sapritius] Nearer, your ear.	97: Dioclesian speaks quietly to the governor.
98
	Theo. [Aside to Macrinus]
100	By Antoninus' soul, I do conjure you,	= entreat.
	And though not for religion, for his friendship,
102	Without demanding what's the cause that moves me,	102: "don't ask me to explain why I am telling you this".
	Receive my signet; − by the power of this,	= a ring which will signify Macrinus' authority to act on
104	Go to my prisons, and release all Christians	behalf of Theophilus.
	That are in fetters there by my command.
106
	Mac. But what shall follow?
108
	Theo. Haste then to the port;
110	You there shall find two tall ships ready rigged,	= stout.^4
	In which embark the poor distressèd souls,
112	And bear them from the reach of tyranny.
	Enquire not whither you are bound; the Deity
114	That they adore will give you prosperous winds,
	And make your voyage such, and largely pay for
116	Your hazard, and your travail. Leave me here;	= often used, as here, to mean both "travel" and "work".
	There is a scene that I must act alone:	117: our dramatists frequently employed such delightful
118	Haste, good Macrinus; and the great God guide you!	theatrical self-references as this.
120	Mac. I'll undertak’t, there's something prompts me to it;
	'Tis to save innocent blood, a saint-like act;
122	And to be merciful has never been
	By moral men themselves esteemed a sin.	= the first quarto prints moral; the subsequent editions,
124		mortal.^3
	[Exit Macrinus.]
126
	Diocl. You know your charge?	= ie. "understand your instructions"; there does not seem to
128		be a point to Dioclesian's side-conversation with Sapritius, other than to give Theophilus a chance to instruct Macrinus to save the Christians, without being observed.
	Sap. And will with care observe it.
130
	Diocl. For I profess he is not Caesar's friend
132	That sheds a tear for any torture that
	A Christian suffers. − Welcome, my best servant,
134	My careful, zealous provost! thou hast toiled	= ie. Theophilus.
	To satisfy my will, though in extremes:	= ie. under extreme circumstances.
136	I love thee for't; thou art firm rock, no changeling.	= waverer.^1
	Prithee deliver, and for my sake do it,	= "I pray thee", ie. please. = speak or tell.^4
138	Without excess of bitterness or scoffs,
	Before my brother and these kings, how took
140	The Christiän her death?
142	Theo. And such a presence,
	Though every private head in this large room	143-4: "even if every person in this room were a king or
144	Were circled round with an imperial crown,	queen".
	Her story will deserve, it is so full
146	Of excellence and wonder.
148	Diocl. Ha! how is this?	148: Dioclesian notices something is amiss in Theophilus' tone.
150	Theo. O! mark it, therefore, and with that attention,	= ie. "listen closely".
	As you would hear an embassy from Heaven	= the message of an ambassador.^1
152	By a winged legate; for the truth delivered,
	Both how, and what, this blessèd virgin suffered,
154	And Dorothea but hereafter named,
	You will rise up with reverence, and no more,
156	As things unworthy of your thoughts, remember
	What the canónized Spartan ladies were,	= perhaps a reference to the exceptional status women held in ancient Sparta; unlike women in the rest of Greece, Spartan women received a public education, could inherit and control property, and were respected when they voiced their opinions in public.^19
158	Which lying Greece so boasts of. Your own matrons,	= the Greeks were frequently described in the era's literature as lying, an indirect allusion to the Greek spy Synon, who in the Odyssey told the Trojans that the giant wooden horse outside their gates was a peace offering.
	Your Roman dames, whose figures you yet keep	= images or statues.^1
160	As holy relics, in her history	= ie. Dorothea's.
	Will find a second urn: Gracchus' Cornelia,	161: urn = grave; Theophilus' point is that Dorothea is
162	Paulina, that in death desired to follow	worthy of the same adoration as the most celebrated Roman
	Her husband Seneca, nor Brutus' Portia,	women from history.
164	That swallowed burning coals to overtake him,	161-4: Theophilus catalogues several famous virtuous Roman women: (1) Cornelia was the mother of the notorious Roman reformers of the 2nd century B.C., the Grachii brothers. Cornelia herself was famous for her devotion to her family and sons, becoming the symbol of the idealized Roman matron.^5 (2) When the great Stoic statesman and poet Seneca fell in favour from the emperor Nero, he was charged with taking part in a conspiracy against his master, and forced to commit suicide; his wife Paulina tried to kill herself by slitting her wrists, but was saved from death by soldiers sent by Nero to bandage her.^5 (3) Portia was the wife of Marcus Junius Brutus, one of Caesar's assassins; Brutus went on to fight in the civil wars against Octavian and Antony, who finally defeated Brutus and the republican forces at Philippi (A.D. 42). Rather than fall prisoner, Brutus fell on his sword. With her husband dead, Portia too committed suicide, reportedly by swallowing red-hot coals.^5
	Though all their several worths were given to one,	= individual merits. = ie. to one person.
166	With this is to be mentioned.
168	Max. Is he mad?
170	Diocl. Why, they did die, Theophilus, and boldly:
	This did no more.	= she (ie. Dorothea).
172
	Theo. They, out of desperation,
174	Or for vain glory of an after-name,	= great reputation after death.
	Parted with life: this had not mutinous sons,	= she (ie. Dorothea).
176	As the rash Gracchi were; nor was this saint
	A doting mother, as Cornelia was.
178	This lost no husband, in whose overthrow	= she (ie. Dorothea). = referring to Seneca.
	Her wealth and honour sunk; no fear of want
180	Did make her being tedious; but, aiming	= life, existence.
	At an immortal crown, and in His cause
182	Who only can bestow it; who sent down
	Legions of ministering angels to bear up
184	Her spotless soul to Heaven; who entertained it	= free from sin.
	With choice celestial music, equal to
186	The motion of the spheres; she, uncompelled,	= even though it had been known for a century that the sun was the center of the universe, English drama continued to adhere to the Ptolemaic conception of the universe, in which each planet revolved around the earth in its own sphere; the spheres were further believed to create harmonious music (hence celestial music in line 185).
	Changed this life for a better. My lord Sapritius,	= exchanged.
188	You were present at her death; did you e'er hear
	Such ravishing sounds?	= Theophilus refers to the music they all heard at Dorothea's
190		execution: see Act IV.iii.291ff.
	Sap. Yet you said then 'twas witchcraft,
192	And devilish illusions.
194	Theo. I then heard it
	With sinful ears, and belched out blasphemous words
196	Against His Deity, which then I knew not,
	Nor did believe in him.
198
	Diocl. Why, dost thou now?
200	Or dar'st thou, in our hearing −
202	Theo. Were my voice
	As loud as is His thunder, to be heard	= note that thunder was normally associated with the
204	Through all the world, all potentates on earth	Roman's chief god, Jupiter.
	Ready to burst with rage, should they but hear it;
206	Though hell, to aid their malice, lent her furies,
	Yet I would speak, and speak again, and boldly,
208	I am a Christian, and the Powers you worship,
	But dreams of fools and madmen.
210
	Max. Lay hands on him.
212
	Diocl. Thou twice a child! for doting age so makes thee,	213: the emperor suggests that Theophilus, in his old age and senility, has entered a second childhood.
214	Thou couldst not else, thy pilgrimage of life	= ie. "there is no other way you would", or "for no other
	Being almost past through, in this last moment	reason could you".
216	Destroy whate'er thou hast done good or great −
	Thy youth did promise much; and, grown a man,
218	Thou mad'st it good, and, with increase of years,	= made.
	Thy actiöns still bettered: as the sun,	219-223: as the sun…meteor = note Dioclesian's extended
220	Thou did'st rise gloriously, kept'st a constant course	metaphor of Theophilus and his life as a rising and
	In all thy journey; and now, in the evening,	eventually setting sun.
222	When thou should'st pass with honour to thy rest,
	Wilt thou fall like a meteor?
224
	Sap. Yet confess
226	That thou art mad, and that thy tongue and heart	226-7: thy tongue…agreement = a neat metaphor for
	Had no agreement.	saying and thinking different things.
228
	Max. Do; no way is left, else,
230	To save thy life, Theophilus.
232	Diocl. But, refuse it,
	Destructiön as horrid, and as sudden,
234	Shall fall upon thee, as if hell stood open,
	And thou wert sinking thither.
236
	Theo. Hear me, yet;	237-8: "please listen to what I have to say, if for no other
238	Hear, for my service past.	reason than out respect for my lifetime of service to
		Rome."
240	Artem. What will he say?
242	Theo. As ever I deserved your favour, hear me,
	And grant one boon; 'tis not for life I sue for;	= favour.
244	Nor is it fit that I, that ne'er knew pity
	To any Christian, being one myself,
246	Should look for any: no, I rather beg
	The utmost of your cruëlty. I stand
248	Accomptable for thousand Christians’ deaths;	= accountable.
	And, were it possible that I could die
250	A day for every one, then live again
	To be again tormented, 'twere to me
252	An easy penance, and I should pass through	= note the ease with which Theophilus has picked up
	A gentle cleansing fire; but, that denied me,	Christian lingo.
254	It being beyond the strength of feeble nature,
	My suit is, you would have no pity on me.	= request.
256	In mine own house there are a thousand engines	= instruments or machines (of torture).
	Of studied cruelty, which I did prepare
258	For miserable Christians; let me feel,
	As the Sicilian did his brazen bull,	= an allusion to the 7th century B.C. Sicilian ruler Phalaris,
260	The horrid'st you can find; and I will say,	famous for his cruelty; he is most remembered for a brass
	In death, that you are merciful.	(brazen) bull that was constructed for him as a device of torture: the victims would be placed inside the bull, which would be roasted over a fire; the screams of the occupant would sound like the roar of the bull.^11 horrid'st (line 260) = horridest, most horrid.
262
	Diocl. Despair not;	= "don't worry" (sarcastic).
264	In this thou shalt prevail. Go fetch them hither:
266	[Exit some of the Guard.]
268	Death shall put on a thousand shapes at once,
	And so appear before thee; racks, and whips! −
270	Thy flesh, with burning pincers torn, shall feed
	The fire that heats them; and what's wanting to	= missing from.
272	The torture of thy body, I'll supply
	In punishing thy mind. Fetch all the Christians
274	That are in hold; and here, before his face,
	Cut them in pieces.
276
	Theo. Tis not in thy power:
278	It was the first good deed I ever did.
	They are removed out of thy reach; howe'er,
280	I was determined for my sins to die,
	I first took order for their liberty,
282	And still I dare thy worst.
284	Re-enter Guard with racks
	and other instruments of torture.
286
	Diocl. Bind him, I say;
288	Make every artery and sinew crack:
	The slave that makes him give the loudest shriek
290	Shall have ten thousand drachmas: wretch! I'll force thee
	To curse the Power thou worship'st.
292
	Theo. Never, never;
294	No breath of mine shall e'er be spent on Him,
	But what shall speak His majesty or mercy.
296
	[They torment him.]	= torture.
298
	I'm honoured in my sufferings. Weak tormentors,
300	More tortures, more: − alas! you are unskilful −
	For Heaven's sake more; my breast is yet untorn:
302	Here purchase the reward that was propounded.
	The irons cool, − here are arms yet, and thighs;
304	Spare no part of me.
306	Max. He endures beyond
	The sufferance of a man.
308
	Sap. No sigh nor groan,
310	To witness he hath feeling.
312	Diocl. Harder, villains!
314	Enter Harpax.
316	Harp. Unless that he blaspheme, he's lost forever.	= ie. curse God. = ie. his soul is lost from Harpax.
	If torments ever could bring forth despair,
318	Let these compel him to it: − Oh me!
	My ancient enemies again!
320
	[Falls down.]
322
	Enter Dorothea in a white robe,
324	a crown upon her head, led in by Angelo;
	Antoninus, Calista, and Christeta following,
326	all in white, but less glorious;
	Angelo holds out a crown to Theophilus.
328
	Theo. Most glorious vision! −
330	Did e'er so hard a bed yield man a dream
	So heavenly as this? I am confirmed,	= strengthened (in his faith).
332	Confirmed, you blessèd spirits, and make haste
	To take that crown of immortality
334	You offer to me. Death, till this blest minute,
	I never thought thee slow-paced; nor would I	= "considered you (ie. Death) to be too slow to arrive"
336	Hasten thee now, for any pain I suffer,
	But that thou keep'st me from a glorious wreath,
338	Which through this stormy way I would creep to,
	And, humbly kneeling, with humility wear it.
340	Oh! now I feel thee: − blessèd spirits! I come;
	And, witness for me all these wounds and scars,
342	I die a soldier in the Christian wars.
344	[Dies.]
346	Sap. I have seen thousands tortured, but ne'er yet
	A constancy like this.	= steadfastness.
348
	Harp. I am twice damned.
350
	Ang. Haste to thy place appointed, cursèd fiend!
352	In spite of hell, this soldier's not thy prey;
	'Tis I have won, thou that hast lost the day.
354
	[Harpax sinks with thunder and lightning.]
356
	[Exit with Dorothea, &c.]
358
	Diocl. I think the centre of the earth be cracked, −
360	Yet I stand still unmoved, and will go on:
	The persecution that is here begun,
362	Through all the world with violence shall run.
364	[Flourish. Exeunt.]
	FINIS	Postscript I: Dioclesian, along with his co-Augustus, retired from public life in A.D. 305, to be replaced as co-Augusti by the Caesars, Galerius Maximianus and Constantius Chlorus. The persecution of Christians, having failed in all of its goals, was formally ended in 311. Chlorus' son Constantine was proclaimed emperor by his troops in 306 upon the death of his father, and after a long war, became de facto emperor of, well, the entire empire. After establishing a new Roman capital at Byzantium, Constantine officially legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan of 313 A.D. Postscript 2: Dorothea is an actual saint, whose feast day is February 5. According to Catholic lore, she was a native of Caesarea. Having refused to give up her faith during the Dioclesian persecutions, she was sentenced to die. On her way to execution, Dorothea was taunted by Theophilus, the governor's secretary, who asked her to send him a basket of fruit from the garden of her Heaven. When at the moment of her death an angel appeared to him bearing three apples and three roses, even though it was the middle of winter, he instantly converted, and he himself was martyred (Metford, p.100).^14

The Authors' Invented Words

Like all of the writers of the era, Philip Massinger and Thomas Dekker made up words when they felt like it, usually by adding prefixes and suffixes to known words, combining words, or using a word in a way not yet used before. The following is a list of words and phrases from The Virgin Martyr that research suggests were either first used, or were first used with a given meaning, in our play.
The lists are separated based on assumed authorship; see the note at the beginning of the play.

Philip Massinger's New Words

the expression dare one's worst.

dull-pointed

joint-benumbing

outrival

Thomas Decker's New Words

armada/armado (first time applied to a group of people;
suggested by OED but unconfirmed)

bug (meaning bed-bugs specifically; suggested by OED but unconfirmed)

carebruns (malapropism for cerebrum)

caroched

chitface (variation of older chitty-face)

clyster-pipe (used as a contemptuous term for a doctor;
assigned to Dekker based on assumption he wrote Act IV.i,
in which this term appears)

commoner (meaning a common lawyer, first use here
suggested by OED, but unconfirmed)

conster (meaning to understand one's meaning)

the expression to cry whoop

deep-scarleted

demi-dandiprat

drabbing chamber

the expression "one's eyes shoot daggers at another"
(assigned to Dekker based on assumption he wrote Act IV.i,
in which this term appears)

the expression to feed colon

gilt-winged

gingle-boy

horrider

I-am-an-as

I-am-an-o

incorporate (meaning to copulate)

the expression not for a hill of (something)

out-bowl

poor-minded

she-thrasher

snotty nose (as an adjective)

state-wheel (not in OED, but it would be, if Shakespeare had written it)

still-negligent

toothful (meaning pleasant tasting)

Thomas Dekker's Recycled Words

Every dramatist of England's golden age had his own collection of signature words and phrases that would appear in more than one of his plays; Christopher Marlowe, for example, loved the word empery, and Massinger was addicted to the expression fall what can fall.
When a play was thought to be composed by more than one author, the appearance of these oft-turned-to words can help identify which playwright was responsible for a particular scene.
It has long been believed that Thomas Dekker was the author of the scenes involving Hircius and Spungius. There are several pieces of evidence for this: the scenes involving the two servants possess the following tell-tale characteristics:
(1) Massinger rarely wrote in prose;
(2) a relative absence of verse lines split over multiple speakers in these scenes, a technique which Massinger used unremittingly;
(3) a higher density of new words in these scenes; and finally,
(4) the presence of a large number of words which appeared in previous plays of Dekker's; here is a list of a number of such words:

awry

commodity (meaning prostitute)

low-minded

mustard token

ragamuffin

scrubbing (as an adjective)

snotty nose

splayfoot

tatterdemalion

(shoemaker's) wax

yeoman (as an adjective)

Authorship of Act IV.i

There are two key pieces of evidence which point to Dekker being largely, or even fully, responsible for having written Act IV.i.

(1) an analysis of the density of words with either a -tion ending, of which Massinger was fond, or words in which the tion, tian, or sion ending was pronounced as two syllables (a metrical device which Massinger was very fond of using), e.g. per-sua-si-on instead of per-sua-sion (such an extra syllable is indicated by an umlaut appearing over the o or a, ie. tiön or iän).

We have calculated the combined density of these words appearing in each scene using the following formula:

density = [100(# of appearances)] / (# lines in the scene)

The result: those scenes unanimously assigned to Massinger result in a density of greater than 2.0, those credited to Dekker, less than 2.0 (except for the very short Act II.ii).

And Act IV.i? the density of these words is only 0.59.

(2) There are a number of recycled Dekker words which appear in the Act IV.i. The words in question are as follows:

Aesculapian (line 3)

quacksalving (line 79)

shuffling (as a noun, line 133)

cross-caper (line 202)

NOTES on the ANNOTATIONS

The footnotes in the annotations correspond as follows:

1. OED online.

2. Crystal, David and Ben. Shakespeare's Words. London, New York: Penguin, 2002.

3. Gifford, William, ed. The Plays of William Massinger. New York: H.B. Mahn, 1860.

4. Symons, Arthur, ed. Philip Massinger, Volume II. London: Vizetelly & Co., 1889.

5. The Encyclopedia Britannica. 11th ed. New York: 1911.

6. Herbermann, Charles G., et al., ed. The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Co., 1917.

7. Christian Classics Ethereal Library Website. Fox's Book of Martyrs. Retrieved 12/ 8/2016: http://ccel.org/f/foxe/martyrs/fox102.htm.

8. Anon. Greek Mythology. Athens: Techni, 1998.

9. Roman History (14-70 A.D.) by Publius Cornelius Tacitus Website. Book 15 (A.D. 62-65). Retrieved 11/19/2016: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Tacitus/TacitusAnnals15.html.

10. Reshafim.org.il Website. Herodotus on Sesostris. Retrieved 11/20/2016: www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/herodotus/sesostris.htm.

11. Smith, W., ed. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: John Murray, 1849.

12. Humphries, Rolfe, trans. Ovid. Metamorphoses. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1983.

13. vintnershall.com.uk Website. Retrieved 12/20/2016: www.vintnershall.co.uk/?page=about_introduction.

14. Metford, J.C.J. Dictionary of Christian Lore and Legend. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1983.

15. Farlex Dictionary of Idioms Website. "have windmills in one's head." Retrieved 12/21/2016 http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/have+windmills+in+my+head.

16. Aesopfables.com Website; retrieved 12/22/2016: www.aesopfables.com/cgi/aesop1.cgi?3&TheLionandtheMouse&lionmouse.jpg.

17. AncientHistory.about.com Website. Roman Burial Practices. Retrieved 12/21/2016. http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/deathafterlife/a/RomanBurial.htm.

18. St. Louis Post-Dispatch Website. Faith Perspectives, April 25, 2008. Retrieved 12/21/2106. www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/civil-religion/matzah-is-the-bread-of-poverty/article_6d0fb671-4aec-54f3-8096-259202

393ae9.html.

19. Elysium Gates Website. Sparta Reconsidered: Spartan Women. Retrieved 12/31/2016: http://elysiumgates.com/~helena/Women.html.

20. Kermode, Frank. The Age of Shakespeare. New York: The Modern Library, 2004.

21. S. Broadberry et al (2010), British Economic Growth 1270-1870, Table 18. File: BritishGDPLongRun8a.doc.

22. Cleary, Chris, ed. The Roaring Girl. Retrieved 12/22/2016: www.tech.org/~cleary/roar.html.

23. Wellman, Jack. Does the Bible say what the Devil, Satan and Demons Look Like? Retrieved 12/26/2016: www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/does-the-bible-say-what-the-devil-satan-or-demons-look-like/.

24. Eclectic Visions Website. Omens and Superstitions About Love. Retrieved 12/26/2016: http://mariahsvisions.blogspot.com/2012/02/omens-and-superstitions-about-love.html.

25. Holden, William P., ed. Twelfth Night. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1922.

26. Perseus Digital Library Website. The Apples of the Hesperides. Retrieved 12/29/2016: www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/apples.html.

27. Sugden, Edward. A Topographical Dictionary to the Works of Shakespeare and His Fellow Dramatists. Manchester: The University Press, 1925.