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twg_000000027200 | bed? MARCUS. Sit down, sweet niece. Brother, sit down by me. Apollo, Pallas, Jove, or Mercury, Inspire me, that I may this treason find! My lord, look here. Look here, Lavinia. This sandy plot is plain; guide, if thou canst, This after me. I have writ my name [_He writes his name with his staff and guides it with feet | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027201 | and mouth._] Without the help of any hand at all. Cursed be that heart that forced us to this shift! Write thou, good niece, and here display at last What God will have discovered for revenge. Heaven guide thy pen to print thy sorrows plain, That we may know the traitors and the truth! [_She takes the staff in her | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027202 | mouth, and guides it with her stumps and writes._] O, do ye read, my lord, what she hath writ? TITUS. _Stuprum_. Chiron. Demetrius. MARCUS. What, what! The lustful sons of Tamora Performers of this heinous bloody deed? TITUS. _Magni Dominator poli, Tam lentus audis scelera, tam lentus vides?_ MARCUS. O, calm thee, gentle lord, although I know There is enough | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027203 | written upon this earth To stir a mutiny in the mildest thoughts And arm the minds of infants to exclaims. My lord, kneel down with me; Lavinia, kneel; And kneel, sweet boy, the Roman Hectors hope; And swear with me, as, with the woeful fere And father of that chaste dishonoured dame, Lord Junius Brutus sware for Lucrece rape, That | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027204 | we will prosecute, by good advice Mortal revenge upon these traitorous Goths, And see their blood, or die with this reproach. TITUS. Tis sure enough, an you knew how. But if you hunt these bear-whelps, then beware; The dam will wake, and if she wind you once. Shes with the lion deeply still in league, And lulls him whilst she | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027205 | playeth on her back, And when he sleeps will she do what she list. You are a young huntsman, Marcus; let alone; And come, I will go get a leaf of brass, And with a gad of steel will write these words, And lay it by. The angry northern wind Will blow these sands like Sibyls leaves abroad, And wheres | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027206 | our lesson, then? Boy, what say you? YOUNG LUCIUS. I say, my lord, that if I were a man, Their mothers bedchamber should not be safe For these base bondmen to the yoke of Rome. MARCUS. Ay, thats my boy! Thy father hath full oft For his ungrateful country done the like. YOUNG LUCIUS. And, uncle, so will I, an | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027207 | if I live. TITUS. Come, go with me into mine armoury. Lucius, Ill fit thee; and withal, my boy, Shall carry from me to the empress sons Presents that I intend to send them both. Come, come; thoult do my message, wilt thou not? YOUNG LUCIUS. Ay, with my dagger in their bosoms, grandsire. TITUS. No, boy, not so. Ill | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027208 | teach thee another course. Lavinia, come. Marcus, look to my house. Lucius and Ill go brave it at the court; Ay, marry, will we, sir; and well be waited on. [_Exeunt Titus, Lavinia and Young Lucius._] MARCUS. O heavens, can you hear a good man groan And not relent, or not compassion him? Marcus, attend him in his ecstasy, That | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027209 | hath more scars of sorrow in his heart Than foemens marks upon his battered shield, But yet so just that he will not revenge. Revenge ye heavens for old Andronicus! [_Exit._] SCENE II. Rome. A Room in the Palace Enter Aaron, Chiron and Demetrius at one door, and at the other door Young Lucius and another, with a bundle of | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027210 | weapons and verses writ upon them. CHIRON. Demetrius, heres the son of Lucius; He hath some message to deliver us. AARON. Ay, some mad message from his mad grandfather. YOUNG LUCIUS. My lords, with all the humbleness I may, I greet your honours from Andronicus; [_Aside_.] And pray the Roman gods confound you both. DEMETRIUS. Gramercy, lovely Lucius. Whats the | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027211 | news? YOUNG LUCIUS. [_Aside_.] That you are both deciphered, thats the news, For villains marked with rape. [_Aloud_.] May it please you, My grandsire, well advised, hath sent by me The goodliest weapons of his armoury To gratify your honourable youth, The hope of Rome; for so he bid me say; And so I do, and with his gifts present | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027212 | Your lordships, that, whenever you have need, You may be armed and appointed well. And so I leave you both, [_Aside_.] like bloody villains. [_Exeunt Young Lucius and Attendant._] DEMETRIUS. Whats here? A scroll; and written round about? Lets see: [_Reads_.] _Integer vitae, scelerisque purus, Non eget Mauri iaculis, nec arcu._ CHIRON. O, tis a verse in Horace; I know | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027213 | it well. I read it in the grammar long ago. AARON. Ay, just; a verse in Horace; right, you have it. [_Aside_.] Now, what a thing it is to be an ass! Heres no sound jest! The old man hath found their guilt, And sends them weapons wrapped about with lines, That wound, beyond their feeling, to the quick. But | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027214 | were our witty empress well afoot, She would applaud Andronicus conceit. But let her rest in her unrest awhile. And now, young lords, wast not a happy star Led us to Rome, strangers, and more than so, Captives, to be advanced to this height? It did me good before the palace gate To brave the tribune in his brothers hearing. | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027215 | DEMETRIUS. But me more good to see so great a lord Basely insinuate and send us gifts. AARON. Had he not reason, Lord Demetrius? Did you not use his daughter very friendly? DEMETRIUS. I would we had a thousand Roman dames At such a bay, by turn to serve our lust. CHIRON. A charitable wish, and full of love. AARON. | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027216 | Here lacks but your mother for to say amen. CHIRON. And that would she for twenty thousand more. DEMETRIUS. Come, let us go and pray to all the gods For our beloved mother in her pains. AARON. [_Aside_.] Pray to the devils; the gods have given us over. [_Trumpets sound._] DEMETRIUS. Why do the emperors trumpets flourish thus? CHIRON. Belike | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027217 | for joy the emperor hath a son. DEMETRIUS. Soft, who comes here? Enter Nurse with a blackamoor Child in her arms. NURSE. Good morrow, lords. O, tell me, did you see Aaron the Moor? AARON. Well, more or less, or neer a whit at all, Here Aaron is; and what with Aaron now? NURSE. O gentle Aaron, we are all | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027218 | undone! Now help, or woe betide thee evermore! AARON. Why, what a caterwauling dost thou keep! What dost thou wrap and fumble in thy arms? NURSE. O, that which I would hide from heavens eye, Our empress shame and stately Romes disgrace. She is delivered, lords, she is delivered. AARON. To whom? NURSE. I mean, shes brought a-bed. AARON. Well, | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027219 | God give her good rest! What hath he sent her? NURSE. A devil. AARON. Why, then she is the devils dam. A joyful issue. NURSE. A joyless, dismal, black, and sorrowful issue. Here is the babe, as loathsome as a toad Amongst the fair-faced breeders of our clime. The empress sends it thee, thy stamp, thy seal, And bids thee | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027220 | christen it with thy daggers point. AARON. Zounds, ye whore, is black so base a hue? Sweet blowse, you are a beauteous blossom sure. DEMETRIUS. Villain, what hast thou done? AARON. That which thou canst not undo. CHIRON. Thou hast undone our mother. AARON. Villain, I have done thy mother. DEMETRIUS. And therein, hellish dog, thou hast undone her. Woe | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027221 | to her chance, and damned her loathed choice! Accursed the offspring of so foul a fiend! CHIRON. It shall not live. AARON. It shall not die. NURSE. Aaron, it must; the mother wills it so. AARON. What, must it, nurse? Then let no man but I Do execution on my flesh and blood. DEMETRIUS. Ill broach the tadpole on my | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027222 | rapiers point. Nurse, give it me; my sword shall soon dispatch it. AARON. Sooner this sword shall plough thy bowels up. [_Taking the baby._] Stay, murderous villains, will you kill your brother? Now, by the burning tapers of the sky That shone so brightly when this boy was got, He dies upon my scimitars sharp point That touches this my | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027223 | first-born son and heir. I tell you, younglings, not Enceladus, With all his threatening band of Typhons brood, Nor great Alcides, nor the god of war, Shall seize this prey out of his fathers hands. What, what, ye sanguine, shallow-hearted boys! Ye white-limed walls, ye alehouse-painted signs! Coal-black is better than another hue In that it scorns to bear another | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027224 | hue; For all the water in the ocean Can never turn the swans black legs to white, Although she lave them hourly in the flood. Tell the empress from me, I am of age To keep mine own, excuse it how she can. DEMETRIUS. Wilt thou betray thy noble mistress thus? AARON. My mistress is my mistress; this my self; | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027225 | The vigour and the picture of my youth. This before all the world do I prefer; This maugre all the world will I keep safe, Or some of you shall smoke for it in Rome. DEMETRIUS. By this our mother is for ever shamed. CHIRON. Rome will despise her for this foul escape. NURSE. The emperor in his rage will | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027226 | doom her death. CHIRON. I blush to think upon this ignomy. AARON. Why, theres the privilege your beauty bears. Fie, treacherous hue, that will betray with blushing The close enacts and counsels of thy heart! Heres a young lad framed of another leer. Look how the black slave smiles upon the father, As who should say Old lad, I am | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027227 | thine own. He is your brother, lords, sensibly fed Of that self blood that first gave life to you; And from your womb where you imprisoned were He is enfranchised and come to light. Nay, he is your brother by the surer side, Although my seal be stamped in his face. NURSE. Aaron, what shall I say unto the empress? | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027228 | DEMETRIUS. Advise thee, Aaron, what is to be done, And we will all subscribe to thy advice. Save thou the child, so we may all be safe. AARON. Then sit we down, and let us all consult. My son and I will have the wind of you. Keep there. Now talk at pleasure of your safety. [_They sit._] DEMETRIUS. How | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027229 | many women saw this child of his? AARON. Why, so, brave lords! When we join in league, I am a lamb; but if you brave the Moor, The chafed boar, the mountain lioness, The ocean swells not so as Aaron storms. But say again, how many saw the child? NURSE. Cornelia the midwife and myself, And no one else but | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027230 | the delivered empress. AARON. The empress, the midwife, and yourself. Two may keep counsel when the thirds away. Go to the empress; tell her this I said. [_He kills her._] Wheak, wheak! So cries a pig prepared to the spit. DEMETRIUS. What meanst thou, Aaron? Wherefore didst thou this? AARON. O Lord, sir, tis a deed of policy. Shall she | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027231 | live to betray this guilt of ours, A long-tongued babbling gossip? No, lords, no. And now be it known to you my full intent. Not far, one Muliteus lives, my countryman; His wife but yesternight was brought to bed. His child is like to her, fair as you are. Go pack with him, and give the mother gold, And tell | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027232 | them both the circumstance of all, And how by this their child shall be advanced, And be received for the emperors heir, And substituted in the place of mine, To calm this tempest whirling in the court; And let the emperor dandle him for his own. Hark ye, lords; ye see I have given her physic, [_Indicating the Nurse._] And | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027233 | you must needs bestow her funeral; The fields are near, and you are gallant grooms. This done, see that you take no longer days, But send the midwife presently to me. The midwife and the nurse well made away, Then let the ladies tattle what they please. CHIRON. Aaron, I see thou wilt not trust the air With secrets. DEMETRIUS. | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027234 | For this care of Tamora, Herself and hers are highly bound to thee. [_Exeunt Demetrius and Chiron, carrying the Nurses body._] AARON. Now to the Goths, as swift as swallow flies, There to dispose this treasure in mine arms, And secretly to greet the empress friends. Come on, you thick-lipped slave, Ill bear you hence; For it is you that | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027235 | puts us to our shifts. Ill make you feed on berries and on roots, And feed on curds and whey, and suck the goat, And cabin in a cave, and bring you up To be a warrior and command a camp. [_Exit._] SCENE III. Rome. A public Place Enter Titus, old Marcus, his son Publius, Young Lucius, and other gentlemen | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027236 | with bows, and Titus bears the arrows with letters on the ends of them. TITUS. Come, Marcus, come. Kinsmen, this is the way. Sir boy, let me see your archery. Look ye draw home enough, and tis there straight. _Terras Astraea reliquit._ Be you remembered, Marcus, shes gone, shes fled. Sirs, take you to your tools. You, cousins, shall Go | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027237 | sound the ocean and cast your nets; Happily you may catch her in the sea; Yet theres as little justice as at land. No; Publius and Sempronius, you must do it; Tis you must dig with mattock and with spade, And pierce the inmost centre of the earth. Then, when you come to Plutos region, I pray you, deliver him | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027238 | this petition; Tell him it is for justice and for aid, And that it comes from old Andronicus, Shaken with sorrows in ungrateful Rome. Ah, Rome! Well, well, I made thee miserable What time I threw the peoples suffrages On him that thus doth tyrannize oer me. Go, get you gone; and pray be careful all, And leave you not | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027239 | a man-of-war unsearched. This wicked emperor may have shipped her hence; And, kinsmen, then we may go pipe for justice. MARCUS. O Publius, is not this a heavy case, To see thy noble uncle thus distract? PUBLIUS. Therefore, my lords, it highly us concerns By day and night to attend him carefully, And feed his humour kindly as we may, | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027240 | Till time beget some careful remedy. MARCUS. Kinsmen, his sorrows are past remedy, But . . . . Join with the Goths, and with revengeful war Take wreak on Rome for this ingratitude, And vengeance on the traitor Saturnine. TITUS. Publius, how now? How now, my masters? What, have you met with her? PUBLIUS. No, my good lord; but Pluto | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027241 | sends you word, If you will have Revenge from hell, you shall. Marry, for Justice, she is so employed, He thinks, with Jove in heaven, or somewhere else, So that perforce you must needs stay a time. TITUS. He doth me wrong to feed me with delays. Ill dive into the burning lake below, And pull her out of Acheron | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027242 | by the heels. Marcus, we are but shrubs, no cedars we, No big-boned men framed of the Cyclops size; But metal, Marcus, steel to the very back, Yet wrung with wrongs more than our backs can bear; And sith theres no justice in earth nor hell, We will solicit heaven and move the gods To send down Justice for to | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027243 | wreak our wrongs. Come, to this gear. You are a good archer, Marcus. [_He gives them the arrows._] _Ad Jovem,_ thats for you; here, _Ad Apollinem_; _Ad Martem,_ thats for myself; Here, boy, to Pallas; here, to Mercury; To Saturn, Caius, not to Saturnine; You were as good to shoot against the wind. To it, boy.Marcus, loose when I bid. | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027244 | Of my word, I have written to effect; Theres not a god left unsolicited. MARCUS. Kinsmen, shoot all your shafts into the court. We will afflict the emperor in his pride. TITUS. Now, masters, draw. [_They shoot_.] O, well said, Lucius! Good boy, in Virgos lap! Give it Pallas. MARCUS. My lord, I aim a mile beyond the moon. Your | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027245 | letter is with Jupiter by this. TITUS. Ha! ha! Publius, Publius, what hast thou done? See, see, thou hast shot off one of Taurus horns. MARCUS. This was the sport, my lord; when Publius shot, The Bull, being galled, gave Aries such a knock That down fell both the Rams horns in the court; And who should find them but | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027246 | the empress villain? She laughed, and told the Moor he should not choose But give them to his master for a present. TITUS. Why, there it goes. God give his lordship joy! Enter the Clown with a basket and two pigeons in it. News, news from heaven! Marcus, the post is come. Sirrah, what tidings? Have you any letters? Shall | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027247 | I have justice? What says Jupiter? CLOWN. Ho, the gibbet-maker? He says that he hath taken them down again, for the man must not be hanged till the next week. TITUS. But what says Jupiter, I ask thee? CLOWN. Alas, sir, I know not Jubiter; I never drank with him in all my life. TITUS. Why, villain, art not thou | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027248 | the carrier? CLOWN. Ay, of my pigeons, sir; nothing else. TITUS. Why, didst thou not come from heaven? CLOWN. From heaven? Alas, sir, I never came there. God forbid I should be so bold to press to heaven in my young days. Why, I am going with my pigeons to the tribunal plebs, to take up a matter of brawl | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027249 | betwixt my uncle and one of the emperals men. MARCUS. Why, sir, that is as fit as can be to serve for your oration; and let him deliver the pigeons to the emperor from you. TITUS. Tell me, can you deliver an oration to the emperor with a grace? CLOWN. Nay, truly, sir, I could never say grace in all | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027250 | my life. TITUS. Sirrah, come hither. Make no more ado, But give your pigeons to the emperor. By me thou shalt have justice at his hands. Hold, hold; meanwhile heres money for thy charges. Give me pen and ink. Sirrah, can you with a grace deliver up a supplication? CLOWN. Ay, sir. TITUS. Then here is a supplication for you. | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027251 | And when you come to him, at the first approach you must kneel; then kiss his foot; then deliver up your pigeons; and then look for your reward. Ill be at hand, sir; see you do it bravely. CLOWN. I warrant you, sir; let me alone. TITUS. Sirrah, hast thou a knife? Come let me see it. Here, Marcus, fold | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027252 | it in the oration; For thou hast made it like a humble suppliant. And when thou hast given it to the emperor, Knock at my door, and tell me what he says. CLOWN. God be with you, sir; I will. [_Exit._] TITUS. Come, Marcus, let us go. Publius, follow me. [_Exeunt._] SCENE IV. Rome. Before the Palace Enter Emperor Saturninus | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027253 | and Empress Tamora and her two sons Chiron and Demetrius, with Attendants. The Emperor brings the arrows in his hand that Titus shot at him. SATURNINUS. Why, lords, what wrongs are these! Was ever seen An emperor in Rome thus overborne, Troubled, confronted thus; and, for the extent Of legal justice, used in such contempt? My lords, you know, as | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027254 | know the mightful gods, However these disturbers of our peace Buzz in the peoples ears, there naught hath passed But even with law against the wilful sons Of old Andronicus. And what an if His sorrows have so overwhelmed his wits? Shall we be thus afflicted in his wreaks, His fits, his frenzy, and his bitterness? And now he writes | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027255 | to heaven for his redress! See, heres to Jove, and this to Mercury, This to Apollo, this to the god of war. Sweet scrolls to fly about the streets of Rome! Whats this but libelling against the senate, And blazoning our injustice everywhere? A goodly humour, is it not, my lords? As who would say, in Rome no justice were. | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027256 | But if I live, his feigned ecstasies Shall be no shelter to these outrages; But he and his shall know that justice lives In Saturninus health; whom, if she sleep, Hell so awake as he in fury shall Cut off the proudst conspirator that lives. TAMORA. My gracious lord, my lovely Saturnine, Lord of my life, commander of my thoughts, | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027257 | Calm thee, and bear the faults of Titus age, Th effects of sorrow for his valiant sons, Whose loss hath pierced him deep and scarred his heart; And rather comfort his distressed plight Than prosecute the meanest or the best For these contempts. [_Aside_.] Why, thus it shall become High-witted Tamora to gloze with all. But, Titus, I have touched | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027258 | thee to the quick; Thy life-blood out, if Aaron now be wise, Then is all safe, the anchor in the port. Enter Clown. How now, good fellow, wouldst thou speak with us? CLOWN. Yes, forsooth, an your mistresship be emperial. TAMORA. Empress I am, but yonder sits the emperor. CLOWN. Tis he. God and Saint Stephen give you good een. | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027259 | I have brought you a letter and a couple of pigeons here. [_Saturninus reads the letter._] SATURNINUS. Go take him away, and hang him presently. CLOWN. How much money must I have? TAMORA. Come, sirrah, you must be hanged. CLOWN. Hanged! byr Lady, then I have brought up a neck to a fair end. [_Exit guarded._] SATURNINUS. Despiteful and intolerable | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027260 | wrongs! Shall I endure this monstrous villainy? I know from whence this same device proceeds. May this be borne as if his traitorous sons, That died by law for murder of our brother, Have by my means been butchered wrongfully? Go, drag the villain hither by the hair; Nor age nor honour shall shape privilege. For this proud mock Ill | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027261 | be thy slaughterman, Sly frantic wretch, that holpst to make me great, In hope thyself should govern Rome and me. Enter Aemilius. What news with thee, Aemilius? AEMILIUS. Arm, my lord! Rome never had more cause. The Goths have gathered head, and with a power Of high-resolved men, bent to the spoil, They hither march amain, under conduct Of Lucius, | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027262 | son to old Andronicus; Who threats, in course of this revenge, to do As much as ever Coriolanus did. SATURNINUS. Is warlike Lucius general of the Goths? These tidings nip me, and I hang the head As flowers with frost, or grass beat down with storms. Ay, now begins our sorrows to approach. Tis he the common people love so | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027263 | much; Myself hath often overheard them say, When I have walked like a private man, That Lucius banishment was wrongfully, And they have wished that Lucius were their emperor. TAMORA. Why should you fear? Is not your city strong? SATURNINUS. Ay, but the citizens favour Lucius, And will revolt from me to succour him. TAMORA. King, be thy thoughts imperious | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027264 | like thy name. Is the sun dimmed, that gnats do fly in it? The eagle suffers little birds to sing, And is not careful what they mean thereby, Knowing that with the shadow of his wings He can at pleasure stint their melody; Even so mayest thou the giddy men of Rome. Then cheer thy spirit; for know, thou emperor, | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027265 | I will enchant the old Andronicus With words more sweet, and yet more dangerous, Than baits to fish or honey-stalks to sheep, Whenas the one is wounded with the bait, The other rotted with delicious feed. SATURNINUS. But he will not entreat his son for us. TAMORA. If Tamora entreat him, then he will, For I can smooth and fill | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027266 | his aged ears With golden promises, that, were his heart Almost impregnable, his old ears deaf, Yet should both ear and heart obey my tongue. [_to Aemilius_] Go thou before, be our ambassador. Say that the emperor requests a parley Of warlike Lucius, and appoint the meeting Even at his fathers house, the old Andronicus. SATURNINUS. Aemilius, do this message | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027267 | honourably, And if he stand on hostage for his safety, Bid him demand what pledge will please him best. AEMILIUS. Your bidding shall I do effectually. [_Exit._] TAMORA. Now will I to that old Andronicus, And temper him with all the art I have, To pluck proud Lucius from the warlike Goths. And now, sweet emperor, be blithe again, And | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027268 | bury all thy fear in my devices. SATURNINUS. Then go successantly, and plead to him. [_Exeunt._] ACT V SCENE I. Plains near Rome Enter Lucius with an army of Goths, with drums and soldiers. LUCIUS. Approved warriors and my faithful friends, I have received letters from great Rome Which signifies what hate they bear their emperor And how desirous of | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027269 | our sight they are. Therefore, great lords, be, as your titles witness, Imperious, and impatient of your wrongs; And wherein Rome hath done you any scath, Let him make treble satisfaction. FIRST GOTH. Brave slip, sprung from the great Andronicus, Whose name was once our terror, now our comfort, Whose high exploits and honourable deeds Ingrateful Rome requites with foul | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027270 | contempt, Be bold in us. Well follow where thou leadst, Like stinging bees in hottest summers day Led by their master to the flowered fields, And be avenged on cursed Tamora. GOTHS. And as he saith, so say we all with him. LUCIUS. I humbly thank him, and I thank you all. But who comes here, led by a lusty | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027271 | Goth? Enter a Goth, leading of Aaron with his Child in his arms. SECOND GOTH. Renowned Lucius, from our troops I strayed To gaze upon a ruinous monastery; And as I earnestly did fix mine eye Upon the wasted building, suddenly I heard a child cry underneath a wall. I made unto the noise, when soon I heard The crying | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027272 | babe controlled with this discourse: Peace, tawny slave, half me and half thy dame! Did not thy hue bewray whose brat thou art, Had nature lent thee but thy mothers look, Villain, thou mightst have been an emperor. But where the bull and cow are both milk-white, They never do beget a coal-black calf. Peace, villain, peace! even thus he | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027273 | rates the babe, For I must bear thee to a trusty Goth, Who, when he knows thou art the empress babe, Will hold thee dearly for thy mothers sake. With this, my weapon drawn, I rushed upon him, Surprised him suddenly, and brought him hither To use as you think needful of the man. LUCIUS. O worthy Goth, this is | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027274 | the incarnate devil That robbed Andronicus of his good hand; This is the pearl that pleased your empress eye; And heres the base fruit of her burning lust. Say, wall-eyed slave, whither wouldst thou convey This growing image of thy fiend-like face? Why dost not speak? What, deaf? Not a word? A halter, soldiers, hang him on this tree, And | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027275 | by his side his fruit of bastardy. AARON. Touch not the boy, he is of royal blood. LUCIUS. Too like the sire for ever being good. First hang the child, that he may see it sprawl, A sight to vex the fathers soul withal. Get me a ladder. [_A ladder is brought, which Aaron is made to ascend._] AARON. Lucius, | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027276 | save the child; And bear it from me to the empress. If thou do this, Ill show thee wondrous things That highly may advantage thee to hear. If thou wilt not, befall what may befall, Ill speak no more but Vengeance rot you all! LUCIUS. Say on, and if it please me which thou speakst, Thy child shall live, and | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027277 | I will see it nourished. AARON. And if it please thee? Why, assure thee, Lucius, Twill vex thy soul to hear what I shall speak; For I must talk of murders, rapes, and massacres, Acts of black night, abominable deeds, Complots of mischief, treason, villainies, Ruthful to hear, yet piteously performed. And this shall all be buried in my death, | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027278 | Unless thou swear to me my child shall live. LUCIUS. Tell on thy mind; I say thy child shall live. AARON. Swear that he shall, and then I will begin. LUCIUS. Who should I swear by? Thou believst no god. That granted, how canst thou believe an oath? AARON. What if I do not? As indeed I do not; Yet, | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027279 | for I know thou art religious, And hast a thing within thee called conscience, With twenty popish tricks and ceremonies Which I have seen thee careful to observe, Therefore I urge thy oath; for that I know An idiot holds his bauble for a god, And keeps the oath which by that god he swears, To that Ill urge him. | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027280 | Therefore thou shalt vow By that same god, what god soeer it be That thou adorest and hast in reverence, To save my boy, to nourish and bring him up; Or else I will discover naught to thee. LUCIUS. Even by my god I swear to thee I will. AARON. First know thou, I begot him on the empress. LUCIUS. | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027281 | O most insatiate and luxurious woman! AARON. Tut, Lucius, this was but a deed of charity To that which thou shalt hear of me anon. Twas her two sons that murdered Bassianus; They cut thy sisters tongue, and ravished her, And cut her hands, and trimmed her as thou sawest. LUCIUS. O detestable villain, callst thou that trimming? AARON. Why, | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027282 | she was washed, and cut, and trimmed; and twas Trim sport for them which had the doing of it. LUCIUS. O barbarous beastly villains, like thyself! AARON. Indeed, I was their tutor to instruct them. That codding spirit had they from their mother, As sure a card as ever won the set; That bloody mind I think they learned of | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027283 | me, As true a dog as ever fought at head. Well, let my deeds be witness of my worth. I trained thy brethren to that guileful hole Where the dead corpse of Bassianus lay. I wrote the letter that thy father found, And hid the gold within that letter mentioned, Confederate with the queen and her two sons. And what | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027284 | not done, that thou hast cause to rue, Wherein I had no stroke of mischief int? I played the cheater for thy fathers hand, And, when I had it, drew myself apart, And almost broke my heart with extreme laughter. I pried me through the crevice of a wall When, for his hand, he had his two sons heads; Beheld | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027285 | his tears, and laughed so heartily That both mine eyes were rainy like to his. And when I told the empress of this sport, She sounded almost at my pleasing tale, And for my tidings gave me twenty kisses. GOTH. What, canst thou say all this and never blush? AARON. Ay, like a black dog, as the saying is. LUCIUS. | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027286 | Art thou not sorry for these heinous deeds? AARON. Ay, that I had not done a thousand more. Even now I curse the day, and yet, I think, Few come within the compass of my curse, Wherein I did not some notorious ill, As kill a man, or else devise his death; Ravish a maid, or plot the way to | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027287 | do it; Accuse some innocent, and forswear myself; Set deadly enmity between two friends; Make poor mens cattle break their necks; Set fire on barns and haystalks in the night, And bid the owners quench them with their tears. Oft have I digged up dead men from their graves, And set them upright at their dear friends door, Even when | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027288 | their sorrows almost was forgot, And on their skins, as on the bark of trees, Have with my knife carved in Roman letters, Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead. But I have done a thousand dreadful things As willingly as one would kill a fly, And nothing grieves me heartily indeed But that I cannot do ten | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027289 | thousand more. LUCIUS. Bring down the devil, for he must not die So sweet a death as hanging presently. AARON. If there be devils, would I were a devil, To live and burn in everlasting fire, So I might have your company in hell But to torment you with my bitter tongue! LUCIUS. Sirs, stop his mouth, and let him | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027290 | speak no more. Enter Aemilius. GOTH. My lord, there is a messenger from Rome Desires to be admitted to your presence. LUCIUS. Let him come near. Welcome, Aemilius. Whats the news from Rome? AEMILIUS. Lord Lucius, and you princes of the Goths, The Roman emperor greets you all by me; And, for he understands you are in arms, He craves | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027291 | a parley at your fathers house, Willing you to demand your hostages, And they shall be immediately delivered. FIRST GOTH. What says our general? LUCIUS. Aemilius, let the emperor give his pledges Unto my father and my uncle Marcus, And we will come. March away. [_Exeunt._] SCENE II. Rome. Before Tituss House Enter Tamora and her two sons, disguised. TAMORA. | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027292 | Thus, in this strange and sad habiliment, I will encounter with Andronicus, And say I am Revenge, sent from below To join with him and right his heinous wrongs. Knock at his study, where they say he keeps To ruminate strange plots of dire revenge; Tell him Revenge is come to join with him And work confusion on his enemies. | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027293 | [_They knock._] Titus above opens his study door. TITUS. Who doth molest my contemplation? Is it your trick to make me ope the door, That so my sad decrees may fly away And all my study be to no effect? You are deceived; for what I mean to do See here in bloody lines I have set down; And what | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027294 | is written shall be executed. TAMORA. Titus, I am come to talk with thee. TITUS. No, not a word; how can I grace my talk, Wanting a hand to give it action? Thou hast the odds of me; therefore no more. TAMORA. If thou didst know me, thou wouldst talk with me. TITUS. I am not mad; I know thee | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027295 | well enough. Witness this wretched stump, witness these crimson lines; Witness these trenches made by grief and care; Witness the tiring day and heavy night; Witness all sorrow that I know thee well For our proud empress, mighty Tamora. Is not thy coming for my other hand? TAMORA. Know thou, sad man, I am not Tamora; She is thy enemy, | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027296 | and I thy friend. I am Revenge, sent from th infernal kingdom To ease the gnawing vulture of thy mind By working wreakful vengeance on thy foes. Come down and welcome me to this worlds light; Confer with me of murder and of death. Theres not a hollow cave or lurking-place, No vast obscurity or misty vale, Where bloody murder | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027297 | or detested rape Can couch for fear but I will find them out, And in their ears tell them my dreadful name, Revenge, which makes the foul offender quake. TITUS. Art thou Revenge? And art thou sent to me To be a torment to mine enemies? TAMORA. I am; therefore come down and welcome me. TITUS. Do me some service | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027298 | ere I come to thee. Lo, by thy side where Rape and Murder stands; Now give some surance that thou art Revenge: Stab them, or tear them on thy chariot wheels, And then Ill come and be thy waggoner, And whirl along with thee about the globe. Provide thee two proper palfreys, black as jet, To hale thy vengeful waggon | 60 | gutenberg |
twg_000000027299 | swift away, And find out murderers in their guilty caves. And when thy car is loaden with their heads, I will dismount, and by the waggon-wheel Trot like a servile footman all day long, Even from Hyperions rising in the east Until his very downfall in the sea. And day by day Ill do this heavy task, So thou destroy | 60 | gutenberg |
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