Enter CALLAPINE, ORCANES, the KINGS OF JERUSALEM, TREBIZON,
and SORIA, with their train, ALMEDA, and a MESSENGER.
MESSENGER. Renowmed [155] emperor, mighty [156] Callapine,
God's great lieutenant over all the world,
Here at Aleppo, with an host of men,
Lies Tamburlaine, this king of Persia,
(In number more than are the [157] quivering leaves
Of Ida's forest, where your highness' hounds
With open cry pursue the wounded stag,)
Who means to girt Natolia's walls with siege,
Fire the town, and over-run the land.
CALLAPINE. My royal army is as great as his,
That, from the bounds of Phrygia to the sea
Which washeth Cyprus with his brinish waves,
Covers the hills, the valleys, and the plains.
Viceroys and peers of Turkey, play the men;
Whet all your [158] swords to mangle Tamburlaine,
His sons, his captains, and his followers:
By Mahomet, not one of them shall live!
The field wherein this battle shall be fought
For ever term'd [159] the Persians' sepulchre,
In memory of this our victory.
ORCANES. Now he that calls himself the [160] scourge of Jove,
The emperor of the world, and earthly god,
Shall end the warlike progress he intends,
And travel headlong to the lake of hell,
Where legions of devils (knowing he must die
Here in Natolia by your [161] highness' hands),
All brandishing their [162] brands of quenchless fire,
Stretching their monstrous paws, grin with [163] their teeth,
And guard the gates to entertain his soul.
CALLAPINE. Tell me, viceroys, the number of your men,
And what our army royal is esteem'd.
KING OF JERUSALEM. From Palestina and Jerusalem,
Of Hebrews three score thousand fighting men
Are come, since last we shew'd your [164] majesty.
ORCANES. So from Arabia Desert, and the bounds
Of that sweet land whose brave metropolis
Re-edified the fair Semiramis,
Came forty thousand warlike foot and horse,
Since last we number'd to your majesty.
KING OF TREBIZON. From Trebizon in Asia the Less,
Naturaliz'd Turks and stout Bithynians
Came to my bands, full fifty thousand more,
(That, fighting, know not what retreat doth mean,
Nor e'er return but with the victory,)
Since last we number'd to your majesty.
KING OF SORIA. Of Sorians [165] from Halla is repair'd, [166]
And neighbour cities of your highness' land, [167]
Ten thousand horse, and thirty thousand foot,
Since last we number'd to your majesty;
So that the army royal is esteem'd
Six hundred thousand valiant fighting men.
CALLAPINE. Then welcome, Tamburlaine, unto thy death!--
Come, puissant viceroys, let us to the field
(The Persians' sepulchre), and sacrifice
Mountains of breathless men to Mahomet,
Who now, with Jove, opens the firmament
To see the slaughter of our enemies.
Enter TAMBURLAINE with his three SONS, CALYPHAS, AMYRAS,
and CELEBINUS; USUMCASANE, and others.
TAMBURLAINE. How now, Casane! see, a knot of kings,
Sitting as if they were a-telling riddles!
USUMCASANE. My lord, your presence makes them pale and wan:
Poor souls, they look as if their deaths were near.
TAMBURLAINE. Why, so he [168] is, Casane; I am here:
But yet I'll save their lives, and make them slaves.--
Ye petty kings of Turkey, I am come,
As Hector did into the Grecian camp,
To overdare the pride of Graecia,
And set his warlike person to the view
Of fierce Achilles, rival of his fame:
I do you honour in the simile;
For, if I should, as Hector did Achilles,
(The worthiest knight that ever brandish'd sword,)
Challenge in combat any of you all,
I see how fearfully ye would refuse,
And fly my glove as from a scorpion.
ORCANES. Now, thou art fearful of thy army's strength,
Thou wouldst with overmatch of person fight:
But, shepherd's issue, base-born Tamburlaine,
Think of thy end; this sword shall lance thy throat.
TAMBURLAINE. Villain, the shepherd's issue (at whose birth
Heaven did afford a gracious aspect,
And join'd those stars that shall be opposite
Even till the dissolution of the world,
And never meant to make a conqueror
So famous as is [169] mighty Tamburlaine)
Shall so torment thee, and that Callapine,
That, like a roguish runaway, suborn'd
That villain there, that slave, that Turkish dog,
To false his service to his sovereign,
As ye shall curse the birth of Tamburlaine.
CALLAPINE. Rail not, proud Scythian: I shall now revenge
My father's vile abuses and mine own.
KING OF JERUSALEM. By Mahomet, he shall be tied in chains,
Rowing with Christians in a brigandine
About the Grecian isles to rob and spoil,
And turn him to his ancient trade again:
Methinks the slave should make a lusty thief.
CALLAPINE. Nay, when the battle ends, all we will meet,
And sit in council to invent some pain
That most may vex his body and his soul.
TAMBURLAINE. Sirrah Callapine, I'll hang a clog about
your neck for running away again: you shall not
trouble me thus to come and fetch you.--
But as for you, viceroy[s], you shall have bits,
And, harness'd [170] like my horses, draw my coach;
And, when ye stay, be lash'd with whips of wire:
I'll have you learn to feed on [171] provender,
And in a stable lie upon the planks.
ORCANES. But, Tamburlaine, first thou shalt [172] kneel to us,
And humbly crave a pardon for thy life.
KING OF TREBIZON. The common soldiers of our mighty host
Shall bring thee bound unto the [173] general's tent [.]
KING OF SORIA. And all have jointly sworn thy cruel death,
Or bind thee in eternal torments' wrath.
TAMBURLAINE. Well, sirs, diet yourselves; you know I
shall have occasion shortly to journey you.
CELEBINUS. See, father, how Almeda the jailor looks upon us!
TAMBURLAINE. Villain, traitor, damned fugitive,
I'll make thee wish the earth had swallow'd thee!
See'st thou not death within my wrathful looks?
Go, villain, cast thee headlong from a rock,
Or rip thy bowels, and rent [174] out thy heart,
T' appease my wrath; or else I'll torture thee,
Searing thy hateful flesh with burning irons
And drops of scalding lead, while all thy joints
Be rack'd and beat asunder with the wheel;
For, if thou liv'st, not any element
Shall shroud thee from the wrath of Tamburlaine.
CALLAPINE. Well, in despite of thee, he shall be king.--
Come, Almeda; receive this crown of me:
I here invest thee king of Ariadan,
Bordering on Mare Roso, near to Mecca.
ORCANES. What! take it, man.
ALMEDA. [to Tamb.] Good my lord, let me take it.
CALLAPINE. Dost thou ask him leave? here; take it.
TAMBURLAINE. Go to, sirrah! [175] take your crown, and make up
the half dozen. So, sirrah, now you are a king, you must give
arms. [176]
ORCANES. So he shall, and wear thy head in his scutcheon.
TAMBURLAINE. No; [177] let him hang a bunch of keys on his
standard, to put him in remembrance he was a jailor, that,
when I take him, I may knock out his brains with them,
and lock you in the stable, when you shall come sweating
from my chariot.
KING OF TREBIZON. Away! let us to the field, that the villain
may be slain.
TAMBURLAINE. Sirrah, prepare whips, and bring my chariot
to my tent; for, as soon as the battle is done, I'll ride
in triumph through the camp.
Enter THERIDAMAS, TECHELLES, and their train.
How now, ye petty kings? lo, here are bugs [178]
Will make the hair stand upright on your heads,
And cast your crowns in slavery at their feet!--
Welcome, Theridamas and Techelles, both:
See ye this rout, [179] and know ye this same king?
THERIDAMAS. Ay, my lord; he was Callapine's keeper.
TAMBURLAINE. Well, now ye see he is a king. Look to him,
Theridamas, when we are fighting, lest he hide his crown
as the foolish king of Persia did. [180]
KING OF SORIA. No, Tamburlaine; he shall not be put
to that exigent, I warrant thee.
TAMBURLAINE. You know not, sir.--
But now, my followers and my loving friends,
Fight as you ever did, like conquerors,
The glory of this happy day is yours.
My stern aspect [181] shall make fair Victory,
Hovering betwixt our armies, light on me,
Loaden with laurel-wreaths to crown us all.
TECHELLES. I smile to think how, when this field is fought
And rich Natolia ours, our men shall sweat
With carrying pearl and treasure on their backs.
TAMBURLAINE. You shall be princes all, immediately.--
Come, fight, ye Turks, or yield us victory.
ORCANES. No; we will meet thee, slavish Tamburlaine.
[Exeunt severally.]
ACT IV.
SCENE I.
Alarms within. AMYRAS and CELEBINUS issue from the tent
where CALYPHAS sits asleep. [182]
AMYRAS. Now in their glories shine the golden crowns
Of these proud Turks, much like so many suns
That half dismay the majesty of heaven.
Now, brother, follow we our father's sword,
That flies with fury swifter than our thoughts,
And cuts down armies with his conquering wings.
CELEBINUS. Call forth our lazy brother from the tent,
For, if my father miss him in the field,
Wrath, kindled in the furnace of his breast,
Will send a deadly lightning to his heart.
AMYRAS. Brother, ho! what, given so much to sleep,
You cannot [183] leave it, when our enemies' drums
And rattling cannons thunder in our ears
Our proper ruin and our father's foil?
CALYPHAS. Away, ye fools! my father needs not me,
Nor you, in faith, but that you will be thought
More childish-valourous than manly-wise.
If half our camp should sit and sleep with me,
My father were enough to scare [184] the foe:
You do dishonour to his majesty,
To think our helps will do him any good.
AMYRAS. What, dar'st thou, then, be absent from the fight,
Knowing my father hates thy cowardice,
And oft hath warn'd thee to be still in field,
When he himself amidst the thickest troops
Beats down our foes, to flesh our taintless swords?
CALYPHAS. I know, sir, what it is to kill a man;
It works remorse of conscience in me.
I take no pleasure to be murderous,
Nor care for blood when wine will quench my thirst.
CELEBINUS. O cowardly boy! fie, for shame, come forth!
Thou dost dishonour manhood and thy house.
CALYPHAS. Go, go, tall [185] stripling, fight you for us both,
And take my other toward brother here,
For person like to prove a second Mars.
'Twill please my mind as well to hear, both you [186]
Have won a heap of honour in the field,
And left your slender carcasses behind,
As if I lay with you for company.
AMYRAS. You will not go, then?
CALYPHAS. You say true.
AMYRAS. Were all the lofty mounts of Zona Mundi
That fill the midst of farthest Tartary
Turn'd into pearl and proffer'd for my stay,
I would not bide the fury of my father,
When, made a victor in these haughty arms,
He comes and finds his sons have had no shares
In all the honours he propos'd for us.
CALYPHAS. Take you the honour, I will take my ease;
My wisdom shall excuse my cowardice:
I go into the field before I need!
[Alarms within. AMYRAS and CELEBINUS run out.]
The bullets fly at random where they list;
And, should I [187] go, and kill a thousand men,
I were as soon rewarded with a shot,
And sooner far than he that never fights;
And, should I go, and do no harm nor good,
I might have harm, which all the good I have,
Join'd with my father's crown, would never cure.
I'll to cards.--Perdicas!
Enter PERDICAS.
PERDICAS. Here, my lord.
CALYPHAS.
Come, thou and I will go to cards to drive away the time.
PERDICAS. Content, my lord: but what shall we play for?
CALYPHAS. Who shall kiss the fairest of the Turks' concubines
first, when my father hath conquered them.
PERDICAS. Agreed, i'faith.
[They play.]
CALYPHAS. They say I am a coward, Perdicas, and I fear
as little their taratantaras, their swords, or their cannons
as I do a naked lady in a net of gold, and, for fear I should be
afraid, would put it off and come to bed with me.
PERDICAS. Such a fear, my lord, would never make ye retire.
CALYPHAS. I would my father would let me be put in the front
of such a battle once, to try my valour! [Alarms within.]
What a coil they keep! I believe there will be some hurt done
anon amongst them.
Enter TAMBURLAINE, THERIDAMAS, TECHELLES, USUMCASANE;
AMYRAS and CELEBINUS leading in ORCANES, and the KINGS
OF JERUSALEM, TREBIZON, and SORIA; and SOLDIERS.
TAMBURLAINE.
See now, ye [188] slaves, my children stoop your pride, [189]
And lead your bodies [190] sheep-like to the sword!--
Bring them, my boys, and tell me if the wars
Be not a life that may illustrate gods,
And tickle not your spirits with desire
Still to be train'd in arms and chivalry?
AMYRAS. Shall we let go these kings again, my lord,
To gather greater numbers 'gainst our power,
That they may say, it is not chance doth this,
But matchless strength and magnanimity?
TAMBURLAINE. No, no, Amyras; tempt not Fortune so:
Cherish thy valour still with fresh supplies,
And glut it not with stale and daunted foes.
But where's this coward villain, not my son,
But traitor to my name and majesty?
[He goes in and brings CALYPHAS out.]
Image of sloth, and picture of a slave,
The obloquy and scorn of my renown!
How may my heart, thus fired with mine [191] eyes,
Wounded with shame and kill'd with discontent,
Shroud any thought may [192] hold my striving hands
]From martial justice on thy wretched soul?
THERIDAMAS. Yet pardon him, I pray your majesty.
TECHELLES and USUMCASANE.
Let all of us entreat your highness' pardon.
TAMBURLAINE. Stand up, [193] ye base, unworthy soldiers!
Know ye not yet the argument of arms?
AMYRAS. Good my lord, let him be forgiven for once, [194]
And we will force him to the field hereafter.
TAMBURLAINE. Stand up, my boys, and I will teach ye arms,
And what the jealousy of wars must do.--
O Samarcanda, where I breathed first,
And joy'd the fire of this martial [195] flesh,
Blush, blush, fair city, at thine [196] honour's foil,
And shame of nature, which [197] Jaertis' [198] stream,
Embracing thee with deepest of his love,
Can never wash from thy distained brows!--
Here, Jove, receive his fainting soul again;
A form not meet to give that subject essence
Whose matter is the flesh of Tamburlaine,
Wherein an incorporeal [199] spirit moves,
Made of the mould whereof thyself consists,
Which makes me valiant, proud, ambitious,
Ready to levy power against thy throne,
That I might move the turning spheres of heaven;
For earth and all this airy region
Cannot contain the state of Tamburlaine.
[Stabs CALYPHAS.]
By Mahomet, thy mighty friend, I swear,
In sending to my issue such a soul,
Created of the massy dregs of earth,
The scum and tartar of the elements,
Wherein was neither courage, strength, or wit,
But folly, sloth, and damned idleness,
Thou hast procur'd a greater enemy
Than he that darted mountains at thy head,
Shaking the burden mighty Atlas bears,
Whereat thou trembling hidd'st thee in the air,
Cloth'd with a pitchy cloud for being seen.-- [200]
And now, ye canker'd curs of Asia,
That will not see the strength of Tamburlaine,
Although it shine as brightly as the sun,
Now you shall [201] feel the strength of Tamburlaine,
And, by the state of his supremacy,
Approve [202] the difference 'twixt himself and you.
ORCANES. Thou shew'st the difference 'twixt ourselves and thee,
In this thy barbarous damned tyranny.
KING OF JERUSALEM. Thy victories are grown so violent,
That shortly heaven, fill'd with the meteors
Of blood and fire thy tyrannies have made,
Will pour down blood and fire on thy head,
Whose scalding drops will pierce thy seething brains,
And, with our bloods, revenge our bloods [203] on thee.
TAMBURLAINE. Villains, these terrors, and these tyrannies
(If tyrannies war's justice ye repute),
I execute, enjoin'd me from above,
To scourge the pride of such as Heaven abhors;
Nor am I made arch-monarch of the world,
Crown'd and invested by the hand of Jove,
For deeds of bounty or nobility;
But, since I exercise a greater name,
The scourge of God and terror of the world,
I must apply myself to fit those terms,
In war, in blood, in death, in cruelty,
And plague such peasants [204] as resist in [205] me
The power of Heaven's eternal majesty.--
Theridamas, Techelles, and Casane, [206]
Ransack the tents and the pavilions
Of these proud Turks, and take their concubines,
Making them bury this effeminate brat;
For not a common soldier shall defile
His manly fingers with so faint a boy:
Then bring those Turkish harlots to my tent,
And I'll dispose them as it likes me best.--
Meanwhile, take him in.
SOLDIERS. We will, my lord.
[Exeunt with the body of CALYPHAS.]
KING OF JERUSALEM. O damned monster! nay, a fiend of hell,
Whose cruelties are not so harsh as thine,
Nor yet impos'd with such a bitter hate!
ORCANES. Revenge it, [207] Rhadamanth and Aeacus,
And let your hates, extended in his pains,
Excel [208] the hate wherewith he pains our souls!
KING OF TREBIZON. 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!
KING OF SORIA. May never spirit, vein, or artier, [209] feed
The cursed substance of that cruel heart;
But, wanting moisture and remorseful [210] blood,
Dry up with anger, and consume with heat!
TAMBURLAINE. 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, [211]
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 armed 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.]
SCENE II.
Enter OLYMPIA.
OLYMPIA. Distress'd Olympia, whose weeping eyes,
Since thy arrival here, behold [212] no sun,
But, clos'd within the compass of a [213] tent,
Have [214] stain'd thy cheeks, and made thee look like death,
Devise some means to rid thee of thy life,
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.
THERIDAMAS. 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?
OLYMPIA. 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.
THERIDAMAS. 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.
OLYMPIA. 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!
THERIDAMAS. Nothing but still thy husband and thy son?
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,
Upon the marble turrets of my court
Sit like to Venus in her chair of state,
Commanding all thy princely eye desires;
And I will cast off arms to [215] sit with thee,
Spending my life in sweet discourse of love.
OLYMPIA. No such discourse is pleasant in [216] mine ears,
But that where every period ends with death,
And every line begins with death again:
I cannot love, to be an emperess.
THERIDAMAS. Nay, lady, then, if nothing will prevail,
I'll use some other means to make you yield:
Such is the sudden fury of my love,
I must and will be pleas'd, and you shall yield:
Come to the tent again.
OLYMPIA. Stay now, my lord; and, will you [217] save my honour,
I'll give your grace a present of such price
As all the world can not afford the like.
THERIDAMAS. What is it?
OLYMPIA. An ointment which a cunning alchymist
Distilled from the purest balsamum
And simplest extracts of all minerals,
In which the essential form of marble stone,
Temper'd by science metaphysical,
And spells of magic from the mouths [218] of spirits,
With which if you but 'noint your tender skin,
Nor pistol, sword, nor lance, can pierce your flesh.
THERIDAMAS. Why, madam, think you to mock me thus palpably?
OLYMPIA. To prove it, I will 'noint my naked throat,
Which when you stab, look on your weapon's point,
And you shall see't rebated [219] with the blow.
THERIDAMAS. Why gave you not your husband some of it,
If you lov'd him, and it so precious?
OLYMPIA. My purpose was, my lord, to spend it so,
But was prevented by his sudden end;
And for a present easy proof thereof, [220]
That I dissemble not, try it on me.
THERIDAMAS. I will, Olympia, and will [221] keep it for
The richest present of this eastern world.
[She anoints her throat. [222]]
OLYMPIA. Now stab, my lord, and mark your weapon's point,
That will be blunted if the blow be great.
THERIDAMAS. Here, then, Olympia.--
[Stabs her.]
What, have I slain her? Villain, stab thyself!
Cut off this arm that at murdered my [223] love,
In whom the learned Rabbis of this age
Might find as many wondrous miracles
As in the theoria of the world!
Now hell is fairer than Elysium; [224]
A greater lamp than that bright eye of heaven,
]From whence the stars do borrow [225] all their light,
Wanders about the black circumference;
And now the damned souls are free from pain,
For every Fury gazeth on her looks;
Infernal Dis is courting of my love,
Inventing masks and stately shows for her,
Opening the doors of his rich treasury
To entertain this queen of chastity;
Whose body shall be tomb'd with all the pomp
The treasure of my [226] kingdom may afford.
[Exit with the body.]
SCENE III.
Enter TAMBURLAINE, drawn in his chariot by the KINGS OF
TREBIZON and SORIA, [227] with bits in their mouths,
reins in his [228] left hand, and in his right hand a whip
with which he scourgeth them; AMYRAS, CELEBINUS, TECHELLES,
THERIDAMAS, USUMCASANE; ORCANES king of Natolia, and the
KING OF JERUSALEM, led by five [229] or six common SOLDIERS;
and other SOLDIERS.
TAMBURLAINE. Holla, ye pamper'd jades of Asia! [230]
What, can ye draw but twenty miles a-day,
And have so proud a chariot at your heels,
And such a coachman as great Tamburlaine,
But from Asphaltis, where I conquer'd you,
To Byron here, where thus I honour you?
The horse that guide the golden eye of heaven,
And blow the morning from their nostrils, [231]
Making their fiery gait above the clouds,
Are not so honour'd in [232] their governor
As you, ye slaves, in mighty Tamburlaine.
The headstrong jades of Thrace Alcides tam'd,
That King Aegeus fed with human flesh,
And made so wanton that they knew their 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 [233] 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!
AMYRAS. Let me have coach, [234] my lord, that I may ride,
And thus be drawn by [235] these two idle kings.
TAMBURLAINE. Thy youth forbids such ease, my kingly boy:
They shall to-morrow draw my chariot,
While these their fellow-kings may be refresh'd.
ORCANES. 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, [236]
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!
THERIDAMAS. Your majesty must get some bits for these,
To bridle their contemptuous cursing tongues,
That, like unruly never-broken jades,
Break through the hedges of their hateful mouths,
And pass their fixed bounds exceedingly.
TECHELLES. Nay, we will break the hedges of their mouths,
And pull their kicking colts [237] out of their pastures.
USUMCASANE. Your majesty already hath devis'd
A mean, as fit as may be, to restrain
These coltish coach-horse tongues from blasphemy.
CELEBINUS. How like you that, sir king? why speak you not?
KING OF JERUSALEM. Ah, cruel brat, sprung from a tyrant's loins!
How like his cursed father he begins
To practice taunts and bitter tyrannies!
TAMBURLAINE. Ay, Turk, I tell thee, this same [238] 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 [239] the fair Aldeboran,
Above [240] 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.
TAMBURLAINE.
Hold ye, tall [241] soldiers, take ye queens a-piece,--
I mean such queens as were kings' concubines;
Take them; divide them, and their [242] jewels too,
And let them equally serve all your turns.
SOLDIERS. We thank your majesty.
TAMBURLAINE. Brawl not, I warn you, for your lechery;
For every man that so offends shall die.
ORCANES. 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?
TAMBURLAINE.
Live continent, [243] 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!
TAMBURLAINE. Are ye not gone, ye villains, with your spoils?
[The SOLDIERS run away with the CONCUBINES.]
KING OF JERUSALEM. O, merciless, infernal cruelty!
TAMBURLAINE. Save your honours! 'twere but time indeed,
Lost long before ye knew what honour meant.
THERIDAMAS. It seems they meant to conquer us, my lord,
And make us jesting pageants for their trulls.
TAMBURLAINE. And now themselves shall make our pageant,
And common soldiers jest [244] with all their trulls.
Let them take pleasure soundly in their spoils,
Till we prepare our march to Babylon,
Whither we next make expedition.
TECHELLES. Let us not be idle, then, my lord,
But presently be prest [245] to conquer it.
TAMBURLAINE. 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, [246] west; the Caspian, north northeast;
And on the south, Sinus Arabicus;
Shall all [247] 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' [248] stream,
The pride and beauty of her princely seat,
Be famous through the furthest [249] 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 [250] 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,
To note me emperor of the three-fold world;
Like to an almond-tree [251] y-mounted [252] high
Upon the lofty and celestial mount
Of ever-green Selinus, [253] quaintly deck'd
With blooms more white than Erycina's [254] brows, [255]
Whose tender blossoms tremble every one
At every little breath that thorough heaven [256] is blown.
Then in my coach, like Saturn's royal son
Mounted his shining chariot [257] gilt with fire,
And drawn with princely eagles through the path
Pav'd with bright crystal and enchas'd with stars,
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.]
ACT V.
SCENE I.
Enter the GOVERNOR OF BABYLON, MAXIMUS, and others, upon
the walls.
GOVERNOR. What saith Maximus?
MAXIMUS. 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 [258] 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.
GOVERNOR. Villain, respect'st thou [259] 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 of [260] 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.
CITIZEN. 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 [261] ever pitied and reliev'd,
Will get his pardon, if your grace would send.
GOVERNOR. How [262] is my soul environed!
And this eterniz'd [263] city Babylon
Fill'd with a pack of faint-heart fugitives
That thus entreat their shame and servitude!
Enter, above, a SECOND CITIZEN.
SECOND CITIZEN. My lord, if ever you will win our hearts,
Yield up the town, and [264] 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.
GOVERNOR. 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.
THERIDAMAS. 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.
GOVERNOR. Tyrant, I turn the traitor in thy throat,
And will defend it in despite of thee.--
Call up the soldiers to defend these walls.
TECHELLES. 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 [265] to give the last assault,
And that shall bide no more regard of parle. [266]
GOVERNOR. 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; [267] and others.
TAMBURLAINE. The stately buildings of fair Babylon,
Whose lofty pillars, higher than the clouds,
Were wont to guide the seaman in the deep,
Being carried thither by the cannon's force,
Now fill the mouth of Limnasphaltis' lake,
And make a bridge unto the batter'd walls.
Where Belus, Ninus, and great Alexander
Have rode in triumph, triumphs Tamburlaine,
Whose chariot-wheels have burst [268] th' Assyrians' bones,
Drawn with these kings on heaps of carcasses.
Now in the place, where fair Semiramis,
Courted by kings and peers of Asia,
Hath trod the measures, [269] do my soldiers march;
And in the streets, where brave Assyrian dames
Have rid in pomp like rich Saturnia,
With furious words and frowning visages
My horsemen brandish their unruly blades.
Re-enter THERIDAMAS and TECHELLES, bringing in the
GOVERNOR OF BABYLON.
Who have ye there, my lords?
THERIDAMAS. The sturdy governor of Babylon,
That made us all the labour for the town,
And us'd such slender reckoning of [270] your majesty.
TAMBURLAINE. Go, bind the villain; he shall hang in chains
Upon the ruins of this conquer'd town.--
Sirrah, the view of our vermilion tents
(Which threaten'd more than if the region
Next underneath the element of fire
Were full of comets and of blazing stars,
Whose flaming trains should reach down to the earth)
Could not affright you; no, nor I myself,
The wrathful messenger of mighty Jove,
That with his sword hath quail'd all earthly kings,
Could not persuade you to submission,
But still the ports [271] were shut: villain, I say,
Should I but touch the rusty gates of hell,
The triple-headed Cerberus would howl,
And make [272] black Jove to crouch and kneel to me;
But I have sent volleys of shot to you,
Yet could not enter till the breach was made.
GOVERNOR. Nor, if my body could have stopt the breach,
Shouldst thou have enter'd, cruel Tamburlaine.
'Tis not thy bloody tents can make me yield,
Nor yet thyself, the anger of the Highest;
For, though thy cannon shook the city-walls, [273]
My heart did never quake, or courage faint.
TAMBURLAINE. Well, now I'll make it quake.--Go draw him [274] up,
Hang him in [275] chains upon the city-walls,
And let my soldiers shoot the slave to death.
GOVERNOR. Vile monster, born of some infernal hag,
And sent from hell to tyrannize on earth,
Do all thy worst; nor death, nor Tamburlaine,
Torture, or pain, can daunt my dreadless mind.
TAMBURLAINE. Up with him, then! his body shall be scar'd. [276]
GOVERNOR. But, Tamburlaine, in Limnasphaltis' lake
There lies more gold than Babylon is worth,
Which, when the city was besieg'd, I hid:
Save but my life, and I will give it thee.
TAMBURLAINE.
Then, for all your valour, you would save your life?
Whereabout lies it?
GOVERNOR. Under a hollow bank, right opposite
Against the western gate of Babylon.
TAMBURLAINE. Go thither, some of you, and take his gold:--
[Exeunt some ATTENDANTS.]
The rest forward with execution.
Away with him hence, let him speak no more.--
I think I make your courage something quail.--
[Exeunt ATTENDANTS with the GOVERNOR or BABYLON.]
When this is done, we'll march from Babylon,
And make our greatest haste to Persia.
These jades are broken-winded and half-tir'd;
Unharness them, and let me have fresh horse.
[ATTENDANTS unharness the KINGS or TREBIZON and SORIA]
So; now their best is done to honour me,
Take them and hang them both up presently.
KING OF TREBIZON.
Vile [277] tyrant! barbarous bloody Tamburlaine!
TAMBURLAINE. Take them away, Theridamas; see them despatch'd.
THERIDAMAS. I will, my lord.
[Exit with the KINGS or TREBIZON and SORIA.]
TAMBURLAINE. Come, Asian viceroys; to your tasks a while,
And take such fortune as your fellows felt.
ORCANES. First let thy Scythian horse tear both our limbs,
Rather than we should draw thy chariot,
And, like base slaves, abject our princely minds
To vile and ignominious servitude.
KING OF JERUSALEM. Rather lend me thy weapon, Tamburlaine,
That I may sheathe it in this breast of mine.
A thousand deaths could not torment our hearts
More than the thought of this doth vex our souls.
AMYRAS.
They will talk still, my lord, if you do not bridle them.
TAMBURLAINE. Bridle them, and let me to my coach.
[ATTENDANTS bridle ORCANES king of Natolia, and the
KING OF JERUSALEM, and harness them to the chariot.--
The GOVERNOR OF BABYLON appears hanging in chains
on the walls.--Re-enter THERIDAMAS.]
AMYRAS. See, now, my lord, how brave the captain hangs!
TAMBURLAINE. 'Tis brave indeed, my boy:--well done!--
Shoot first, my lord, and then the rest shall follow.
THERIDAMAS. Then have at him, to begin withal.
[THERIDAMAS shoots at the GOVERNOR.]
GOVERNOR. Yet save my life, and let this wound appease
The mortal fury of great Tamburlaine!
TAMBURLAINE. No, though Asphaltis' lake were liquid gold,
And offer'd me as ransom for thy life,
Yet shouldst thou die.--Shoot at him all at once.
[They shoot.]
So, now he hangs like Bagdet's [278] governor,
Having as many bullets in his flesh
As there be breaches in her batter'd wall.
Go now, and bind the burghers hand and foot,
And cast them headlong in the city's lake.
Tartars and Persians shall inhabit there;
And, to command the city, I will build
A citadel, [279] that all Africa,
Which hath been subject to the Persian king,
Shall pay me tribute for in Babylon.
TECHELLES.
What shall be done with their wives and children, my lord?
TAMBURLAINE. Techelles, drown them all, man, woman, and child;
Leave not a Babylonian in the town.
TECHELLES. I will about it straight.--Come, soldiers.
[Exit with SOLDIERS.]
TAMBURLAINE. Now, Casane, where's the Turkish Alcoran,
And all the heaps of superstitious books
Found in the temples of that Mahomet
Whom I have thought a god? they shall be burnt.
USUMCASANE. Here they are, my lord.
TAMBURLAINE. Well said! [280] let there be a fire presently.
[They light a fire.]
In vain, I see, men worship Mahomet:
My sword hath sent millions of Turks to hell,
Slew all his priests, his kinsmen, and his friends,
And yet I live untouch'd by Mahomet.
There is a God, full of revenging wrath,
]From whom the thunder and the lightning breaks,
Whose scourge I am, and him will I [281] obey.
So, Casane; fling them in the fire.--
[They burn the books.]
Now, Mahomet, if thou have any power,
Come down thyself and work a miracle:
Thou art not worthy to be worshipped
That suffer'st [282] flames of fire to burn the writ
Wherein the sum of thy religion rests:
Why send'st [283] thou not a furious whirlwind down,
To blow thy Alcoran up to thy throne,
Where men report thou sitt'st [284] by God himself?
Or vengeance on the head [285] of Tamburlaine
That shakes his sword against thy majesty,
And spurns the abstracts of thy foolish laws?--
Well, soldiers, Mahomet remains in hell;
He cannot hear the voice of Tamburlaine:
Seek out another godhead to adore;
The God that sits in heaven, if any god,
For he is God alone, and none but he.
Re-enter TECHELLES.
TECHELLES. I have fulfill'd your highness' will, my lord:
Thousands of men, drown'd in Asphaltis' lake,
Have made the water swell above the banks,
And fishes, fed [286] by human carcasses,
Amaz'd, swim up and down upon [287] the waves,
As when they swallow assafoetida,
Which makes them fleet [288] aloft and gape [289] for air.
TAMBURLAINE. Well, then, my friendly lords, what now remains,
But that we leave sufficient garrison,
And presently depart to Persia,
To triumph after all our victories?
THERIDAMAS. Ay, good my lord, let us in [290] haste to Persia;
And let this captain be remov'd the walls
To some high hill about the city here.
TAMBURLAINE. Let it be so;--about it, soldiers;--
But stay; I feel myself distemper'd suddenly.
TECHELLES. What is it dares distemper Tamburlaine?
TAMBURLAINE. Something, Techelles; but I know not what.--
But, forth, ye vassals! [291] whatsoe'er [292] it be,
Sickness or death can never conquer me.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE II.
Enter CALLAPINE, KING OF AMASIA, a CAPTAIN, and train,
with drums and trumpets.
CALLAPINE. King of Amasia, now our mighty host
Marcheth in Asia Major, where the streams
Of Euphrates [293] and Tigris swiftly run;
And here may we [294] behold great Babylon,
Circled about with Limnasphaltis' lake,
Where Tamburlaine with all his army lies,
Which being faint and weary with the siege,
We may lie ready to encounter him
Before his host be full from Babylon,
And so revenge our latest grievous loss,
If God or Mahomet send any aid.
KING OF AMASIA. Doubt not, my lord, but we shall conquer him:
The monster that hath drunk a sea of blood,
And yet gapes still for more to quench his thirst,
Our Turkish swords shall headlong send to hell;
And that vile carcass, drawn by warlike kings,
The fowls shall eat; for never sepulchre
Shall grace this [295] base-born tyrant Tamburlaine.
CALLAPINE. When I record [296] my parents' slavish life,
Their cruel death, mine own captivity,
My viceroys' bondage under Tamburlaine,
Methinks I could sustain a thousand deaths,
To be reveng'd of all his villany.--
Ah, sacred Mahomet, thou that hast seen
Millions of Turks perish by Tamburlaine,
Kingdoms made waste, brave cities sack'd and burnt,
And but one host is left to honour thee,
Aid [297] thy obedient servant Callapine,
And make him, after all these overthrows,
To triumph over cursed Tamburlaine!
KING OF AMASIA. Fear not, my lord: I see great Mahomet,
Clothed in purple clouds, and on his head
A chaplet brighter than Apollo's crown,
Marching about the air with armed men,
To join with you against this Tamburlaine.
CAPTAIN. Renowmed [298] general, mighty Callapine,
Though God himself and holy Mahomet
Should come in person to resist your power,
Yet might your mighty host encounter all,
And pull proud Tamburlaine upon his knees
To sue for mercy at your highness' feet.
CALLAPINE. Captain, the force of Tamburlaine is great,
His fortune greater, and the victories
Wherewith he hath so sore dismay'd the world
Are greatest to discourage all our drifts;
Yet, when the pride of Cynthia is at full,
She wanes again; and so shall his, I hope;
For we have here the chief selected men
Of twenty several kingdoms at the least;
Nor ploughman, priest, nor merchant, stays at home;
All Turkey is in arms with Callapine;
And never will we sunder camps and arms
Before himself or his be conquered:
This is the time that must eternize me
For conquering the tyrant of the world.
Come, soldiers, let us lie in wait for him,
And, if we find him absent from his camp,
Or that it be rejoin'd again at full,
Assail it, and be sure of victory.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE III.
Enter THERIDAMAS, TECHELLES, and USUMCASANE.
THERIDAMAS. Weep, heavens, and vanish into liquid tears!
Fall, stars that govern his nativity,
And summon all the shining lamps of heaven
To cast their bootless fires to the earth,
And shed their feeble influence in the air;
Muffle your beauties with eternal clouds;
For Hell and Darkness pitch their pitchy tents,
And Death, with armies of Cimmerian spirits,
Gives battle 'gainst the heart of Tamburlaine!
Now, in defiance of that wonted love
Your sacred virtues pour'd upon his throne,
And made his state an honour to the heavens,
These cowards invisibly [299] assail his soul,
And threaten conquest on our sovereign;
But, if he die, your glories are disgrac'd,
Earth droops, and says that hell in heaven is plac'd!
TECHELLES. O, then, ye powers that sway eternal seats,
And guide this massy substance of the earth,
If you retain desert of holiness,
As your supreme estates instruct our thoughts,
Be not inconstant, careless of your fame,
Bear not the burden of your enemies' joys,
Triumphing in his fall whom you advanc'd;
But, as his birth, life, health, and majesty
Were strangely blest and governed by heaven,
So honour, heaven, (till heaven dissolved be,)
His birth, his life, his health, and majesty!
USUMCASANE. Blush, heaven, to lose the honour of thy name,
To see thy footstool set upon thy head;
And let no baseness in thy haughty breast
Sustain a shame of such inexcellence, [300]
To see the devils mount in angels' thrones,
And angels dive into the pools of hell!
And, though they think their painful date is out,
And that their power is puissant as Jove's,
Which makes them manage arms against thy state,
Yet make them feel the strength of Tamburlaine
(Thy instrument and note of majesty)
Is greater far than they can thus subdue;
For, if he die, thy glory is disgrac'd,
Earth droops, and says that hell in heaven is plac'd!
Enter TAMBURLAINE, [301] drawn in his chariot (as before)
by ORCANES king of Natolia, and the KING OF JERUSALEM,
AMYRAS, CELEBINUS, and Physicians.
TAMBURLAINE. What daring god torments my body thus,
And seeks to conquer mighty Tamburlaine?
Shall sickness prove me now to be a man,
That have been term'd the terror of the world?
Techelles and the rest, come, take your swords,
And threaten him whose hand afflicts my soul:
Come, let us march against the powers of heaven,
And set black streamers in the firmament,
To signify the slaughter of the gods.
Ah, friends, what shall I do? I cannot stand.
Come, carry me to war against the gods,
That thus envy the health of Tamburlaine.
THERIDAMAS. Ah, good my lord, leave these impatient words,
Which add much danger to your malady!
TAMBURLAINE. Why, shall I sit and languish in this pain?
No, strike the drums, and, in revenge of this,
Come, let us charge our spears, and pierce his breast
Whose shoulders bear the axis of the world,
That, if I perish, heaven and earth may fade.
Theridamas, haste to the court of Jove;
Will him to send Apollo hither straight,
To cure me, or I'll fetch him down myself.
TECHELLES.
Sit still, my gracious lord; this grief will cease, [302]
And cannot last, it is so violent.
TAMBURLAINE. Not last, Techelles! no, for I shall die.
See, where my slave, the ugly monster Death,
Shaking and quivering, pale and wan for fear,
Stands aiming at me with his murdering dart,
Who flies away at every glance I give,
And, when I look away, comes stealing on!--
Villain, away, and hie thee to the field!
I and mine army come to load thy back
With souls of thousand mangled carcasses.--
Look, where he goes! but, see, he comes again,
Because I stay! Techelles, let us march,
And weary Death with bearing souls to hell.
FIRST PHYSICIAN. Pleaseth your majesty to drink this potion,
Which will abate the fury of your fit,
And cause some milder spirits govern you.
TAMBURLAINE. Tell me what think you of my sickness now?
FIRST PHYSICIAN. I view'd your urine, and the hypostasis, [303]
Thick and obscure, doth make your danger great:
Your veins are full of accidental heat,
Whereby the moisture of your blood is dried:
The humidum and calor, which some hold
Is not a parcel of the elements,
But of a substance more divine and pure,
Is almost clean extinguished and spent;
Which, being the cause of life, imports your death:
Besides, my lord, this day is critical,
Dangerous to those whose crisis is as yours:
Your artiers, [304] which alongst the veins convey
The lively spirits which the heart engenders,
Are parch'd and void of spirit, that the soul,
Wanting those organons by which it moves,
Cannot endure, by argument of art.
Yet, if your majesty may escape this day,
No doubt but you shall soon recover all.
TAMBURLAINE. Then will I comfort all my vital parts,
And live, in spite of death, above a day.
[Alarms within.]
Enter a Messenger.
MESSENGER. My lord, young Callapine, that lately fled
from your majesty, hath now gathered a fresh army, and,
hearing your absence in the field, offers to set upon [305] us
presently.
TAMBURLAINE. See, my physicians, now, how Jove hath sent
A present medicine to recure my pain!
My looks shall make them fly; and, might I follow,
There should not one of all the villain's power
Live to give offer of another fight.
USUMCASANE. I joy, my lord, your highness is so strong,
That can endure so well your royal presence,
Which only will dismay the enemy.
TAMBURLAINE. I know it will, Casane.--Draw, you slaves!
In spite of death, I will go shew my face.
[Alarms. Exit TAMBURLAINE with all the rest (except the
PHYSICIANS), and re-enter presently.]
TAMBURLAINE. Thus are the villain cowards [306] fled for fear,
Like summer's vapours vanish'd by the sun;
And, could I but a while pursue the field,
That Callapine should be my slave again.
But I perceive my martial strength is spent:
In vain I strive and rail against those powers
That mean t' invest me in a higher throne,
As much too high for this disdainful earth.
Give me a map; then let me see how much
Is left for me to conquer all the world,
That these, my boys, may finish all my wants.
[One brings a map.]
Here I began to march towards Persia,
Along Armenia and the Caspian Sea,
And thence unto [307] Bithynia, where I took
The Turk and his great empress prisoners.
Then march'd I into Egypt and Arabia;
And here, not far from Alexandria,
Whereas [308] the Terrene [309] and the Red Sea meet,
Being distant less than full a hundred leagues,
I meant to cut a channel to them both,
That men might quickly sail to India.
]From thence to Nubia near Borno-lake,
And so along the Aethiopian sea,
Cutting the tropic line of Capricorn,
I conquer'd all as far as Zanzibar.
Then, by the northern part of Africa,
I came at last to Graecia, and from thence
To Asia, where I stay against my will;
Which is from Scythia, where I first began, [310]
Backward[s] and forwards near five thousand leagues.
Look here, my boys; see, what a world of ground
Lies westward from the midst of Cancer's line
Unto the rising of this [311] earthly globe,
Whereas the sun, declining from our sight,
Begins the day with our Antipodes!
And shall I die, and this unconquered?
Lo, here, my sons, are all the golden mines,
Inestimable drugs and precious stones,
More worth than Asia and the world beside;
And from th' Antarctic Pole eastward behold
As much more land, which never was descried,
Wherein are rocks of pearl that shine as bright
As all the lamps that beautify the sky!
And shall I die, and this unconquered?
Here, lovely boys; what death forbids my life,
That let your lives command in spite of death.
AMYRAS. Alas, my lord, how should our bleeding hearts,
Wounded and broken with your highness' grief,
Retain a thought of joy or spark of life?
Your soul gives essence to our wretched subjects, [312]
Whose matter is incorporate in your flesh.
CELEBINUS. Your pains do pierce our souls; no hope survives,
For by your life we entertain our lives.
TAMBURLAINE. But, sons, this subject, not of force enough
To hold the fiery spirit it contains,
Must part, imparting his impressions
By equal portions into [313] both your breasts;
My flesh, divided in your precious shapes,
Shall still retain my spirit, though I die,
And live in all your seeds [314] immortally.--
Then now remove me, that I may resign
My place and proper title to my son.--
First, take my scourge and my imperial crown,
And mount my royal chariot of estate,
That I may see thee crown'd before I die.--
Help me, my lords, to make my last remove.
[They assist TAMBURLAINE to descend from the chariot.]
THERIDAMAS. A woful change, my lord, that daunts our thoughts
More than the ruin of our proper souls!
TAMBURLAINE. Sit up, my son, [and] let me see how well
Thou wilt become thy father's majesty.
AMYRAS. With what a flinty bosom should I joy
The breath of life and burden of my soul,
If not resolv'd into resolved pains,
My body's mortified lineaments [315]
Should exercise the motions of my heart,
Pierc'd with the joy of any dignity!
O father, if the unrelenting ears
Of Death and Hell be shut against my prayers,
And that the spiteful influence of Heaven
Deny my soul fruition of her joy,
How should I step, or stir my hateful feet
Against the inward powers of my heart,
Leading a life that only strives to die,
And plead in vain unpleasing sovereignty!
TAMBURLAINE. Let not thy love exceed thine honour, son,
Nor bar thy mind that magnanimity
That nobly must admit necessity.
Sit up, my boy, and with these [316] silken reins
Bridle the steeled stomachs of these [317] jades.
THERIDAMAS. My lord, you must obey his majesty,
Since fate commands and proud necessity.
AMYRAS. Heavens witness me with what a broken heart
[Mounting the chariot.]
And damned [318] spirit I ascend this seat,
And send my soul, before my father die,
His anguish and his burning agony!
[They crown AMYRAS.]
TAMBURLAINE. Now fetch the hearse of fair Zenocrate;
Let it be plac'd by this my fatal chair,
And serve as parcel of my funeral.
USUMCASANE. Then feels your majesty no sovereign ease,
Nor may our hearts, all drown'd in tears of blood,
Joy any hope of your recovery?
TAMBURLAINE. Casane, no; the monarch of the earth,
And eyeless monster that torments my soul,
Cannot behold the tears ye shed for me,
And therefore still augments his cruelty.
TECHELLES. Then let some god oppose his holy power
Against the wrath and tyranny of Death,
That his tear-thirsty and unquenched hate
May be upon himself reverberate!
[They bring in the hearse of ZENOCRATE.]
TAMBURLAINE. Now, eyes, enjoy your latest benefit,
And, when my soul hath virtue of your sight,
Pierce through the coffin and the sheet of gold,
And glut your longings with a heaven of joy.
So, reign, my son; scourge and control those slaves,
Guiding thy chariot with thy father's hand.
As precious is the charge thou undertak'st
As that which Clymene's [319] brain-sick son did guide,
When wandering Phoebe's [320] ivory cheeks were scorch'd,
And all the earth, like Aetna, breathing fire:
Be warn'd by him, then; learn with awful eye
To sway a throne as dangerous as his;
For, if thy body thrive not full of thoughts
As pure and fiery as Phyteus' [321] beams,
The nature of these proud rebelling jades
Will take occasion by the slenderest hair,
And draw thee [322] piecemeal, like Hippolytus,
Through rocks more steep and sharp than Caspian cliffs: [323]
The nature of thy chariot will not bear
A guide of baser temper than myself,
More than heaven's coach the pride of Phaeton.
Farewell, my boys! my dearest friends, farewell!
My body feels, my soul doth weep to see
Your sweet desires depriv'd my company,
For Tamburlaine, the scourge of God, must die.
[Dies.]
AMYRAS. Meet heaven and earth, and here let all things end,
For earth hath spent the pride of all her fruit,
And heaven consum'd his choicest living fire!
Let earth and heaven his timeless death deplore,
For both their worths will equal him no more!
[Exeunt.]
NOTES:
[a] [From THE FIRST PART OF TAMBURLAINE THE GREAT]
Tamburlaine the Great. Who, from a Scythian Shephearde
by his rare and woonderfull Conquests, became a most
puissant and mightye Monarque. And (for his tyranny,
and terrour in Warre) was tearmed, The Scourge of God.
Deuided into two Tragicall Discourses, as they were
sundrie times shewed vpon Stages in the Citie of London.
By the right honorable the Lord Admyrall, his seruauntes.
Now first, and newlie published. London. Printed by
Richard Ihones: at the signe of the Rose and Crowne
neere Holborne Bridge. 1590. 4to.
The above title-page is pasted into a copy of the FIRST PART OF
TAMBURLAINE in the Library at Bridge-water House; which copy,
excepting that title-page and the Address to the Readers, is the
impression of 1605. I once supposed that the title-pages which
bear the dates 1605 and 1606 (see below) had been added to the
4tos of the TWO PARTS of the play originally printed in 1590;
but I am now convinced that both PARTS were really reprinted,
THE FIRST PART in 1605, and THE SECOND PART in 1606, and that
nothing remains of the earlier 4tos, except the title-page and
the Address to the Readers, which are preserved in the
Bridgewater collection.
In the Bodleian Library, Oxford, is an 8vo edition of both PARTS
OF TAMBURLAINE, dated 1590: the title-page of THE FIRST PART
agrees verbatim with that given above; the half-title-page of
THE SECOND PART is as follows;
The Second Part of The bloody Conquests of mighty
Tamburlaine. With his impassionate fury, for the death
of his Lady and loue faire Zenocrate; his fourme of
exhortacion and discipline to his three sons, and the
maner of his own death.
In the Garrick Collection, British Museum, is an 8vo edition of
both PARTS dated 1592: the title-page of THE FIRST PART runs thus;
Tamburlaine the Great. Who, from a Scythian Shepheard,
by his rare and wonderfull Conquestes, became a most
puissant and mightie Mornarch [sic]: And (for his
tyrannie, and terrour in warre) was tearmed, The Scourge
of God. The first part of the two Tragicall discourses,
as they were sundrie times most stately shewed vpon
Stages in the Citie of London. By the right honorable
the Lord Admirall, his seruauntes. Now newly published.
Printed by Richard Iones, dwelling at the signe of the
Rose and Crowne neere Holborne Bridge.
The half-title-page of THE SECOND PART agrees exactly with that
already given. Perhaps the 8vo at Oxford and that in the British
Museum (for I have not had an opportunity of comparing them) are
the same impression, differing only in the title-pages.
Langbaine (ACCOUNT OF ENGL. DRAM. POETS, p. 344) mentions an 8vo
dated 1593.
The title-pages of the latest impressions of THE TWO PARTS are
as follows;
Tamburlaine the Greate. Who, from the state of a
Shepheard in Scythia, by his rare and wonderfull
Conquests, became a most puissant and mighty Monarque.
London Printed for Edward White, and are to be solde
at the little North doore of Saint Paules-Church, at
the signe of the Gunne, 1605. 4to.
Tamburlaine the Greate. With his impassionate furie,
for the death of his Lady and Loue fair Zenocrate: his
forme of exhortation and discipline to his three Sonnes,
and the manner of his owne death. The second part.
London Printed by E. A. for Ed. White, and are to be
solde at his Shop neere the little North doore of Saint
Paules Church at the Signe of the Gun. 1606. 4to.
The text of the present edition is given from the 8vo of 1592,
collated with the 4tos of 1605-6.]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: the] So the 4to.--The 8vo "our."]
[Footnote 2: triumphs] So the 8vo.--The 4to "triumph."]
[Footnote 3: sad] Old eds. "said."]
[Footnote 4: Uribassa] In this scene, but only here, the old eds. have
"Upibassa."]
[Footnote 5: Almains, Rutters] RUTTERS are properly--German troopers,
(REITER, REUTER). In the third speech after the present one
this line is repeated VERBATIM: but in the first scene of
our author's FAUSTUS we have,--
"Like ALMAIN RUTTERS with their horsemen's staves."]
[Footnote 6: ORCANES.] Omitted in the old eds.]
[Footnote 7: hugy] i.e. huge.]
[Footnote 8: cut the] So the 8vo.--The 4to "out of."]
[Footnote 9: champion] i.e. champaign.]
[Footnote 10: Terrene] i.e. Mediterranean (but the Danube falls into the
Black Sea.)]
[Footnote 11: Cairo] Old eds. "Cairon:" but they are not consistent in
the spelling of this name; afterwards (p. 45, sec. col.) [See
note 29.] they have "Cario."]
[Footnote 12: Fear] i.e. frighten.]
[Footnote 13: Sorians] So the 4to.--Here the 8vo has "Syrians"; but
elsewhere in this SEC. PART of the play it agrees with the 4to
in having "Sorians," and "Soria" (which occurs repeatedly,--the
King of SORIA being one of the characters).--Compare Jonson's
FOX, act iv. sc. 1;
"whether a ship,
Newly arriv'd from SORIA, or from
Any suspected part of all the Levant,
Be guilty of the plague," &c.
On which passage Whalley remarks; "The city Tyre, from whence
the whole country had its name, was anciently called ZUR or ZOR;
since the Arabs erected their empire in the East, it has been
again called SOR, and is at this day known by no other name in
those parts. Hence the Italians formed their SORIA."]
[Footnote 14: black] So the 8vo.--The 4to "AND black."]
[Footnote 15: Egyptians,
Illyrians, Thracians, and Bithynians] So the 8vo (except
that by a misprint it gives "Illicians").--
The 4to has,--
"Egyptians,
FREDERICK. And we from Europe to the same intent
Illirians, Thracians, and Bithynians";
a line which belongs to a later part of the scene (see next
col.) being unaccountably inserted here. (See note 21.)]
[Footnote 16: plage] i.e. region. So the 8vo.--The 4to "Place."]
[Footnote 17: viceroy] So the 8vo.--The 4to "Vice-royes."]
[Footnote 18: Boheme] i.e. Bohemia.]
[Footnote 19: Bagdet's] So the 8vo in act v. sc. 1. Here it has
"Badgeths": the 4to "Baieths."]
[Footnote 20: parle] So the 8vo.--Here the 4to "parley," but before,
repeatedly, "parle."]
[Footnote 21: FREDERICK. And we from Europe, to the same intent]
So the 8vo.--The 4to, which gives this line in an earlier part
of the scene (see note §, preceding col.), [i.e. note 15]
omits it here.]
[Footnote 22: stand] So the 8vo.--The 4to "are."]
[Footnote 23: prest] i.e. ready.]
[Footnote 24: or] So the 8vo.--The 4to "and."]
[Footnote 25: conditions] So the 4to.--The 8vo "condition."]
[Footnote 26: Confirm'd] So the 4to.--The 8vo "Confirme."]
[Footnote 27: by] So the 8vo.--The 4to "with."]
[Footnote 28: renowmed] See note ||, p. 11. (Here the old eds. agree.)
[Note ||, from p. 11. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
"renowmed] i.e. renowned.--So the 8vo.--The 4to
"renowned."--The form "RENOWMED" (Fr. renomme) occurs
repeatedly afterwards in this play, according to the 8vo.
It is occasionally found in writers posterior to Marlowe's
time. e.g.
"Of Constantines great towne RENOUM'D in vaine."
Verses to King James, prefixed to Lord Stirling's
MONARCHICKE TRAGEDIES, ed. 1607.]
[Footnote 29: Cairo] Old eds. "Cario." See note ¶, p. 43. (i.e. note
11.)]
[Footnote 30: stream] Old eds. "streames."]
[Footnote 31: at] So the 4to.--The 8vo "an."]
[Footnote 32: Terrene] i.e. Mediterranean.]
[Footnote 33: Where] Altered by the modern editors to "Whence,"--an
alteration made by one of them also in a speech at p. 48, sec.
col., [see note 57: which may be compared with the present
one,--
"Therefore I took my course to Manico,
WHERE, unresisted, I remov'd my camp;
And, by the coast," &c.]
[Footnote 34: from] So the 4to.--The 8vo "to."]
[Footnote 35: need] i.e. must.]
[Footnote 36: let] i.e. hinder.]
[Footnote 37: tainted] i.e. touched, struck lightly; see Richardson's
DICT. in v.]
[Footnote 38: shall] So the 8vo.--The 4to "should."]
[Footnote 39: of] So the 8vo.--The 4to "to."]
[Footnote 40: to] So the 8vo.--The 4to "of."]
[Footnote 41: sprung] So the 8vo.--The 4to "sprong".--See note ?,
d. [p.] 14.
[Note ?, from p. 14. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
"Sprung] Here, and in the next speech, both the old eds.
"SPRONG": but in p. 18, l. 3, first col., the 4to has
"SPRUNG", and in the SEC. PART of the play, act iv. sc. 4,
they both give "SPRUNG from a tyrants loynes."
[Page 18, First Column, Line 3, The First Part of
Tamburlaine the Great,
"For he was never sprung of human race,"]
[Footnote 42: superficies] Old eds. "superfluities."--(In act iii. sc. 4,
we have,
"the concave SUPERFICIES
Of Jove's vast palace.")]
[Footnote 43: through] So the 4to.--The 8vo "thorow."]
[Footnote 44: carcasses] So the 8vo.--The 4to "carkasse."]
[Footnote 45: we] So the 8vo.--The 4to "yon (you)."]
[Footnote 46: channel] i.e. collar, neck,--collar-bone.]
[Footnote 47: Morocco] The old eds. here, and in the next speech,
"Morocus"; but see note ?, p. 22.
[note ?, from p. 22. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
"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."]
[Footnote 48: war] So the 8vo.--The 4to "warres."]
[Footnote 49: if infernal] So the 8vo.--The 4to "if THE infernall."]
[Footnote 50: thee] Old eds. "them."]
[Footnote 51: these] So the 4to.--The 8vo "this."]
[Footnote 52: strong] A mistake,--occasioned by the word "strong"
in the next line.]
[Footnote 53: Bootes'] So the 4to.--The 8vo "Boetes."]
[Footnote 54: leaguer] i.e. camp.]
[Footnote 55: Jubalter] Here the old eds. have "Gibralter"; but in the
First Part of this play they have "JUBALTER": see p. 25,
first col.
[p. 25, first col. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
"And thence unto the Straits of Jubalter;"]
[Footnote 56: The mighty Christian Priest,
Call'd John the Great] Concerning the fabulous personage,
PRESTER JOHN, see Nares's GLOSS. in v.]
[Footnote 57: Where] See note ¶, p. 45. (i.e. note 33.)]
[Footnote 58: Byather] The editor of 1826 printed "Biafar": but it is
very doubtful if Marlowe wrote the names of places correctly.]
[Footnote 59: Damascus] Here the old eds. "Damasco." See note *, p. 31.
note *, from p. 31. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
"Damascus] Both the old eds. here "Damasco:" but in many
other places they agree in reading "Damascus."]
[Footnote 60: And made, &c.] A word dropt out from this line.]
[Footnote 61: him] i.e. the king of Natolia.]
[Footnote 62: orient] Old eds. "orientall" and "oriental."--Both in our
author's FAUSTUS and in his JEW OF MALTA we have "ORIENT pearl."]
[Footnote 63: Soria] See note ?, p. 44. [i.e. note 13.]]
[Footnote 64: thereof] So the 8vo.--The 4to "heereof."]
[Footnote 65: that we vow] i.e. that which we vow. So the 8vo.--The 4to
"WHAT we vow." Neither of the modern editors understanding the
passage, they printed "WE THAT vow."]
[Footnote 66: faiths] So the 8vo.--The 4to "fame."]
[Footnote 67: and religion] Old eds. "and THEIR religion."]
[Footnote 68: consummate] Old eds. "consinuate." The modern editors
print "continuate," a word which occurs in Shakespeare's
TIMON OF ATHENS, act i. sc. 1., but which the metre determines
to be inadmissible in the present passage.--The Revd. J. Mitford
proposes "continent," in the sense of--restraining from
violence.]
[Footnote 69: this] So the 8vo.--The 4to "the."]
[Footnote 70: martial] So the 4to.--The 8vo "materiall."]
[Footnote 71: our] So the 4to.--The 8vo "your."]
[Footnote 72: With] So the 4to.--The 8vo "Which."]
[Footnote 73: thy servant's] He means Sigismund. So a few lines after,
"this traitor's perjury."]
[Footnote 74: discomfit] Old eds. "discomfort." (Compare the first line
of the next scene.)]
[Footnote 75: lords] So the 8vo.--The 4to "lord."]
[Footnote 76: Christian] So the 8vo.--The 4to "Christians."]
[Footnote 77: Zoacum] "Or ZAKKUM.--The description of this tree is taken
from a fable in the Koran, chap. 37." Ed. 1826.]
[Footnote 78: an] So the 8vo.--The 4to "any."]
[Footnote 79: We will both watch and ward shall keep his trunk]
i.e. We will that both watch, &c. So the 4to.--The 8vo has
"AND keepe."]
[Footnote 80: Uribassa, give] So the 8vo.--The 4to "Vribassa, AND giue."]
[Footnote 81: Soria] See note ?, p. 44. [i.e. note 13.]]
[Footnote 82: their] So the 4to.--Not in the 8vo.]
[Footnote 83: brows] Old eds. "bowers."]
[Footnote 84: this] So the 8vo.--The 4to "the."]
[Footnote 85: no] So the 4to.--The 8vo "not."]
[Footnote 86: and] So the 4to.--The 8vo "a."]
[Footnote 87: makes] So the 4to.--The 8vo "make."]
[Footnote 88: author] So the 4to.--The 8vo "anchor."]
[Footnote 89: yes] Old eds. "yet."]
[Footnote 90: excellence] So the 4to.--The 8vo "excellency."]
[Footnote 91: cavalieros] i.e. mounds, or elevations of earth, to
lodge cannon.]
[Footnote 92: prevails] i.e. avails.]
[Footnote 93: Mausolus'] Wrong quantity.]
[Footnote 94: one] So the 8vo ("on").--The 4to "our."]
[Footnote 95: stature] See note |||, p. 27.--So the 8vo.--The 4to "statue."
Here the metre would be assisted by reading "statua," which is
frequently found in our early writers: see my REMARKS ON
MR. COLLIER'S AND MR. KNIGHT'S EDITIONS OF SHAKESPEARE, p. 186.
[note |||, from p. 27. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
"stature] So the 8vo.--The 4to "statue:" but again, in the
SECOND PART of this play, act ii. sc. 4, we have, according
to the 8vo--
"And here will I set up her STATURE."
and, among many passages that might be cited from our
early authors, compare the following;
"The STATURES huge, of Porphyrie and costlier matters
made."
Warner's ALBIONS ENGLAND, p. 303. ed. 1596.
"By them shal Isis STATURE gently stand."
Chapman's BLIND BEGGER OF ALEXANDRIA, 1598, sig. A 3.
"Was not Anubis with his long nose of gold preferred
before Neptune, whose STATURE was but brasse?"
Lyly's MIDAS, sig. A 2. ed. 1592."]
[Footnote 96: Soria] See note ?, p. 44. [i.e. note 13.]]
[Footnote 97: fate] So the 8vo.--The 4to "fates."]
[Footnote 98: his] Old eds. "our."]
[Footnote 99: all] So the 8vo.--Omitted in the 4to.]
[Footnote 100: honours] So the 8vo.--The 4to "honour."]
[Footnote 101: in conquest] So the 4to.--The 8vo "in THE conquest."]
[Footnote 102: Judaea] So the 8vo.--The 4to "Juda."]
[Footnote 103: Sclavonia's] Old eds. "Scalonians" and "Sclauonians."]
[Footnote 104: Soria] See note ?, p. 44. (i.e. note 13.]
[Footnote 105: Damascus] Here the old eds. "Damasco." See note *,
p. 31.
note *, from p. 31. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
"Damascus] Both the old eds. here "Damasco:" but in many
other places they agree in reading "Damascus.""]
[Footnote 106: That's no matter, &c.] So previously (p. 46, first col.)
Almeda speaks in prose, "I like that well," &c.
[p. 46, first col. (This play):
"ALMEDA. I like that well: but, tell me, my lord,
if I should let you go, would you be as good as
your word? shall I be made a king for my labour?"]
[Footnote 107: dearth] Old eds. "death."]
[Footnote 108: th'] So the 8vo.--Omitted in the 4to.]
[Footnote 109: Those] Old eds. "Whose."]
[Footnote 110: sorrows] So the 8vo.--The 4to "sorrow."]
[Footnote 111: thirst] So the 4to.--The 8vo "colde."]
[Footnote 112: champion] i.e. champaign.]
[Footnote 113: which] Old eds. "with."]
[Footnote 114: Whereas] i.e. Where.]
[Footnote 115: the] So the 8vo.--The 4to "and."]
[Footnote 116: cavalieros] See note ?, p. 52. [i.e. note 91.]]
[Footnote 117: argins] "Argine, Ital. An embankment, a rampart.["]
Ed., 1826.]
[Footnote 118: great] So the 8vo.--The 4to "greatst."]
[Footnote 119: the] Old eds. "their."]
[Footnote 120: by nature] So the 8vo.--The 4to "by THE nature."]
[Footnote 121: a] So the 4to.--The 8vo "the."]
[Footnote 122: A ring of pikes, mingled with shot and horse] Qy. "foot"
instead of "shot"? (but the "ring of pikes" is "foot").--The
Revd. J. Mitford proposes to read, "A ring of pikes AND HORSE,
MANGLED with shot."]
[Footnote 123: his] So the 8vo--The 4to "this."]
[Footnote 124: march'd] So the 4to.--The 8vo "martch."]
[Footnote 125: drop] So the 8vo.--The 4to "dram."]
[Footnote 126: lance] So the 4to.--Here the 8vo "lanch": but afterwards
more than once it has "lance."]
[Footnote 127: I know not, &c.] This and the next four speeches are
evidently prose, as are several other portions of the play.]
[Footnote 128: 'Tis] So the 4to.--The 8vo "This."]
[Footnote 129: accursed] So the 4to.--The 8vo "cursed."]
[Footnote 130: his] So the 4to.--The 8vo "the."]
[Footnote 131: point] So the 8vo.--The 4to "port."]
[Footnote 132: Soria] See note ?, p. 44. [i.e. note 13.]]
[Footnote 133: Minions, falc'nets, and sakers] "All small pieces of
ordnance." Ed. 1826.]
[Footnote 134: hold] Old eds. "gold" and "golde."]
[Footnote 135: quietly] So the 8vo.--The 4to "quickely."]
[Footnote 136: friends] So the 4to.--The 8vo "friend."]
[Footnote 137: you] So the 4to.--The 8vo "thou."]
[Footnote 138: pioners] See note ||, p. 20.
[note ||, from p. 20. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
"pioners] The usual spelling of the word in our early
writers (in Shakespeare, for instance)."]
[Footnote 139: in] So the 8vo.--The 4to "to."]
[Footnote 140: argins] See note ?[sic], p. 55. [note ?? p. 55,
i.e. note 117.]]
[Footnote 141: quietly] So the 8vo.--The 4to "quickely."]
[Footnote 142: Were you, that are the friends of Tamburlaine] So the 8vo.
--The 4to "Were ALL you that are friends of Tamburlaine."]
[Footnote 143: of] So the 8vo.--The 4to "to."]
[Footnote 144: all convoys that can] i.e. (I believe) all convoys
(conveyances) that can be cut off. The modern editors alter
"can" to "come."]
[Footnote 145: I am] So the 8vo.--The 4to "am I."]
[Footnote 146: into] So the 8vo.--The 4to "vnto."]
[Footnote 147: hold] So the 4to.--The 8vo "holdS."]
[Footnote 148: straineth] So the 4to.--The 8vo "staineth."]
[Footnote 149: home] So the 8vo.--The 4to "haue."]
[Footnote 150: wert] So the 8vo.--The 4to "art."]
[Footnote 151: join'd] So the 4to.--The 8vo "inioin'd."]
[Footnote 152: of] So the 8vo.--The 4to "in."]
[Footnote 153: the] Added perhaps by a mistake of the transcriber
or printer.]
[Footnote 154: and] So the 8vo.--The 4to "the."]
[Footnote 155: Renowmed] See note ||, p. 11. So the 8vo.--The 4to
"Renowned."
[Note ||, from p. 11. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great).
"renowmed] i.e. renowned.--So the 8vo.--The 4to "renowned."
--The form "RENOWMED" (Fr. renomme) occurs repeatedly
afterwards in this play, according to the 8vo. It is
occasionally found in writers posterior to Marlowe's time.
e.g.
"Of Constantines great towne RENOUM'D in vaine."
Verses to King James, prefixed to Lord Stirling's
MONARCHICKE TRAGEDIES, ed. 1607."]
[Footnote 156: emperor, mighty] So the 8vo.--The 4to "emperour,
AND mightie."]
[Footnote 157: the] So the 4to.--The 8vo "this."]
[Footnote 158: your] So the 8vo.--The 4to "our."]
[Footnote 159: term'd] Old eds. "terme."]
[Footnote 160: the] So the 4to.--Omitted in the 8vo.]
[Footnote 161: your] So the 8vo.--The 4to "our."]
[Footnote 162: brandishing their] So the 4to.--The 8vo "brandishing
IN their."]
[Footnote 163: with] So the 4to.--Omitted in the 8vo.]
[Footnote 164: shew'd your] So the 8vo.--The 4to "shewed TO your."]
[Footnote 165: Sorians] See note ?, p. 44. [i.e. note 13.]
[Footnote 166: repair'd] So the 8vo.--The 4to "prepar'd."]
[Footnote 167: And neighbour cities of your highness' land] So the 8vo.--
Omitted in the 4to.]
[Footnote 168: he] i.e. Death. So the 8vo.--The 4to "it."]
[Footnote 169: is] So the 8vo.--The 4to "the."]
[Footnote 170: harness'd] So the 8vo.--The 4to "harnesse."]
[Footnote 171: on] So the 4to.--The 8vo "with" (the compositor having
caught the word from the preceding line).]
[Footnote 172: thou shalt] So the 8vo.--The 4to "shalt thou."]
[Footnote 173: the] So the 8vo.--The 4to "our."]
[Footnote 174: and rent] So the 8vo.--The 4to "or rend."]
[Footnote 175: Go to, sirrah] So the 8vo.--The 4to "Goe sirrha."]
[Footnote 176: give arms] An heraldic expression, meaning--shew armorial
bearings (used, of course, with a quibble).]
[Footnote 177: No] So the 4to.--The 8vo "Go."]
[Footnote 178: bugs] i.e. bugbears, objects to strike you with terror.]
[Footnote 179: rout] i.e. crew, rabble.]
[Footnote 180: as the foolish king of Persia did] See p. 16, first col.
p. 15, first col. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great, ACT II, Scene IV):
" SCENE IV.
Enter MYCETES with his crown in his hand.
MYCETES. Accurs'd be he that first invented war!
They knew not, ah, they knew not, simple men,
How those were hit by pelting cannon-shot
Stand staggering like a quivering aspen-leaf
Fearing the force of Boreas' boisterous blasts!
(page 16)
In what a lamentable case were I,
If nature had not given me wisdom's lore!
For kings are clouts that every man shoots at,
Our crown the pin that thousands seek to cleave:
Therefore in policy I think it good
To hide it close; a goodly stratagem,
And far from any man that is a fool:
So shall not I be known; or if I be,
They cannot take away my crown from me.
Here will I hide it in this simple hole.
Enter TAMBURLAINE.
TAMBURLAINE.
What, fearful coward, straggling from the camp,
When kings themselves are present in the field?"]
[Footnote 181: aspect] So the 8vo.--The 4to "aspects."]
[Footnote 182: sits asleep] At the back of the stage, which was supposed
to represent the interior of the tent.]
[Footnote 183: You cannot] So the 8vo.--The 4to "Can you not."]
[Footnote 184: scare] So the 8vo.--The 4to "scarce."]
[Footnote 185: tall] i.e. bold, brave.]
[Footnote 186: both you] So the 8vo.--The 4to "you both."]
[Footnote 187: should I] So the 8vo.--The 4to "I should."]
[Footnote 188: ye] So the 8vo.--The 4to "my."]
[Footnote 189: stoop your pride] i.e. make your pride to stoop.]
[Footnote 190: bodies] So the 8vo.--The 4to "glories."]
[Footnote 191: mine] So the 4to.--The 8vo "my."]
[Footnote 192: may] So the 4to.--The 8vo "nay."]
[Footnote 193: up] The modern editors alter this word to "by," not
understanding the passage. Tamburlaine means--Do not KNEEL
to me for his pardon.]
[Footnote 194: once] So the 4to.--The 8vo "one."]
[Footnote 195: martial] So the 8vo.--The 4to "materiall." (In this
line "fire" is a dissyllable")]
[Footnote 196: thine] So the 8vo.--The 4to "thy."]
[Footnote 197: which] Old eds. "with."]
[Footnote 198: Jaertis'] So the 8vo.--The 4to "Laertis." By "Jaertis'"
must be meant--Jaxartes'.]
[Footnote 199: incorporeal] So the 8vo.--The 4to "incorporall."]
[Footnote 200: for being seen] i.e. "that thou mayest not be seen."
Ed. 1826. See Richardson's DICT. in v. FOR.]
[Footnote 201: you shall] So the 8vo.--The 4to "shall ye."]
[Footnote 202: Approve] i.e. prove, experience.]
[Footnote 203: bloods] So the 4to.--The 8vo "blood."]
[Footnote 204: peasants] So the 8vo.--The 4to "parsants."]
[Footnote 205: resist in] Old eds "resisting."]
[Footnote 206: Casane] So the 4to.--The 8vo "VSUM Casane."]
[Footnote 207: it] So the 8vo.--Omitted in the 4to.]
[Footnote 208: Excel] Old eds. "Expell" and "Expel."]
[Footnote 209: artier] See note *, p. 18.
Note *, from p. 18. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
"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."]
[Footnote 210: remorseful] i.e. compassionate.]
[Footnote 211: miss] i.e. loss, want. The construction is--Run round
about, mourning the miss of the females.]
[Footnote 212: behold] Qy "beheld"?]
[Footnote 213: a] So the 4to.--The 8vo "the."]
[Footnote 214: Have] Old eds. "Hath."]
[Footnote 215: to] So the 8vo.--The 4to "and."]
[Footnote 216: in] So the 8vo.--The 4to "to."]
[Footnote 217: now, my lord; and, will you] So the 8vo.--The 4to
"GOOD my Lord, IF YOU WILL."]
[Footnote 218: mouths] So the 4to.--The 8vo "mother."]
[Footnote 219: rebated] i.e. blunted.]
[Footnote 220: thereof] So the 8vo.--The 4to "heereof."]
[Footnote 221: and will] So the 4to.--The 8vo "and I wil."]
[Footnote 222: She anoints her throat] This incident, as Mr. Collier
observes (HIST. OF ENG. DRAM. POET., iii. 119) is borrowed
from Ariosto's ORLANDO FURIOSO, B. xxix, "where Isabella,
to save herself from the lawless passion of Rodomont, anoints
her neck with a decoction of herbs, which she pretends will
render it invulnerable: she then presents her throat to the
Pagan, who, believing her assertion, aims a blow and strikes
off her head."]
[Footnote 223: my] Altered by the modern editors to "thy,"--unnecessarily.]
[Footnote 224: Elysium] Old eds. "Elisian" and "Elizian."]
[Footnote 225: do borrow] So the 4to.--The 8vo "borow doo."]
[Footnote 226: my] So the 4to (Theridamas is King of Argier).--The 8vo
"thy."]
[Footnote 227: Soria] See note ?, p. 44. [i.e. note 13.]]
[Footnote 228: his] So the 4to.--The 8vo "their."]
[Footnote 229: led by five] So the 4to.--The 8vo "led by WITH fiue."]
[Footnote 230: Holla, ye pamper'd jades of Asia, &c.] The ridicule
showered on this passage by a long series of poets, will
be found noticed in the ACCOUNT OF MARLOWE AND HIS WRITINGS.
The "Account of Marlowe and His Writings," is the
introduction to this book of "The Works of Christopher
Marlowe." That is, the book from which this play has been
transcribed. The following is a footnote from page xvii
of that introduction.
"Tamb. Holla, ye pamper'd jades of Asia!" &c.
p. 64, sec. col.
This has been quoted or alluded to, generally with ridicule,
by a whole host of writers. Pistol's "hollow pamper'd jades
of Asia" in Shakespeare's HENRY IV. P. II. Act ii. sc. 4,
is known to most readers: see also Beaumont and Fletcher's
COXCOMB, act ii. sc. 2; Fletcher's WOMEN PLEASED, act iv.
sc. 1; Chapman's, Jonson's, and Marston's EASTWARD HO,
act ii. sig. B 3, ed. 1605; Brathwait's STRAPPADO FOR THE
DIUELL, 1615, p. 159; Taylor the water-poet's THIEFE and
his WORLD RUNNES ON WHEELES,--WORKES, pp. 111[121], 239,
ed. 1630; A BROWN DOZEN OF DRUNKARDS, &c. 1648, sig. A 3;
the Duke of Newcastle's VARIETIE, A COMEDY, 1649, p. 72;
--but I cannot afford room for more references.--In 1566
a similar spectacle had been exhibited at Gray's Inn:
there the Dumb Show before the first act of Gascoigne and
Kinwelmersh's JOCASTA introduced "a king with an imperiall
crowne vpon hys head," &c. "sitting in a chariote very
richly furnished, drawen in by iiii kings in their dublets
and hosen, with crownes also vpon theyr heads, representing
vnto vs ambition by the historie of Sesostres," &c.]
[Footnote 231: And blow the morning from their nostrils] Here "nostrils"
is to be read as a trisyllable,--and indeed is spelt in the 4to
"nosterils."--Mr. Collier (HIST. OF ENG. DRAM. POET., iii. 124)
remarks that this has been borrowed from Marlowe by the anonymous
author of the tragedy of CAESAR AND POMPEY, 1607 (and he might
have compared also Chapman's HYMNUS IN CYNTHIAM,--THE SHADOW
OF 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."
AEN. xii. 114]
(Virgil being indebted to Ennius and Lucilius).]
[Footnote 232: in] So the 8vo.--The 4to "as."]
[Footnote 233: racking] i.e. moving like smoke or vapour: see
Richardson's DICT. in v.]
[Footnote 234: have coach] So the 8vo.--The 4to "haue A coach."]
[Footnote 235: by] So the 4to.--The 8vo "with."]
[Footnote 236: garden-plot] So the 4to.--The 8vo "GARDED plot."]
[Footnote 237: colts] i.e. (with a quibble) colts'-teeth.]
[Footnote 238: same] So the 8vo.--Omitted in the 4to.]
[Footnote 239: match] So the 8vo.--The 4to "march."]
[Footnote 240: Above] So the 8vo.--The 4to "About."]
[Footnote 241: tall] i.e. bold, brave.]
[Footnote 242: their] So the 4to.--Omitted in the 8vo.]
[Footnote 243: continent] Old eds. "content."]
[Footnote 244: jest] A quibble--which will be understood by those
readers who recollect the double sense of JAPE (jest) in our
earliest writers.]
[Footnote 245: prest] i.e. ready.]
[Footnote 246: Terrene] i.e. Mediterranean.]
[Footnote 247: all] So the 8vo.--Omitted in the 4to.]
[Footnote 248: Jaertis'] See note **, p. 62. [i.e. note 198.] So the
8vo.--The 4to "Laertes."]
[Footnote 249: furthest] So the 4to.--The 8vo "furthiest."]
[Footnote 250: Thorough] So the 8vo.--The 4to "Through."]
[Footnote 251: Like to an almond-tree, &c.] This simile in 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.]
[Footnote 252: y-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."]
[Footnote 253: 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.]
[Footnote 254: Erycina's] Old eds. "Hericinas."]
[Footnote 255: brows] So the 4to.--The 8vo "bowes."]
[Footnote 256: breath that thorough heaven] So the 8vo.--The 4to "breath
FROM heauen."]
[Footnote 257: chariot] Old eds. "chariots."]
[Footnote 258: out] Old eds. "our."]
[Footnote 259: respect'st thou] Old eds. "RESPECTS thou:" but afterwards,
in this scene, the 8vo has, "Why SEND'ST thou not," and "thou
SIT'ST."]
[Footnote 260: of] So the 8vo.--The 4to "in."]
[Footnote 261: he] So the 4to.--The 8vo "was."]
[Footnote 262: How, &c.] A mutilated line.]
[Footnote 263: eterniz'd] So the 4to.--The 8vo "enternisde."]
[Footnote 264: and] So the 4to.--Omitted in the 8vo.]
[Footnote 265: prest] i.e. ready.]
[Footnote 266: parle] Here the old eds. "parlie": but repeatedly before
they have "parle" (which is used more than once by Shakespeare).]
[Footnote 267: Orcanes, king of Natolia, and the King of Jerusalem,
led by soldiers] Old eds. (which have here a very imperfect
stage-direction) "the two spare kings",--"spare" meaning--
not then wanted to draw the chariot of Tamburlaine.]
[Footnote 268: burst] i.e. broken, bruised.]
[Footnote 269: the measures] i.e. the dance (properly,--solemn,
stately dances, with slow and measured steps).]
[Footnote 270: of] So the 8vo.--The 4to "for."]
[Footnote 271: ports] i.e. gates.]
[Footnote 272: make] So the 4to.--The 8vo "wake."]
[Footnote 273: the city-walls) So the 8vo.--The 4to "the walles."]
[Footnote 274: him] So the 4to.--The 8vo "it."]
[Footnote 275: in] Old eds. "VP in,["]--the "vp" having been repeated
by mistake from the preceding line.]
[Footnote 276: scar'd] So the 8vo; and, it would seem, rightly;
Tamburlaine making an attempt at a bitter jest, in reply
to what the Governor has just said.--The 4to "sear'd."]
[Footnote 277: Vile] The 8vo "Vild"; the 4to "Wild" (Both eds.,
a little before, have "VILE monster, born of some infernal hag",
and, a few lines after, "To VILE and ignominious servitude":--
the fact is, our early writers (or rather, transcribers),
with their usual inconsistency of spelling, give now the one
form, and now the other: compare the folio SHAKESPEARE,
1623, where we sometimes find "vild" and sometimes "VILE.")]
[Footnote 278: Bagdet's] So the 8vo.--The 4to "Badgets."]
[Footnote 279: A citadel, &c.] Something has dropt out from this line.]
[Footnote 280: Well said] Equivalent to--Well done! as appears from
innumerable passages of our early writers: see, for instances,
my ed. of Beaumont and Fletcher's WORKS, vol. i. 328, vol. ii.
445, vol. viii. 254.]
[Footnote 281: will I] So the 8vo.--The 4to "I will."]
[Footnote 282: suffer'st] Old eds. "suffers": but see the two following
notes.]
[Footnote 283: send'st] So the 8vo.--The 4to "sends."]
[Footnote 284: sit'st] So the 8vo.--The 4to "sits."]
[Footnote 285: head] So the 8vo.--The 4to "blood."]
[Footnote 286: fed] Old eds. "feede."]
[Footnote 287: upon] So the 8vo.--Omitted in the 4to.]
[Footnote 288: fleet] i.e. float.]
[Footnote 289: gape] So the 8vo.--The 4to "gaspe."]
[Footnote 290: in] So the 8vo.--Omitted in the 4to.]
[Footnote 291: forth, ye vassals] Spoken, of course, to the two kings
who draw his chariot.]
[Footnote 292: whatsoe'er] So the 8vo.--The 4to "whatsoeuer."]
[Footnote 293: Euphrates] See note |||, p. 36.]
note |||, from p. 36. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
"Euphrates] So our old poets invariably, I believe,
accentuate this word."
Note: 'Euphrates' was printed with no accented characters
at all.]
[Footnote 294: may we] So the 8vo.--The 4to "we may."]
[Footnote 295: this] So the 8vo.--The 4to "that" (but in the next speech
of the same person it has "THIS Tamburlaine").]
[Footnote 296: record] i.e. call to mind.]
[Footnote 297: Aid] So the 8vo.--The 4to "And."]
[Footnote 298: Renowmed] See note ||, p. 11. So the 8vo.--The 4to
"Renowned."--The prefix to this speech is wanting in the old eds.
[note ||, from p. 11. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
"renowmed] i.e. renowned.--So the 8vo.--The 4to "renowned."
--The form "RENOWMED" (Fr. renomme) occurs repeatedly
afterwards in this play, according to the 8vo. It is
occasionally found in writers posterior to Marlowe's time.
e.g.
"Of Constantines great towne RENOUM'D in vaine."
Verses to King James, prefixed to Lord Stirling's
MONARCHICKE TRAGEDIES, ed. 1607."]
[Footnote 299: invisibly] So the 4to.--The 8vo "inuincible."]
[Footnote 300: inexcellence] So the 4to.--The 8vo "inexcellencie."]
[Footnote 301: Enter Tamburlaine, &c.] Here the old eds. have no stage-
direction; and perhaps the poet intended that Tamburlaine should
enter at the commencement of this scene. That he is drawn in his
chariot by the two captive kings, appears from his exclamation
at p. 72, first col. "Draw, you slaves!"]
[Footnote 302: cease] So the 8vo.--The 4to "case."]
[Footnote 303: hypostasis] Old eds. "Hipostates."]
[Footnote 304: artiers] See note *, p. 18.
[Note *, from p. 18. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
"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."]
[Footnote 305: upon] So the 4to.--The 8vo "on."]
[Footnote 306: villain cowards] Old eds. "VILLAINES, cowards" (which
is not to be defended by "VILLAINS, COWARDS, traitors to our
state", p. 67, sec. col.). Compare "But where's this COWARD
VILLAIN," &c., p. 61 sec. col.]
[Footnote 307: unto] So the 8vo.--The 4to "to."]
[Footnote 308: Whereas] i.e. Where.]
[Footnote 309: Terrene] i.e. Mediterranean.]
[Footnote 310: began] So the 8vo.--The 4to "begun."]
[Footnote 311: this] So the 8vo.--The 4to "the."]
[Footnote 312: subjects] Mr. Collier (Preface to COLERIDGE'S SEVEN
LECTURES ON SHAKESPEARE AND MILTON, p. cxviii) says that here
"subjects" is a printer's blunder for "substance": YET HE TAKES
NO NOTICE OF TAMBURLAINE'S NEXT WORDS, "But, sons, this SUBJECT
not of force enough," &c.--The old eds. are quite right in both
passages: compare, in p. 62, first col.;
"A form not meet to give that SUBJECT essence
Whose matter is the flesh of Tamburlaine," &c.]
[Footnote 313: into] So the 8vo.--The 4to "vnto."]
[Footnote 314: your seeds] So the 8vo.--The 4to "OUR seedes." (In p. 18,
first col., [The First Part of Tamburlaine the Great] we have
had "Their angry SEEDS"; but in p. 47, first col., [this play]
"thy seed":--and Marlowe probably wrote "seed" both here and in
p. 18.)]
[Footnote 315: lineaments] So the 8vo.--The 4to "laments."--The Editor
of 1826 remarks, that this passage "is too obscure for ordinary
comprehension."]
[Footnote 316: these] So the 4to.--The 8vo "those."]
[Footnote 317: these] So the 4to.--The 8vo "those."]
[Footnote 318: damned] i.e. doomed,--sorrowful.]
[Footnote 319: Clymene's] So the 8vo.--The 4to "Clymeus."]
[Footnote 320: Phoebe's] So the 8vo.--The 4to "Phoebus."]
[Footnote 321: Phyteus'] Meant perhaps for "Pythius'", according to the
usage of much earlier poets:
"And of PHYTON[i.e. Python] that Phebus made thus fine
Came Phetonysses," &c.
Lydgate's WARRES OF TROY, B. ii. SIG. K vi. ed.
1555.]
Here the modern editors print "Phoebus'".]
[Footnote 322: thee] So the 8vo.--The 4to "me."]
[Footnote 323: cliffs] Here the old eds. "clifts" and "cliftes":
but see p. 12, line 5, first col.
[p. 12, first col. (The First Part of Tamburlaine the
Great):
"Both we will walk upon the lofty cliffs;*
* cliffs: So the 8vo.--The 4to "cliftes."]