DAVID AND BETHSABE
	By George Peele
	Performed c. 1596
	First Published 1599
	The love of King David and Fair Bethsabe.
	With the Tragedie of Absalon.
	As it hath ben diuers times plaied on the stage.
	Written - by George Peele.
	LONDON,
	Printed by Adam Islip.
	1599
	DRAMATIS PERSONAE:
	David and his Family:
	David, King of Israel and Judah.
	Cusay, a lord, and follower of David.
	Amnon, son of David by Ahinoam
	Jethray, Servant to Amnon.
	Chileab, son of David by Abigail.
	Absalon, son of David by Maacah.
	Thamar, daughter of David by Maacah.
	Adonia, son of David by Haggith.
	Salomon, son of David by Bethsabe.
	Joab, captain of the host to David, and nephew of
	David and son of his sister Zeruia.
	Abisai, nephew of David and son of his sister Zeruia.
	Amasa, nephew of David and son of his sister Abigail;
	also captain of the host to Absalon.
	Jonadab, nephew of David and son of his brother
	Shimeah; also friend to Amnon.
	Other Characters:
	Urias, a warrior in David's army.
	Bethsabe, wife of Uriah.
	Maid to Bethsabe.
	Nathan, a prophet.
	Sadoc, high-priest.
	Ahimaas, his son.
	Abiathar, a priest.
	Jonathan, his son.
	Achitophel, chief counsellor to Absalon.
	Ithay, a Captain from Gath.
	Semei.
	Hanon, King of Ammon.
	Machaas, King of Gath.
	Woman of Thecoa.
	Messenger, Soldiers, Shepherds, and Attendants.
	Concubines to David.
	Chorus.
	PROLOGUS.
1	Of Israel's sweetest singer now I sing,
2	His holy style and happy victories;
	Whose Muse was dipt in that inspiring dew
4	Arch-angels stillèd from the breath of Jove,
	Decking her temples with the glorious flowers
6	Heavens rained on tops of Sion and Mount Sinai.
	Upon the bosom of his ivory lute
8	The cherubins and angels laid their breasts;
	And, when his consecrated fingers strook
10	The golden wires of his ravishing harp,
	He gave alarum to the host of Heaven,
12	That, winged with lightning, brake the clouds, and cast
	Their crystal armour at his conquering feet.
14	Of this sweet poet, Jove's musiciän,
	And of his beauteous son, I prease to sing.
16	Then help, divine Adonai, to conduct
	Upon the wings of my well-tempered verse
18	The hearers' minds above the towers of Heaven,
	And guide them so in this thrice-haughty flight,
20	Their mounting feathers scorch not with the fire
	That none can temper but thy holy hand:
22	To thee for succour flies my feeble Muse,
	And at thy feet her iron pen doth use.
24
	The Prologue-speaker, before going out, draws a
26	curtain and discovers Bethsabe, with her Maid,
	bathing over a spring:
28	she sings, and David sits above viewing her.
	SCENE I.
	The Royal Palace, Jerusalem.
	David sitting on the Palace roof,
	watching Bethsabe below bathing over a spring.
	THE SONG.
1	Hot sun, cool fire, tempered with sweet air,
2	Black shade, fair nurse, shadow my white hair:
	Shine, sun; burn, fire; breathe, air, and ease me;
4	Black shade, fair nurse; shroud me, and please me:
	Shadow, my sweet nurse, keep me from burning,
6	Make not my glad cause cause of mourning.
	Let not my beauty's fire
8	Inflame unstaid desire,
	Nor pierce any bright eye
10	That wandereth lightly.
12	Beth. Come, gentle Zephyr, tricked with those perfumes
	That erst in Eden sweetened Adam's love,
14	And stroke my bosom with thy silken fan:
	This shade, sun-proof, is yet no proof for thee;
16	Thy body, smoother than this waveless spring,
	And purer than the substance of the same,
18	Can creep through that his lances cannot pierce:
	Thou, and thy sister, soft and sacred Air,
20	Goddess of life, and governess of health,
	Keep every fountain fresh and arbour sweet;
22	No brazen gate her passage can repulse,
	Nor bushly thicket bar thy subtle breath:
24	Then deck thee with thy loose delightsome robes,
	And on thy wings bring delicate perfumes,
26	To play the wantons with us through the leaves.
28	David. What tunes, what words, what looks, what wonders pierce
	My soul, incensèd with a sudden fire?
30	What tree, what shade, what spring, what paradise,
	Enjoys the beauty of so fair a dame?
32	Fair Eva, placed in perfect happiness,
	Lending her praise-notes to the liberal heavens,
34	Strook with the accents of arch-angels' tunes,
	Wrought not more pleasure to her husband's thoughts
36	Than this fair woman's words and notes to mine.
	May that sweet plain that bears her pleasant weight
38	Be still enamelled with discoloured flowers;
	That precious fount bear sand of purest gold;
40	And, for the pebble, let the silver streams
	That pierce earth's bowels to maintain the source,
42	Play upon rubies, sapphires, chrysolites;
	The brims let be embraced with golden curls
44	Of moss that sleeps with sound the waters make
	For joy to feed the fount with their recourse;
46	Let all the grass that beautifies her bower
	Bear manna every morn instead of dew,
48	Or let the dew be sweeter far than that
	That hangs, like chains of pearl, on Hermon hill,
50	Or balm which trickled from old Aaron's beard. −
	Cusay, come up, and serve thy lord the king.
52
	Enter Cusay above.
54
	Cusay. What service doth my lord the king command?
56
	David. See, Cusay, see the flower of Israel,
58	The fairest daughter that obeys the king
	In all the land the Lord subdued to me;
60	Fairer than Isaac's lover at the well,
	Brighter than inside-bark of new-hewn cedar,
62	Sweeter than flames of fine-perfumèd myrrh,
	And comelier than the silver clouds that dance
64	On Zephyr's wings before the King of Heaven.
66	Cusay. Is it not Bethsabe the Hethite's wife,
	Urias now at Rabbah siege with Joab?
68
	David. Go know, and bring her quickly to the king;
70	Tell her, her graces hath found grace with him.
72	Cusay. I will, my lord.
74	[Exit.]
76	David. Bright Bethsabe shall wash, in David's bower,
	In water mixed with purest almond-flower,
78	And bathe her beauty in the milk of kids:
	Bright Bethsabe gives earth to my desires;
80	Verdure to earth; and to that verdure flowers;
	To flowers sweet odours; and to odours wings
82	That carry pleasures to the hearts of kings.
84	Enter Cusay, below, to Bethsabe,
	she starting as something affright.
86
	Cusay. Fair Bethsabe, the King of Israel
88	From forth his princely tower hath seen thee bathe;
	And thy sweet graces have found grace with him:
90	Come, then, and kneel unto him where he stands;
	The king is gracious, and hath liberal hands.
92
	Beth. Ah, what is Bethsabe to please the king?
94	Or what is David, that he should desire,
	For fickle beauty's sake, his servant's wife?
96
	Cusay. David, thou know'st, fair dame, is wise and just,
98	Elected to the heart of Israel's God;
	Then do not thou expostulate with him
100	For any action that contents his soul.
102	Beth. My lord the king, elect to God's own heart,
	Should not his gracious jealousy incense
104	Whose thoughts are chaste: I hate incontinence.
106	Cusay. Woman, thou wrong'st the king, and doubt'st his honour,
	Whose truth maintains the crown of Israel,
108	Making him stay that bade me bring thee straight.
110	Beth. The king's poor handmaid will obey my lord.
112	Cusay. Then come, and do thy duty to his grace;
	And do what seemeth favour in his sight.
114
	[Exit, below, with Bethsabe.]
116
	David. Now comes my lover tripping like the roe,
118	And brings my longings tangled in her hair.
	To joy her love I'll build a kingly bower,
120	Seated in hearing of a hundred streams,
	That, for their homage to her sovereign joys,
122	Shall, as the serpents fold into their nests
	In oblique turnings, wind the[ir] nimble waves
124	About the circles of her curious walks;
	And with their murmur summon easeful sleep
126	To lay his golden sceptre on her brows. −
	Open the doors, and entertain my love;
128	Open, I say, and, as you open, sing,
	Welcome, fair Bethsabe, King David's darling.
130
	Enter, above, Cusay, with Bethsabe.
132
	Welcome, fair Bethsabe, King David's darling.
134	Thy bones' fair covering, erst discovered fair,
	And all mine eyes with all thy beauties pierced:
136	As Heaven's bright eye burns most when most he climbs
	The crookèd zodiac with his fiery sphere,
138	And shineth furthest from this earthly globe;
	So, since thy beauty scorched my conquered soul,
140	I called thee nearer for my nearer cure.
142	Beth. Too near, my lord, was your unarmèd heart
	When furthest off my hapless beauty pierced;
144	And would this dreary day had turned to night,
	Or that some pitchy cloud had cloaked the sun,
146	Before their lights had caused my lord to see
	His name disparaged and my chastity!
148
	David. My love, if want of love have left thy soul
150	A sharper sense of honour than thy king,
	(For love leads princes sometimes from their seats,)
152	As erst my heart was hurt, displeasing thee,
	So come and taste thy ease with easing me.
154
	Beth. One medicine cannot heal our different harms;
156	But rather make both rankle at the bone:
	Then let the king be cunning in his cure,
158	Lest flattering both, both perish in his hand.
160	David. Leave it to me, my dearest Bethsabe,
	Whose skill is cónversant in deeper cures. −
162	And, Cusay, haste thou to my servant Joab,
	Commanding him to send Urias home
164	With all the speed can possibly be used.
166	Cusay. Cusay will fly about the king's desire.
168	[Exeunt.]
	SCENE II.
	Before the Walls of the City of Rabbah, the Capital City of Ammon.
	Enter Joab, Abisai, Urias, and others, with drum and ensign.
1	Joab. Courage, ye mighty men of Israel,
2	And charge your fatal instruments of war
	Upon the bosoms of proud Ammon's son[s],
4	That have disguised your king's ambassadors,
	Cut half their beards and half their garments off,
6	In spite of Israel and his daughters' sons!
	Ye fight the holy battles of Jehovah,
8	King David's God, and ours, and Jacob's God,
	That guides your weapons to their conquering strokes,
10	Orders your footsteps, and directs your thoughts
	To stratagems that harbour victory:
12	He casts his sacred eyesight from on high,
	And sees your foes run seeking for their deaths,
14	Laughing their labours and their hopes to scorn;
	While 'twixt your bodies and their blunted swords
16	He puts on armour of his honour's proof,
	And makes their weapons wound the senseless winds.
18
	Abis. Before this city Rabbah we will lie,
20	And shoot forth shafts as thick and dangerous
	As was the hail that Moses mixed with fire,
22	And threw with fury round about the fields,
	Devouring Pharaoh's friends and Egypt's fruits.
24
	Urias. First, mighty captains, Joab and Abisai,
26	Let us assault, and scale this kingly tower,
	Where all their conduits and their fountains are;
28	Then we may easily take the city too.
30	Joab. Well hath Urias counselled our attempts;
	And as he spake us, so assault the tower:
32	Let Hanon now, the king of Ammon's son[s],
	Repulse our conquering passage if he dare.
34
	Enter Hanon, Machaas, and others, upon the walls.
36
	Hanon. What would the shepherd's-dogs of Israel
38	Snatch from the mighty issue of King Ammon,
	The valiant Ammonites and haughty Syrians?
40	'Tis not your late successive victories
	Can make us yield, or quail our courages;
42	But if ye dare assay to scale this tower,
	Our angry swords shall smite ye to the ground,
44	And venge our losses on your hateful lives.
46	Joab. Hanon, thy father Nahas gave relief
	To holy David in his hapless exile,
48	Livèd his fixèd date, and died in peace:
	But thou, instead of reaping his reward,
50	Hast trod it under foot, and scorned our king;
	Therefore thy days shall end with violence,
52	And to our swords thy vital blood shall cleave.
54	Mach. Hence, thou that bear'st poor Israel's shepherd's-hook,
	The proud lieutenant of that base-born king,
56	And keep within the compass of his fold;
	For, if ye seek to feed on Ammon's fruits,
58	And stray into the Syrians' fruitful meads,
	The mastives of our land shall worry ye,
60	And pull the weesels from your greedy throats.
62	Abis. Who can endure these pagans' blasphemies?
64	Urias. My soul repines at this disparagement.
66	Joab. Assault, ye valiant men of David's host,
	And beat these railing dastards from their doors.
68
	[Assault, and they win the tower;
70	and then Joab speaks above.]
72	Thus have we won the tower, which we will keep,
	Maugre the sons of Ammon and of Syria.
74
	Enter Cusay below.
76
	Cusay. Where is Lord Joab, leader of the host?
78
	Joab. Here is Lord Joab, leader of the host.
80	Cusay, come up, for we have won the hold.
82	Cusay. In happy hour, then, is Cusay come.
84	Cusay goes up.
86	Joab. What news, then, brings Lord Cusay from the king?
88	Cusay. His majesty commands thee out of hand
	To send him home Urias from the wars,
90	For matter of some service he should do.
92	Urias. 'Tis for no choler hath surprised the king,
	I hope, Lord Cusay, 'gainst his servant's truth?
94
	Cusay. No; rather to prefer Urias' truth.
96
	Joab. Here, take him with thee, then, and go in peace;
98	And tell my lord the king that I have fought
	Against the city Rabbah with success,
100	And scalèd where the royal palace is,
	The conduit-heads and all their sweetest springs:
102	Then let him come in person to these walls,
	With all the soldiers he can bring besides,
104	And take the city as his own exploit,
	Lest I surprise it, and the people give
106	The glory of the conquest to my name.
108	Cusay. We will, Lord Joab; and great Israel's God
	Bless in thy hands the battles of our king!
110
	Joab. Farewell, Urias; haste away the king.
112
	Urias. As sure as Joab breathes a victor here,
114	Urias will haste him and his own return.
116	[Exeunt Cusay and Urias.]
118	Abis. Let us descend, and ope the palace' gate,
	Taking our soldiers in to keep the hold.
120
	Joab. Let us, Abisai: − and, ye sons of Judah,
122	Be valiant, and maintain your victory.
124	[Exeunt.]
	SCENE III.
	The House of Amnon in Jerusalem,
	Enter Amnon, Jonadab, Jethray, and Amnon's Page.
1	Jonad. What means my lord, the king's belovèd son,
2	That wears upon his right triumphant arm
	The power of Israel for a royal favour,
4	That holds upon the tables of his hands
	Banquets of honour and all thought's content,
6	To suffer pale and grisly abstinence
	To sit and feed upon his fainting cheeks,
8	And suck away the blood that cheers his looks?
10	Amnon. Ah, Jonadab, it is my sister's looks,
	On whose sweet beauty I bestow my blood,
12	That makes me look so amorously lean;
	Her beauty having seized upon my heart,
14	So merely consecrate to her content,
	Sets now such guard about his vital blood,
16	And views the passage with such piercing eyes,
	That none can scape to cheer my pining cheeks,
18	But all is thought too little for her love.
20	Jonad. Then from her heart thy looks shall be relieved,
	And thou shalt joy her as thy soul desires.
22
	Amnon. How can it be, my sweet friend Jonadab,
24	Since Thamar is a virgin and my sister?
26	Jonad. Thus it shall be: lie down upon thy bed,
	Feigning thee fever-sick and ill-at-ease;
28	And when the king shall come to visit thee,
	Desire thy sister Thamar may be sent
30	To dress some dainties for thy malady:
	Then when thou hast her solely with thyself,
32	Enforce some favour to thy manly love.
	See where she comes: entreat her in with thee.
34
	Enter Thamar.
36
	Tham. What aileth Amnon, with such sickly looks
38	To daunt the favour of his lovely face?
40	Amnon. Sweet Thamar, sick, and wish some wholesome cates
	Dressed with the cunning of thy dainty hands.
42
	Tham. That hath the king commanded at my hands;
44	Then come and rest thee, while I make thee ready
	Some dainties easeful to thy crazèd soul.
46
	Amnon. I go, sweet sister, easèd with thy sight.
48
	[Exeunt Thamar, Amnon, Jethray, and Page.]
50
	Jonad. Why should a prince, whose power may command,
52	Obey the rebel passions of his love,
	When they contend but 'gainst his consciënce,
54	And may be governed or suppressed by will? −
	Now, Amnon, loose those loving knots of blood,
56	That sucked the courage from thy kingly heart,
	And give it passage to thy withered cheeks.
58	Now, Thamar, ripened are the holy fruits
	That grew on plants of thy virginity;
60	And rotten is thy name in Israel:
	Poor Thamar, little did thy lovely hands
62	Foretell an action of such violence
	As to contend with Amnon's lusty arms
64	Sinewed with vigour of his kindless love:
	Fair Thamar, now dishonour hunts thy foot,
66	And follows thee through every covert shade,
	Discovering thy shame and nakedness,
68	Even from the valleys of Jehosaphat
	Up to the lofty mounts of Lebanon;
70	Where cedars, stirred with anger of the winds,
	Sounding in storms the tale of thy disgrace,
72	Tremble with fury, and with murmur shake
	Earth with their feet and with their heads the heavens,
74	Beating the clouds into their swiftest rack,
	To bear this wonder round about the world.
76
	[Exit.]
	SCENE IV.
	Outside the Door to Amnon's House.
	Re-enter Amnon thrusting out Thamar, and Jethray.
1	Amnon. Hence from my bed, whose sight offends my soul
2	As doth the parbreak of disgorgèd bears!
4	Tham. Unkind, unprincely, and unmanly Amnon,
	To force, and then refuse thy sister's love,
6	Adding unto the fright of thy offence
	The baneful torment of my published shame!
8	O, do not this dishonour to thy love,
	Nor clog thy soul with such increasing sin!
10	This second evil far exceeds the first.
12	Amnon. Jethray, come thrust this woman from my sight,
	And bolt the door upon her if she strive.
14
	[Exit.]
16
	Jeth. Go, madam, go; away, you must begone;
18	My lord hath done with you: I pray, depart.
20	[Shuts her out. − Exit.]
22	Tham. Whither, alas, ah, whither shall I fly,
	With folded arms and all-amazèd soul?
24	Cast as was Eva from that glorious soil,
	(Where all delights sat bating, winged with thoughts,
26	Ready to nestle in her naked breasts,)
	To bare and barren vales with floods made waste,
28	To desert woods, and hills with lightening scorched,
	With death, with shame, with hell, with horror sit;
30	There will I wander from my father's face;
	There Absalon, my brother Absalon,
32	Sweet Absalon shall hear his sister mourn;
	There will I lure with my windy sighs
34	Night-ravens and owls to rend my bloody side,
	Which with a rusty weapon I will wound,
36	And make them passage to my panting heart.
	Why talk'st thou, wretch, and leav'st the deed undone?
38	Rend hair and garments, as thy heart is rent
	With inward fury of a thousand griefs,
40	And scatter them by these unhallowed doors,
	To figure Amnon's resting cruëlty,
42	And tragic spoil of Thamar's chastity.
44	Enter Absalon.
46	Abs. What causeth Thamar to exclaim so much?
48	Tham. The cause that Thamar shameth to disclose.
50	Abs. Say; I thy brother will revenge that cause.
52	Tham. Amnon, our father's son, hath forcèd me,
	And thrusts me from him as the scorn of Israel.
54
	Abs. Hath Amnon forcèd thee? by David's hand,
56	And by the covenant God hath made with him,
	Amnon shall bear his violence to hell;
58	Traitor to Heaven, traitor to David's throne,
	Traitor to Absalon and Israel!
60	This fact hath Jacob's ruler seen from Heaven,
	And through a cloud of smoke and tower of fire,
62	As he rides vaunting him upon the greens,
	Shall tear his chariot-wheels with violent winds,
64	And throw his body in the bloody sea;
	At him the thunder shall discharge his bolt;
66	And his fair spouse, with bright and fiery wings,
	Sit ever burning on his hateful bones:
68	Myself, as swift as thunder or his spouse,
	Will hunt occasion with a secret hate,
70	To work false Amnon an ungracious end. −
	Go in, my sister; rest thee in my house;
72	And God in time shall take this shame from thee.
74	Tham. Nor God nor time will do that good for me.
76	[Exit.]
	SCENE V.
	Jerusalem.
	Enter David with his train.
1	David. My Absalon, what mak'st thou here alone,
2	And bears such discontentment in thy brows?
4	Abs. Great cause hath Absalon to be displeased,
	And in his heart to shroud the wounds of wrath.
6
	David. 'Gainst whom should Absalon be thus displeased?
8
	Abs. 'Gainst wicked Amnon, thy ungracious son,
10	My brother and fair Thamar's by the king,
	My step-brother by mother and by kind:
12	He hath dishonoured David's holiness,
	And fixed a blot of lightness on his throne,
14	Forcing my sister Thamar when he feigned
	A sickness, sprung from root of heinous lust.
16
	David. Hath Amnon brought this evil on my house,
18	And suffered sin to smite his father's bones?
	Smite, David, deadlier than the voice of Heaven,
20	And let hate's fire be kindled in thy heart:
	Frame in the arches of thy angry brows,
22	Making thy forehead, like a comet, shine,
	To force false Amnon tremble at thy looks.
24	Sin, with his sevenfold crown and purple robe,
	Begins his triumphs in my guilty throne;
26	There sits he watching with his hundred eyes
	Our idle minutes and our wanton thoughts;
28	And with his baits, made of our frail desires,
	Gives us the hook that hales our souls to hell:
30	But with the spirit of my kingdom's God
	I'll thrust the flattering tyran from his throne,
32	And scourge his bondslaves from my hallowed court
	With rods of iron and thorns of sharpened steel.
34	Then, Absalon, revenge not thou this sin;
	Leave it to me, and I will chasten him.
36
	Abs. I am content: then grant, my lord the king,
38	Himself with all his other lords would come
	Up to my sheep-feast on the plain of Hazor.
40
	David. Nay, my fair son, myself with all my lords
42	Will bring thee too much charge; yet some shall go.
44	Abs. But let my lord the king himself take pains;
	The time of year is pleasant for your grace,
46	And gladsome summer in her shady robes,
	Crownèd with roses and with planted flowers,
48	With all her nymphs, shall entertain my lord,
	That, from the thicket of my verdant groves,
50	Will sprinkle honey-dews about his breast,
	And cast sweet balm upon his kingly head:
52	Then grant thy servant's boon, and go, my lord.
54	David. Let it content my sweet son Absalon,
	That I may stay, and take my other lords.
56
	Abs. But shall thy best-belovèd Amnon go?
58
	David. What needeth it, that Amnon go with thee?
60
	Abs. Yet do thy son and servant so much grace.
62
	David. Amnon shall go, and all my other lords,
64	Because I will give grace to Absalon.
66	Enter Cusay and Urias, with others.
68	Cusay. Pleaseth my lord the king, his servant Joab
	Hath sent Urias from the Syrian wars.
70
	David. Welcome, Urias, from the Syrian wars,
72	Welcome to David as his dearest lord.
74	Urias. Thanks be to Israel's God and David's grace,
	Urias finds such greeting with the king.
76
	David. No other greeting shall Urias find
78	As long as David sways th' elected seat
	And consecrated throne of Israel.
80	Tell me, Urias, of my servant Joab;
	Fights he with truth the battles of our God,
82	And for the honour of the Lord's anointed?
84	Urias. Thy servant Joab fights the chosen wars
	With truth, with honour, and with high success,
86	And, 'gainst the wicked king of Ammon's sons,
	Hath, by the finger of our sovereign's God,
88	Besieged the city Rabbah, and achieved
	The court of waters, where the conduits run,
90	And all the Ammonites' delightsome springs:
	Therefore he wisheth David's mightiness
92	Should number out the host of Israel,
	And come in person to the city Rabbah,
94	That so her conquest may be made the king's,
	And Joab fight as his inferior.
96
	David. This hath not God and Joab's prowess done
98	Without Urias' valours, I am sure,
	Who, since his true conversion from a Hethite
100	To an adopted son of Israel,
	Hath fought like one whose arms were lift by Heaven,
102	And whose bright sword was edged with Israel's wrath.
	Go, therefore, home, Urias, take thy rest;
104	Visit thy wife and household with the joys
	A victor and a favourite of the king's
106	Should exercise with honour after arms.
108	Urias. Thy servant's bones are yet not half so crazed,
	Nor constitute on such a sickly mould,
110	That for so little service he should faint,
	And seek, as cowards, refuge of his home:
112	Nor are his thoughts so sensually stirred,
	To stay the arms with which the Lord would smite
114	And fill their circle with his conquered foes,
	For wanton bosom of a flattering wife.
116
	David. Urias hath a beauteous sober wife,
118	Yet young, and framed of tempting flesh and blood;
	Then, when the king hath summoned thee from arms,
120	If thou unkindly shouldst refrain her bed,
	Sin might be laid upon Urias' soul,
122	If Bethsabe by frailty hurt her fame:
	Then go, Urias, solace in her love;
124	Whom God hath knit to thee, tremble to loose.
126	Urias. The king is much too tender of my ease:
	The ark and Israel and Judah dwell
128	In palaces and rich pavilions;
	But Joab and his brother in the fields,
130	Suffering the wrath of winter and the sun:
	And shall Urias (of more shame than they)
132	Banquet, and loiter in the work of Heaven?
	As sure as thy soul doth live, my lord,
134	Mine ears shall never lean to such delight,
	When holy labour calls me forth to fight.
136
	David. Then be it with Urias' manly heart
138	As best his fame may shine in Israel.
140	Urias. Thus shall Urias' heart be best content,
	Till thou dismiss me back to Joab's bands:
142	This ground before the king my master's doors
	Shall be my couch, and this unwearied arm
144	The proper pillow of a soldier's head;
146	[Lies down.]
148	For never will I lodge within my house,
	Till Joab triumph in my secret vows.
150
	David. Then fetch some flagons of our purest wine,
152	That we may welcome home our hardy friend
	With full carouses to his fortunes past
154	And to the honours of his future arms;
	Then will I send him back to Rabbah siege,
156	And follow with the strength of Israel.
158	Enter one with flagons of wine.
160	Arise, Urias; come and pledge the king.
162	Urias. If David think me worthy such a grace,
	I will be bold and pledge my lord the king.
164
	[Rises.]
166
	David. Absalon and Cusay both shall drink
168	To good Urias and his happiness.
170	Abs. We will, my lord, to please Urias' soul.
172	David. I will begin, Urias, to thyself,
	And all the treasure of the Ammonites,
174	Which here I promise to impart to thee,
	And bind that promise with a full carouse.
176
	[Drinks.]
178
	Urias. What seemeth pleasant in my sovereign's eyes,
180	That shall Urias do till he be dead.
182	David. Fill him the cup. −
184	[Urias drinks.]
186	Follow, ye lords that love
	Your sovereign's health, and do as he hath done.
188
	Abs. Ill may he thrive, or live in Israel,
190	That loves not David, or denies his charge. −
	Urias, here is to Abisai's health,
192	Lord Joab's brother and thy loving friend.
194	[Drinks.]
196	Urias. I pledge Lord Absalon and Abisai's health.
198	[Drinks.]
200	Cusay. Here now, Urias, to the health of Joab,
	And to the pleasant journey we shall have
202	When we return to mighty Rabbah siege.
204	[Drinks.]
206	Urias. Cusay, I pledge thee all with all my heart. −
	Give me some drink, ye servants of the king;
208	Give me my drink.
210	[Drinks.]
212	David. Well done, my good Urias! drink thy fill,
	That in thy fulness David may rejoice.
214
	Urias. I will, my lord.
216
	Abs. Now, Lord Urias, one carouse to me.
218
	Urias. No, sir, I’ll drink to the king;
220	Your father is a better man than you.
222	David. Do so, Urias; I will pledge thee straight.
224	Urias. I will indeed, my lord and sovereign;
	I[’ll] once in my days be so bold.
226
	David. Fill him his glass.
228
	Urias. Fill me my glass.
230
	He gives him the glass.
232
	David. Quickly, I say.
234
	Urias. Quickly, I say. − Here, my lord, by your favour
236	now I drink to you.
238	[Drinks.]
240	David. I pledge thee, good Urias, presently.
242	[Drinks.]
244	Abs. Here, then, Urias, once again for me,
	And to the health of David's children.
246
	[Drinks.]
248
	Urias. David's children!
250
	Abs. Ay, David's children: wilt thou pledge me, man?
252
	Urias. Pledge me, man!
254
	Abs. Pledge me, I say, or else thou lov'st us not.
256
	Urias. What, do you talk? do you talk? I'll no more; I'll lie down here.
258
	David. Rather, Urias, go thou home and sleep.
260
	Urias. O, ho, sir! would you make me break my sentence?
262
	[Lies down.]
264
	Home, sir! no, indeed, sir: I’ll sleep upon mine
266	arm, like a soldier; sleep like a man as long as I live in
	Israel.
268
	David. [Aside]
270	If naught will serve to save his wife's renown,
	I'll send him with a letter unto Joab
272	To put him in the forefront of the wars,
	That so my purposes may take effect. −
274	Help him in, sirs.
276	[Exeunt David and Absalon.]
278	Cusay. Come, rise, Urias; get thee in and sleep.
280	Urias. I will not go home, sir; that's flat.
282	Cusay. Then come and rest thee upon David's bed.
284	Urias. On, afore, my lords, on, afore.
	[Exeunt.]
	CHORUS I.
	Enter Chorus.
1	Chor. O proud revolt of a presumptuous man,
2	Laying his bridle in the neck of sin,
	Ready to bear him past his grave to hell!
4	Like as the fatal raven, that in his voice
	Carries the dreadful summons of our deaths,
6	Flies by the fair Arabian spiceries,
	Her pleasant gardens and delightsome parks,
8	Seeming to curse them with his hoarse exclaims,
	And yet doth stoop with hungry violence
10	Upon a piece of hateful carrion;
	So wretched man, displeased with those delights
12	Would yield a quickening savour to his soul,
	Pursues with eager and unstanchèd thirst
14	The greedy longings of his loathsome flesh.
	If holy David so shook hands with sin,
16	What shall our baser spirits glory in?
	This kingly giving lust her rein
18	Pursues the sequel with a greater ill.
	Urias in the forefront of the wars
20	Is murthered by the hateful heathens' sword,
	And David joys his too dear Bethsabe.
22	Suppose this past, and that the child is born,
	Whose death the prophet solemnly doth mourn.
24
	[Exit.]
	SCENE VI.
	The Royal Palace at Jerusalem.
	Enter Bethsabe with her Handmaid.
1	Beth. Mourn, Bethsabe, bewail thy foolishness,
2	Thy sin, thy shame, the sorrow of thy soul:
	Sin, shame, and sorrow swarm about thy soul;
4	And, in the gates and entrance of my heart,
	Sadness, with wreathèd arms, hangs her complaint.
6	No comfort from the ten-stringed instrument,
	The twinkling cymbal, or the ivory lute;
8	Nor doth the sound of David's kingly harp
	Make glad the broken heart of Bethsabe:
10	Jerusalem is filled with thy complaint,
	And in the streets of Sion sits thy grief.
12	The babe is sick, sick to the death, I fear,
	The fruit that sprung from thee to David's house;
14	Nor may the pot of honey and of oil
	Glad David or his handmaid's countenance.
16	Urias − wo is me to think hereon!
	For who is it among the sons of men
18	That saith not to my soul, "The king hath sinned;
	David hath done amiss, and Bethsabe
20	Laid snares of death unto Urias' life"?
	My sweet Urias, fall’n into the pit
22	Art thou, and gone even to the gates of hell
	For Bethsabe, that wouldst not shroud her shame.
24	O, what is it to serve the lust of kings!
	How lion-like th[e]y rage when we resist!
26	But, Bethsabe, in humbleness attend
	The grace that God will to his handmaid send.
28
	[Exeunt.]
	SCENE VII.
	The Palace.
	Enter David in his gown, walking sadly;
	Servants attending.
1	David. [Aside]
2	The babe is sick, and sad is David's heart,
	To see the guiltless bear the guilty's pain.
4	David, hang up thy harp; hang down thy head;
	And dash thy ivory lute against the stones.
6	The dew, that on the hill of Hermon falls,
	Rains not on Sion's tops and lofty towers;
8	The plains of Gath and Askaron rejoice,
	And David's thoughts are spent in pensiveness:
10	The babe is sick, sweet babe, that Bethsabe
	With woman's pain brought forth to Israel.
12
	Enter Nathan.
14
	But what saith Nathan to his lord the king?
16
	Nath. Thus Nathan saith unto his lord the king:
18	There were two men both dwellers in one town;
	The one was mighty, and exceeding rich
20	In oxen, sheep, and cattle of the field;
	The other poor, having nor ox, nor calf,
22	Nor other cattle, save one little lamb
	Which he had bought and nourished by the hand;
24	And it grew up, and fed with him and his,
	And eat and drank as he and his were wont,
26	And in his bosom slept, and was to live
	As was his daughter or his dearest child.
28	There came a stranger to this wealthy man;
	And he refused and spared to take his own,
30	Or of his store to dress or make him meat,
	But took the poor man's sheep, partly, poor man's store,
32	And dressed it for this stranger in his house.
	What, tell me, shall be done to him for this?
34
	David. Now, as the Lord doth live, this wicked man
36	Is judged and shall become the child of death;
	Fourfold to the poor man shall he restore,
38	That without mercy took his lamb away.
40	Nath. Thou art the man; and thou hast judged thyself.
	David, thus saith the Lord thy God by me:
42	"I thee anointed king in Israel,
	And saved thee from the tyranny of Saul;
44	Thy master's house I gave thee to possess;
	His wives into thy bosom did I give,
46	And Judah and Jerusalem withal;
	And might, thou know'st, if this had been too small,
48	Have given thee more:
	Wherefore, then, hast thou gone so far astray,
50	And hast done evil, and sinned in my sight?
	Urias thou hast killèd with the sword;
52	Yea, with the sword of the uncircumcised
	Thou hast him slain: wherefore, from this day forth,
54	The sword shall never go from thee and thine;
	For thou hast ta'en this Hethite's wife to thee:
56	Wherefore, behold, I will," saith Jacob's God,
	"In thine own house stir evil up to thee;
58	Yea, I before thy face will take thy wives,
	And give them to thy neighbour to possess:
60	This shall be done to David in the day,
	That Israel openly may see thy shame."
62
	David. Nathan, I have against the Lord, I have
64	Sinnèd; O, sinnèd grievously! and, lo,
	From Heaven's throne doth David throw himself,
66	And groan and grovel to the gates of hell!
68	[Falls down.]
70	Nath. [Raising him]
	David, stand up: thus saith the Lord by me:
72	David the king shall live, for He hath seen
	The true repentant sorrow of thy heart;
74	But, for thou hast in this misdeed of thine
	Stirred up the enemies of Israel
76	To triumph, and blaspheme the God of Hosts,
	And say, he set a wicked man to reign
78	Over his lovèd people and his tribes, −
	The child shall surely die, that erst was born,
80	His mother's sin, his kingly father's scorn.
82	[Exit.]
84	David. How just is Jacob's God in all his works!
	But must it die that David loveth so?
86	O, that the Mighty One of Israel
	Nill change his doom, and says the babe must die!
88	Mourn, Israel, and weep in Sion-gates;
	Wither, ye cedar-trees of Lebanon;
90	Ye sprouting almonds, with your flowering tops,
	Droop, drown, and drench in Hebron's fearful streams:
92	The babe must die that was to David born,
	His mother's sin, his kingly father's scorn.
94
	[Sits sadly.]
96
	Enter Cusay.
98
	1st Serv. What tidings bringeth Cusay to the king?
100
	Cusay. To thee, the servant of King David's court,
102	This bringeth Cusay, as the prophet spake;
	The Lord hath surely stricken to the death
104	The child new-born by that Urias' wife,
	That by the sons of Ammon erst was slain.
106
	1st Serv. Cusay, be still; the king is vexèd sore:
108	How shall he speed that brings this tidings first,
	When, while the child was yet alive, we spake,
110	And David's heart would not be comforted?
112	David. Yea, David's heart will not be comforted!