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TAMBURLAINE
THE GREAT |
Part
the First |
By
Christopher Marlowe |
c.
1586-7 |
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DRAMATIS PERSONAE. |
Tamburlaine, a Scythian Shepherd. |
Techelles, his follower. |
Usumcasane, his follower. |
The Persians: |
Mycetes, King of Persia. |
Cosroe,
his Brother. |
Persian Lords and
Captains: |
Ortygius. |
Ceneus. |
Menaphon. |
Meander. |
Theridamas. |
Other Nations'
Leaders: |
Bajazeth, Emperor of the Turks. |
Zabina, Wife of Bajazeth. |
Ebea, her Maid. |
King of Arabia. |
King of Fez. |
King of Morocco. |
King of Argier (Algiers). |
Soldan of Egypt. |
Zenocrate, Daughter of the
Soldan of Egypt. |
Anippe, her Maid. |
Capolin, an Egyptian Captain. |
Governor of Damascus. |
Median Lords: |
Agydas. |
Magnetes. |
Philemus, a Messenger. |
Virgins of Damascus. |
Messengers, Soldiers,
etc. |
THE PROLOGUE. |
From jigging veins of
rhyming mother wits, |
And such conceits as
clownage keeps in pay, |
We'll lead you to the
stately tent of war, |
Where you shall hear
the Scythian Tamburlaine |
Threatening the world
with high astounding terms, |
And scourging kingdoms
with his conquering sword. |
View but his picture
in this tragic glass, |
And then applaud his
fortune as you please. |
ACT I. |
SCENE I. |
Enter Mycetes, Cosroe, Meander, Theridamas, |
Ortygius, Ceneus, Menaphon, with others. |
Myc.
Brother Cosroe, I find myself aggrieved, |
Yet insufficient to
express the same; |
For it requires a
great and thundering speech: |
Good brother, tell the
cause unto my lords; |
I know you have a
better wit than I. |
Cos. Unhappy
Persia, that in former age |
Hast been the seat of
mighty conquerors, |
That, in their prowess
and their policies, |
Have triumphed over
Afric and the bounds |
Of Europe, where the
sun scarce dares appear |
For freezing meteors
and congealèd cold, |
Now to be ruled and
governed by a man |
At whose birthday
Cynthia with Saturn joined, |
And Jove, the Sun, and
Mercury denied |
To shed their
influence in his fickle brain! |
Now Turks and Tartars
shake their swords at thee, |
Meaning to mangle all
thy provinces. |
Myc.
Brother, I see your meaning well enough, |
And through your
planets I perceive you think |
I am not wise enough
to be a king; |
But I refer me to my
noblemen |
That know my wit, and
can be witnesses. |
I might command you to
be slain for this: |
Meander, might I not? |
Meand. Not
for so small a fault, my sovereign lord. |
Myc. I mean
it not, but yet I know I might; |
Yet live; yea live,
Mycetes wills it so. |
Meander, thou, my
faithful counselor, |
Declare the cause of
my conceivèd grief, |
Which is, God knows,
about that Tamburlaine, |
That, like a fox in
midst of harvest time, |
Doth prey upon my
flocks of passengers; |
And, as I hear, doth
mean to pull my plumes: |
Therefore ’tis good and meet for to be wise. |
Meand. Oft
have I heard your majesty complain |
Of Tamburlaine, that
sturdy Scythian thief, |
That robs your
merchants of Persepolis |
Trading by land unto
the Western Isles, |
And in your confines
with his lawless train |
Daily commits incivil
outrages, |
Hoping (misled by
dreaming prophecies) |
To reign in Asia, and
with barbarous arms |
To make himself the
monarch of the East; |
But ere he march in Asia, or display |
His vagrant ensign in
the Persian fields, |
Your grace hath taken
order by Theridamas, |
Charged with a
thousand horse, to apprehend |
And bring him captive
to your highness' throne. |
Myc. Full
true thou speak'st, and like thyself, my lord, |
Whom I may term a
Damon for thy love: |
Therefore ’tis best, if so it like you all, |
To send my thousand horse incontinent |
To apprehend that
paltry Scythian. |
How like you this, my
honourable lords? |
Is't not a kingly
resolutiön? |
Cos. It
cannot choose, because it comes from you. |
Myc. Then
hear thy charge, valiant Theridamas, |
The chiefest captain
of Mycetes' host, |
The hope of Persia,
and the very legs |
Whereon our state doth
lean as on a staff, |
That holds us up, and
foils our neighbour foes: |
Thou shalt be leader
of this thousand horse, |
Whose foaming gall
with rage and high disdain |
Have sworn the death
of wicked Tamburlaine. |
Go frowning forth; but
come thou smiling home, |
As did Sir Paris with
the Grecian dame; |
Return with speed
− time passeth swift away; |
Our life is frail, and
we may die to-day. |
Ther. Before
the moon renew her borrowed light, |
Doubt not, my lord and
gracious sovereign, |
But Tamburlaine and
that Tartarian rout |
Shall either perish by
our warlike hands, |
Or plead for mercy at
your highness' feet. |
Myc. Go,
stout Theridamas, thy words are swords, |
And with thy looks
thou conquerest all thy foes; |
I long to see thee
back return from thence, |
That I may view these
milk-white steeds of mine |
All loaden with the
heads of killèd men, |
And from their knees e'en
to their hoofs below |
Besmeared with blood
that makes a dainty show. |
Ther. Then
now, my lord, I humbly take my leave. |
Myc.
Theridamas, farewell! ten thousand times. |
[Exit Theridamas.] |
Ah, Menaphon, why
stay'st thou thus behind, |
When other men press
forward to renown? |
Go, Menaphon, go into
Scythia; |
And foot by foot
follow Theridamas. |
Cos. Nay,
pray you let him stay; a greater task |
Fits Menaphon than
warring with a thief: |
Create him Prorex of
all Africa, |
That he may win the
Babylonians' hearts |
Which will revolt from
Persian government, |
Unless they have a
wiser king than you. |
Myc.
"Unless they have a wiser king than you." |
These are his words;
Meander, set them down. |
Cos. And add this to them − that all Asiä |
Laments to see the
folly of their king. |
Myc. Well,
here I swear by this my royal seat, − |
Cos. You
may do well to kiss it then. |
Myc.
Embossed with silk as best beseems my state, |
To be revenged for
these contemptuous words. |
Oh, where is duty and
allegiance now? |
Fled to the Caspian or
the Ocean main? |
What shall I call
thee? brother? − no, a foe; |
Monster of nature!
− Shame unto thy stock |
That dar'st presume
thy sovereign for to mock! |
Meander, come: I am
abused, Meander. |
[Exeunt all but Cosroe and Menaphon.] |
Men. How
now, my lord? What, mated and amazed |
To hear the king thus
threaten like himself! |
Cos. Ah,
Menaphon, I pass not for his threats; |
The plot is laid by
Persian noblemen |
And captains of the
Median garrisons |
To crown me Emperor of
Asiä: |
But this it is that
doth excruciate |
The very substance of
my vexèd soul − |
To see our neighbours
that were wont to quake |
And tremble at the
Persian monarch's name, |
Now sit and laugh our
regiment to scorn; |
And that which might
resolve me into tears, |
Men from the farthest
equinoctial line |
Have swarmed in troops
into the Eastern India, |
Lading their ships
with gold and precious stones, |
And made their spoils
from all our provinces. |
Men. This
should entreat your highness to rejoice, |
Since Fortune gives
you opportunity |
To gain the title of a
conqueror |
By curing of this
maimèd empery. |
Afric and Europe
bordering on your land, |
And continent to your
dominiöns, |
How easily may you,
with a mighty host, |
Pass into
Grӕcia, as did Cyrus once, |
And cause them to
withdraw their forces home, |
Lest you subdue the
pride of Christendom. |
[Trumpet within.] |
Cos. But,
Menaphon, what means this trumpet's sound? |
Men.
Behold, my lord, Ortygius and the rest |
Bringing the crown to
make you Emperor! |
Enter Ortygius and Ceneus, with others, |
bearing a crown. |
Orty.
Magnificent and mighty Prince Cosroe, |
We, in the name of
other Persian states |
And commons of the
mighty monarchy, |
Present thee with th' imperial
diadem. |
Cen. The
warlike soldiers and the gentlemen, |
That heretofore have
filled Persepolis |
With Afric captains
taken in the field, |
Whose ransom made them
march in coats of gold, |
With costly jewèls
hanging at their ears, |
And shining stones
upon their lofty crests, |
Now living idle in the
wallèd towns, |
Wanting both pay and
martial discipline, |
Begin in troops to
threaten civil war, |
And openly exclaim
against their king: |
Therefore, to stop all
sudden mutinies, |
We will invest your
highness Emperor, |
Whereat the soldiers
will conceive more joy |
Than did the
Macedonians at the spoil |
Of great Darius and
his wealthy host. |
Cos. Well,
since I see the state of Persia droop |
And languish in my
brother's government, |
I willingly receive
th' imperial crown, |
And vow to wear it for
my country's good, |
In spite of them shall malice my estate. |
Orty. And in
assurance of desired success, |
We here do crown thee
monarch of the East, |
Emperor of Asiä and
Persiä; |
Great Lord of Media
and Armenia; |
Duke of Africa and
Albania, |
Mesopotamia and of
Parthia, |
East India and the
late-discovered isles; |
Chief Lord of all the
wide, vast Euxine sea, |
And of the ever-raging
Caspian lake. |
All. Long
live Cosroë, mighty Emperor! |
Cos. And
Jove may never let me longer live |
Than I may seek to
gratify your love, |
And cause the soldiers
that thus honour me |
To triumph over many
provinces! |
By whose desire of
discipline in arms |
I doubt not shortly
but to reign sole king, |
And with the army of
Theridamas, |
(Whither we presently
will fly, my lords) |
To rest secure against
my brother's force. |
Orty. We
knew, my lord, before we brought the crown, |
Intending your
investiön so near |
The residence of your
despisèd brother, |
The lords would not be
too exasperate |
To injury or suppress
your worthy title; |
Or, if they would,
there are in readiness |
Ten thousand horse to
carry you from hence, |
In spite of all suspected enemies. |
Cos. I know
it well, my lord, and thank you all. |
Orly. Sound
up the trumpets then. |
[ Trumpets sound.] |
All. God
save the King! |
[Exeunt.] |
ACT I, SCENE II. |
Enter Tamburlaine leading Zenocrate, Techelles, |
Usumcasane, Agydas, Magnetes, Lords, |
and Soldiers, laden with treasure. |
Tamb. Come,
lady, let not this appal your thoughts; |
The jewèls and the
treasure we have ta'en |
Shall be reserved, and
you in better state, |
Than if you were
arrived in Syria, |
Even in the circle of
your father's arms, |
The mighty Soldan of
Ægyptia. |
Zeno. Ah,
shepherd! pity my distressèd plight, |
(If, as thou seem'st,
thou art so mean a man,) |
And seek not to enrich
thy followers |
By lawless rapine from
a silly maid, |
Who travelling with
these Median lords |
To Memphis, from my
uncle's country of Media, |
Where all my youth I
have been governèd, |
Have passed the army
of the mighty Turk, |
Bearing his privy
signet and his hand |
To safe conduct us
thorough Africa. |
Mag. And
since we have arrived in Scythia, |
Besides rich presents
from the puissant Cham, |
We have his highness'
letters to command |
Aid and assistance, if
we stand in need. |
Tamb. But
now you see these letters and commands |
Are countermanded by a
greater man; |
And through my
provinces you must expect |
Letters of conduct
from my mightiness, |
If you intend to keep
your treasure safe. |
But, since I love to
live at liberty, |
As easily may you get
the Soldan's crown |
As any prizes out of my precínct; |
For they are friends
that help to wean my state, |
'Till men and kingdoms
help to strengthen it, |
And must maintain my
life exempt from servitude. − |
But, tell me, madam,
is your grace betrothed? |
Zeno. I am
− my lord − for so you do import. |
Tamb. I am a
lord, for so my deeds shall prove: |
And yet a shepherd by
my parentage. |
But, lady, this fair
face and heavenly hue |
Must grace his bed
that conquers Asiä, |
And means to be a
terror to the world, |
Measuring the limits
of his empery |
By east and west, as
Phoebus doth his course. |
Lie here ye weeds that
I disdain to wear! |
This complete armour
and this curtle-axe |
Are adjuncts more
beseeming Tamburlaine. |
And, madam, whatsoever
you esteem |
Of this success and
loss unvaluëd, |
Both may invest you
Empress of the East; |
And these that seem
but silly country swains |
May have the leading
of so great an host, |
As with their weight
shall make the mountains quake, |
Even as when windy
exhalations |
Fighting for passage,
tilt within the earth. |
Tech. As
princely lions, when they rouse themselves, |
Stretching their paws,
and threatening herds of beasts, |
So in his armour looketh Tamburlaine. |
Methinks I see kings
kneeling at his feet, |
And he with frowning
brows and fiery looks, |
Spurning their crowns
from off their captive heads. |
Usum. And
making thee and me, Techelles, kings, |
That even to death
will follow Tamburlaine. |
Tamb. Nobly
resolved, sweet friends and followers! |
These lords perhaps do
scorn our estimates, |
And think we prattle
with distempered spirits; |
But since they measure
our deserts so mean, |
That in conceit bear
empires on our spears, |
Affecting thoughts
coequal with the clouds, |
They shall be kept our
forcèd followers, |
Till with their eyes
they view us emperors. |
Zeno. The
gods, defenders of the innocent, |
Will never prosper
your intended drifts, |
That thus oppress poor
friendless passengers. |
Therefore at least
admit us liberty, |
Even as thou hopest to
be eternized, |
By living Asia's
mighty Emperor. |
Agyd. I hope
our ladies' treasure and our own |
May serve for ransom
to our liberties: |
Return our mules and
empty camels back, |
That we may travel
into Syria, |
Where her betrothèd
lord Alcidamas, |
Expects th' arrival of
her highness' person. |
Mag. And
wheresoever we repose ourselves, |
We will report but
well of Tamburlaine. |
Tamb.
Disdains Zenocrate to live with me? |
Or you, my lords, to
be my followers? |
Think you I weigh this
treasure more than you? |
Not all the gold in
India's wealthy arms |
Shall buy the meanest
soldier in my train. |
Zenocrate, lovelier
than the love of Jove, |
Brighter than is the
silver Rhodope, |
Fairer than whitest
snow on Scythian hills, − |
Thy person is more
worth to Tamburlaine |
Than the possession of
the Persian crown, |
Which gracious stars
have promised at my birth. |
A hundred Tartars
shall attend on thee, |
Mounted on steeds swifter than Pegasus; |
Thy garments shall be
made of Median silk, |
Enchased with precious
jewèls of mine own, |
More rich and valurous than Zenocrate's. |
With milk-white harts
upon an ivory sled, |
Thou shalt be drawn
amidst the frozen pools, |
And scale the icy mountains'
lofty tops, |
Which with thy beauty
will be soon resolved. |
My martial prizes with
five hundred men, |
Won on the
fifty-headed Volga's waves, |
Shall we all offer to
Zenocrate, − |
And then myself to
fair Zenocrate. |
Tech. What
now! − in love? |
Tamb.
Techelles, women must be flatterèd: |
But this is she with
whom I am in love. |
Enter a Soldier. |
Sold. News!
news! |
Tamb. How now − what's
the matter? |
Sold. A
thousand Persian horsemen are at hand, |
Sent from the king to
overcome us all. |
Tamb. How
now, my lords of Egypt, and Zenocrate! |
How! − must your
jewèls be restored again, |
And I, that triumphed
so, be overcome? |
How say you, lordings,
− is not this your hope? |
Agyd. We
hope yourself will willingly restore them. |
Tamb. Such
hope, such fortune, have the thousand horse. |
Soft ye, my lords, and
sweet Zenocrate! |
You must be forcèd
from me ere you go. |
A thousand horsemen!
− We five hundred foot! − |
An odds too great for us to stand against. |
But are they rich?
− and is their armour good? |
Sold. Their plumèd helms are wrought with beaten
gold, |
Their swords
enamelled, and about their necks |
Hang massy chains of
gold, down to the waist, |
In every part
exceeding brave and rich. |
Tamb. Then
shall we fight courageously with them? |
Or look you I should
play the orator? |
Tech. No:
cowards and faint-hearted runaways |
Look for orations when
the foe is near: |
Our swords shall play
the orator for us. |
Usum. Come!
let us meet them at the mountain foot, |
And with a sudden and
a hot alarum, |
Drive all their horses
headlong down the hill. |
Tech. Come,
let us march! |
Tamb. Stay,
Techelles! ask a parley first. |
The Soldiers enter. |
Open the mails, yet
guard the treasure sure; |
Lay out our golden
wedges to the view, |
That their reflections
may amaze the Persians; |
And look we friendly
on them when they come; |
But if they offer word
or violence, |
We'll fight five
hundred men-at-arms to one, |
Before we part with
our possessiön. |
And ’gainst the
general we will lift our swords, |
And either lance his
greedy thirsting throat, |
Or take him prisoner,
and his chain shall serve |
For manacles, till he
be ransomed home. |
Tech. I hear
them come; shall we encounter them? |
Tamb. Keep
all your standings and not stir a foot, |
Myself will bide the
danger of the brunt. |
Enter Theridamas and others. |
Ther. Where
is this Scythian Tamburlaine? |
Tamb. Whom seek'st thou, Persian? − I am
Tamburlaine. |
Ther. Tamburlaine! − |
A Scythian shepherd so
embellishèd |
With nature's pride
and richest furniture! |
His looks do menace
Heaven and dare the gods: |
His fiery eyes are
fixed upon the earth, |
As if he now devised
some stratagem, |
Or meant to pierce
Avernus' darksome vaults |
To pull the
triple-headed dog from hell. |
Tamb. Noble
and mild this Persian seems to be, |
If outward habit judge the inward man. |
Tech. His
deep affections make him passionate. |
Tamb. With
what a majesty he rears his looks! − |
In thee, thou valiant
man of Persiä, |
I see the folly of thy
emperor. |
Art thou but captain of a thousand horse, |
That by charácters
graven in thy brows, |
And by thy martial
face and stout aspéct, |
Deserv'st to have the
leading of a host! |
Forsake thy king, and
do but join with me, |
And we will triumph
over all the world; |
I hold the Fates bound
fast in iron chains, |
And with my hand turn
Fortune's wheel about: |
And sooner shall the
sun fall from his sphere, |
Than Tamburlaine be
slain or overcome. |
Draw forth thy sword,
thou mighty man-at-arms, |
Intending but to raze
my charmèd skin, |
And Jove himself will
stretch his hand from Heaven |
To ward the blow and
shield me safe from harm. |
See how he rains down
heaps of gold in showers, |
As if he meant to give
my soldiers pay! |
And as a sure and
grounded argument |
That I shall be the
monarch of the East, |
He sends this Soldan's
daughter rich and brave, |
To be my Queen and
portly Emperèss. |
If thou wilt stay with
me, renownèd man, |
And lead thy thousand horse with my condúct, |
Besides thy share of
this Egyptian prize, |
Those thousand horse shall sweat with martial spoil |
Of conquered kingdoms
and of cities sacked; |
Both we will walk upon
the lofty cliffs, |
And Christian
merchants that with Russian stems |
Plough up huge furrows
in the Caspian sea, |
Shall vail to us, as
lords of all the lake. |
Both we will reign as
consuls of the earth, |
And mighty kings shall
be our senators. |
Jove sometimes maskèd
in a shepherd's weed, |
And by those steps
that he hath scaled the Heavens |
May we become immortal
like the gods. |
Join with me now in
this my mean estate, |
(I call it mean
because being yet obscure, |
The nations far
removed admire me not,) |
And when my name and
honour shall be spread |
As far as Boreas claps
his brazen wings, |
Or fair Boötes sends
his cheerful light, |
Then shalt thou be
competitor with me, |
And sit with
Tamburlaine in all his majesty. |
Ther. Not
Hermes, prolocutor to the gods, |
Could use persuasions
more pathetical. |
Tamb. Nor
are Apollo's oracles more true, |
Than thou shalt find
my vaunts substantiäl. |
Tech. We are
his friends, and if the Persian king |
Should offer present
dukedoms to our state, |
We think it loss to make
exchange for that |
We are assured of by
our friend's success. |
Usum. And
kingdoms at the least we all expect, |
Besides the honour in
assurèd conquests, |
When kings shall
crouch unto our conquering swords |
And hosts of soldiers
stand amazed at us; |
When with their
fearful tongues they shall confess, |
"These are the
men that all the world admires." |
Ther. What
strong enchantments tice my yielding soul! |
These are resolvèd,
noble Scythians: |
But shall I prove a
traitor to my king? |
Tamb. No,
but the trusty friend of Tamburlaine. |
Ther. Won with thy words, and conquered with thy
looks, |
I yield myself, my
men, and horse to thee, |
To be partaker of thy
good or ill, |
As long as life maintains Theridamas. |
Tamb.
Theridamas, my friend, take here my hand, |
Which is as much as if
I swore by Heaven, |
And called the gods to
witness of my vow. |
Thus shall my heart be still combined with thine |
Until our bodies turn
to elements, |
And both our souls
aspire celestial thrones. |
Techelles and Casane,
welcome him! |
Tech.
Welcome, renownèd Persian, to us all! |
Usum. Long
may Theridamas remain with us! |
Tamb. These
are my friends, in whom I more rejoice |
Than doth the King of
Persia in his crown, |
And by the love of
Pylades and Orestes, |
Whose statues we adore
in Scythia, |
Thyself and them shall
never part from me |
Before I crown you
kings in Asiä. − |
Make much of them,
gentle Theridamas, |
And they will never
leave thee till the death. |
Ther. Nor
thee nor them, thrice noble Tamburlaine, |
Shall want my heart to
be with gladness pierced, |
To do you honour and
security. |
Tamb. A
thousand thanks, worthy Theridamas. |
And now fair madam,
and my noble lords, |
If you will willingly
remain with me |
You shall have honours
as your merits be; |
Or else you shall be
forced with slavery. |
Agyd. We
yield unto thee, happy Tamburlaine. |
Tamb. For
you then, madam, I am out of doubt. |
Zeno. I must be pleased perforce. Wretched
Zenocrate! |
[Exeunt.] |
ACT II. |
SCENE I. |
Enter Cosroe, Menaphon, Ortygius, and Ceneus, |
with Soldiers. |
Cos. Thus
far are we towárds Theridamas, |
And valiant
Tamburlaine, the man of fame, |
The man that in the
forehead of his fortune |
Bears figures of
renown and miracle. |
But tell me, that hast
seen him, Menaphon, |
What stature wields
he, and what personage? |
Men. Of stature
tall, and straightly fashionèd, |
Like his desire lift
upward and divine; |
So large of limbs, his
joints so strongly knit, |
Such breadth of
shoulders as might mainly bear |
Old Atlas' burthen;
− ‘twixt his manly pitch, |
A pearl, more worth
than all the world, is placed, |
Wherein by curious
sovereignty of art |
Are fixed his piercing
instruments of sight, |
Whose fiery circles
bear encompassèd |
A Heaven of heavenly
bodies in their spheres, |
That guides his steps
and actions to the throne, |
Where honour sits
invested royally: |
Pale of complexion,
wrought in him with passion, |
Thirsting with
sovereignty and love of arms; |
His lofty brows in
folds do figure death, |
And in their
smoothness amity and life; |
About them hangs a
knot of amber hair, |
Wrappèd in curls, as
fierce Achilles' was, |
On which the breath of
Heaven delights to play, |
Making it dance with
wanton majesty. − |
His arms and fingers,
long, and sinewy, |
Betokening valour and
excess of strength; − |
In every part
proportioned like the man |
Should make the world
subdued to Tamburlaine. |
Cos. Well
hast thou portrayed in thy terms of life |
The face and personage
of a wondrous man; |
Nature doth strive
with Fortune and his stars |
To make him famous in
accomplished worth; |
And well his merits
show him to be made |
His fortune's master
and the king of men, |
That could persuade at
such a sudden pinch, |
With reasons of his
valour and his life, |
A thousand sworn and
overmatching foes. |
Then, when our powers
in points of swords are joined |
And closed in compass
of the killing bullet, |
Though strait the
passage and the port be made |
That leads to palace
of my brother's life, |
Proud is his fortune
if we pierce it not. |
And when the princely
Persian diadem |
Shall overweigh his
weary witless head, |
And fall like mellowed
fruit with shakes of death, |
In fair Persia, noble
Tamburlaine |
Shall be my regent and
remain as king. |
Orty. In
happy hour we have set the crown |
Upon your kingly head
that seeks our honour, |
In joining with the
man ordained by Heaven, |
To further every
action to the best. |
Cen. He that
with shepherds and a little spoil |
Durst, in disdain of
wrong and tyranny, |
Defend his freedom
’gainst a monarchy, |
What will he do supported by a king, |
Leading a troop of
gentlemen and lords, |
And stuffed with
treasure for his highest thoughts! |
Cos. And
such shall wait on worthy Tamburlaine. |
Our army will be forty
thousand strong, |
When Tamburlaine and
brave Theridamas |
Have met us by the
river Araris; |
And all conjoined to
meet the witless king, |
That now is marching
near to Parthia, |
And with unwilling soldiers
faintly armed, |
To seek revenge on me
and Tamburlaine, |
To whom, sweet
Menaphon, direct me straight. |
Men. I
will, my lord. |
[Exeunt.] |
ACT II, SCENE II. |
Enter Mycetes, Meander, with other Lords |
and Soldiers. |
Myc. Come,
my Meander, let us to this gear. |
I tell you true, my
heart is swoln with wrath |
On this same thievish
villain, Tamburlaine, |
And on that false
Cosroe, my traitorous brother. |
Would it not grieve a
king to be so abused |
And have a thousand
horsemen ta'en away? |
And, which is worse,
to have his diadem |
Sought for by such
scald knaves as love him not? |
I think it would; well
then, by Heavens I swear, |
Aurora shall not peep
out of her doors, |
But I will have Cosroë
by the head, |
And kill proud
Tamburlaine with point of sword. |
Tell you the rest.
Meander: I have said. |
Meand. Then
having passed Armenian deserts now, |
And pitched our tents
under the Georgian hills, |
Whose tops are covered
with Tartarian thieves, |
That lie in ambush,
waiting for a prey, |
What should we do but
bid them battle straight, |
And rid the world of
those detested troops? |
Lest, if we let them
linger here awhile, |
They gather strength
by power of fresh supplies. |
This country swarms
with vile outrageous men |
That live by rapine
and by lawless spoil, |
Fit soldiers for the
wicked Tamburlaine; |
And he that could with
gifts and promises |
Inveigle him that led
a thousand horse, |
And make him false his
faith unto his king, |
Will quickly win such
as be like himself. |
Therefore cheer up your minds; prepare to fight; |
He that can take or
slaughter Tamburlaine |
Shall rule the
province of Albania: |
Who brings that
traitor's head, Theridamas, |
Shall have a
government in Media, |
Beside the spoil of
him and all his train: |
But if Cosroë, (as our
spials say, |
And as we know)
remains with Tamburlaine, |
His highness' pleasure
is that he should live, |
And be reclaimed with
princely lenity. |
Enter A Spy. |
A Spy. A
hundred horsemen of my company |
Scouting abroad upon
these champion plains |
Have viewed the army
of the Scythians, |
Which make report it
far exceeds the king's. |
Meand.
Suppose they be in number infinite, |
Yet being void of
martial discipline, |
All running headlong
greedy after spoils, |
And more regarding gain
than victory, |
Like to the cruèl
brothers of the earth, |
Sprung of the teeth of
dragons venomous, |
Their careless swords
shall lance their fellows' throats, |
And make us triumph in
their overthrow. |
Myc. Was there such
brethren, sweet Meander, say, |
That sprung of teeth
of dragons venomous? |
Meand. So poets say, my
lord. |
Myc. And
’tis a pretty toy to be a poet. |
Well, well, Meander,
thou art deeply read, |
And having thee, I
have a jewèl sure. |
Go on, my lord, and
give your charge, I say; |
Thy wit will make us
conquerors to-day. |
Meand. Then,
noble soldiers, to entrap these thieves, |
That live confounded
in disordered troops, |
If wealth or riches
may prevail with them, |
We have our camels
laden all with gold, |
Which you that be but
common soldiërs |
Shall fling in every
corner of the field; |
And while the
base-born Tartars take it up, |
You, fighting more for
honour than for gold, |
Shall massacre those
greedy-minded slaves; |
And when their
scattered army is subdued, |
And you march on their
slaughtered carcasses, |
Share equally the gold
that bought their lives, |
And live like
gentlemen in Persiä. |
Strike up the drum!
and march courageously! |
Fortune herself doth
sit upon our crests. |
Myc. He
tells you true, my masters: so he does. |
Drums, why sound ye
not, when Meander speaks? |
[Exeunt, drums sounding.] |
ACT II, SCENE III. |
Enter Cosroe, Tamburlaine, Theridamas, Techelles, |
Usumcasane, and Ortygius, with others. |
Cos. Now,
worthy Tamburlaine, have I reposed |
In thy approvèd
fortunes all my hope. |
What think'st thou,
man, shall come of our attempts? |
For even as from
assurèd oracle, |
I take thy doom for
satisfactiön. |
Tamb. And so mistake you not a whit, my lord; |
For fates and oracles
of Heaven have sworn |
To royalize the deeds
of Tamburlaine, |
And make them blest
that share in his attempts. |
And doubt you not but,
if you favour me, |
And let my fortunes
and my valour sway |
To some direction in
your martial deeds, |
The world will strive
with hosts of men-at-arms, |
To swarm unto the
ensign I support: |
The host of Xerxes,
which by fame is said |
To have drank the
mighty Parthian Araris, |
Was but a handful to
that we will have. |
Our quivering lances,
shaking in the air, |
And bullets, like
Jove's dreadful thunderbolts, |
Enrolled in flames and
fiery smouldering mists, |
Shall threat the gods
more than Cyclopian wars: |
And with our
sun-bright armour as we march, |
We'll chase the stars
from Heaven and dim their eyes |
That stand and muse at
our admirèd arms. |
Ther. You
see, my lord, what working words he hath; |
But when you see his
actions top his speech, |
Your speech will stay
or so extol his worth |
As I shall be
commended and excused |
For turning my poor
charge to his direction. |
And these his two renownèd
friends, my lord, |
Would make one thirst
and strive to be retained |
In such a great degree
of amity. |
Tech. With
duty and with amity we yield |
Our utmost service to
the fair Cosroe. |
Cos. Which
I esteem as portion of my crown, |
Usumcasane and
Techelles both, |
When she that rules in
Rhamnus' golden gates, |
And makes a passage
for all prosperous arms, |
Shall make me solely
Emperor of Asiä, |
Then shall your meeds
and valours be advanced |
To rooms of honour and
nobility. |
Tamb. Then
haste, Cosroë, to be king alone, |
That I with these, my
friends, and all my men |
May triumph in our
long-expected fate. − |
The king, your
brother, is now hard at hand; |
Meet with the fool,
and rid your royal shoulders |
Of such a burthen as
outweighs the sands |
And all the craggy
rocks of Caspia. |
Enter a Messenger. |
Mess. My
lord, we have discoverèd the enemy |
Ready to charge you
with a mighty army. |
Cos. Come,
Tamburlaine! now whet thy wingèd sword, |
And lift thy lofty arm
into the clouds, |
That it may reach the
King of Persia's crown, |
And set it safe on my
victorious head. |
Tamb. See
where it is, the keenest curtle-axe |
That e'er made passage
thorough Persian arms. |
These are the wings
shall make it fly as swift |
As doth the lightning
or the breath of Heaven, |
And kill as sure as it
swiftly flies. |
Cos. Thy
words assure me of kind success; |
Go, valiant soldier,
go before and charge |
The fainting army of
that foolish king. |
Tamb.
Usumcasane and Techelles, come! |
We are enow to scare
the enemy, |
And more than needs to
make an emperor. |
[Exeunt to the battle.] |
ACT II, SCENE IV. |
Enter Mycetes with his crown in his hand. |
Myc.
Accursed be he that first invented war! |
They knew not, ah they
knew not, simple men, |
How those were hit by
pelting cannon shot, |
Stand staggering like
a quivering aspen leaf, |
Fearing the force of
Boreas' boisterous blasts. |
In what a lámentable
case were I |
If Nature had not
given me wisdom's lore, |
For kings are clouts
that every man shoots at, |
Our crown the pin that
thousands seek to cleave; |
Therefore in policy I think it good |
To hide it close; a
goodly stratagem, |
And far from any man
that is a fool: |
So shall I not be known; or if I be, |
They cannot take away
my crown from me. |
Here will I hide it in
this simple hole. |
Enter Tamburlaine. |
Tamb. What,
fearful coward, straggling from the camp, |
When kings themselves
are present in the field? |
Myc. Thou
liest. |
Tamb. Base
villain! darest give me the lie? |
Myc. Away;
I am the king; go; touch me not. |
Thou break'st the law
of arms, unless thou kneel |
And cry me
"mercy, noble king." |
Tamb. Are
you the witty King of Persiä? |
Myc. Ay,
marry am I: have you any suit to me? |
Tamb. I would entreat you speak but three wise
words. |
Myc. So I can when I see my time. |
Tamb. Is
this your crown? |
Myc. Ay,
didst thou ever see a fairer? |
Tamb. You
will not sell it, will you? |
Myc. Such
another word and I will have thee executed. |
Come, give it me! |
Tamb. No; I
took it prisoner. |
Myc. You
lie; I gave it you. |
Tamb. Then ’tis mine. |
Myc. No; I
mean I let you keep it. |
|
Tamb. Well;
I mean you shall have it again. |
Here; take it for a
while: I lend it thee, |
'Till I may see thee
hemmed with armèd men; |
Then shalt thou see me
pull it from thy head: |
Thou art no match for
mighty Tamburlaine. |
[Exit Tamburlaine.] |
Myc. O
gods! Is this Tamburlaine the thief? |
I marvel much he stole
it not away. |
[Trumpets sound to the battle, and he runs out.] |
ACT II, SCENE V. |
Enter Cosroe, Tamburlaine, Meander, Theridamas, |
Ortygius, Menaphon, Techelles, Usumcasane, |
with others. |
Tamb. Hold
thee, Cosroe! wear two imperial crowns; |
Think thee invested
now as royally, |
Even by the mighty
hand of Tamburlaine, |
As if as many kings as
could encompass thee |
With greatest pomp,
had crowned thee emperor. |
Cos. So do I, thrice renownèd man-at-arms, |
And none shall keep
the crown but Tamburlaine. |
Thee do I make my
regent of Persia, |
And general lieutenant
of my armies. − |
Meander, you, that
were our brother's guide, |
And chiefest
counsellor in all his acts, |
Since he is yielded to
the stroke of war, |
On your submission we
with thanks excuse, |
And give you equal
place in our affairs. |
Meand. Most
happy Emperor, in humblest terms, |
I vow my service to
your majesty, |
With utmost virtue of
my faith and duty. |
Cos.
Thanks, good Meander: then, Cosroë, reign, |
And govern Persia in
her former pomp! |
Now send embassage to
thy neighbour kings, |
And let them know the
Persian king is changed, |
From one that knew not
what a king should do, |
To one that can
command what ’longs thereto. |
And now we will to
fair Persepolis, |
With twenty thousand
expert soldiërs. |
The lords and captains
of my brother's camp |
With little slaughter
take Meander's course, |
And gladly yield them
to my gracious rule. |
Ortygius and Menaphon,
my trusty friends, |
Now will I gratify
your former good, |
And grace your calling
with a greater sway. |
Orty. And as
we ever aimed at your behoof, |
And sought your state
all honour it deserved, |
So will we with our powèrs and our lives |
Endeavour to preserve
and prosper it. |
Cos. I will
not thank thee, sweet Ortygius; |
Better replies shall
prove my purposes. − |
And now, Lord
Tamburlaine, my brother's camp |
I leave to thee and to
Theridamas, |
To follow me to fair
Persepolis. |
Then will we march to
all those Indian mines |
My witless brother to
the Christians lost, |
And ransom them with
fame and usury. |
And till thou overtake
me, Tamburlaine, |
(Staying to order all
the scattered troops,) |
Farewell, lord regent
and his happy friends! |
I long to sit upon my
brother's throne. |
Meand. Your
majesty shall shortly have your wish, |
And ride in triumph
through Persepolis. |
[Exeunt all but Tamburlaine, Theridamas, |
Techelles, and Usumcasane.] |
Tamb.
"And ride in triumph through Persepolis!" |
Is it not brave to be
a king, Techelles? |
Usumcasane and
Theridamas, |
Is it not passing
brave to be a king, |
"And ride in
triumph through Persepolis?" |
Tech. O, my
lord, ’tis sweet and full of pomp. |
Usum. To be
a king is half to be a god. |
Ther. A god
is not so glorious as a king. |
I think the pleasure
they enjoy in Heaven |
Cannot compare with
kingly joys in earth. − |
To wear a crown
enchased with pearl and gold, |
Whose virtues carry
with it life and death; |
To ask and have,
command and be obeyed; |
When looks breed love,
with looks to gain the prize, |
Such power attractive
shines in princes' eyes! |
Tamb. Why
say, Theridamas, wilt thou be a king? |
Ther. Nay,
though I praise it, I can live without it. |
Tamb. What
say my other friends? Will you be kings? |
Tech. Aye,
if I could, with all my heart, my lord. |
Tamb. Why,
that's well said, Techelles; so would I, |
And so
would you, my masters, would you not? |
Usum. What
then, my lord? |
Tamb. Why
then, Casane, shall we wish for aught |
The world affords in
greatest novelty, |
And rest attemptless,
faint and destitute? |
Methinks we should
not: I am strongly moved, |
That if I should
desire the Persian crown, |
I could attain it with
a wondrous ease. |
And would not all our
soldiers soon consent, |
If we should aim at
such a dignity? |
Ther. I know they would with our persuasiöns. |
Tamb. Why
then, Theridamas, I'll first assay |
To get the Persian
kingdom to myself; |
Then thou for Parthia;
they for Scythia and Media; |
And, if I prosper, all
shall be as sure |
As if the Turk, the
Pope, Afric and Greece, |
Came creeping to us with
their crowns apace. |
Tech. Then
shall we send to this triumphing king, |
And bid him battle for
his novel crown? |
Usum. Nay,
quickly then, before his room be hot. |
Tamb. ’Twill prove a pretty jest, in faith, my friends. |
Ther. A jest
to charge on twenty thousand men! |
I judge the purchase
more important far. |
Tamb. Judge
by thyself, Theridamas, not me; |
For presently
Techelles here shall haste |
To bid him battle ere
he pass too far, |
And lose more labour
than the game will quite. |
Then shalt thou see
this Scythian Tamburlaine, |
Make but a jest to win
the Persian crown. − |
Techelles, take a
thousand horse with thee, |
And bid him turn him
back to war with us, |
That only made him
king to make us sport. |
We will not steal upon
him cowardly, |
But give him warning
and more warriors. |
Haste thee, Techelles,
we will follow thee. |
[Exit Techelles.] |
What saith Theridamas?
|
Ther. Go on for me. |
[Exeunt.] |
ACT II, SCENE VI. |
Enter Cosroe, Meander, Ortygius, Menaphon, |
with Soldiers. |
Cos. What
means this devilish shepherd to aspire |
With such a giantly
presumptiön |
To cast up hills
against the face of Heaven, |
And dare the force of
angry Jupiter? |
But as he thrust them
underneath the hills, |
And pressed out fire
from their burning jaws, |
So will I send this monstrous slave to hell, |
Where flames shall
ever feed upon his soul. |
Meand. Some powers divine, or else infernal, mixed |
Their angry seeds at
his conceptiön; |
For he was never sprung
of human race, |
Since with the spirit
of his fearful pride, |
He dare
so doubtlessly resolve of rule, |
And by profession be
ambitiöus. |
Orty. What
god, or fiend, or spirit of the earth, |
Or monster turnèd to a
manly shape, |
Or of what mould or mettle
he be made, |
What star or fate
soever govern him, |
Let us put on our meet
encountering minds; |
And in detesting such
a devilish thief, |
In love of honour and
defence of right, |
Be armed against the
hate of such a foe, |
Whether from earth, or
hell, or Heaven, he grow. |
Cos. Nobly
resolved, my good Ortygius; |
And since we all have
sucked one wholesome air, |
And with the same
proportiön of elements |
Resolve, I hope we are
resembled |
Vowing our loves to
equal death and life. |
Let's cheer our soldiers
to encounter him, |
That grievous image of
ingratitude, |
That fiery thirster
after sovereignty, |
And burn him in the
fury of that flame, |
That none can quench
but blood and empery. |
Resolve, my lords and
loving soldiers, now |
To save your king and
country from decay. |
Then strike up, drum;
and all the stars that make |
The loathsome circle
of my dated life, |
Direct my weapon to
his barbarous heart, |
That thus opposeth him
against the gods, |
And scorns the powers
that govern Persiä! |
[Exeunt; drums and trumpets sounding.] |
ACT II, SCENE VII. |
Alarms of battle within. |
Enter Cosroe, wounded, Tamburlaine, |
Theridamas, Techelles, Usumcasane, with others. |
Cos.
Barbarous and bloody Tamburlaine, |
Thus to deprive me of my crown and life! |
Treacherous and false
Theridamas, |
Even at the morning of
my happy state, |
Scarce being seated in
my royal throne, |
To work my downfall
and untimely end! |
An uncouth pain
torments my grievèd soul, |
And Death arrests the
organ of my voice, |
Who, entering at the
breach thy sword hath made, |
Sacks every vein and
artier of my heart. − |
Bloody and insatiate
Tamburlaine! |
Tamb. The
thirst of reign and sweetness of a crown, |
That caused the eldest
son of heavenly Ops |
To thrust his doting
father from his chair, |
And place himself in
the empyreal Heaven, |
Moved me to manage
arms against thy state. |
What better precedent
than mighty Jove? |
Nature that framed us
of four elements, |
Warring within our
breasts for regiment, |
Doth teach us all to
have aspiring minds: |
Our souls, whose
faculties can comprehend |
The wondrous
architecture of the world, |
And measure every
wandering planet's course, |
Still climbing after
knowledge infinite, |
And always moving as
the restless spheres, |
Will us to wear ourselves,
and never rest, |
Until we reach the
ripest fruit of all, |
That perfect bliss and
sole felicity, |
The sweet fruition of
an earthly crown. |
Ther. And
that made me to join with Tamburlaine: |
For he is gross and
like the massy earth, |
That moves not
upwards, nor by princely deeds |
Doth mean to soar
above the highest sort. |
Tech. And
that made us the friends of Tamburlaine, |
To lift our swords
against the Persian king. |
Usum. For as
when Jove did thrust old Saturn down, |
Neptune and Dis gained
each of them a crown, |
So do we hope to reign in Asiä, |
If Tamburlaine be
placed in Persiä. |
Cos. The
strangest men that ever nature made! |
I know not how to take
their tyrannies. |
My bloodless body
waxeth chill and cold, |
And with my blood my
life slides through my wound; |
My soul begins to take
her flight to hell, |
And summons all my
senses to depart. − |
The heat and moisture,
which did feed each other, |
For want of
nourishment to feed them both, |
Are dry and cold; and
now doth ghastly Death |
With greedy talons
gripe my bleeding heart, |
And like a harpy tires
on my life. |
Theridamas and
Tamburlaine, I die: |
And fearful vengeance
light upon you both! |
[Cosroe dies. – |
Tamburlaine takes his crown and puts it on.] |
Tamb. Not
all the curses which the Furies breathe, |
Shall make me leave so
rich a prize as this. |
Theridamas, Techelles,
and the rest, |
Who think you now is
King of Persiä? |
All.
Tamburlaine! Tamburlaine! |
Tamb. Though
Mars himself, the angry god of arms, |
And all the earthly
potentates conspire |
To dispossess me of
this diadem, |
Yet will I wear it in
despite of them, |
As great commander of
this eastern world, |
If you but say that
Tamburlaine shall reign. |
All. Long live Tamburlaine and reign in Asia! |
Tamb. So now
it is more surer on my head, |
Than if the gods had
held a parliament, |
And all pronounced me
King of Persiä. |
[Exeunt.] |
ACT III. |
SCENE I. |
Enter Bajazeth, the Kings of Fez, Morocco, |
and Argier, with others in great pomp. |
Baj. Great
Kings of Barbary and my portly bassoes, |
We hear the Tartars
and the eastern thieves, |
Under the conduct of
one Tamburlaine, |
Presume a bickering
with your emperor, |
And think to rouse us
from our dreadful siege |
Of the famous Greciän
Constantinople. |
You know our army is
invincible; |
As many circumcisèd
Turks we have, |
And warlike bands of
Christiäns renied, |
As hath the ocean or
the Terrene sea |
Small drops of water
when the moon begins |
To join in one her
semicircled horns. |
Yet would we not be
braved with foreign power, |
Nor raise our siege
before the Grecians yield, |
Or breathless lie
before the city walls. |
K. of Fez. Renownèd Emperor, and mighty general, |
What if you sent the
bassoes of your guard |
To charge him to
remain in Asiä, |
Or else to threaten
death and deadly arms |
As from the mouth of mighty
Bajazeth. |
Baj. Hie thee, my basso, fast to Persiä, |
Tell him thy Lord, the
Turkish Emperor, |
Dread Lord of Afric,
Europe, and Asiä, |
Great King and
conqueror of Graecia, |
The ocean, Terrene,
and the Coal-black sea, |
The high and highest
monarch of the world, |
Wills and commands
(for say not I entreat), |
Not once to set his
foot on Africa, |
Or spread his colours
once in Graecia, |
Lest he incur the fury
of my wrath. |
Tell him I am content
to take a truce, |
Because I hear he
bears a valiant mind: |
But if, presuming on
his silly power, |
He be so mad to manage
arms with me, |
Then stay thou with
him; say, I bid thee so: |
And if, before the sun
have measured Heaven |
With triple circuit,
thou regreet us not, |
We mean to take his
morning's next arise |
For messenger
he will not be reclaimed, |
And mean to fetch thee
in despite of him. |
Basso. Most
great and puissant monarch of the earth, |
Your basso will
accomplish your behest, |
And show your pleasure
to the Persiän, |
As fits the legate of
the stately Turk. |
[Exit.] |
K. of Arg. They say he is the King of Persiä; |
But, if he dare attempt to stir your siege, |
'Twere requisite he
should be ten times more, |
For all flesh quakes
at your magnificence. |
Baj. True,
Argiér; and trembles at my looks. |
K. of Mor. The spring is hindered by your smothering
host, |
For neither rain can
fall upon the earth, |
Nor sun reflex his
virtuous beams thereon, |
The ground is mantled
with such multitudes. |
Baj. All
this is true as holy Mahomet; |
And all the trees are
blasted with our breaths. |
K. of Fez. What thinks your greatness best to be achieved |
In pursuit of the
city's overthrow? |
Baj. I will
the captive pioners of Argier |
Cut off the water that
by leaden pipes |
Runs to the city from
the mountain Carnon. |
Two thousand horse
shall forage up and down, |
That no relief or
succour come by land: |
And all the sea my
galleys countermand. |
Then shall our footmen
lie within the trench, |
And with their cannons
mouthed like Orcus' gulf. |
Batter the walls, and
we will enter in; |
And thus
the Grecians shall be conquerèd. |
[Exeunt.] |
ACT III, SCENE II. |
Enter Zenocrate, Agydas, Anippe, with others. |
Agyd. Madam
Zenocrate, may I presume |
To know the cause of
these unquiet fits, |
That work such trouble
to your wonted rest? |
'Tis more than pity
such a heavenly face |
Should by heart's
sorrow wax so wan and pale, |
When your offensive
rape by Tamburlaine, |
(Which of your whole
displeasures should be most,) |
Hath seemed to be digested
long ago. |
Zeno.
Although it be digested long ago, |
As his exceeding
favours have deserved, |
And might content the
Queen of Heaven, as well |
As it hath changed my
first conceived disdain, |
Yet since a farther
passion feeds my thoughts |
With ceaseless and
disconsolate conceits, |
Which dyes my looks so
lifeless as they are, |
And might, if my
extremes had full events, |
Make me the ghastly
counterfeit of death. |
Agyd.
Eternal Heavèn sooner be dissolved, |
And all that pierceth
Phoebus' silver eye, |
Before such hap fall
to Zenocrate! |
Zeno. Ah,
life and soul, still hover in his breast |
And leave my body
senseless as the earth, |
Or else unite you to
his life and soul, |
That I may live and
die with Tamburlaine! |
Enter, behind, Tamburlaine, Techelles, and others. |
Agyd. With
Tamburlaine! Ah, fair Zenocrate, |
Let not a man so vile
and barbarous, |
That holds you from
your father in despite, |
And keeps you from the
honours of a queen, |
(Being supposed his
worthless concubine,) |
Be honoured with your
love but for necessity. |
So, now the mighty
Soldan hears of you, |
Your highness needs
not doubt but in short time |
He will with
Tamburlaine's destructiön |
Redeem you from this
deadly servitude. |
Zeno.
Agydas, leave to wound me with these words, |
And speak of
Tamburlaine as he deserves. |
The entertainment we
have had of him |
Is far from villany or
servitude, |
And might in noble
minds be counted princely. |
Agyd. How
can you fancy one that looks so fierce, |
Only disposed to martial
stratagems? |
Who, when he shall
embrace you in his arms, |
Will tell how many
thousand men he slew; |
And when you look for
amorous discourse, |
Will rattle forth his
facts of war and blood, |
Too harsh a subject
for your dainty ears. |
Zeno. As looks
the Sun through Nilus' flowing stream, |
Or when the Morning
holds him in her arms, |
So looks my lordly love, fair Tamburlaine; |
His talk much sweeter
than the Muses' song |
They sung for honour
’gainst Piërides; |
Or when Minerva did
with Neptune strive: |
And higher would I
rear my estimate |
Than Juno, sister to
the highest god, |
If I were matched with
mighty Tamburlaine. |
Agyd. Yet be
not so inconstant in your love; |
But let the young
Arabian live in hope |
After your rescue to
enjoy his choice. |
You see though first
the King of Persiä, |
Being a shepherd,
seemed to love you much, |
Now in his majesty he
leaves those looks, |
Those words of favour,
and those comfortings, |
And gives no more than
common courtesies. |
Zeno. Thence
rise the tears that so distain my cheeks, |
Fearing his love
through my unworthiness. − |
[Tamburlaine goes to her and takes her away |
lovingly by the hand, looking wrathfully on Agydas.] |
[Exeunt all but Agydas.] |
Agyd.
Betrayed by fortune and suspicious love, |
Threatened with
frowning wrath and jealousy, |
Surprised with fear of
hideous revenge, |
I stand aghast; but
most astoniëd |
To see his choler shut
in secret thoughts, |
And wrapt in silence
of his angry soul. |
Upon his brows was
portrayed ugly death; |
And in his eyes the
furies of his heart |
That shone as comets,
menacing revenge, |
And cast a pale
complexion on his cheeks. |
As when the seaman
sees the Hyades |
Gather an army of
Cimmerian clouds, |
(Auster and Aquilon
with wingèd steeds, |
All sweating, tilt
about the watery Heavens, |
With shivering spears
enforcing thunder claps, |
And from their shields
strike flames of lightning,) |
All-fearful folds his
sails and sounds the main, |
Lifting his prayers to
the Heavens for aid |
Against the terror of
the winds and waves, |
So fares Agydas for the late-felt frowns |
That sent a tempest to
my daunted thoughts, |
And make my soul
divine her overthrow. |
Re-enter Techelles with a naked dagger, |
followed by Usumcasane. |
Tech. See
you, Agydas, how the king salutes you? |
He bids you prophesy
what it imports. |
Agyd. I
prophesied before, and now I prove |
The killing frowns of
jealousy and love. |
He needed not with
words confirm my fear, |
For words are vain
where working tools present |
The naked action of my
threatened end: |
It says, Agydas, thou
shalt surely die, |
And of extremities
elect the least; |
More honour and less
pain it may procure |
To die by this
resolvèd hand of thine, |
Than stay the torments
he and Heaven have sworn. |
Then haste, Agydas,
and prevent the plagues |
Which thy prolongèd
fates may draw on thee. |
Go, wander, free from
fear of tyrant's rage, |
Removèd from the
torments and the hell, |
Wherewith he may
excruciate thy soul, |
And let Agydas by
Agydas die, |
And with this stab
slumber eternally. |
[Stabs himself.] |
Tech.
Usumcasane, see, how right the man |
Hath hit the meaning
of my lord, the king. |
Usum. ’Faith, and Techelles, it was manly done; |
And since he was so
wise and honourable, |
Let us afford him now
the bearing hence, |
And crave his triple-worthy
burial. |
Tech.
Agreed, Casane; we will honour him. |
[Exeunt bearing out the body.] |
ACT III, SCENE III. |
Enter Tamburlaine, Techelles, Usumcasane, |
Theridamas, a Basso, Zenocrate, Anippe, |
with others. |
Tamb. Basso,
by this thy lord and master knows |
I mean to meet him in
Bithynia: |
See how he comes!
tush, Turks are full of brags, |
And menace more than
they can well perform. |
He meet
me in the field, and fetch thee hence! |
Alas! poor Turk! his
fortune is too weak |
T' encounter with the
strength of Tamburlaine. |
View well my camp, and
speak indifferently; |
Do not my captains and
my soldiers look |
As if they meant to
conquer Africa? |
Bas. Your
men are valiant, but their number few, |
And cannot terrify his
mighty host. |
My lord, the great
commander of the world, |
Besides fifteen
contributory kings, |
Hath now in arms ten
thousand Janissaries, |
Mounted on lusty
Mauritanian steeds, |
Brought to the war by
men of Tripoli; |
Two hundred thousand
footmen that have served |
In two set battles
fought in Graecia; |
And for the expedition
of this war, |
If he think good, can from his garrisons |
Withdraw as many more
to follow him. |
Tech. The
more he brings the greater is the spoil, |
For when they perish
by our warlike hands, |
We mean to set our
footmen on their steeds, |
And rifle all those
stately Janissars. |
Tamb. But
will those kings accompany your lord? |
Bas. Such
as his highness please; but some must stay |
To rule the provinces he late subdued. |
Tamb. [To
his Officers] |
Then fight
courageously: their crowns are yours; |
This hand shall set
them on your conquering heads, |
That made me Emperor
of Asiä. |
Usum. Let
him bring millions infinite of men, |
Unpeopling Western
Africa and Greece, |
Yet we assure us of
the victory. |
Ther. Even
he that in a trice vanquished two kings, |
More mighty than the Turkish emperor, |
Shall rouse him out of
Europe, and pursue |
His scattered army
till they yield or die. |
Tamb. Well
said, Theridamas; speak in that mood; |
For will and shall
best fitteth Tamburlaine, |
Whose smiling stars
give him assurèd hope |
Of martial triumph ere
he meet his foes. |
I that am termed the
scourge and wrath of God, |
The only fear and
terror of the world, |
Will first subdue the
Turk, and then enlarge |
Those Christian
captives, which you keep as slaves, |
Burthening their
bodies with your heavy chains, |
And feeding them with
thin and slender fare; |
That naked row about
the Terrene sea, |
And when they chance
to rest or breathe a space, |
Are punished with
bastones so grievously, |
That they lie panting
on the galley's side, |
And strive for life at
every stroke they give. |
These are the cruèl
pirates of Argier, |
That damnèd train, the
scum of Africa, |
Inhabited with
straggling runagates, |
That make quick havoc
of the Christian blood; |
But as I live that
town shall curse the time |
That Tamburlaine set
foot in Africa. |
Enter Bajazeth with his Bassoes, the Kings of Fez, |
Morocco, and Argier, Zabina and Ebea. |
Baj.
Bassoes and Janissaries of my guard, |
Attend upon the person
of your lord, |
The greatest potentate
of Africa. |
Tamb.
Techelles, and the rest, prepare your swords; |
I mean t' encounter
with that Bajazeth. |
Baj. Kings
of Fez, Morocco, and Argier, |
He calls me Bajazeth,
whom you call lord! |
Note the presumption
of this Scythian slave! − |
I tell thee, villain,
those that lead my horse |
Have to their names titles of dignity, |
And dar'st thou
bluntly call me Bajazeth? |
Tamb. And
know, thou Turk, that those which lead my horse, |
Shall lead thee
captive thorough Africa; |
And dar'st thou
bluntly call me Tamburlaine? |
Baj. By
Mahomet my kinsman's sepulchre, |
And by the holy
Alcoran I swear, |
He shall be made a
chaste and lustless eunuch, |
And in my sarell tend
my concubines; |
And all his captains
that thus stoutly stand, |
Shall draw the chariot
of my emperèss, |
Whom I have brought to
see their overthrow. |
Tamb. By this my sword, that conquered Persiä, |
Thy fall shall make me
famous through the world. |
I will not tell thee
how I'll handle thee, |
But every common
soldier of my camp |
Shall smile to see thy
miserable state. |
K. of Fez. What means the mighty Turkish emperor, |
To talk with one so
base as Tamburlaine? |
K. of Mor. Ye Moors and valiant men of Barbary, |
How can ye suffer
these indignities? |
K. of Arg. Leave words, and let them feel your lances' points |
Which glided through
the bowels of the Greeks. |
Baj. Well
said, my stout contributory kings: |
Your threefold army
and my hugy host |
Shall swallow up these
base-born Persiäns. |
Tech.
Puissant, renowned, and mighty Tamburlaine, |
Why stay we thus
prolonging of their lives? |
Ther. I long
to see those crowns won by our swords, |
That we may rule as
kings of Africa. |
Usum. What
coward would not fight for such a prize? |
Tamb. Fight
all courageously, and be you kings; |
I speak it, and my
words are oracles. |
Baj.
Zabina, mother of three braver boys |
Than Hercules, that in
his infancy |
Did pash the jaws of
serpents venomous; |
Whose hands are made
to gripe a warlike lance, |
Their shoulders broad
for cómplete armour fit, |
Their limbs more large, and of a bigger size, |
Than all the brats
y-sprung from Typhon's loins; |
Who, when they come
unto their father's age, |
Will batter turrets
with their manly fists; − |
Sit here upon this
royal chair of state, |
And on thy head wear my imperial crown, |
Until I bring this
sturdy Tamburlaine |
And all his captains
bound in captive chains. |
Zab. Such
good success happen to Bajazeth! |
Tamb. Zenocrate, the loveliest maid alive, |
Fairer than rocks of
pearl and precious stone, |
The only paragon of
Tamburlaine, |
Whose eyes are
brighter than the lamps of Heaven, |
And speech more
pleasant than sweet harmony! |
That with thy looks
canst clear the darkened sky, |
And calm the rage of
thundering Jupiter, |
Sit down by her,
adornèd with my crown, |
As if thou wert the
Empress of the world. |
Stir not, Zenocrate,
until thou see |
Me march victoriously
with all my men, |
Triumphing over him
and these his kings; |
Which I will bring as
vassals to thy feet; |
Till then take thou my
crown, vaunt of my worth, |
And manage words with
her, as we will arms. |
Zeno. And may my love the King of Persia, |
Return with victory
and free from wound! |
Baj. Now
shalt thou feel the force of Turkish arms, |
Which lately made all
Europe quake for fear. |
I have of Turks,
Arabians, Moors, and Jews, |
Enough to cover all
Bithynia. |
Let thousands die;
their slaughtered carcasses |
Shall serve for walls
and bulwarks to the rest |
And as the heads of
Hydra, so my power, |
Subdued, shall stand
as mighty as before. |
If they should yield
their necks unto the sword, |
Thy soldiers' arms
could not endure to strike |
So many blows as I
have heads for thee. |
Thou know'st not,
foolish, hardy Tamburlaine, |
What ’tis to meet me
in the open field, |
That leave no ground
for thee to march upon. |
Tamb. Our conquering swords shall marshal us the
way |
We use
to march upon the slaughtered foe, |
Trampling their bowels
with our horses' hoofs; |
Brave horses bred on
th' white Tartarian hills; |
My camp is like to
Julius Caesar's host, |
That never fought but
had the victory; |
Nor in Pharsalia was
there such hot war, |
As these, my
followers, willingly would have. |
Legions of spirits
fleeting in the air |
Direct our bullets and
our weapons' points, |
And make your strokes
to wound the senseless lure, |
And when she sees our
bloody colours spread, |
Then Victory begins to
take her flight, |
Resting herself upon
my milk-white tent. − |
But come, my lords, to
weapons let us fall; |
The field is ours, the
Turk, his wife and all. |
[Exit with his followers.] |
Baj. Come,
kings and bassoes, let us glut our swords, |
That thirst to drink
the feeble Persians' blood. |
[Exit with his followers.] |
Zab. Base
concubine, must thou be placed by me, |
That am the empress of
the mighty Turk? |
Zeno.
Disdainful Turkess and unreverend boss! |
Call'st thou me
concubine, that am betrothed |
Unto the great and
mighty Tamburlaine? |
Zab. To
Tamburlaine, the great Tartarian thief! |
Zeno. Thou
wilt repent these lavish words of thine, |
When thy great
basso-master and thyself |
Must plead for mercy
at his kingly feet, |
And sue to me to be
your advocate. |
Zab. And
sue to thee! − I tell thee, shameless girl. |
Thou shalt be
laundress to my waiting maid! |
How lik'st thou her,
Ebea? − Will she serve? |
Ebea. Madam,
perhaps, she thinks she is too fine, |
But I shall turn her
into other weeds, |
And make her dainty
fingers fall to work. |
Zeno.
Hear'st thou, Anippe, how thy drudge doth talk? |
And how my slave, her
mistress, menaceth? |
Both for their
sauciness shall be employed |
To dress the common
soldiers' meat and drink, |
For we will scorn they
should come near ourselves. |
Anip. Yet
sometimes let your highness send for them |
To do the work my
chambermaid disdains. |
[They sound to the battle within.] |
Zeno. Ye gods and powers that govern Persiä, |
And made my lordly
love her worthy king, |
Now strengthen him
against the Turkish Bajazeth, |
And let his foes, like
flocks of fearful roes |
Pursued by hunters,
fly his angry looks, |
That I may see him
issue conqueror! |
Zab. Now,
Mahomet, solicit God himself, |
And make him rain down
murdering shot from Heaven |
To dash the Scythians'
brains, and strike them dead, |
That dare to manage
arms with him |
That offered jewèls to
thy sacred shrine, |
When first he warred
against the Christiäns! |
[They sound again to the battle within.] |
Zeno. By
this the Turks lie weltering in their blood, |
And Tamburlaine is
Lord of Africa. |
Zab. Thou
art deceived. − I heard the trumpets sound, |
As when my emperor
overthrew the Greeks, |
And led them captive
into Africa. |
Straight will I use
thee as thy pride deserves − |
Prepare thyself to
live and die my slave. |
Zeno. If
Mahomet should come from Heaven and swear |
My royal lord is slain
or conquerèd, |
Yet should he not
persuade me otherwise |
But that he lives and
will be conqueror. |
[Re-enter Bajazeth, pursued by Tamburlaine; |
they fight, and Bajazeth is overcome.] |
Tamb. Now,
king of bassoes, who is conqueror? |
Baj. Thou,
by the fortune of this damnèd foil. |
Tamb. Where are your stout contributory kings? |
Re-enter Techelles, Theridamas, and Usumcasane. |
Tech. We
have their crowns − their bodies strow the field. |
Tamb. Each man a crown! − Why kingly fought
i' faith. |
Deliver them into my
treasury. |
Zeno. Now
let me offer to my gracious lord |
His royal crown again
so highly won. |
Tamb. Nay,
take the crown from her, Zenocrate, |
And crown me Emperor
of Africa. |
Zab. No,
Tamburlaine: though now thou gat the best, |
Thou shalt not yet be
lord of Africa. |
Ther. Give
her the crown, Turkess: you were best. |
[He takes it from her.] |
Zab. Injurious
villains! − thieves! − runagates! |
How dare you thus
abuse my majesty? |
Ther. Here,
madam, you are Empress; she is none. |
[Gives it to Zenocrate.] |
Tamb. Not
now, Theridamas; her time is past. |
The pillars that have
bolstered up those terms, |
Are fall'n in clusters
at my conquering feet. |
Zab. Though
he be prisoner, he may be ransomed. |
Tamb. Not
all the world shall ransom Bajazeth. |
Baj. Ah,
fair Zabina! we have lost the field; |
And never had the
Turkish emperor |
So great a foil by any
foreign foe. |
Now will the Christian
miscreants be glad, |
Ringing with joy their
superstitious bells, |
And making bonfires
for my overthrow. |
But, ere I die, those
foul idolaters |
Shall make me bonfires
with their filthy bones. |
For though the glory
of this day be lost, |
Afric and Greece have
garrisons enough |
To make me sovereign
of the earth again. |
Tamb. Those
wallèd garrisons will I subdue, |
And write myself great
lord of Africa. |
So from the East unto the furthest West |
Shall Tamburlaine
extend his puissant arm. |
The galleys and those
pilling brigandines, |
That yearly sail to
the Venetian gulf, |
And hover in the
Straits for Christians' wreck, |
Shall lie at anchor in
the isle Asant, |
Until the Persian
fleet and men of war, |
Sailing along the
oriental sea, |
Have fetched about the
Indian continent, |
Even from Persepolis
to Mexico, |
And thence unto the
straits of Jubalter; |
Where they shall meet
and join their force in one |
Keeping in awe the bay
of Portingale, |
And all the ocean by
the British shore; |
And by this means I'll
win the world at last. |
Baj. Yet
set a ransom on me, Tamburlaine. |
Tamb. What, think'st thou Tamburlaine esteems thy
gold? |
I'll make the kings of
India, ere I die, |
Offer their mines to
sue for peace to me, |
And dig for treasure
to appease my wrath. − |
Come, bind them both,
and one lead in the Turk; |
The Turkess let my
love's maid lead away. |
[They bind them.] |
Baj. Ah,
villains! − dare you touch my sacred arms? |
O Mahomet! − O
sleepy Mahomet! |
Zab. O
cursèd Mahomet, that makes us thus |
The slaves to
Scythians rude and barbarous! |
Tamb. Come,
bring them in; and for this happy conquest, |
Triumph and solemnise
a martial feast. |
[Exeunt.] |
ACT IV. |
SCENE I. |
Enter the Soldan of Egypt, Capolin, Lords, |
and a Messenger. |
Sold. Awake,
ye men of Memphis! − hear the clang |
Of Scythian trumpets!
− hear the basilisks, |
That, roaring, shake
Damascus' turrets down! |
The rogue of Volga
holds Zenocrate, |
The Soldan's daughter,
for his concubine, |
And with a troop of
thieves and vagabonds, |
Hath spread his
colours to our high disgrace, |
While you,
faint-hearted, base Egyptiäns, |
Lie slumbering on the
flowery banks of Nile, |
As crocodiles that
unaffrighted rest, |
While thundering
cannons rattle on their skins. |
Mess. Nay,
mighty Soldan, did your greatness see |
The frowning looks of
fiery Tamburlaine, |
That with his terror
and imperious eyes, |
Commands the hearts of
his associates, |
It might amaze your
royal majesty. |
Sold. Villain, I tell thee, were that Tamburlaine |
As monstrous as Gorgon
prince of hell, |
The Soldan would not
start a foot from him. |
But speak, what powèr
hath he? |
Mess.
Mighty lord, |
Three hundred thousand
men in armour clad, |
Upon their prancing
steeds disdainfully, |
With wanton paces
trampling on the ground: |
Five hundred thousand
footmen threatening shot, |
Shaking their swords,
their spears, and iron bills, |
Environing their
standard round, that stood |
As bristle-pointed as
a thorny wood: |
Their warlike engines
and munitiön |
Exceed the forces of
their martial men. |
Sold. Nay,
could their numbers countervail the stars, |
Or ever-drizzling
drops of April showers, |
Or withered leaves
that Autumn shaketh down, |
Yet would the Soldan
by his conquering power |
So scatter and consume them in his rage, |
That not a man should
live to rue their fall. |
Capo. So might your highness, had you time to sort |
Your fighting men, and
raise your royal host; |
But Tamburlaine, by
expeditiön, |
Advantage takes of your
unreadiness. |
Sold. Let
him take all th' advantages he can. |
Were all the world
conspired to fight for him, |
Nay, were he devil, as
he is no man, |
Yet in revenge of fair
Zenocrate, |
Whom he detaineth in
despite of us, |
This arm should send
him down to Erebus, |
To shroud his shame in
darkness of the night. |
Mess.
Pleaseth your mightiness to understand, |
His resolution far
exceedeth all. |
The first day when he
pitcheth down his tents, |
White is their hue,
and on his silver crest, |
A snowy feather
spangled white he bears, |
To signify the
mildness of his mind, |
That, satiate with
spoil, refuseth blood. |
But when Aurora mounts
the second time |
As red as scarlet is
his furniture; |
Then must his kindled
wrath be quenched with blood, |
Not sparing any that
can manage arms; |
But if these threats
move not submissiön, |
Black are his colours,
black paviliön; |
His spear, his shield,
his horse, his armour, plumes, |
And jetty feathers,
menace death and hell! |
Without respect of
sex, degree, or age, |
He razeth all his foes
with fire and sword. |
Sold.
Merciless villain! − peasant, ignorant |
Of lawful arms or
martial discipline! |
Pillage and murder are
his usual trades. |
The slave usurps the
glorious name of war. |
See, Capolin, the fair
Arabian king, |
That hath been
disappointed by this slave |
Of my fair daughter,
and his princely love, |
May have fresh warning
to go war with us, |
And be revenged for
her disparagement. |
[Exeunt.] |
ACT IV, SCENE II. |
Enter Tamburlaine, Techelles, Theridamas, |
Usumcasane, Zenocrate, Anippe, |
two Moors drawing Bajazeth in a cage, |
and Zabina following him. |
Tamb. Bring
out my footstool. |
[Bajazeth is taken out of the cage.] |
Baj. Ye
holy priests of heavenly Mahomet, |
That, sacrificing,
slice and cut your flesh, |
Staining his altars
with your purple blood; |
Make Heaven to frown
and every fixèd star |
To suck up poison from
the moorish fens, |
And pour it in this
glorious tyrant's throat! |
Tamb. The
chiefest God, first mover of that sphere, |
Enchased with
thousands ever-shining lamps, |
Will sooner burn the
glorious frame of Heaven, |
Than it should so
conspire my overthrow. |
But, villain! thou
that wishest this to me, |
Fall prostrate on the
low disdainful earth, |
And be the footstool of
great Tamburlaine, |
That I may rise into
my royal throne. |
Baj. First
shalt thou rip my bowels with thy sword, |
And sacrifice my soul
to death and hell, |
Before I yield to such
a slavery. |
Tamb. Base
villain, vassal, slave to Tamburlaine! |
Unworthy to embrace or
touch the ground, |
That bears the honour
of my royal weight; |
Stoop, villain, stoop!
− Stoop! for so he bids |
That may command thee
piecemeal to be torn, |
Or scattered like the
lofty cedar trees |
Struck with the voice
of thundering Jupiter. |
Baj. Then,
as I look down to the damnèd fiends, |
Fiends look on me! and
thou, dread god of hell, |
With ebon sceptre
strike this hateful earth, |
And make it swallow
both of us at once! |
[Tamburlaine steps upon him to mount his throne.] |
Tamb. Now
clear the triple region of the air, |
And let the majesty of
Heaven behold |
Their scourge and
terror tread on emperors. |
Smile stars, that
reigned at my nativity, |
And dim the brightness
of your neighbour lamps! |
Disdain to borrow
light of Cynthia! |
For I, the chiefest
lamp of all the earth, |
First rising in the
East with mild aspéct, |
But fixèd now in the
meridian line, |
Will send up fire to
your turning spheres, |
And cause the sun to
borrow light of you. |
My sword struck fire
from his coat of steel, |
Even in Bithynia, when
I took this Turk; |
As when a fiery exhalatiön,
|
Wrapt in the bowels of
a freezing cloud |
Fighting for passage,
makes the welkin crack, |
And casts a flash of
lightning to the earth: |
But ere I march to
wealthy Persiä, |
Or leave Damascus and
th' Egyptian fields, |
As was the fame of
Clymene's brain sick son, |
That almost brent the
axle-tree of Heaven, |
So shall our swords, our lances, and our shot |
Fill all the air with
fiery meteors: |
Then when the sky
shall wax as red as blood |
It shall be said I
made it red myself, |
To make me think of nought
but blood and war. |
Zab.
Unworthy king, that by thy cruèlty |
Unlawfully usurp'st
the Persian seat, |
Dar'st thou that never
saw an emperor |
Before thou met my
husband in the field, |
Being thy captive,
thus abuse his state, |
Keeping his kingly body
in a cage, |
That roofs of gold and
sun-bright palaces |
Should have prepared
to entertain his grace? |
And treading him
beneath thy loathsome feet, |
Whose feet the kings
of Africa have kissed? |
Tech. You
must devise some torment worse, my lord. |
To make these captives
rein their lavish tongues. |
Tamb.
Zenocrate, look better to your slave. |
Zeno. She is
my handmaid's slave, and she shall look |
That these abuses flow
not from her tongue: − |
Chide her, Anippe. |
Anip. Let
these be warnings for you then, my slave, |
How you abuse the
person of the king; |
Or else I swear to
have you whipt, stark-naked. |
Baj. Great
Tamburlaine, great in my overthrow, |
Ambitious pride shall
make thee fall as low, |
For treading on the
back of Bajazeth, |
That should be horsèd
on four mighty kings. |
Tamb. Thy
names, and titles, and thy dignities |
Are fled from Bajazeth
and remain with me, |
That will maintain it
’gainst a world of kings. |
Put him in again. |
[They put him back into the cage.] |
Baj. Is
this a place for mighty Bajazeth? |
Confusion light on him
that helps thee thus! |
Tamb. There,
whiles he lives, shall Bajazeth be kept; |
And, where I go, be
thus in triumph drawn; |
And thou, his wife,
shalt feed him with the scraps |
My servitors shall
bring thee from my board; |
For he that gives him
other food than this, |
Shall sit by him and
starve to death himself; |
This is my mind and I
will have it so. |
Not all the kings and
emperors of the earth, |
If they would lay
their crowns before my feet, |
Shall ransom him, or
take him from his cage. |
The ages that shall
talk of Tamburlaine, |
Even from this day to
Plato's wondrous year, |
Shall talk how I have
handled Bajazeth; |
These Moors, that drew
him from Bithynia, |
To fair Damascus,
where we now remain, |
Shall lead him with us
wheresoe'er we go. |
Techelles, and my
loving followers, |
Now may we see
Damascus' lofty towers, |
Like to the shadows of
Pyramides, |
That with their
beauties grace the Memphian fields: |
The golden statue of
their feathered bird, |
That spreads her wings
upon the city's walls, |
Shall not defend it
from our battering shot: |
The townsmen mask in
silk and cloth of gold, |
And every house is as
a treasury: |
The men, the treasure,
and the town is ours. |
Ther. Your tents of white now pitched before the
gates, |
And gentle flags of
amity displayed, |
I doubt not but the
governor will yield, |
Offering Damascus to
your majesty. |
Tamb. So shall he have his life and all the rest: |
But if he stay until the bloody flag |
Be once advanced on my
vermilion tent, |
He dies, and those
that kept us out so long, |
And when they see us
march in black array, |
With mournful
streamers hanging down their heads, |
Were in that city all
the world contained, |
Not one should ’scape,
but perish by our swords. |
Zeno. Yet
would you have some pity for my sake, |
Because it is my
country, and my father's. |
Tamb. Not
for the world, Zenocrate; I've sworn. |
Come; bring in the
Turk. |
[Exeunt.] |
ACT IV, SCENE III. |
Enter the Soldan, the King of Arabia, Capolin, |
and Soldiers with colours flying. |
Sold.
Methinks we march as Meleáger did, |
Environèd with brave
Argolian knights, |
To chase the savage
Calydonian boar, |
Or Cephalus with lusty
Theban youths |
Against the wolf that
angry Themis sent |
To waste and spoil the
sweet Aonian fields, |
A monster of five
hundred thousand heads, |
Compact of rapine,
piracy, and spoil. |
The scum of men, the
hate and scourge of God, |
Raves in Ægyptia and
annoyeth us. |
My lord, it is the
bloody Tamburlaine, |
A sturdy felon and a
base-bred thief, |
By murder raisèd to
the Persian crown, |
That dares control us
in our territories. |
To tame the pride of
this presumptuous beast, |
Join your Arabians
with the Soldan's power, |
Let us unite our royal
bands in one, |
And hasten to remove
Damascus' siege. |
It is a blemish to the
majesty |
And high estate of
mighty emperors, |
That such a base
usurping vagabond |
Should brave a king,
or wear a princely crown. |
K. of Arab. Renownèd Soldan, have you lately heard |
The overthrow of
mighty Bajazeth |
About the confines of
Bithynia? |
The slavery wherewith
he persecutes |
The noble Turk and his
great emperèss? |
Sold. I
have, and sorrow for his bad success; |
But noble lord of
great Arabia, |
Be so persuaded that
the Soldan is |
No more dismayed with
tidings of his fall, |
Than in the haven when
the pilot stands, |
And views a stranger's
ship rent in the winds, |
And shiverèd against a
craggy rock; |
Yet in compassion to
his wretched state, |
A sacred vow to Heaven
and him I make, |
Confirming it with
Ibis' holy name, |
That Tamburlaine shall
rue the day, the hour, |
Wherein he wrought
such ignominious wrong |
Unto the hallowed
person of a prince, |
Or kept the fair
Zenocrate so long |
As concubine, I fear,
to feed his lust. |
K. of Arab. Let grief and fury hasten on revenge; |
Let Tamburlaine for
his offences feel |
Such plagues as we and
Heaven can pour on him. |
I long to break my
spear upon his crest, |
And prove the weight
of his victorious arm; |
For Fame, I fear, hath
been too prodigal |
In sounding through
the world his partial praise. |
Sold.
Capolin, hast thou surveyèd our powers? |
Capo. Great Emperors
of Egypt and Arabia, |
The number of your
hosts united is |
A hundred and fifty
thousand horse; |
Two hundred thousand
foot, brave men-at-arms, |
Courageöus, and full
of hardiness, |
As frolic as the
hunters in the chase |
Of savage beasts amid
the desert woods. |
K. of Arab. My mind presageth fortunate success; |
And Tamburlaine, my
spirit doth foresee |
The utter ruin of thy
men and thee. |
Sold. Then
rear your standards; let your sounding drums |
Direct our soldiers to
Damascus' walls. − |
Now, Tamburlaine, the
mighty Soldan comes, |
And leads with him the
great Arabian king. |
To dim thy baseness
and obscurity, |
Famous for nothing but
for theft and spoil; |
To raze and scatter
thy inglorious crew |
Of Scythians and
slavish Persiäns. |
[Exeunt.] |
ACT IV, SCENE IV. |
A Banquet set out; to it come Tamburlaine, |
all in scarlet, Zenocrate, Theridamas, Techelles, |
Usumcasane, Bajazeth in his cage, Zabina, |
and others. |
Tamb. Now
hang our bloody colours by Damascus, |
Reflexing hues of
blood upon their heads, |
While they walk
quivering on their city walls, |
Half dead for fear
before they feel my wrath. |
Then let us freely
banquet and carouse |
Full bowls of wine
unto the god of war |
That means to fill
your helmets full of gold, |
And make Damascus
spoils as rich to you, |
As was to Jason
Colchos' golden fleece. − |
And now, Bajazeth,
hast thou any stomach? |
Baj. Ay,
such a stomach, cruel Tamburlaine, as I
|
could willingly feed
upon thy blood-raw heart. |
Tamb. Nay,
thine own is easier to come by; pluck |
out that: and ’twill
serve thee and thy wife: − Well, |
Zenocrate, Techelles,
and the rest, fall to your victuals. |
Baj. Fall
to, and never may your meat digest! |
Ye Furies, that can
mask invisible, |
Dive to the bottom of
Avernus' pool, |
And in your hands bring hellish poison up |
And squeeze it in the
cup of Tamburlaine! |
Or, wingèd snakes of
Lerna, cast your stings, |
And leave your venoms
in this tyrant's dish! |
Zab. And
may this banquet prove as ominous |
As Progne's to th'
adulterous Thracian king, |
That fed upon the
substance of his child. |
Zeno. My
lord, how can you tamely suffer these |
Outrageous curses by
these slaves of yours? |
Tamb. To let
them see, divine Zenocrate, |
I glory in the curses
of my foes, |
Having the power from
the imperial Heaven |
To turn them all upon
their proper heads. |
Tech. I pray
you give them leave, madam; this speech |
is a goodly refreshing
to them. |
Ther. But if
his highness would let them be fed, it |
would do them more
good. |
Tamb.
Sirrah, why fall you not to? − are you so daintily |
brought up, you cannot
eat your own flesh? |
Baj. First,
legions of devils shall tear thee in pieces. |
Usum.
Villain, know'st thou to whom thou speakest? |
Tamb. O, let
him alone. Here; eat, sir; take it from |
my sword's point, or
I'll thrust it to thy heart. |
[Bajazeth takes it and stamps upon it.] |
Ther. He
stamps it under his feet, my lord. |
Tamb. Take
it up, villain, and eat it; or I will make |
thee slice the brawns
of thy arms into carbonadoes and |
eat them. |
Usum. Nay,
’twere better he killed his wife, and then |
she shall be sure not
to be starved, and he be provided |
for a month's victual beforehand. |
Tamb. Here
is my dagger: despatch her while she is |
fat, for if she live but a while longer, she will fall into a |
consumption with
fretting, and then she will not be |
worth the eating. |
Ther. Dost thou think that Mahomet will suffer this? |
Tech. ’Tis like he will when he cannot let it. |
Tamb. Go to;
fall to your meat. − What, not a bit! |
Belike he hath not
been watered today; give him some |
drink. |
[They give Bajazeth water to drink, |
and he flings it upon the ground.] |
Fast, and welcome,
sir, while hunger make you eat. − |
How now, Zenocrate, do
not the Turk and his wife |
make a goodly show at
a banquet? |
Zeno. Yes,
my lord. |
Ther. Methinks,’tis a great deal better than a consort |
of music. |
Tamb. Yet music would do well to cheer up
Zenocrate. |
Pray thee, tell, why
thou art so sad? − If thou wilt have a |
song, the Turk shall
strain his voice. But why is it? |
Zeno. My
lord, to see my father's town besieged, |
The country wasted
where myself was born, |
How can it but afflict
my very soul? |
If any love remain in you, my lord, |
Or if my love unto
your majesty |
May merit favour at
your highness' hands, |
Then raise your siege
from fair Damascus' walls, |
And with my father
take a friendly truce. |
Tamb.
Zenocrate, were Egypt Jove's own land, |
Yet would I with my
sword make Jove to stoop. |
I will confute those
blind geographers |
That make a triple
region in the world, |
Excluding regions
which I mean to trace, |
And with this pen
reduce them to a map, |
Calling the provinces,
cities, and towns, |
After my name and
thine, Zenocrate. |
Here at Damascus will
I make the point |
That shall begin the
perpendicular; |
And would'st thou have
me buy thy father's love |
With such a loss?
− Tell me, Zenocrate. |
Zeno. Honour
still wait on happy Tamburlaine; |
Yet give me leave to
plead for him, my lord. |
Tamb.
Content thyself: his person shall be safe, |
And all the friends of
fair Zenocrate, |
If with their lives they
may be pleased to yield, |
Or may be forced to
make me Emperor; |
For Egypt and Arabia
must be mine. − |
Feed, you slave; thou
may'st think thyself happy to be |
fed from my trencher. |
Baj. My
empty stomach, full of idle heat, |
Draws bloody humours
from my feeble parts, |
Preserving life by
hastening cruèl death. |
My veins are pale; my
sinews hard and dry; |
My joints benumbed;
unless I eat, I die. |
Zab. Eat,
Bajazeth: and let us live in spite of them, − |
looking some happy
power will pity and enlarge us. |
Tamb. Here,
Turk; wilt thou have a clean trencher? |
Baj. Ay,
tyrant, and more meat. |
Tamb. Soft,
sir; you must be dieted; too much eating |
will make you surfeit.
|
Ther. So it would, my lord, ’specially having so small |
a walk and so little
exercise. |
[A second course of crowns is brought in.] |
Tamb.
Theridamas, Techelles, and Casane, here are |
the cates you desire
to finger, are they not? |
Ther. Ay, my
lord: but none save kings must feed with |
these. |
Tech. ’Tis enough for us to see them, and for |
Tamburlaine only to
enjoy them. |
Tamb. Well;
here is now to the Soldan of Egypt, the |
King of Arabia, and
the Governor of Damascus. Now |
take these three
crowns, and pledge me, my contributory |
kings. − I crown
you here, Theridamas, King of Argier; |
Techelles, King of
Fez; and Usumcasane, King of |
Morocco. − How
say you to this, Turk? These are |
not your contributory
kings. |
Baj. Nor
shall they long be thine, I warrant them. |
Tamb. Kings
of Argier, Morocco, and of Fez, |
You that have marched
with happy Tamburlaine |
As far as from the
frozen plage of Heaven, |
Unto the watery
morning's ruddy bower, |
And thence by land
unto the torrid zone, |
Deserve these titles I
endow you with, |
By valour and by magnanimity.
|
Your births shall be
no blemish to your fame, |
For virtue is the
fount whence honour springs, |
And they are worthy
she investeth kings. |
Ther. And
since your highness hath so well vouchsafed, |
If we deserve them not
with higher meeds |
Than erst our states
and actions have retained, |
Take them away again
and make us slaves. |
Tamb. Well
said, Theridamas; when holy fates |
Shall ’stablish me in
strong Ægyptia, |
We mean to travel to
th' antarctic pole, |
Conquering the people
underneath our feet, |
And be renowned as
never emperors were. − |
Zenocrate, I will not
crown thee yet, |
Until with greater
honours I be graced. |
[Exeunt.] |
ACT V. |
SCENE I. |
Enter the Governor of Damascus, |
with several Citizens, and four Virgins, |
having branches of laurel in their hands. |
Gov. Still
doth this man, or rather god of war, |
Batter our walls and
beat our turrets down; |
And to resist with
longer stubbornness |
Or hope of rescue from
the Soldan's power, |
Were but to bring our
wilful overthrow, |
And make us desperate
of our threatened lives. |
We see his tents have
now been alterèd |
With terrors to the
last and cruellest hue. |
His coal-black colours
everywhere advanced, |
Threaten our city with
a general spoil; |
And if we should with
common rites of arms |
Offer our safeties to
his clemency, |
I fear the custom,
proper to his sword, |
Which he observes as
parcel of his fame, |
Intending so to
terrify the world, |
By any innovation or
remorse, |
Will never be
dispensed with till our deaths; |
Therefore, for these
our harmless virgins' sakes, |
Whose honours and
whose lives rely on him, |
Let us have hope that
their unspotted prayers, |
Their blubbered
cheeks, and hearty, humble moans, |
Will melt his fury
into some remorse, |
And use us like a
loving conqueror. |
1st Virg. If humble suits or imprecatiöns, |
(Uttered with tears of
wretchedness and blood |
Shed from the heads
and hearts of all our sex, |
Some made your wives
and some your children) |
Might have entreated
your obdúrate breasts |
To entertain some care
of our securities |
Whiles only danger
beat upon our walls, |
These more than
dangerous warrants of our death |
Had never been erected
as they be, |
Nor you depend on such
weak helps as we. |
Gov. Well,
lovely virgins, think our country's care, |
Our love of honour,
loath to be inthralled |
To foreign powers and
rough imperious yokes, |
Would not with too
much cowardice or fear, |
(Before all hope of
rescue were denied) |
Submit yourselves and
us to servitude. |
Therefore in that your safeties and our own, |
Your honours,
liberties, and lives were weighed |
In equal care and
balance with our own, |
Endure as we the
malice of our stars, |
The wrath of
Tamburlaine and power of wars; |
Or be the means the
overweighing heavens |
Have kept to qualify these hot extremes, |
And bring us pardon in
your cheerful looks. |
2nd Virg. Then here before the majesty of Heaven |
And holy patrons of
Ægyptia, |
With knees and hearts
submissive we entreat |
Grace to our words and
pity to our looks |
That this device may
prove propitiöus, |
And through the eyes
and ears of Tamburlaine |
Convey events of mercy
to his heart; |
Grant that these signs
of victory we yield |
May bind the temples
of his conquering head, |
To hide the folded
furrows of his brows, |
And shadow his
displeasèd countenance |
With happy looks of
ruth and lenity. − |
Leave us, my lord, and
loving countrymen; |
What simple virgins
may persuade, we will. |
Gov. Farewell, sweet virgins, on whose safe
return |
Depends our city,
liberty, and lives. |
[Exeunt Governor and Citizens; the Virgins remain.] |
Enter Tamburlaine, all in black and very melancholy, |
Techelles, Theridamas, Usumcasane, with others. |
Tamb. What,
are the turtles frayed out of their nests? |
Alas, poor fools! must
you be first shall feel |
The sworn destruction
of Damascus? |
They knew my custom;
could they not as well |
Have sent ye out, when
first my milk-white flags, |
Through which sweet
Mercy threw her gentle beams, |
Reflexing them on your
disdainful eyes, |
As now, when fury and
incensèd hate |
Flings slaughtering
terror from my coal-black tents, |
And tells for truth
submission comes too late? |
1st Virg. Most happy King and Emperor of the earth, |
Image of honour and
nobility, |
For whom the powers
divine have made the world, |
And on whose throne
the holy Graces sit; |
In whose sweet person
is comprised the sum |
Of Nature's skill and
heavenly majesty; |
Pity our plights! O
pity poor Damascus! |
Pity old age, within
whose silver hairs |
Honour and reverence
evermore have reigned! |
Pity the marriage bed,
where many a lord, |
In prime and glory of
his loving joy, |
Embraceth now with
tears of ruth and blood |
The jealous body of
his fearful wife, |
Whose cheeks and
hearts so punished with conceit, |
To think thy puissant,
never-stayèd arm, |
Will part their
bodies, and prevent their souls |
From heavens of
comfort yet their age might bear, |
Now wax all pale and
withered to the death, |
As well for grief our
ruthless governor |
Hath thus refused the
mercy of thy hand, |
(Whose sceptre angels
kiss and furies dread,) |
As for their
liberties, their loves, or lives! |
O then for these, and
such as we ourselves, |
For us, our infants,
and for all our bloods, |
That never nourished
thought against thy rule, |
Pity, O pity, sacred
Emperor, |
The prostrate service
of this wretched town, |
And take in sign
thereof this gilded wreath; |
Whereto each man of
rule hath given his hand, |
And wished, as worthy
subjects, happy means |
To be investers of thy
royal brows |
Even with the true
Egyptian diadem! |
Tamb.
Virgins, in vain you labour to prevent |
That which mine honour
swears shall be performed. |
Behold my sword! what
see you at the point? |
1st Virg. Nothing but fear, and fatal steel, my lord. |
Tamb. Your
fearful minds are thick and misty then; |
For there sits Death;
there sits imperious Death |
Keeping his circuit by
the slicing edge. |
But I am pleased you
shall not see him there; |
He now is seated on my
horsemen's spears, |
And on their points
his fleshless body feeds. − |
Techelles, straight go
charge a few of them |
To charge these dames,
and show my servant, Death, |
Sitting in scarlet on
their armèd spears. |
Virgins. O pity
us! |
Tamb. Away
with them, I say, and show them Death. |
[The Virgins are taken out.] |
I will not spare these
proud Egyptiäns, |
Nor change my martial
observatiöns |
For all the wealth of
Gihon's golden waves, |
Or for the love of
Venus, would she leave |
The angry god of arms
and lie with me. |
They have refused the
offer of their lives, |
And know my customs
are as péremptory |
As wrathful planets,
death, or destiny. |
Re-enter Techelles. |
What, have your
horsemen shown the virgins Death? |
Tech. They
have, my lord, and on Damascus' walls |
Have hoisted up their
slaughtered carcasses. |
Tamb. A
sight as baneful to their souls, I think, |
As are Thessalian
drugs or mithridate: |
But go, my lords, put
the rest to the sword. |
[Exeunt all except Tamburlaine.] |
Ah, fair Zenocrate!
− divine Zenocrate! − |
Fair is too foul an epithet
for thee, |
That in thy passion
for thy country's love, |
And fear to see thy
kingly father's harm, |
With hair dishevelled
wip'st thy watery cheeks; |
And, like to Flora in
her morning pride, |
Shaking her silver
tresses in the air, |
Rain'st on the earth
resolvèd pearl in showers, |
And sprinklest
sapphires on thy shining face, |
Where Beauty, mother
to the Muses, sits |
And comments volumes
with her ivory pen, |
Taking instructions
from thy flowing eyes; |
Eyes that, when Ebena
steps to Heaven, |
In silence of thy
solemn evening's walk, |
Make, in the mantle of
the richest night, |
The moon, the planets,
and the meteors, light; |
There angels in their
crystal armours fight |
A doubtful battle with
my tempted thoughts |
For Egypt's freedom,
and the Soldan's life; |
His life that so
consumes Zenocrate, |
Whose sorrows lay more
siege unto my soul, |
Than all my army to
Damascus' walls: |
And neither Persia's
sovereign, nor the Turk |
Troubled my senses
with conceit of foil |
So much by much as
doth Zenocrate. |
What is beauty, saith
my sufferings, then? |
If all the pens that
ever poets held |
Had fed the feeling of
their masters' thoughts, |
And every sweetness
that inspired their hearts, |
Their minds, and muses
on admirèd themes; |
If all the heavenly
quintessence they still |
From their immortal
flowers of poesy, |
Wherein, as in a
mirror, we perceive |
The highest reaches of
a human wit; |
If these had made one
poem's period, |
And all combined in
beauty's worthiness, |
Yet should there hover in their restless heads |
One thought, one
grace, one wonder, at the least, |
Which into words no
virtue can digest, |
But how unseemly is it
for my sex, |
My discipline of arms
and chivalry, |
My nature, and the
terror of my name, |
To harbour thoughts
effeminate and faint! |
Save only that in
beauty's just applause, |
With whose instínct
the soul of man is touched; |
And every warrior that
is wrapt with love |
Of fame, of valour,
and of victory, |
Must needs have beauty
beat on his conceits: |
I thus conceiving and
subduing both |
That which hath
stooped the chiefest of the gods, |
Even from the
fiery-spangled veil of Heaven, |
To feel the lowly
warmth of shepherds' flames, |
And mask in cottages
of strowèd reeds, |
Shall give the world
to note for all my birth, |
That virtue solely is
the sum of glory, |
And fashions men with
true nobility. − |
Who's within there? |
Enter Attendants. |
Hath Bajazeth been fed
to-day? |
Atten. Ay, my
lord. |
Tamb. Bring
him forth; and let us know if the town |
be ransacked. |
[Exeunt Attendants.] |
Enter Techelles, Theridamas, Usumcasane, and others. |
Tech. The
town is ours, my lord, and fresh supply |
Of conquest and of
spoil is offered us. |
Tamb. That's
well, Techelles; what's the news? |
Tech. The
Soldan and th' Arabian king together |
March on us with such
eager violence, |
As if there were no
way but one with us. |
Tamb. No
more there is not, I warrant thee, Techelles. |
[Attendants bring in Bajazeth in his cage, |
followed by Zabina; then exeunt.] |
Ther. We
know the victory is ours, my lord; |
But let us save the
reverend Soldan's life, |
For fair Zenocrate
that so laments his state. |
Tamb. That
will we chiefly see unto, Theridamas, |
For sweet Zenocrate,
whose worthiness |
Deserves a conquest
over every heart. − |
And now, my footstool,
if I lose the field, |
You hope of liberty
and restitution? − |
Here let him stay, my
masters, from the tents, |
Till we have made us
ready for the field. − |
Pray for us, Bajazeth;
we are going. |
[Exeunt Tamburlaine, Techelles, Usumcasane, |
and Persians.] |
Baj. Go,
never to return with victory. |
Millions of men
encompass thee about, |
And gore thy body with
as many wounds! |
Sharp, forkèd arrows
light upon thy horse! |
Furies from the black
Cocytus lake, |
Break up the earth,
and with their firebrands |
Enforce thee run upon
the baneful pikes! |
Volleys of shot pierce
through thy charmèd skin, |
And every bullet dipt
in poisoned drugs! |
Or, roaring cannons
sever all thy joints, |
Making thee mount as
high as eagles soar! |
Zab. Let
all the swords and lances in the field |
Stick in his breast as
in their proper rooms! |
At every pore let
blood come dropping forth, |
That lingering pains
may massacre his heart, |
And madness send his damnèd soul to hell! |
Baj. Ah,
fair Zabina! we may curse his power; |
The heavens may frown,
the earth for anger quake: |
But such a star hath
influence on his sword, |
As rules the skies and
countermands the gods |
More than Cimmerian
Styx or destiny; |
And then shall we in
this detested guise, |
With shame, with
hunger, and with horror stay, |
Griping our bowels
with retorquèd thoughts, |
And have no hope to
end our ecstasies. |
Zab. Then
is there left no Mahomet, no God, |
No fiend, no fortune,
nor no hope of end |
To our infámous
monstrous slaveries. |
Gape earth, and let
the fiends infernal view |
A hell as hopeless and
as full of fear |
As are the blasted
banks of Erebus, |
Where shaking ghosts
with ever-howling groans |
Hover about the ugly
ferryman, |
To get a passage to
Elysium! |
Why should we live? O,
wretches, beggars, slaves! |
Why live we, Bajazeth,
and build up nests |
So high within the
region of the air |
By living long in this
oppressiön, |
That all the world
will see and laugh to scorn |
The former triumphs of
our mightiness |
In this obscure
infernal servitude? |
Baj. O
life, more loathsome to my vexèd thoughts |
Than noisome parbreak
of the Stygian snakes, |
Which fills the nooks
of hell with standing air, |
Infecting all the
ghosts with cureless griefs! |
O dreary engines of my
loathèd sight, |
That see my crown, my
honour, and my name |
Thrust under yoke and
thraldom of a thief, |
Why feed ye still on
day's accursèd beams |
And sink not quite
into my tortured soul? |
You see my wife, my
queen, and emperèss, |
Brought up and proppèd
by the hand of fame, |
Queen of fifteen
contributory queens, |
Now thrown to rooms of
black abjection, |
Smearèd with blots of
basest drudgery, |
And villainess to
shame, disdain, and misery. |
Accursèd Bajazeth,
whose words of ruth, |
(That would with pity
cheer Zabina's heart, |
And make our souls
resolve in ceaseless tears,) |
Sharp hunger bites
upon, and gripes the root, |
From whence the issues
of my thoughts do break; − |
O poor Zabina! O my
queen! my queen! |
Fetch me some water
for my burning breast, |
To cool and comfort me
with longer date, |
That in the shortened
sequel of my life |
I may pour forth my
soul into thine arms |
With words of love,
whose moaning intercourse |
Hath hitherto been
stayed with wrath and hate |
Of our expressless
banned inflictiöns. |
Zab. Sweet
Bajazeth, I will prolong thy life, |
As long as any blood or spark of breath |
Can quench or cool the
torments of my grief. |
[Exit.] |
Baj. Now,
Bajazeth, abridge thy baneful days, |
And beat thy brains
out of thy conquered head, |
Since other means are
all forbidden me, |
That may be ministers
of my decay. |
O, highest lamp of
ever-living Jove, |
Accursèd day! infected
with my griefs, |
Hide now thy stainèd
face in endless night, |
And shut the windows
of the lightsome heavens! |
Let ugly Darkness with
her rusty coach, |
Engirt with tempests,
wrapt in pitchy clouds, |
Smother the earth with
never-fading mists! |
And let her horses
from their nostrils breathe |
Rebellious winds and
dreadful thunder-claps! |
That in this terror
Tamburlaine may live, |
And my pined soul,
resolved in liquid air, |
May still excruciate
his tormented thoughts! |
Then let the stony
dart of senseless cold |
Pierce through the
centre of my withered heart, |
And make a passage for
my loathèd life! |
[He brains himself against the cage.] |
Re-enter Zabina. |
Zab. What
do mine eyes behold? my husband dead! |
His skull all riven in
twain! his brains dashed out, − |
The brains of
Bajazeth, my lord and sovereign: |
O Bajazeth, my husband
and my lord! |
O Bajazeth! O Turk! O
Emperor! |
Give him his liquor?
not I. Bring milk and fire, and |
my blood I bring him
again. − Tear me in pieces − give |
me the sword with a
ball of wild-fire upon it. − Down |
with him! Down with
him! − Go to my child! Away! |
Away! Away! −
Ah, save that infant! save him, save |
him! − I, even
I, speak to her. − The sun was down − |
streamers white, red,
black − here, here, here! − Fling |
the meat in his face
− Tamburlaine. − Tamburlaine! − |
Let the soldiers be
buried. − Hell! Death, Tamburlaine, |
Hell! Make ready my
coach, my chair, my jewels. − I |
come! I come! I come! |
[She runs against the cage and brains herself.] |
Enter Zenocrate with Anippe. |
Zeno.
Wretched Zenocrate! that liv'st to see |
Damascus' walls dyed
with Egyptians' blood, |
Thy father's subjects
and thy countrymen; |
The streets strowed
with dissevered joints of men |
And wounded bodies
gasping yet for life: |
But most accurst, to
see the sun-bright troop |
Of heavenly virgins
and unspotted maids, |
(Whose looks might
make the angry god of arms |
To break his sword and
mildly treat of love) |
On horsemen's lances
to be hoisted up |
And guiltlessly endure
a cruèl death: |
For every fell and
stout Tartarian steed, |
That stampt on others
with their thundering hoofs, |
When all their riders
charged their quivering spears, |
Began to check the
ground and rein themselves, |
Gazing upon the beauty
of their looks. − |
Ah Tamburlaine! wert
thou the cause of this, |
That term'st Zenocrate
thy dearest love? |
Whose lives were
dearer to Zenocrate |
Than her own life, or
aught save thine own love. − |
But see another bloody
spectacle! |
Ah, wretched eyes, the
enemies of my heart, |
How are ye glutted
with these grievous objects, |
And tell my soul more
tales of bleeding ruth! − |
See, see, Anippe, if
they breathe or no. |
Anip. No
breath, nor sense, nor motion in them both; |
Ah, madam! this their
slavery hath enforced, |
And ruthless cruèlty
of Tamburlaine. |
Zeno. Earth,
cast up fountains from thy entrails, |
And wet thy cheeks for
their untimely deaths! |
Shake with their
weight in sign of fear and grief! |
Blush, Heaven, that gave
them honour at their birth |
And let them die a
death so barbarous! |
Those that are proud
of fickle empery |
And place their
chiefest good in earthly pomp, |
Behold the Turk and
his great Emperèss! |
Ah, Tamburlaine! my
love! sweet Tamburlaine! |
That fight'st for
sceptres and for slippery crowns, |
Behold the Turk and
his great Emperèss! |
Thou, that in conduct
of thy happy stars |
Sleep'st every night
with conquests on thy brows, |
And yet would'st shun
the wavering turns of war, |
In fear and feeling of
the like distress, |
Behold the Turk and
his great Emperèss! |
Ah, mighty Jove and
holy Mahomet, |
Pardon my love!
− O, pardon his contempt |
Of earthly fortune and
respect of pity, |
And let not conquest,
ruthlessly pursued, |
Be equally against his
life incensed |
In this great Turk and
hapless Emperèss! |
And pardon me that was
not moved with ruth |
To see them live so
long in misery! |
Ah, what may chance to
thee, Zenocrate? |
Anip. Madam,
content yourself, and be resolved |
Your love hath Fortune
so at his command, |
That she shall stay
and turn her wheel no more, |
As long as life maintains his mighty arm |
That fights for honour
to adorn your head. |
Enter Philemus, a Messenger. |
Zeno. What
other heavy news now brings Philemus? |
Phil. Madam,
your father, and th' Arabian king, |
The first affecter of
your excellence, |
Comes now, as Turnus
’gainst Æneas did, |
Armèd with lance into
th' Egyptian fields, |
Ready for battle
’gainst my lord, the king. |
Zeno. Now
shame and duty, love and fear present |
A thousand sorrows to
my martyred soul. |
Whom should I wish the
fatal victory |
When my poor pleasures
are divided thus |
And racked by duty
from my cursèd heart? |
My father and my
first-betrothèd love |
Must fight against my
life and present love; |
Wherein the change I
use condemns my faith, |
And makes my deeds
infámous through the world: |
But as the gods, to
end the Trojans' toil, |
Prevented Turnus of
Lavinia, |
And fatally enriched
Æneas' love, |
So for a final issue to my griefs, |
To pacify my country
and my love, |
Must Tamburlaine by
their resistless powers |
With virtue of a
gentle victory |
Conclude a league of
honour to my hope; |
Then, as the Powers
divine have pre-ordained, |
With happy safety of
my father's life |
Send like defence of
fair Arabia. |
[Trumpets sound to the battle within: |
Afterwards, the King of Arabia enters wounded.] |
K. of Arab. What cursèd powèr guides the murdering hands |
Of this infámous
tyrant's soldiers, |
That no escape may
save their enemies, |
Nor fortune keep
themselves from victory? |
Lie down, Arabia,
wounded to the death, |
And let Zenocrate's fair
eyes behold |
That, as for her thou
bear'st these wretched arms, |
Even so for her thou
diest in these arms, |
Leaving thy blood for
witness of thy love. |
Zeno. Too
dear a witness for such love, my lord, |
Behold Zenocrate! the
cursèd object, |
Whose fortunes never
masterèd her griefs; |
Behold her wounded, in
conceit, for thee, |
As much as thy fair
body is for me. |
K. of Arab. Then shall I die with full, contented heart, |
Having beheld divine
Zenocrate, |
Whose sight with joy
would take away my life |
As now it bringeth
sweetness to my wound, |
If I had not been
wounded as I am. |
Ah! that the deadly
pangs I suffer now, |
Would lend an hour's
licence to my tongue, |
To make discourse of
some sweet accidents |
Have chanced thy
merits in this worthless bondage; |
And that I might be
privy to the state |
Of thy deserved
contentment, and thy love; |
But, making now a
virtue of thy sight, |
To drive all sorrow
from my fainting soul, |
Since death denies me
farther cause of joy, |
Deprived of care, my
heart with comfort dies, |
Since thy desired hand
shall close mine eyes. |
[He dies.] |
Re-enter Tamburlaine, leading the Soldan, Techelles, |
Theridamas, Usumcasane, with others. |
Tamb. Come,
happy father of Zenocrate, |
A title higher than
thy Soldan's name. |
Though my right hand have thus enthrallèd thee, |
Thy princely daughter
here shall set thee free; |
She that hath calmed
the fury of my sword, |
Which had ere this
been bathed in streams of blood |
As vast and deep as
Euphrates or Nile. |
Zeno. O sight
thrice welcome to my joyful soul, |
To see the king, my
father, issue safe |
From dangerous battle
of my conquering love! |
Sold. Well
met, my only dear Zenocrate, |
Though with the loss
of Egypt and my crown. |
Tamb. ’Twas I, my lord, that got the victory, |
And therefore
grieve not at your overthrow, |
Since I shall render
all into your hands, |
And add more strength
to your dominiöns |
Than ever yet
confirmed th' Egyptian crown. |
The god of war resigns
his room to me, |
Meaning to make me general
of the world: |
Jove, viewing me in
arms, looks pale and wan, |
Fearing my power
should pull him from his throne. |
Where'er I come the
Fatal Sisters sweat, |
And grisly Death, by
running to and fro, |
To do their ceaseless
homage to my sword; |
And here in Afric,
where it seldom rains, |
Since I arrived with
my triumphant host, |
Have swelling clouds,
drawn from wide-gasping wounds, |
Been oft resolved in
bloody purple showers, |
A meteor that might
terrify the earth, |
And make it quake at
every drop it drinks. |
Millions of souls sit
on the banks of Styx |
Waiting the back
return of Charon's boat; |
Hell and Elysium swarm with ghosts of men, |
That I have sent from
sundry foughten fields, |
To spread my fame
through hell and up to Heaven. |
And see, my lord, a
sight of strange import, |
Emperors and kings lie
breathless at my feet: |
The Turk and his great
Empress, as it seems, |
Left to themselves
while we were at the fight, |
Have desperately
despatched their slavish lives: |
With them Arabia, too,
hath left his life: |
All sights of power to
grace my victory; |
And such are objects
fit for Tamburlaine; |
Wherein, as in a
mirror, may be seen |
His honour, that
consists in shedding blood, |
When men presume to
manage arms with him. |
Sold. Mighty
hath God and Mahomet made thy hand, |
Renownèd Tamburlaine!
to whom all kings |
Of force must yield
their crowns and emperies; |
And I am pleased with
this my overthrow, |
If, as beseems a
person of thy state, |
Thou hast with honour
used Zenocrate. |
Tamb. Her
state and person want no pomp, you see; |
And for all blot of
foul inchastity |
I record Heaven her
heavenly self is clear: |
Then let me find no
farther time to grace |
Her princely temples
with the Persian crown. |
But here these kings
that on my fortunes wait, |
And have been crowned
for provèd worthiness, |
Even by this hand that
shall establish them, |
Shall now, adjoining
all their hands with mine, |
Invest her here the
Queen of Persiä. |
What saith the noble
Soldan and Zenocrate! |
Sold. I yield with thanks and protestatiöns |
Of endless honour to
thee for her love. |
Tamb. Then
doubt I not but fair Zenocrate |
Will soon consent to
satisfy us both. |
Zeno. Else
should I much forget myself, my lord. |
Ther. Then
let us set the crown upon her head, |
That long hath
lingered for so high a seat. |
Tech. My hand
is ready to perform the deed; |
For now
her marriage-time shall work us rest. |
Usum. And
here's the crown, my lord; help set it on. |
Tamb. Then
sit thou down, divine Zenocrate; |
And here we crown thee
Queen of Persiä, |
And all the kingdoms
and dominiöns |
That late the power of
Tamburlaine subdued. |
As Juno, when the
giants were suppressed, |
That darted mountains
at her brother Jove, |
So looks my love, shadówing in her brows |
Triumphs and trophies
for my victories; |
Or, as Latona's
daughter, bent to arms, |
Adding more courage to
my conquering mind. |
To gratify the sweet
Zenocrate, |
Egyptians, Moors, and
men of Asiä, |
From Barbary unto the
western India, |
Shall pay a yearly
tribute to thy sire: |
And from the bounds of
Afric to the banks |
Of Ganges shall his
mighty arm extend. |
And now, my lords and
loving followers, |
That purchased
kingdoms by your martial deeds, |
Cast off your armour,
put on scarlet robes, |
Mount up your royal
places of estate, |
Environèd with troops
of noblemen, |
And there make laws to
rule your provinces. |
Hang up your weapons
on Alcides' post, |
For Tamburlaine takes
truce with all the world. |
Thy first-betrothèd
love, Arabia, |
Shall we with honour,
as beseems, entomb |
With this great Turk
and his fair Emperèss. |
Then, after all these
solemn exequies, |
We will our rites of
marriage solemnise. |
FINIS |