The Works of Christopher Marlowe

Mean. Some powers divine, or else infernal, Even at the morning of my happy state,

mix'd

Their angry seeds at his conception;

For he was never sprung of human race,
Since with the spirit of his fearful pride,
He darest so doubtlessly resolve of rule,
And by profession be ambitious.

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,

Orty. What god, or fiend, or spirit of the earth, Sacks every vein and artier* of my heart.

Or monster turned 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 arm'd against the hate of such a foe,
Whether from earth, or hell, or heaven he grow.
Cos. Nobly resolv'd, my good Ortygius ;

Bloody and insatiate Tamburlaine !

Tamb. The thirst of reign and sweetness of a

crown,

That caus'd the eldest son of heavenly Ops
To thrust his doting father from his chair,
And place himself in the empyreal heaven,
Mov'd me to manage arms against thy state.
What better precedent than mighty Jove?
Nature, that fram'd us of four elements

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.

And, since we all have suck'd one wholesome air, Warring within our breasts for regiment,†
And with the same proportion 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
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 Persia !
[Exeunt, drums sounding.

SCENE VII.

[make

Alarms of battle within. Then enter COSROE wounded, TAMBURLAINE, THERIDAMAS, TECHELLES, USUI CASANE, with others.

Cos. Barbarous || and bloody Tamburlaine, Thus to deprive me of my crown and life!— Treacherous and false Theridamas,

sprung] See note t, p. 14.

dares] So the 8vo. -The 4to "dare." fate] Old eds. "state."

§ Resolve] Seems to mean-dissolve (compare "our bodies turn to elements," p. 12, sec. col.): but I suspect some corruption here.

|| Barbarous] Qy. “O barbarous"? in the next line but one, "O treacherous"? and in the last line of the speech, "O bloody"? But we occasionally find in our early dramatists lines which are defective in the first syllable; and in some of these instances at least it would almost seem that nothing has been omitted by the transcriber or printer.

Ther. And that made me to join with Tambur-
laine;

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 Tam-
burlaine,

To lift our swords against the Persian king.

Usum. For as, when Jove did thrust old Saturn

down,

Neptune and Dis gain'd each of them a crown,

*artier] i. e. artery. This form occurs again in the Sec. Part of the present play: so too in a copy of verses by Day;

"Hid in the vaines and artiers of.the earthe." Shakespeare Soc. Papers, vol. i. 19. The word indeed was variously written of old: "The arter strynge is the conduyt of the lyfe spiryte." Hormanni Vulgaria, sig. G iii. ed. 1530. "Riche treasures serue for th'arters of the war." Lord Stirling's Darius, act ii. sig. C 2. ed. 1604. "Onelye the extrauagant artire of my arme is brused.” Everie Woman in her Humor, 1609, sig. D 4. "And from the veines some bloud each artire draines." Davies's Microcosmos, 1611, p. 56.

tregiment] i. e. rule.

fruit] So the 4to.-The Svo "fruites,"

So do we hope to reign in Asia,
If Tamburlaine be plac'd in Persia.

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 talents+ gripe my bleeding heart,
And like a harpy ‡ tires on my life.-
Theridamas and Tamburlaine, I die :
And fearful vengeance light upon you both!
[Dies.-TAMBURLAINE takes COSROE's crown, and puts
it on his own head.

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 Persia ?

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 pronounc'd me king of Persia. [Exeunt.

SCENE I.

ACT III.

Enter BAJAZETH, the KINGS OF FEZ, MOROCCO, and ARGIER,

with others, in great pomp.

As hath the ocean or the Terrene + sea Small drops of water when the moon begins To join in one her semicircled horns:

Baj. Great kings of Barbary, and my portly Yet would we not be brav'd with foreign power,

Nor raise our siege before the Grecians yield,
Or breathless lie before the city-walls.

K. of Fez. Renowmèd‡ emperor and mighty general,

What, if you sent the bassoes of your guard
To charge him to remain in Asia,

Or else to threaten death and deadly arms
As from the mouth of mighty Bajazeth?

Baj. Hie thee, my basso, § fast to Persia;
Tell him thy lord, the Turkish emperor,
Dread lord of Afric, Europe, and Asia,
Great king and conqueror of Græcia,
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 in + Africa,
Or spread his colours in Græcia,
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 measur'd heaven §
With triple circuit, thou regreet us not,
We mean to take his morning's next arise
For messenger he will not be reclaim'd,
And mean to fetch thee in despite of him.

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 seem'd to be digested long ago.

Zeno. Although it be digested long ago,

As his exceeding favours have deserv'd,

And might content the Queen of Heaven, as well
As it hath chang'd my first-conceiv'd disdain;
Yet since a farther passion feeds my thoughts

Bas. Most great and puissant monarch of the With ceaseless* and disconsolate conceits †,

Which dye my looks so lifeless as they are,
And might, if my extremes had full events,
Make me the ghastly counterfeit of death.

Agyd. Eternal heaven sooner be dissolv'd,
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,

Baj. True, Argier; and tremble[s] at my looks.
K. of Mor. The spring is hinder'd by yourOr else unite you to his life and soul,

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 achiev'd

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,

That I may live and die with Tamburlaine !

Enter, behind, TAMBURLAINE, with 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 suppos'd his worthless concubine,)
Be honour'd 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 destruction,
Redeem you from this deadly servitude.

Zeno. Leave T 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 with their cannons, mouth'd like Orcus' gulf, And might in noble minds be counted princely.

Batter the walls, and we will enter in ;
And thus the Grecians shall be conquerèd.

SCENE II.

[Exeunt.

Enter ZENOCRATE, AGYDAS, ANIPPE, with others. Agyd. Madam Zenocrate, may I presume

*Not] So the Svo.-The 4to "Nor." tin] So the 8vo.-The 4to "on."

Or spread, &c.] A word has dropt out from this line. § measur'd heaven] So the 8vo.-The 4to "measured the heaven."

pioners] The usual spelling of the word in our early writers (in Shakespeare, for instance).

Agyd. How can you fancy one that looks so

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 Pierides,
Or when Minerva did with Neptune strive:
And higher would I rear my estimate
Than Juno, sister to the highest god,
If I were match'd 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 Persia,
Being a shepherd, seem'd 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, and says nothing. Exeunt all except AGYDAS.

Agyd. Betray'd by fortune and suspicious love, Threaten'd with frowning wrath and jealousy, Surpris'd with fear of ¶ hideous revenge,

I stand aghast; but most astonièd
To see his choler shut in secret thoughts,
And wrapt in silence of his angry soul:
Upon his brows was pourtray'd ugly death;
And in his eyes the fury ** 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

*facts] i. e. deeds.

+ much] So the 8vo.-The 4to more." Pierides] i. e. The daughters of Pierus, who, having challenged the Muses to a trial of song, were overcome, and changed into magpies.

§ the young Arabian] Scil. Alcidamus; see p. 10, 1. 9, sec. col.

Fearing his love] i. e. Fearing with respect to his love. of] So the 4to.-The 8vo "and."

** Ofury] So the 4to.-The 8vo "furies."

tt shone] Old cds. "shine."

Against the terror of the winds and waves;
So fares Agydas for the late-felt frowns,
That send a tempest to my daunted thoughts,
And make my soul divine her overthrow.

Re-enter TECHELLES with a naked dagger, and 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 threaten'd 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, Removed 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.

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 Are punish'd with bastones so grievously

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 janizaries, Mounted on lusty Mauritanian steeds,

Brought to the war by men of Tripoly;

That they lie panting on the galleys' side,
And strive for life at every stroke they give.
These are the cruel pirates of Argier,
That damned 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

Two hundred thousand footmen that have serv'd That Tamburlaine set foot in Africa.

In two set battles fought in Græcia ;

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 janizars.

Tamb. But will those kings accompany your
lord?

Bas. Such as his highness please; but some must stay

To rule the provinces he late subdu'd.

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 Asia.

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 vanquish'd two
kings

More mighty than the Turkish emperor,
Shall rouse him out of Europe, and pursue
His scatter'd 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 assured hope
Of martial triumph ere he meet his foes.

Enter BAJAZETH, Bassoes, the KINGS OF FEZ, MOROCCO, and ARGIER; ZABINA and EBEA.

Baj. Bassoes and janizaries 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 emperess,
Whom I have brought to see their overthrow!
Tamb. By this my sword that conquer'd
Persia,

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

I that am term'd the scourge and wrath of God, Shall smile to see thy miserable state.

The only fear and terror of the world,

Will first subdue the Turk, and then enlarge

K. of Fez. What means the ** mighty Turkish emperor,

Those Christian captives which you keep as slaves, To talk with one so base as Tamburiaine

Burdening their bodies with your heavy chains,
And feeding them with thin and slender fare;
That naked row about the Terrenet sea,

And, when they chance to rest or breathe a
space,

set] So the Svo.-The 4to "seate." Terrene] i. e. Mediterranean.

to rest or breathe] So the 8vo.-The 4to "to breath and

rest."

*bastones] i. e. bastinadoes.

↑ they] So the 8vo.-Omitted in the 4to. Morocco) Here the old eds. "Moroccus,"-a barbarism which I have not retained, because previously, in the stage-direction at the commencement of this act, p. 19, they agree in reading "Morocco."

§ titles] So the 8vo.-The 4to "title." sarell] i.e. seraglio.

Tru] So the 8vo.-The 4to "I will." ** the] So the 8vo.-The 4to "this."

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The Works of Christopher Marlowe: With Some Account of the Author, and Notes ...