K. of Treb. May never day give virtue to his eyes,

Whose sight, compos'd of fury and of fire,
Doth send such stern affections to his heart!

K. of Sor. May never spirit, vein, or artier,* feed
The cursed substance of that cruel heart;
But, wanting moisture and remorseful + blood,
Dry up with anger, and consume with heat!

Tamb. Well, bark, ye dogs: I'll bridle all your

tongues,

And bind them close with bits of burnish'd steel,
Down to the channels of your hateful throats;
And, with the pains my rigour shall inflict,
I'll make ye roar, that earth may echo forth
The far-resounding torments ye sustain ;
As when an herd of lusty Cimbrian bulls
Run mourning round about the females' miss,‡
And, stung with fury of their following,
Fill all the air with troublous bellowing.
I will, with engines never exercis'd,
Conquer, sack, and utterly consume
Your cities and your golden palaces,

And, with the flames that beat against the clouds,
Incense the heavens, and make the stars to melt,
As if they were the tears of Mahomet
For hot consumption of his country's pride;
And, till by vision or by speech I hear
Immortal Jove say "Cease, my Tamburlaine,"
I will persist a terror to the world,
Making the meteors (that, like armèd men,
Are seen to march upon the towers of heaven)
Run tilting round about the firmament,
And break their burning lances in the air,
For honour of my wondrous victories.—
Come, bring them in to our pavilion.

[Exeunt.

Rather than yield to his detested suit,
Whose drift is only to dishonour thee;
And, since this earth, dew'd with thy brinish
tears,

Affords no herbs whose taste may poison thee,
Nor yet this air, beat often with thy sighs,
Contagious smells and vapours to infect thee,
Nor thy close cave a sword to murder thee,
Let this invention be the instrument.

Enter THERIDAMAS.

Ther. Well met, Olympia: I sought thee in my tent,

But, when I saw the place obscure and dark,
Which with thy beauty thou wast wont to light,
Enrag'd, I ran about the fields for thee,
Supposing amorous Jove had sent his son,
The winged Hermes, to convey thee hence;
But now I find thee, and that fear is past,
Tell me, Olympia, wilt thou grant my suit?
Olym. My lord and husband's death, with my
sweet son's,

(With whom I buried all affections
Save grief and sorrow, which torment my heart,)
Forbids my mind to entertain a thought
That tends to love, but meditate on death,
A fitter subject for a pensive soul.

Ther. Olympia, pity him in whom thy looks
Have greater operation and more force
Than Cynthia's in the watery wilderness;
For with thy view my joys are at the full,
And ebb again as thou depart'st from me.

Olym. Ah, pity me, my lord, and draw your sword,

Making a passage for my troubled soul,
Which beats against this prison to get out,
And meet my husband and my loving son!

Ther. Nothing but still thy husband and thy

son?

SCENE II.

Enter OLYMPIA.

Leave this, my love, and listen more to me: Thou shalt be stately queen of fair Argier;

And, cloth'd in costly cloth of massy gold,

Sit like to Venus in her chair of state, Commanding all thy princely eye desires; And I will cast off arms to sit with thee, Spending my life in sweet discourse of love.

*

Olym. No such discourse is pleasant in † mine

ears,

But that where every period ends with death, And every line begins with death again:

I cannot love, to be an emperess.

*to] So the 8vo. -The 4to "and." tin] So the Svo.-The 4to "to."

Making their fiery gait above the clouds,
Are not so honour'd in* their governor
As you, ye slaves, in mighty Tamburlaine.

The headstrong jades of Thrace Alcides tam'd,
That King Ægeus fed with human flesh,

Break through the hedges of their hateful mouths,

And pass their fixèd bounds exceedingly.

Tech. Nay, we will break the hedges of their mouths,

strengths,

Were not subdu'd with valour more divine
Than you by this unconquer'd arm of mine.
To make you fierce, and fit my appetite,
You shall be fed with flesh as raw as blood,
And drink in pails the strongest muscadel:
If you can live with it, then live, and draw
My chariot swifter than the racking † clouds;
If not, then die like beasts, and fit for naught
But perches for the black and fatal ravens.
Thus am I right the scourge of highest Jove;
And see the figure of my dignity,

By which I hold my name and majesty !
Amy. Let me have coach, my lord, that I
may ride,

And thus be drawn by § these two idle kings. Tamb. Thy youth forbids such ease, my kingly boy :

They shall to-morrow draw my chariot,

While these their fellow-kings may be refresh'd.

Orc. O thou that sway'st the region under earth,

And art a king as absolute as Jove,
Come as thou didst in fruitful Sicily,
Surveying all the glories of the land,
And as thou took'st the fair Proserpina,
Joying the fruit of Ceres' garden-plot ||,
For love, for honour, and to make her queen,
So, for just hate, for shame, and to subdue
This proud contemner of thy dreadful power,
Come once in fury, and survey his pride,
Haling him headlong to the lowest hell!

Ther. Your majesty must get some bits for these,

To bridle their contemptuous cursing tongues, That, like unruly never-broken jades,

Night, &c. 1594, sig. D 3): but, after all, it is only a translation;

"cum primum alto se gurgite tollunt Solis equi, lucemque elatis naribus efflant."

a. xii. 114 (Virgil being indebted to Ennius and Lucilius).

in] So the 8vo.-The 4to "as."

tracking) i.e. moving like smoke or vapour: see Richardson's Dict. in v.

I have coach] So the 8vo.-The 4to "haue a coach." by] So the 4to.-The 8vo "with."

garden-plot] So the 4to.-The 8vo "garded plot."

Usum. Your majesty already hath devis'd

A mean, as fit as may be, to restrain These coltish coach-horse tongues from blasphemy.

Cel. How like you that, sir king? why speak you not?

K. of Jer. Ah, cruel brat, sprung from a tyrant's loins!

How like his cursèd father he begins

To practice taunts and bitter tyrannies!
Tamb. Ay, Turk, I tell thee, this same + boy

is he

That must (advanc'd in higher pomp than this)
Rifle the kingdoms I shall leave unsack'd,
If Jove, esteeming me too good for earth,
Raise me, to match ‡ the fair Aldeboran,
Above § the threefold astracism of heaven,
Before I conquer all the triple world.—
Now fetch me out the Turkish concubines:
I will prefer them for the funeral
They have bestow'd on my abortive son.
[The Concubines are brought in.
Where are my common soldiers now, that fought
So lion-like upon Asphaltis' plains?
Soldiers. Here, my lord.

Tamb. Hold ye, tall || soldiers, take ye queens

a-piece,

I mean such queens as were kings' concubines; Take them; divide them, and their ¶ jewels too, And let them equally serve all your turns. Soldiers. We thank your majesty.

Tamb. Brawl not, I warn you, for your lechery; For every man that so offends shall die.

Orc. Injurious tyrant, wilt thou so defame The hateful fortunes of thy victory, To exercise upon such guiltless dames The violence of thy common soldiers' lust? Tamb. Live continent.** then, ye slaves, and meet not me

With troops of harlots at your slothful heels. Concubines. O, pity us, my lord, and save our honours !

colts] i.e. (with a quibble) colts'-teeth.

+ same] So the Svo.-Omitted in the 4t

t match] So the 8vo.-The 4to " maut repeatedly Above] So the 8vo.-The 4to " more than once I tall] i.e. bold, brave.

their] So the 4to.-Omitts King of Jerusalem, led ** continent] Old eds. "ce here a very imperfe

[The Soldiers run away with the Concubines.

K. of Jer. O, merciless, infernal cruelty! Tamb. Save your honours! 'twere but time indeed,

Lost long before ye knew what honour meant. Ther. It seems they meant to conquer us, my lord,

And make us jesting pageants for their trulls.

Tamb. And now themselves shall make our pageant,

Like to an almond-tree* y-mounted+ high
Upon the lofty and celestial mount
Of ever-green Selinus, quaintly deck'd
With blooms more white than Erycina's§ brows,||
Whose tender blossoms tremble every one

At every little breath that thorough heaven is blown.

Then in my coach, like Saturn's royal son
Mounted his shining chariot** gilt with fire,
And drawn with princely eagles through the
path

trulls.

Let them take pleasure soundly in their spoils, Till we prepare our march to Babylon,

Whither we next make expedition.

Tech. Let us not be idle, then, my lord,

But presently be prest+ to conquer it.

Tamb. We will, Techelles.-Forward, then, ye jades!

Now crouch, ye kings of greatest Asia,

And tremble, when ye hear this scourge will

come

That whips down cities and controlleth crowns, Adding their wealth and treasure to my store. The Euxine sea, north to Natolia ;

The Terrene, west; the Caspian, north north

east;

And on the south, Sinus Arabicus;
Shall all be loaden with the martial spoils
We will convey with us to Persia.
Then shall my native city Samarcanda,
And crystal waves of fresh Jaertis'|| stream,
The pride and beauty of her princely seat,
Be famous through the furthest¶ continents;
For there my palace royal shall be plac'd,
Whose shining turrets shall dismay the heavens,
And cast the fame of Ilion's tower to hell:

Thorough** the streets, with troops of conquer'd kings,

I'll ride in golden armour like the sun;
And in my helm a triple plume shall spring,
Spangled with diamonds, dancing in the air,

When all the gods stand gazing at his pomp,
So will I ride through Samarcanda-streets,
Until my soul, dissever'd from this flesh,
Shall mount the milk-white way, and meet him
there.

To Babylon, my lords, to Babylon!

[Exeunt.

* Like to an almond-tree, &c.] This simile is borrowed from Spenser's Faerie Queene, B. i. C. vii. st. 32; "Upon the top of all his loftie crest,

A bounch of heares discolourd diversly,
With sprincled pearle and gold full richly drest,
Did shake, and seemd to daunce for iollity;
Like to an almond tree ymounted hye

On top of greene Selinis all alone,

With blossoms brave bedecked daintily;
Whose tender locks do tremble every one

At everie little breath that under heaven is blowne." The first three books of The Faerie Queene were originally printed in 1590, the year in which the present play was first given to the press: but Spenser's poem, according to the fashion of the times, had doubtless been circulated in manuscript, and had obtained many readers, before its publication. In Abraham Fraunce's Arcadian Rhetorike, 1588, some lines of the Second Book of The Faerie Queene are accurately cited. And see my Acc. of Peele and his Writings, p. xxxiv, Works, ed. 1829.

ty-mounted] So both the old eds.-The modern editors print "mounted"; and the Editor of 1826 even remarks in a note, that the dramatist, "finding in the fifth line of Spenser's stanza the word 'y-mounted,' and, probably considering it to be too obsolete for the stage, dropped the initial letter, leaving only nine syllables and an unrythmical line"! ! ! In the First Part of this play (p. 23, first col.) we have,

"Their limbs more large and of a bigger size

Than all the brats y-sprung from Typhon's loins:" but we need not wonder that the Editor just cited did not recollect the passage, for he had printed, like his predecessor, "ere sprung."

↑ ever-green Selinus] Old eds. "euery greene Selinus” and "euerie greene," &c.—I may notice that one of the modern editors silently alters "Selinus" to (Spenser's) Selinis;" but, in fact, the former is the correct spelling.

§ Brycina's] Old eds. "Hericinas."

brows] So the 4to.-The 8vo "bowes."

breath that thorough heaven] So the 8vo.-The 4to "breath from heauen."

** chariot] Old eds. "chariots."

SCENE L

Enter the GOVERNOR OF BABYLON, MAXIMUS, and others, upon the walls.

Gov. What saith Maximus?

Max. My lord, the breach the enemy hath made

Gives such assurance of our overthrow,
That little hope is left to save our lives,

Or hold our city from the conqueror's hands.
Then hang out* flags, my lord, of humble truce,
And satisfy the people's general prayers,
That Tamburlaine's intolerable wrath
May be suppress'd by our submission.

Gov. Villain, respect'st thout more thy slavish life

Than honour of thy country or thy name?
Is not my life and state as dear to me,
The city and my native country's weal,
As any thing off price with thy conceit?
Have we not hope, for all our batter'd walls,
To live secure and keep his forces out,
When this our famous lake of Limnasphaltis
Makes walls a-fresh with every thing that falls
Into the liquid substance of his stream,
More strong than are the gates of death or hell?
What faintness should dismay our courages,
When we are thus defenc'd against our foe,
And have no terror but his threatening looks?

Enter, above, a Citizen, who kneels to the GOVERNOR, Cit. My lord, if ever you did deed of ruth, And now will work a refuge to our lives, Offer submission, hang up flags of truce, That Tamburlaine may pity our distress, And use us like a loving conqueror. Though this be held his last day's dreadful siege, Wherein he spareth neither man nor child, Yet are there Christians of Georgia here, Whose state he§ ever pitied and reliev'd, Will get his pardon, if your grace would send. Gov. How is my soul environed!

* out] Old eds. "our."

† respect'st thou] Old eds. "respects thou:" but afterwards, in this scene, the 8vo has, "Why send'st thou not," and "thou sit'st."

1 of] So the 8vo.-The 4to "in." he] So the 4to.-The 8vo "was." How, &c.] A mutilated line.

And this eterniz'd* city Babylon
Fill'd with a pack of faint-heart fugitives
That thus entreat their shame and servitude!

Enter, above, a Second Citizen.

Sec. Cit. My lord, if ever you will win our hearts,

Yield up the town, and+ save our wives and children;

For I will cast myself from off these walls,
Or die some death of quickest violence,
Before I bide the wrath of Tamburlaine.

Gov. Villains, cowards, traitors to our state!
Fall to the earth, and pierce the pit of hell,
That legions of tormenting spirits may vex
Your slavish bosoms with continual pains!
I care not, nor the town will never yield
As long as any life is in my breast.

Enter THERIDAMAS and TECHELLES, with Soldiers. Ther. Thou desperate governor of Babylon, To save thy life, and us a little labour, Yield speedily the city to our hands, Or else be sure thou shalt be forc'd with pains More exquisite than ever traitor felt.

Gov. Tyrant, I turn the traitor in thy throat, And will defend it in despite of thee.— Call up the soldiers to defend these walls. Tech. Yield, foolish governor; we offer more Than ever yet we did to such proud slaves As durst resist us till our third day's siege. Thou seest us prest‡ to give the last assault, And that shall bide no more regard of parle.§ Gov. Assault and spare not; we will never yield.

[Alarms: and they scale the walls.

Enter TAMBURLAINE, drawn in his chariot (as before) by the KINGS OF TREBIZON and SORIA; AMYRAS, CELEBINUS, USUMCASANE; ORCANES king of Natolia, and the KING OF JERUSALEM, led by Soldiers ; and others. Tamb. The stately buildings of fair Babylon, Whose lofty pillars, higher than the clouds,

* eterniz'd] So the 4to.-The 8vo "enternisde."
tand] So the 4to.-Omitted in the 8vo.
prest] i.e. ready.

§ parle] Here the old eds. "parlie" but repeatedly before they have "parle" (which is used more than once by Shakespeare).

Orcanes, king of Natolia, and the King of Jerusalem, led by soldiers] Old eds. (which have here a very imperfe