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Enter Titus, old Marcus, young Lucius, and other Gentlemen with bows; and Titus bears the arrows with letters on the ends of them.

Tit. Come, Marcus, come;-Kinsmen, this is
the way:-

Sir boy, now let nie see your archery';
Look, ye draw home enough, and 'tis there straight:
Terras Astrea reliquit :- -be you remember'd,
Marcus.-

But metal, Marcus, steel to the very back; Yet wrung with wrongs, more than our backs can bear:

And sith there is no justice in earth nor hell, 5 We will solicit heaven; and move the gods, To send down justice for to wreak our wrongs: Come, to this gear. You are a good archer, Marcus. [He gives them the arrows. Ad Jovem, that's for you:-Here, ad Apolli 104d Martem, that 's for myself;- [nen: Here, boy, to Pallas-Here to Mercury:To Saturn, and to Celus; not to Saturnine,You were as good to shoot against the wind.To it, boy. Marcus, loose when I bid: 150' my word, I have written to effect; There's not a god left unsolicited. Marc. Kinsmen, shoot all your shafts into the We will afflict the emperor in his pride.

[tools.
She's gone, she's fled. Sirs, take you to your 20|
You, cousins, shall go sound the ocean,
And cast your nets; haply, you may find her in

the sea;

Yet there's as little justice as at land:-
No; Publius and Sempronius, you must do it;
Tis you must dig with mattock, and with spade,
And pierce the inmost centre of the earth;
Then, when you come to Pluto's region,
I pray you, deliver him this petition:
Tell him, it is for justice, and for aid;
And that it comes from old Andronicus,
Shaken with sorrows in ungrateful Rome.
Ah, Rome-Well, well; I made thee miserable,
What time I threw the people's suffrages
On him that thus dóth tyrannize o'er me.-
Go, get you gone; and pray be careful all,
And leave you not a man of war unsearch'd;
This wicked emperor may have shipp'd her hence,
And, kinsmen, then we may go pipe for justice.
Marc. O, Publius, is not this a heavy case,
To see thy noble uncle thus distract?
Pub. Therefore, my lord, it highly us con-

cerns,

By day and night to attend him carefully; And feed his humour kindly as we may, 'Till time beget some careful remedy.

25

:

[court:

Tit. Now, masters, draw. [They shoot.] 0, well said, Lucius!

Good boy, in Virgo's lap, give it to Pallas. Marc. Mylord, I am a mile beyond the moon, Your letter is with Jupiter by this.

Tit. Ha! Publius, Publius, what hast thou done? See, see, thou hast shot off one of Taurus' horns. Marc. This was the sport, my lord: when Publius shot,

The bull being gall'd, gave Aries such a knock, That down fell both the ram's horns in the court; 30 And who should find them but the emperess' vil

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lain? [choose She laugh'd, and told the Moor, he should not But give them to his master for a present: Tit. Why, there it goes: God give your lordship joy!

Enter a Clown, with a basket and two pigsons. News, news from heaven! Marcus, the post is

come.

Sirrah, what tidings? have you any letters? 40 Shall I have justice? what says Jupiter?

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Marc. Kinsmen, his sorrows are past remedy.
Join with the Goths; and with revengeful war
Take wreak on Rome for this ingratitude,
And vengeance on the traitor Saturnine. [ters; 50
Tit. Publius, how now? how now, my mas-
What, have you met with her?
[word,

Pub. No, my good lord; but Pluto sends you
If you will have revenge from hell, you shall;
Marry, for Justice, she is so employ'd, [else,55
He thinks with Jove in heaven, or somewhere]
So that perforce you needs must stay a time.

Tit. He doth me wrong, to feed me with delays.
I'll dive into the burning lake below,
And pull her out of Acheron by the heels.
Marcus, we are but shrubs, no cedars we;
No big-bon'd inen, fram'd of the Cyclops' size;

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Clown. Ho! the gibbet-maker? he says, that he hath taken them down again, for the man must not be hang'd 'till the next week.

Tit. Tut, what says Jupiter, I ask thee? Clown. Alas, sir, I know not Jupiter; I never drank with him in all my life.

Tit. Why, villain, art not thou the carrier? Clown. Ay, of my pigeons, sir; nothing else. Tit. Why, didst thou not come from heaven? Clown. From heaven? alas, sir, I never came there: God forbid, I should be so bold to press to heaven in my young days! Why, I am going with iny pigeons to the tribunal plebs', to take up a matter of brawl betwixt my uncle and one of the emperial's men.

Marc. Why, sir, that is as fit as can be, to serve for your oration; and let him deliver the pigeons to the emperor from you.

Tit. Tell me, can you deliver an oration to the emperor with a grace?

in

Clown. Nay, truly, sir, I could never say grace, all my life.

! The Clown means to say, to the tribune of the people.

Tit

Tit. Sirrah, come hither; make no more ado,]
But give your pigeons to the emperor:
By me thou shalt have justice at his hands.
Hold, hold;—mean while, here's money for thy
Give me a pen and ink.-
[charges. 5
Sirrah,can you with a grace deliver a supplication?
Clown. Ay, sir.

[it.

10

Tit. Then here is a supplication for you. And
when you come to him, at the first approach, you
must kneel; then kiss his foot; then deliver up
your pigeons; and then look for your reward.
I'll be at hand, sir; see you do it bravely.
Clown. I warrant you, sir: let me alone.
Tit. Sirrah, hast thou a knife? Come, let me see
Here, Marcus, fold it in the oration;
For thou hast made it like an humble suppliant:-
And when thou hast given it to the emperor,
Knock at my door, and tell me what he says.
Clown. God be with you, sir; I will.
Tit. Come, Marcus, let us go:-Publius, follow 20

me.

SCENE IV.

The Palace.

[Exeunt.

Enter Emperor, and Emperess, and her two sons; the Emperor brings the arrows in his hand, that Titus shot.

Sat. Why, lords, what wrongs are these? Was

ever seen

An emperor of Rome thus over-borne,
Troubled, confronted thus; and, for the extent
Of legal justice, us'd in such contempt?
My lords, you know, as do the mightful gods,
However the disturbers of our peace
Buz in the people's ears, there nought hath past
But even with law, against the wilful sons
Of old Andronicus. And what an if
His sorrows have so overwhelin'd his wits,
Shall we be thus afllicted in his wreaks ',
His fits, his frenzy, and his bitterness?
And now he writes to heaven for his redress:
See, here's to Jove, and this to Mercury;
This to Apollo; this to the god of war:
Sweet scrolls, to fly about the streets of Rome!
What's this, but libelling against the senate,
And blazoning our injustice every where?
A goodly Lumour, is it not, my lords?

As who would say, in Rome no justice were.
But, if I live, his feigned ecstasies
Shall be no shelter to these outrages:
But he and his shall know, that justice lives
In Saturninus' health; whom, if she sleep,
He'll so awake, as she in fury shall
Cut off the proud'st conspirator that lives.
Tam. My gracious lord, most lovely Saturnine,
Lord of my life, commander of my thoughts,
Calm thee, and bear the faults of Titus' age,
The effects of sorrow for his valiant sons,

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peror.

Clown. Tishe.-God, and saint Stephen, give you good den:

I have brought you a letter, and a couple of pigeons here. [The Emperor reads the letter. Sat. Go, take him away, and hang him presently.

Clown. How much money must I have? Tum. Come, sirrah, you must be hang'd. Clown. Hang'd! By'r lady, then I have brought up a neck to a fair end. [Exit. Sat. Despightful and intolerable wrongs! 25 Shall I endure this monstrous villainy? I know from whence this same device proceeds: May this be borne-as if his traitorous sons, That dy'd by law for murder of our brother, Have by my means been butcher'd wrongfully!30 Go, drag the villain hither by the hair;

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Nor age, nor honour, shall shape privilege:-
For this proud mock, I'll be thy slaughter-man;
Sly frantick wretch,that holp'st to make me great,
In hope thyself should govern Rome and me.
Enter Amilius.

Sat. What news with thee, Æmilius?
Amil. Arm, arm, my lords; Rome never had

more cause!

The Goths have gather'd head; and with a power
40 Of high-resolved men, bent to the spoil,
They hither march amain, under conduct
Of Lucius, son to old Andronicus;

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strong?

Sat. Ay, but the citizens favour Lucius;
And will revolt from me, to succour him. [name.
Tam. King, be thy thoughts imperious, like thy

Whose loss hath pierc'd him deep and scarr'd his 60 Is the sun dimm'd, that guats do fly in it?

heart;

And rather comfort his distressed plight,

The eagle suffers little birds to sing,

And is not careful what they mean thereby;

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Knowing, that with the shadow of his wings
He can at pleasure stint their melody:
Even so may'st thou the giddy men of Rome.
Then cheer thy spirit: for know, thou emperor,
I will enchant the old Andronicus

With words more sweet, and yet more dangerous,
Than baits to fish, or honey-stalks' to sheep;
When as the one is wounded with the bait,
The other rotted with delicious foed.

Sat. But he will not entreat his son for us.
Tam. If Tamora entreat him, then he will:
For I can smooth, and fill his aged ear
With golden promises; that were his heart
Almost impregnable, his old ears deaf,

Go thou before, be our ambassador: [ToÆmilius.
Say, that the emperor requests a parley
Of warlike Lucius, and appoint the meeting.
Sat. Æmilius, do this message honourably:

5 And if he stand on hostage for his safety,
Bid him demand what pledge will please him best.
Amil. Your bidding shall I do effectually. [Ex.
Tam. Now will I to that old Andronicus;
And temper him with all the art I have,
10To pluck proud Lucius from the warlike Goths.
And now, sweet emperor, be blithe again,
And bury all thy fear in my devices.

Yet should both ear and heart obey my tongue.-15

Sat. Then go successfully, and plead to him. [Exeunt

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dronicus,

Whose name was once our terror, now our comfort;
Whose high exploits, and honourable deeds,
Ingrateful Rome requites with foul contempt,
Be bold in us: we'll follow where thou lead'st,-
Like stinging bees in hottest summer's day,
Led by their master to the flower'd fields,-
And be aveng'd on cursed Tainora.

Omn. And, as he saith, so say we aff with him. Luc. I hambly thank him, and I thank you all. But who comes here, led by a lusty Goth? Enter a Goth, leading Aaron, with his child in

his arms.

[stray'd

They never do beget a coal-black calf. "Peace, villain, peace!"-even thus he rates the babe,

"For I must bear thee to a trusty Goth;

Who,whenheknowsthou art the emperess' babe, "Will hold thee dearly for thy mother's sake." With this, my weapon drawn, I rush'd upon him, Surprizd him suddenly; and brought him hither, To use as you think needful of the man.

[vil,

Luc. O worthy Goth! this is the incarnate de That robb'd Andronicus of his good hand : This is the pearl that pleas'd your emperess' eye; 35 And here's the base fruit of his burning lust.Say,wall-ey'd slave,whither would'st thou convey This growing image of thy fiend-like face? Why dost not speak? What! deat? No! not a word?

40A halter, soldiers; hang him on this tree, And by his side his fruit of bastardy.

45

Goth. Renowned Lucius, from our troops 150 To gaze upon a ruinous monastery; And as I earnestly did fix mine eye Upon the wasted building, suddenly I heard a child cry underneath a wall: I made unto the noise; when soon I heard The crying babe controul'd with this discourse: "Peace, tawny slave; half me, and half thy dam! "Did not thy hue bewray whose brat thou art, "Had nature lent thee but thy mother's look, "Villain, thou might'st have been an emperor: "But where the bull and cow are both milk-white,

1

Aar. Touch not the boy, he is of royal blood. Luc. Too like the sire for ever being good.First hang the child, that he may see it sprawl; A sight to vex the father's soul withal. Get me a ladder 2.

Aar. Lucius, save the child;

And bear it from me to the emperess.

If thou do this, I'll show thee wond'rous things,
That highly may advantage thee to hear:
If thou wilt not, befall what may befall,
I'll speak no more; But vengeance rot you all!
Luc. Say on; and, if it please me which thou
speak'st,

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55 Thy child shall live, and I will see it nourish'd. Aur. An if it please thee? why, assure thee, Lucius,

Twill vex thy soul to hear what I shall speak; For I must talk of murders, rapes, and massacres, 60 Acts of black night, abominable deeds, Complots of mischief, treason; villainies

Honey-stalks are clover-flowers, which contain a sweet juice.-It is common for cattle to overcharge themselves with clover, and die. 2 Get me a ladder, has been in most of the editions given tę Aaron, and properly, as meaning hang me.

Ruthful

Ruthful to hear, yet piteously perform'd:
And this shall all be buried by my death,
Unless thou swear to me, my child shall live.

Luc.Tell on thy mind; I say,thy child shall live.
Aar. Swear that he shall, and then I will begin.
Luc. Whom should I swear by? thou believ'st
no god;

That granted, how canst thou believe an oath ?
Aar. What if I do not? as indeed, I do not:
Yet, for I know thou art religious,
And hast a thing within thee, called conscience;
With twenty popish tricks and ceremonies,
Which I have seen thee careful to observe,-
Therefore I urge thy oath ;-For that, I know,
An ideot holds his bauble for a god,

And keeps the oath, which by that god he swears;
To that I'll urge him:-Therefore thou shalt vow
By that same god, what god soe'er it be,
'That thou ador'st and hast in reverence,-
To save my boy, nourish, and bring him up;
Or else I will discover nought to thee.

Luc. Even by my god, I swear to thee, I will. Aar. First, know thou, I begot him on the emperess.

5

Aar. Ay, like a black dog, as the saying is.
Luc. Art thou not sorry for these heinous deeds?
Aar. Ay, that I had not done a thousand more.
Even now I curse the day, (and yet, I think,
Few come within the coinpass of my curse)
Wherein I did not some notorious ill:

As kill a man, or else devise his death;
Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it;
Accuse some innocent, and forswear myself;
10 Set deadly enmity between two friends;
Make poor men's cattle break their necks;
Set fire on barns and hay-stacks in the night,
And bid the owners quench them with their tears.
Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves,
15 And set them upright at their dear friends' doors,
Even when the sorrow almost was forgot;
And on their skins, as on the bark of trees,
Have with my knife carved in Roman letters,
Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.
20 Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things,
As willingly as one would kill a fly;
And nothing grieves me heartily indeed,
But that I cannot do ten thousand more.

Luc. Bring down the devil'; for he must not die 25 So sweet a death, as hanging presently.

Luc. O most insatiate, luxurious woman! Aur.Tut, Lucius! this was but a deed of charity, To that which thou shalt hear of me anon, 'Twas her two sons, that murder'd Bassianus: They cut thy sister's tongue, and ravish'd her, And cut her hands off; and trimm'd her as thou 30 saw'st. [ming? Luc.O, detestable villain! call'st thou that trimAar. Why, she was wash'd, and cut, and trimm'd; and 'twas

Trim sport for them that had the doing of it.

Luc. O, barbarous beastly villains, like thyself
Aar. Indeed, I was the tutor to instruct them;
That codding spirit had they from their mother,
As sure a card as ever won the set;

That bloody mind, I think, they learn'd of me,
As true a dog as ever fought at head.-
Well, let my deeds be witness of my worth.
I train'd thy brethren to that guileful hole,
Where the dead corps of Bassianus lay:
I wrote the letter that thy father found,
And hid the gold within the letter mentioned,
Confederate with the queen, and her two sons:
And what not done, that thou hast cause to rue,
Wherein I had no stroke of mischief in it?
I play'd the cheater for thy father's hand;
And, when I had it, drew myself apart,
And almost broke my heart with extreme laughter.
I pry'd me through the crevice of a wall,
When, for his hand, he had his two sons' heads;
Beheld his tears, and laugh'd so heartily,
That both mine eyes were rainy like to his;
And when I told the empercss of this sport,
She swooned almost at my pleasing tale,
And, for my tidings, gave me twenty kisses.

35

Aar. If there be devils, 'would I were a devil,
To live and burn in everlasting fire;
So I might have your company in hell,
But to torment you with my bitter tongue!
Luc. Sirs, stop his mouth, and let him speak

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The Roman emperor greets you all by me:
40 And, for he understands you are in arms,
He craves a parley at your father's house;
Willing you to demand your hostages,
And they shall be immediately deliver'd.
Goth. What says our general?

1451

50

Luc. Æmilius, let the emperor give his pledges
Unto my father and my uncle Marcus,
And we will come. March away.

SCENE II.

Titus' Palace in Rome.

[Exeunt.

Enter Tamora, Chiron, and Demetrius, disguis'd.
Tam. Thus, in this strange and sad habil.ment.
I will encounter with Andronicus;
55 And say, I am Revenge, sent from below,
To join with him, and right his heinous wrongs.
Knock at his study, where, they say, he keeps,
To ruminate strange plots of dire revenge;
Tell him, Revenge is come to join with him,

Goth. What! canst thou say all this, and never 60 And work confusion on his enemies.
blush?

[They knock, and Titus opens his study d or.

2 Mr. Steevens

1i. e. that love of bed-sports.-Cod is a word still used in Yorkshire for a pillow. here observes, that it appears, from these words, that the audience were entertained with part of the apparatus of an execution, and that Aaron was mounted on a ladder, as ready to be turned off.

312

Tit.

Tit. Who doth molest my contemplation ?
Is it your trick to make me ope the door;
That so my sad decrees may fly away,
And all my study be to no effect?
You are deceiv'd: for what I mean to do,
See here, in bloody lines, I have set down;
And what is written shall be executed.

Tam. Titus, I am come to talk with thee.
Tit. No, not a word: How can I grace my talk,
Wanting a hand to give it that accord?
Thou hast the odds of me, therefore no more.
Tam. If thou didst know me, thou would'st
talk with me.

I will embrace thee in it by-and-by.

[Exit Titus from above.

Tam. This closing with him fits his lunacy:
Whate'er I forge, to feed his brain-sick fits,
5 Do you uphold and maintain in your speeches.
For now he firmly takes me for Revenge;
And, being credulous in this mad thought,
I'll make him send for Lucius, his son;
And, whilst I at a banquet hold him sure,
10I'll find some cunning practice out of hand,
To scatter and disperse the giddy Goths,
Or, at the least, make them his enemies.
See, here he comes, and I must ply my theme.
Enter Titus.

Tit. I am not mad: I know thee well enough: Witness this wretched stump, these crimson lines; 15 Witness these trenches, made by grief and care; Witness the tiring day, and heavy night; Witness all sorrow, that I know thee well For our proud emperess, mighty Tamora: Is not thy coming for my other hand?

Tam. Know thou, sad man, I am not Tamora;

She is thy enemy, and I thy friend:

I am Revenge; sent from the infernal kingdom,
To ease the gnawing vulture of thy mind,
By working wreakful vengeance on thy foes.
Come down, and welcome me to this world's light;|
Confer with me of murder, and of death:
There's not a hollow cave, nor lurking-place,
No vast obscurity, or misty vale,
Where bloody murder, or detested rape,
Can couch for fear, but I will find them out;
And in their ears tell them my dreadful name,
Revenge, which makes the foul offenders quake.
Tit. Art thou Revenge? and art thou sent to me,
To be a torment to mine enemies?

Tam. I am; therefore come down, and wel

come me.

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30

35

40

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Tit. Do me some service, ere I come to thee.
Lo, by thy side where Rape, and Murder, stands;
Now give some 'surance that thou art Revenge,
Stab them, or tear them on thy chariot wheels;
And then I'll come, and be thy waggoner,
And whirl along with thee about the globes.
Provide two proper palfreys, black as jet,
To hale thy vengeful waggon swift away,
And find out murderers in their guilty caves:
And, when thy car is loaden with their heads,
I will dismount, and by the waggon wheel
Trot, like a servile footman, all day long;
Even from Hyperion's rising in the east,
Until his very downfal in the sea:
And day by day I'll do this heavy task,
So thou destroy Rapine and Murder there.
Tam. These are my ministers, and come with me.
Tit. Are they thy ministers? what are they55

call'd?

Tam. Rapine, and Murder; therefore called so, 'Cause they take vengeance on such kind of men.] Tit. Good lord, how like the emp'ress' sons they are!

And you, the emp'ress! But we worldly men
Have miserable, mad, mistaking eyes.
O sweet Revenge, now do I come to thee:
And, if one arm's embracement will content thee,

150

Tit. Long have I been forlorn, and all for thee: Welcome, dread fury, to my woeful house;— Rapine, and Murder, you are welcome too: How like the emp'ress and her sons you are! Well are you fitted, had you but a Moor:Could not all hell afford you such a devil ?— For, well I wot, the emp'ress never wags, But in her company there is a Moor; And, would you represent our queen aright, It were convenient you had such a devil: But welcome, as you are. What shall we do? Tam. What wouldst thou have us do, Andronicus? Dem. Shew me a murderer, I'll deal with him. Chi. Shew me a villain, that hath done a rape, And I am sent to be reveng'd on him. [wrong, Tam. Shew me a thousand, that have done thee And I will be revenged on them all. [Rome

Tit. Look round about the wicked streets of
And when thou find'st a man that's like thyself,
Good Murder, stab him; he's a murderer.-
Go thou with him, and, when it is thy hap
To find another that is like to thee,

Good Rapine, stab him; he is a ravisher.-
Go thou with them; and in the emperor's court
There is a queen, attended by a Moor;

Well may'st thou know her by thy own proportion;
For up and down she doth resemble thee;

[do.

I pray thee, do on them some violent death,
They have been violent to me and mine.
Tam. Well hast thou lesson'd us; this shall we
But would it please thee, good Andronicus,
To send for Lucius, thy thrice-valiant son,
Who leads towards Rome a band of warlike Goths,
And bid him come and banquet at thy house:
When he is here, even at thy solemn feast,
I will bring in the emp'ress and her sons,
The emperor himself, and all thy foes;
And at thy mercy shall they stoop and kneel,
And on them shalt thou ease thy angry heart.
Tit. Marcus, my brother!-'tis sad Titus calls,
What says Andronicus to this device?

Enter Marcus.

Go, gentle Marcus, to thy nephew Lucius; Thou shalt enquire him out among the Goths 50 Bid him repair to me, and bring with him

Some of the chiefest princes of the Goths;
Bid him encamp his soldiers where they are:
Tell him, the emperor and the emperess too
Feast at my house; and he shall feast with them,

This

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