For my true friend Damon this life to forego,
Even at your pleasure.
DIONYSIUS. A true friend! a false traitor, that so breaketh his
oath!
Thou shalt lose thy life, though thou be never so loth.
PITHIAS. I am not loth to do whatsoever I said,
Ne at this present pinch of death am I dismay’d:
The gods now I know have heard my fervent prayer,
That they have reserved me to this passing great honour,
To die for my friend, whose faith even now I do not mistrust;
My friend Damon is no false traitor, he is true and just:
But sith he is no god, but a man, he must do as he may,
The wind may be contrary, sickness may let him,[140] or some
misadventure by the way,
Which the eternal gods turn all to my glory,
That fame may resound how Pithias for Damon did die:
He breaketh no oath which doth as much as he can,
His mind is here, he hath some let, he is but a man.
That he might not return of all the gods I did require,
Which now to my joy do[141] grant my desire.
But why do I stay any longer, seeing that one man’s death
May suffice, O king, to pacify thy wrath?
O thou minister of justice, do thine office by and by,
Let not thy hand tremble, for I tremble not to die.
Stephano, the right pattern of true fidelity,
Commend me to thy master, my sweet Damon, and of him crave liberty
When I am dead, in my name; for thy trusty services
Hath well deserved a gift far better than this.
O my Damon, farewell now for ever, a true friend, to me most dear;
Whiles life doth last, my mouth shall still talk of thee,
And when I am dead, my simple ghost, true witness of amity,
Shall hover about the place, wheresoever thou be.
DIONYSIUS. Eubulus, this gear is strange; and yet because
Damon hath fals’d his faith, Pithias shall have the law.
Gronno, despoil him, and eke dispatch him quickly.
GRONNO. It shall be done; since you came into this place,
I might have stroken off seven heads in this space.
By’r Lady, here are good garments, these are mine, by the rood!
It is an evil wind that bloweth no man good.
Now, Pithias, kneel down, ask me blessing like a pretty boy,
And with a trice thy head from thy shoulders I will convey.
_Here entereth_ DAMON _running, and stays the sword_.
DAMON. Stay, stay, stay! for the king’s advantage, stay!
O mighty king, mine appointed time is not yet fully pass’d;
Within the compass of mine hour, lo, here I come at last.
A life I owe, and a life I will you pay:
O my Pithias, my noble pledge, my constant friend!
Ah! woe is me! for Damon’s sake, how near were thou to thy end!
Give place to me, this room is mine, on this stage must I play.
Damon is the man, none ought but he to Dionysius his blood to pay.
GRONNO. Are you come, sir? you might have tarried, if you had been
wise:
For your hasty coming you are like to know the price.
PITHIAS. O thou cruel minister, why didst not thou thine office?
Did I not beg thee make haste in any wise?
Hast thou spared to kill me once, that I may die twice?
Not to die for my friend is present death to me; and alas!
Shall I see my sweet Damon slain before my face?
What double death is this? but, O mighty Dionysius,
Do true justice now: weigh this aright, thou noble Eubulus;
Let me have no wrong, as now stands the case:
Damon ought not to die, but Pithias:
By misadventure, not by his will, his hour is past; therefore I,
Because he came not at his just time, ought justly to die:
So was my promise, so was thy promise, O king,
All this court can bear witness of this thing.
DAMON. Not so, O mighty king: to justice it is contrary,
That for another man’s fault the innocent should die:
Ne yet is my time plainly expired, it is not fully noon.
Of this my day appointed, by all the clocks in the town.
PITHIAS. Believe no clock, the hour is past by the sun.
DAMON. Ah my Pithias, shall we now break the bonds of amity?
Will you now overthwart me, which heretofore so well did agree?
PITHIAS. My Damon, the gods forbid but we should agree;
Therefore agree to this, let me perform the promise made for thee.
Let me die for thee: do me not that injury,
Both to break my promise, and to suffer me to see thee die,
Whom so dearly I love: this small request grant me,
I shall never ask thee more, my desire is but friendly.
Do me this honour, that fame may report triumphantly,
That Pithias for his friend Damon was contented to die.
DAMON. That you were contented for me to die, fame cannot deny;
Yet fame shall never touch me with such a villainy,
To report that Damon did suffer his friend Pithias for him guiltless
to die;
Therefore content thyself, the gods requite thy constant faith,
None but Damon’s blood can appease Dionysius’ wrath.
And now, O mighty king, to you my talk I convey;
Because you gave me leave my worldly things to stay,
To requite that good turn, ere I die, for your behalf this I say,
Although your regal state dame Fortune decketh so,
That like a king in worldly wealth abundantly ye flow,
Yet fickle is the ground whereon all tyrants tread,
A thousand sundry cares and fears do haunt their restless head:
No trusty band, no faithful friends do guard thy hateful state,
And why? whom men obey for deadly fear, sure them they deadly hate.
That you may safely reign, by love get friends, whose constant faith
Will never fail, this counsel gives poor Damon at his death:
Friends are the surest guard for kings, gold in time does[142] wear
away,
And other precious things do fade, friendship will never decay.
Have friends in store therefore, so shall you safely sleep;
Have friends at home, of foreign foes so need you take no keep.
Abandon flatt’ring tongues, whose clacks truth never tell;
Abase the ill, advance the good, in whom dame virtue dwells;
Let them your playfellows be: but O, you earthly kings,
Your sure defence and strongest guard stands chiefly in faithful
friends:
Then get you friends by liberal deeds; and here I make an end.
Accept this counsel, mighty king, of Damon, Pithias’ friend.
O my Pithias! now farewell for ever, let me kiss thee, ere I die,
My soul shall honour thee, thy constant faith above the heavens
shall fly.
Come, Gronno, do thine office now; why is thy colour so dead?
My neck is so short, that thou wilt never have honesty in striking
off this head.[143]
DIONYSIUS. Eubulus, my spirits are suddenly appalled, my limbs wax
weak:
This strange friendship amazeth me so, that I can scarce speak.
PITHIAS. O mighty king, let some pity your noble heart meve;
You require but one man’s death, take Pithias, let Damon live.
EUBULUS. O unspeakable friendship!
DAMON. Not so, he hath not offended, there is no cause why
My constant friend Pithias for Damon’s sake should die.
Alas, he is but young, he may do good to many.
Thou coward minister, why dost thou not let me die?
GRONNO. My hand with sudden fear quivereth.
PITHIAS. O noble king, show mercy upon Damon, let Pithias die.
DIONYSIUS. Stay, Gronno, my flesh trembleth. Eubulus, what shall I
do?
Were there ever such friends on earth as were these two?
What heart is so cruel that would divide them asunder?
O noble friendship, I must yield; at thy force I wonder.
My heart this rare friendship hath pierc’d to the root,
And quenched all my fury: this sight hath brought this about,
Which thy grave counsel, Eubulus, and learned persuasion could never
do.
[_To_ DAMON _and_ PITHIAS] O noble gentlemen, the immortal gods above
Hath made you play this tragedy, I think, for my behoof:
Before this day I never knew what perfect friendship meant.
My cruel mind to bloody deeds was full and wholly bent:
My fearful life I thought with terror to defend,
But now I see there is no guard unto a faithful friend,
Which will not spare his life at time of present need:
O happy kings, who in[144] your courts have two such friends indeed!
I honour friendship now, which that you may plainly see,
Damon, have thou thy life, from death I pardon thee;
For which good turn, I crave, this honour do me lend,
O friendly heart, let me link with you, to you[145] make me the
third friend.
My court is yours; dwell here with me, by my commission large,
Myself, my realm, my wealth, my health, I commit to your charge:
Make me a third friend, more shall I joy in that thing,
Than to be called, as I am, Dionysius the mighty king.
DAMON. O mighty king, first for my life most humble thanks I give,
And next, I praise the immortal gods that did your heart so meve,
That you would have respect to friendship’s heavenly lore,
Foreseeing well he need not fear which hath true friends in store.
For my part, most noble king, as a third friend, welcome to our
friendly society;
But you must forget you are a king, for friendship stands in true
equality.
DIONYSIUS. Unequal though I be in great possessions,
Yet full equal shall you find me in my changed conditions.
Tyranny, flattery, oppression, lo, here I cast away;
Justice, truth, love, friendship, shall be my joy:
True friendship will I honour unto my life’s end;
My greatest glory shall be to be counted a perfect friend.
PITHIAS. For this your deed, most noble king, the gods advance your
name,
And since to friendship’s lore you list your princely heart to frame,
With joyful heart, O king, most welcome now to me,
With you will I knit the perfect knot of amity:
Wherein I shall instruct you so, and Damon here your friend,
That you may know of amity the mighty force, and eke the joyful end:
And how that kings do stand upon a fickle ground,
Within whose realm at time of need no faithful friends are found.
DIONYSIUS. Your instruction will I follow; to you myself I do commit.
Eubulus, make haste to fet new apparel, fit
For my new friends.
EUBULUS. I go with joyful heart. O happy day! [_Aside._]
[_Exit._
GRONNO. I am glad to hear this word. Though their lives they do not
lese,
It is no reason[146] the hangman should lose his fees:
These are mine, I am gone with a trice.
[_Exit_.
_Here entereth_ EUBULUS _with new garments_.
DIONYSIUS. Put on these garments now; go in with me, the jewels of
my court.
DAMON _and_ PITHIAS. We go with joyful hearts.
STEPHANO. O Damon, my dear master, in all this joy remember me.
DIONYSIUS. My friend Damon, he asketh reason.
DAMON. Stephano, for thy good service be thou free.
[_Exeunt_ DION.[147]
STEPHANO. O most happy, pleasant, joyful, and triumphant day!
Poor Stephano now shall live in continual play:[148]
_Vive le roy_, with Damon and Pithias, in perfect amity.
_Vive tu_, Stephano, in thy pleasant liberality:[149]
Wherein I joy as much as he that hath a conquest won,
I am a free man, none so merry as I now under the sun.
Farewell, my lords, now the gods grant you all the sum of perfect
amity,
And me long to enjoy my long-desired liberty.
[_Exit._
_Here entereth_ EUBULUS _beating_ CARISOPHUS.
Away, villain! away, you flatt’ring parasite!
Away, the plague of this court! thy filed tongue, that forged lies,
No more here shall do hurt: away, false sycophant! wilt thou not?
CARISOPHUS. I am gone, sir, seeing it is the king’s pleasure.
Why whip ye me alone? a plague take Damon and Pithias! since they
came hither,
I am driven to seek relief abroad, alas! I know not whither.
Yet, Eubulus, though I be gone, here after time shall try,
There shall be found even in this court as great flatterers as I.
Well, for a while I will forego the court, though to my great pain:
I doubt not but to spy a time, when I may creep in again.
[_Exit._
EUBULUS. The serpent that eats men alive, flattery, with all her
brood,
Is whipp’d away in princes’ courts, which yet did never good.
What force, what mighty power true friendship may possess,
To all the world Dionysius’ court now plainly doth express:
Who since to faithful friends he gave his willing ear,
Most safely sitteth on his seat, and sleeps devoid of fear.
Purged is the court of vice, since friendship ent’red in,
Tyranny quails, he studieth now with love each heart to win:
Virtue is had in price, and hath his just reward;
And painted speech, that gloseth for gain, from gifts is quite
debarr’d.
One loveth another now for virtue, not for gain;
Where virtue doth not knit the knot, there friendship cannot reign;
Without the which no house, no land, no kingdom can endure,
As necessary for man’s life as water, air, and fire,
Which frameth the mind of man all honest things to do.
Unhonest things friendship ne craveth, ne yet consents thereto.
In wealth a double joy, in woe a present stay,
A sweet companion in each state true friendship is alway:
A sure defence for kings, a perfect trusty band,
A force to assail, a shield to defend the enemies’ cruel hand;
A rare and yet the greatest gift that God can give to man;
So rare, that scarce four couple of faithful friends have been,
since the world began.
A gift so strange and of such price, I wish all kings to have;
But chiefly yet, as duty bindeth, I humbly crave,
True friendship and true friends, full fraught with constant faith,
The giver of all friends, the Lord, grant her, most noble Queen
Elizabeth.
_The Last Song._
_The strongest guard that kings can have,
Are constant friends their state to save;
True friends are constant both in word and deed,
True friends are present, and help at each need;
True friends talk truly, they glose for no gain,
When treasure consumeth, true friends will remain;
True friends for their true prince refuseth not their death:
The Lord grant her such friends, most noble Queen Elizabeth._
_Long may she govern in honour and wealth,
Void of all sickness, in most perfect health;
Which health to prolong, as true friends require,
God grant she may have her own heart’s desire:
Which friends will defend with most steadfast faith,
The Lord grant her such friends, most noble Queen Elizabeth._
FINIS.
[1] [This preface was found among my father’s dramatic
collectanea, formed about 1850, and I have printed it
with a few additions.--_W.C.H._]
[2] It was acted on the 2d and 3d September 1566.
[3] [Warton’s “H.E.P.,” by Hazlitt, iv., 215-16.]
[4] “Annals of the Stage,” iii., 1.
[5] “British Bibliographer,” Introduction to the “Paradise
of Dainty Devices,” p. vi. The reader may also be
referred to Brydges’ “Restituta,” i., 367; “Brit.
Bibl.” i., 494; “Censura Literaria,” first edit. vii.,
350.
[6] [Warton’s “H.E.P.,” by Hazlitt,” iv., 215.]
[7] See “Nugæ Antiquæ,” vol. ii., p. 392, ed. 1804.
[8] [As to the song of the “Willow Garland,” mentioned
by Warton as by Edwards, see “H.E.P.” by Hazlitt, iv.,
216.]
[9] “History of English Poetry,” by Hazlitt, iv., p. 21.
[A writer in the “Shakespeare Society’s Papers,” vol.
ii., printed from what he supposed to be a fragment of
a later impression of this book the story of the
“Waking Man’s Dream,” which is also to be found
narrated in Burton’s “Anatomy of Melancholy,” 1621.]
[10] [See Warton’s “H.E.P.” by Hazlitt, iv., 214.
Warton is very positive in asserting that the first
edition was not in 1571, but in 1570, yet no such
edition is at present known. The play, however, having
been licensed in 1567 (Collier’s “Extr. from Stat.
Reg.” i., 166), it is extremely probable that it was
published even before 1570.]
[11] A specimen of the elegy on Edwards by Turbervile
printed in the editions of his poems in 1567 and 1570,
is here subjoined:
“Epitaph on Maister Edwards, sometime Maister of the
Children of the Chappell, and Gentleman of Lyncolnes
Inne of Court--
“Ye Learned Muses nine, and sacred Sisters all,
Now lay your cheereful Cithrons downe and to
lamenting fall.
Rent off those garlandes greene, doe laurel leaves
away,
Remove the myrtill from your browes, and stint on
strings to play;
For he that led the daunce, the chiefest of your
traine,
I meane the man that Edwards height, by cruell
death is slaine.
Ye courtyers chaunge your cheere, lament in
wailfull wise,
For now your Orpheus hath resignd, in clay his
Carcas lies.
O ruth, he is bereft, that whilst he liued heere,
For Poet’s Pen and passing Wit, could haue no
Englishe Peere.
His vaine in Verse was such, so stately eke his
stile,
His feate in forging sugred Songs with cleane and
curious file;
As all the learned Greekes and Romaines would
repine,
If they did live againe, to vewe his Verse with
scornefull eine.”
[12] Nature.
[13] _Authours_, first edition.
[14] _Spake_, second edition.
[15] Although it is obvious that great pains were taken
by Mr Reed and others (to say nothing of Dodsley) in
the collation of this dramatic piece, yet they left it
in a very imperfect state. In the course of it not less
than fifty important variations and errors have been
detected, consisting of words omitted, and words
accidentally inserted, independently of errors of the
press, for which of course an editor was not
responsible. It is hoped that it will be now found more
uniformly correct, although the editor can scarcely
flatter himself that the reprint may not be still found
defective.--_Collier._
[16] _Philosophie_, both editions. The alteration by Mr
Dodsley. [But Dodsley does not seem to have perceived
that by the change he converted the text into nonsense.
The original reads--
“Lovers of wisdom are termed philosophie.”
The emendation introduced was suggested by Mr Collier,
who remarks:] “In the next line the author expressly
speaks of _lovyng of wisdom_, as if intending to employ
the words he had used before.”
[17] [Scurrility.]
[18] _Great_, second edition.
[19] Omitted in second edition.
[20] _The_, second edition.
[21] Omitted in second edition.
[22] [The original has _consultat_.]
[23] A _Fletcher_ is a maker of arrows, from _fleche_
an arrow, Fr. The _Fletcher’s_ Company had several
charters granted to them, though at present, I believe,
they have only a nominal existence. Aristippus means to
say, that he differs as much in disposition from
_Carisophus_, as Jack the _arrowsmith_ varies in
quality from a _bolt_ or _arrow_ of his own
making.--_S._
[24] So, in [Fulwell’s] “Leke [will] to Leke, quoth the
Devil to the Collier” [1568]:
“There thou mayst be called a knave in grane,
And where knaves be scant thou mayst go for twayne.”
See a note on “The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” vol. i.,
edition 1778, p. 176.--_S._
[25] _i.e.,_ If he were hanged for it, he could not
tell one tale without telling two lies. Yet Mr Collier
would change _where_ to _were he_.
[26] This whole line is omitted in the later of the two
old copies, and as Mr Reed and his friend remarked in
their notes sometimes even the variation of letters, it
is singular that they should have passed over this
circumstance without observation.--_Collier._
[27] _Meane_, second edition.
[28] Ed. 1571 has _patron_.
[29] This was proverbial. See [Hazlitt’s] “Collection
of Proverbs,” p. 291.
[30] A proverbial expression often found in ancient
writers. Heywood has it: “Happy man, happy _dole_.” See
Dyce’s Glossary to his second edition of Shakespeare,
p. 201. _Dole_, Mr Steevens observes (Notes to “The
Taming of the Shrew,” act i., sc. 1), is any thing
dealt out or distributed, though its original meaning
was the provision given away at the doors of great
men’s houses. It is generally written _be his dole_,
though Ray, p. 116, gives it as in the second 4to _by_
his dole. Shakespeare also uses the phrase in “The
Merry Wives of Windsor.”
Again, in “Hudibras,” p. 1, c. 3, l. 637--
“Let us that are unhurt and whole,
Fall on, and _happy man be’s dole_.”
[31] _He_, first edition.
[32] _Bosome_, second edition.
[33] Original, _outwery_.
[34] _Seeketh_, second edition.
[35] _Grace_, second edition.
[36] _Quietly_, first edition.
[37] [i.e., So near _are they_.]
[38] To _contrive_ in this place signifies to wear
away, to spend, from _contero_, Lat. So in
Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew,” act i., sc. 2--
“Please you we many _contrive_ this afternoon?”
Totum hunc _contrivi_ diem.--_S._ See also the Notes of
Dr Warburton and Dr Johnson on the above line in
Shakespeare.
[39] Taunts or sarcasms. See Johnson.--_N._
[40] _Plain-song_ is _planus cantus_, uniform
modulation. _Descant_ is musical paraphrase. See a Note
on “The Midsummer Night’s Dream,” vol. iii., p. 63; and
another on “King Richard III.” vol. vii., p. 6, edit.
1778.--_S._
[41] Spenser has this word which, as Dr Johnson observes,
appears to be the same as _winch_. It should seem to be
expressive of some slight degree of pain, and in this
instance to mean the same as if the speaker had said, I
care not a _fillip_.--_S._
[42] Dionysius the tyrant is said to have punished with
death one of his subjects for dreaming he had killed
him. This was hardly more iniquitous than the execution
of the gentleman, who having a white deer in his park,
which was killed by Edward the Fourth, wished the deer,
horns and all, in the belly of him that counselled the
king to kill it, _whereas in truth no man counselled
the king to it_: or than the attainder and execution of
Algernon Sydney, on the evidence of private and unpublished
papers, without any proof, or even a suggestion, of
their intended publication.”--_Principles of Penal
Law_, c. 11.
[43] _With crueltie_, second edition.
[44] _Through_, both editions. The alteration by Mr
Dodsley.
[45] _Is lyke unto a stage_, second edition.
[46] This sentence stands in the old copies, _Omnis
solum fortis patria_.--_Collier._ [But Mr Collier
printed _patriæ_.
[47] See [Hazlitt’s] “Proverbs,” p. [336.]
[48] The _seat_ means _the situation_. See, in Dr
Johnson’s Dictionary, instances of it from Raleigh,
Hayward, Bacon, and B. Jonson.--_N._
So Duncan, in “Macbeth,” says--
“This castle hath a pleasant _seat_.”
[49] This quotation is given as follows in both the old
copies--
“_Dic mihi musa virum captæ post tempora Trojæ,
Multorum homines mores qui vidit et urbes._”
Query--Was it meant by the author that Damon should
misquote?--_Collier._ [Surely not.]
[50] _This is he_, &c., first edition.
[51] _i.e._, Plentiful suppers, luxurious couches, and
the king’s purse full of gold at command. [In the
original this is printed so as to be absolute
nonsense.]
Aristippus was not intended for a blunderer.--_S._
[52] _Tyoe_, first edition.
[53] A cant term for be silent; _mum_ and _budget_ are
the words made use of by Slender and Ann Page in “The
Merry Wives of Windsor.”
[54] [To make up his plunder or prize-money. From the
old French _bouge_.]
[55] The first edition reads--
“I wyll lay _one mouth_ for you to Dionysius,” &c.,
which was altered in the second edition as it stands in
the text.--_Collier._
[56] A proverbial expression, of which it is difficult
to give a satisfactory explanation, though the meaning
of it is sufficiently obvious. A gentleman, who formerly
wrote in _The Gentleman’s Magazine_ under a feigned
name, supposes the word _cat_ should be changed to
_cate_; “an old word for a _cake_ or other _aumalette_,
which being usually _fried_, and consequently _turn’d
in the pan_, does therefore very aptly express the
changing of sides in politics or religion, or, as we
otherwise say, _the turning one’s coat_. _Gentleman’s
Magazine_, 1754, p. 66. Another writer, however, gives
the following [very absurd] explanation of it:--
“_Capitan_, to turn _capitan_, from a people called
_Catipani_, in _Calabria_ and _Apulia_, who got an ill
name by reason of their perfidy; very falsely by us
called _Cat in pan_.”--_Ibid._ p. 172.
[57] _Should_, second edition.
[58] _Commodity_ is interest. So in the former part of
this play, p. 198--
“They would honour friendship, and not _for
commodity_.”
and see “King John,” act ii., sc. 2--
“_Commodity_, the bias of the world.”
[59] [A rare word in this sense; for it appears to stand
for _blab_.]
[60] [Original reads _tunes_. The emendation was first
suggested by Mr Collier.]