Agam. He hears nought privately, that comes from Troy. Ene. Nor I from Troy come not to whisper him: I bring a trumpet to awake his ear; To set his sense on the attentive bent, And then to speak. Agam. Speak frankly as the wind; It is not Agamemnon's sleeping hour: That thou shalt know, Trojan, he is awake, Ene. Trumpet, blow loud, Send thy brass voice through all these lazy tents ;And every Greek of mettle, let him know, What Troy means fairly, shall be spoke aloud. [Trumpet sounds. We have, great Agamemnon, here in Troy A prince call'd Hector, (Priam is his father,) Who in this dull and long-continued truce Is rusty grown; he bade me take a trumpet, And to this purpose speak: Kings, princes, lords! If there be one, among the fair'st of Greece, That holds his honour higher than his ease; That seeks his praise more than he fears his peril; That knows his valour, and knows not his fear; That loves his mistress more than in confession, (With truant vows to her own lips he loves,) And dare avow her beauty and her worth, In other arms than hers,-to him this challenge. Hector, in view of Trojans and of Greeks, Shall make it good, or do his best to do it, He hath a lady, wiser, fairer, truer, Than ever Greek did compass in his arms; And will to-morrow with his trumpet call, Mid-way between your tents and walls of Troy, To rouse a Grecian that is true in love: If any come, Hector shall honour him; If none, he'll say in Troy, when he retires, The Grecian dames are sun-burn'd, and not worth The splinter of a lance. Even so much. Agam. This shall be told our lovers, lord Æneas; If none of them have soul in such a kind, We left them all at home: But we are soldiers; And may that soldier a mere recreant prove, That means not, hath not, or is not in love! If then one is, or hath, or means to be, That one meets Hector: if none else, I am he. Nest. Tell him of Nestor, one that was a man When Hector's grandsire suck'd: he is old now; Agam. Fair lord Æneas, let me touch your hand; To our pavilion shall I lead you, sir. Achilles shall have word of this intent; So shall each lord of Greece, from tent to tent: [Exeunt all but Ulysses and Nestor. Ulyss. Nestor, Nest. What says Ulysses? Ulyss. I have a young conception in my brain, Be you my time to bring it to some shape. Nest. What is't? Ulyss. This 'tis: Blunt wedges rive hard knots: The seeded pride In rank Achilles, must or now be cropp'd, To overbulk us all. Nest. Well, and how? Ulyss. This challenge, that the gallant Hector sends, However it is spread in general name, Relates in purpose only to Achilles. Nest. The purpose is perspicuous even as sub stance, Whose grossness little characters sum up: Ulyss. And wake him to the answer, think you? It is most meet; Whom may you else oppose, Yes, That can from Hector bring those honours off, And in such indexes, although small pricks Of things to come at large. It is suppos'd, What heart receives from hence a conquering part, Ulyss. Give pardon to my speech ; Therefore 'tis meet, Achilles meet not Hector. By showing the worse first. Do not consent, For both our honour and our shame, in this, Nest. I see them not with my old eyes; what are Ulyss. What glory our Achilles shares from Hector, Were he not proud, we all should share with him: But he already is too insolent; And we were better parch in Africk sun, 1 His crest, that prouder than blue Iris bends. That we have better men. But, hit or miss, Now I begin to relish thy advice; And I will give a taste of it forthwith To Agamemnon; go we to him straight. ACT II. SCENE I. Another part of the Grecian camp. Enter AJAX and THERSITES. Ajax. Thersites, Ther. Agamemnon-how if he had boils? full, all over, generally? Ajax. Thersites, Ther. And those boils did run?-Say so,-did not the general run then? were not that a botchy core ? Ajax. Dog,- Ther. Then would come some matter from him; I see none now. Ajax. Thou bitch-wolf's son, canst thou not hear? Feel then. [Strikes him. Ther. The plague of Greece upon thee, thou mongrel beef-witted lord! Ajar. Speak then, thou unsalted leaven, speak: I'll beat thee into handsomeness. Ther. I shall sooner rail thee into wit and holiness: but, I think, thy horse will sooner con an oration, than thou learn a prayer without book. Thou canst strike, canst thou? a red murrain o'thy jade's tricks! Ajar. Toads-stool, learn me the proclamation. Ther. Dost thou think, I have no sense, thou strikest me thus? Ajar. The proclamation, Ther. Thou art proclaimed a fool, I think. and I had the scratching of thee; I would make thee the loathsomest scab in Greece. When thou art forth in the incursions, thou strikest as slow as another. Ajax. I say, the proclamation, Ther. Thou grumblest and railest every hour on Achilles; and thou art as full of envy at his greatness, as Cerberus is at Proserpina's beauty, ay, that thou barkest at him. Ajax. Mistress Thersites ! Ther. Thou shouldst strike him. Ther. He would pun thee into shivers with his fist, as a sailor breaks a biscuit. Ajaa. You whoreson cur! Ther. Do, do. Ajax. Thou stool for a witch! [Beating him. Ther. Ay, do, do; thou sodden-witted lord! thou hast no more brain than I have in mine elbows! an assinego may tutor thee: Thou scurvy valiant ass! thou art here put to thrash Trojans ; and thou art bought and sold among those of any wit, like a barbarian slave. If thon use to beat me, I will begin at thy heel, and tell what thou art by inches, thou thing of no bowels, thou! Ajax. You dog! Ther. You scurvy lord! Ajax. You cur! [Beating him. Ther. Mars his idiot! do, rudeness; do, camel; do, do. Enter ACHILLES and PATROCLUS. Achil. Why, how now, Ajax? wherefore do you thus? How now, Thersites? what's the matter, man? Achil. Ay; what's the matter? Ther. Nay, look upon him. Achil. So I do; What's the matter? Ther. Nay, but regard him well. Achil. Well, why I do so. Ther. But yet you look not well upon him: for, whosoever you take him to be, he is Ajax. Achil. I know that, fool. Ther. Ay, but that fool knows not himself. Ther. Lo, lo, lo, lo, what modicums of wit he |