SCENE II.

TROY.

Priam's Palace.

Enter Priam, Hector, Troilus, Paris, and Helenus. Pri. After fo many hours, lives, fpeeches spent, Thus once again fays Neftor from the Greeks; Deliver Helen, and all damage elfe

As bonour, lofs of time, travel, expence,

Wounds, friends, and what else dear that is confum'd
In bot digeftion of this cormorant war,-

u

Shall be ftruck off:-Hector, what fay you to't?

Het. Though no man leffer fears the Greeks than I, As far as toucheth my particular, yet,

Dread Priam,

W

There is no lady of more fofter bowels,
More fpungy to fuck in the fenfe of fear,

More ready to cry out-Who knows what follows?
Than Hector is: * The wound of peace is furety,
Surety fecure; but modeft doubt is call'd
The beacon of the wife, the tent that searches
To the bottom of the worst. Let Helen go:
Since the first sword was drawn about this queftion,
Every tithe foul, 'mongst many thousand difmes,
Hath been as dear as Helen; I mean, of ours:
If we have loft fo many tenths of ours,

To guard a thing not ours; not worth to us,

" be firuck off :]-out of the account, fhall pass unnoticed.

* The wound of peace]-Upon the commencement of fecurity peace

receives a wound.

Y difmes,]-tenths,

Had

* Had it our name, the value of one ten; What merit's in that reason, which denies The yielding of her up?

Troi. Fie, fie, my brother!

Weigh you the worth and honour of a king,
So great as our dread father, in a scale

.

Of common ounces? will you with counters fum

The paft-proportion of his infinite?

And buckle-in a waist most fathomless,

With spans and inches so diminutive

As fears and reafons? fie, for godly shame!

Hel. No marvel, though you bite so sharp at reasons, You are fo empty of them. Should not our father Bear the great fway of his affairs with reasons, Because your speech hath none, that tells him fo?

Troi. You are for dreams and flumbers, brother priest, 'You fur your gloves with reason. Here are your reafons: You know, an enemy intends you harm; You know, a fword employ'd is perilous, And reafon flies the object of all harm: Who marvels then, when Helenus beholds A Grecian and his fword, if he do fet The very wings of reafon to his heels; And fly like chidden Mercury from Jove,

Or like a ftar dif-orb'd?-Nay, if we talk of reafon,. Let's shut our gates, and sleep: Manhood and honour Should have hare hearts, would they but fat their thoughts With this cramm'd reafon: reafon and respect

Make livers pale, and luftyhood deject.

2 Had it our name,]-Were fhe a Trojan.

* The pafl-proportion of bis infinite?]-That tranfcendent dignity to which no measure bears any proportion.

You fur your gloves with reafon.]-You love to keep yourfelf warm, luftybood-vigour, courage.

and out of danger.

Heft. Brother, fhe is not worth what fhe doth coft

The holding.

Troi. What is aught, but as 'tis valu'd?

Heft. But value dwells not in particular will;
It holds his eftimate and dignity

As well wherein 'tis precious of itself,
As in the prizer: 'tis mad idolatry,

To make the service greater than the god;
And the will dotes, that is inclinable

d

To what infectiously itself affects,

* Without fome image of the affected merit.
Troi. I take to-day a wife, and my election
Is led on in the conduct of my will;
My will enkindled by mine eyes and ears,
Two traded pilots 'twixt the dangerous fhores
Of will and judgment; How may I avoid,
Although my will diftafte what it elected,
The wife I chofe? there can be no evasion

To blench from this, and to ftand firm by honour: We turn not back the filks upon the merchant, When we have foil'd them; nor the remainder viands We do not throw in unrefpective fieve,

Because we now are full. It was thought meet,
Paris fhould do fome vengeance on the Greeks:
Your breath of full confent belly'd his fails;
The feas and winds (old wranglers) took a truce,
And did him fervice: he touch'd the ports defir'd;
And, for an old aunt, whom the Greeks held captive,
dinclinable]-attributive-attributes, does not find the qualities

which it affects.

Without fome image]-Unless the merit fo affected have fome foundation, be inherent in the object; without fome fhew of merit, whereon to ground affection.

To blench from this,]-To falfify our engagement.

In unrespective fieve,]-into the common voider; unrefpe&tive place, h for an old aunt,]-in exchange for Hefione, Priam's fifter, carried off by Hercules, and given to Telamon, by whom the bore Ajax.

He

He brought a Grecian queen, whose youth and freshness
Wrinkles Apollo's, and makes pale the morning.
Why keep we her? the Grecians keep our aunt:
Is the worth keeping? why, fhe is a pearl,
Whofe price hath launch'd above a thousand ships,
And turn'd crown'd kings to merchants.
If you'll avouch, 'twas wisdom Paris went,
(As you must needs, for you all cry'd-Go, go)
If you'll confefs, he brought home noble prize,
(As you must needs, for you all clapp'd your hands,
And cry'd-Ineftimable!) why do you now
The iffue of your proper wisdoms' rate;
And do a deed that fortune never did,
* Beggar the estimation which you priz'd
Richer than fea and land? O theft most base;
That we have stolen what we do fear to keep!
'Bafe thieves, unworthy of a thing so stolen,
That in their country did them that disgrace,
We fear to warrant in our native place!
Caf. [within] Cry, Trojans, cry!

Pri. What noife? what fhriek is this?

Troi. 'Tis our mad fifter, I do know her voice.
Caf. [within] Cry, Trojans !

Helt. It is Caffandra.

Enter Caffandra, raving.

Caf. Cry, Trojans, cry! lend me ten thousand eyes, And I will fill them with prophetic tears.

Het. Peace, fifter, peace.

Caf. Virgins and boys, mid-age and wrinkled elders,

Soft infancy, that nothing can't but cry,

one, whom fortune hath never dealt unkindly by, nor hitherto fhewn even a fingle flight.

1 But.

Add

Add to my clamours! let us pay betimes
A moiety of that mass of moan to come.
Cry, Trojans, cry! practise your eyes with tears!
Troy muft not be, nor goodly Ilion ftand!
Our "fire-brand brother, Paris, burns us all.
Cry, Trojans, cry! a Helen, and a woe :
Cry, cry! Troy burns, or else let Helen go.

[Exit. Helt. Now, youthful Troilus, do not these high strains Of divination in our sister work

Some touches of remorfe? or is

your

blood

So madly hot, that no difcourfe of reason,
Nor fear of bad fuccefs in a bad cause,
Can qualify the same ?

Troi. Why, brother Hector,

We may not think the justness of each act
Such and no other than event doth form it;
Nor once deject the courage of our minds,
Because Caffandra's mad; her brain- fick raptures
Cannot distaste the goodness of a quarrel,

n

Which hath our feveral honours all engag'd
To make it gracious. For my private part,
I am no more touch'd than all Priam's fons :
And Jove forbid, there fhould be done amongst us
Such things as would offend the weakest spleen
To fight for and maintain!

Par. Elfe might the world convince of levity
As well my undertakings, as your counfels :
But I atteft the gods, your full consent

Gave wings to my propenfion, and cut off

fire-brand brother,]-alluding to Hecuba's dream, when with child

of Paris, that he was delivered of a fire brand, which was conftrued to forebode the deftruction of Troy through his means.

n diftafte]-impair.

touch'd]-affected.

P the weakest Spleen]-the moft fcrupulous delicacy.

9 propenfion]-inclination.

All