Enter Marcus.

Go, gentle Marcus, to thy nephew Lucius;
Thou shalt inquire him out among the Goths:
Bid him repair to me, and bring with him
Some of the chiefest princes of the Goths;
Bid him encamp his soldiers where they are:
Tell him the emperor, and the empress too,
Feast at my house, and he shall feast with

them.

This do thou for my love; and so let him,
As he regards his aged father's life.

Mar. This will I do, and soon return again. [Exit. Tam. Now will I hence about thy business, And take my ministers along with me.

Tit. Nay, nay, let Rape and Murder stay
with me;

Or else I'll call my brother back again,
And cleave to no revenge but Lucius.

Tam. Aside to them] What say you, boys?
wili you abide with him,

Whiles I go tell my lord the emperor,
How I have govern'd our determin'd jest?
Yield to his humour, smooth and speak him fair,
And tarry with him till I turn again.

Tit. [Aside.] I know them all, though they
suppose me mad;

And will o'er-reach them in their own devices, A pair of cursed hell-hounds, and their dam. Dem. Aside to Tam.] Madam, depart at pleasure; leave us here.

Tam. Farewell, Andronicus; Revenge now To lay a complot to betray thy foes. [goes [Exit Tamora. Tit. I know thou dost; and, sweet Revenge, farewell. [ploy'd Chi. Tell us, old man, how shall we be emTit. Tut, I have work enough for you to do. Publius, come hither, Caius, and Valentine! Enter Publius and others.

Pub. What is your will?
Tit. Know you these two?
Pub. The empress' sons,

I take them. Chiron and Demetrius.
Tit. Fie, Publius, fie! thou art too much
deceiv'd ;

The one is Murder, Rape is the other's name;
And therefore bind them, gentle Publius;
Caius and Valentine, lay hands on them;
Oft have you heard me wish for such an hour,
And now I find it; therefore bind them sure;
And stop their mouths, if they begin to cry.

Exit Titus. Publius, &c., seize Chiron and Demetrius. [sons. Chi. Villains, forbear! we are the empress' Pub. And therefore do we what we are, commanded. [word. Stop close their mouths, let them not speak a Is he sure bound? look that you bind them fast.

Re-enter Titus Andronicus, with Lavinia ; she bearing a hason, and he a knife.

Tit. Come, come, Lavinia; look, thy foes are bound.

Sirs, stop their mouths, let them not speak to

me;

But let them hear what fearful words I utter.
O villains, Chiron and Demetrius !
Here stands the spring whom you have stain'd
with mud;

This goodly summer with your winter mix'd.
You kill'd her husband; and, for that vile fault,
Two of her brothers were condemn'd to death,
My hand cut off, and made a merry jest ;
Both her sweet hands, her tongue, and that
more dear

Than hands or tongue, her spotless chastity,
Inhuman traitors, you constrain'd and forc'd.
What would you say, if I should let you speak?
Villains, for shame you could not beg for grace.
Hark, wretches! how I mean to martyr you.
This one hand yet is left to cut your throats,
Whilst that Lavinia 'tween her stumps doth
hold

The bason that receives your guilty blood.
You know your mother means to feast with me,
And calls herself Revenge, and thinks me mad:
Hark, villains! I will grind your bones to dust,
And with your blood and it I'll make a paste;
And of the paste a coffin I will rear,
And make two pasties of your shameful heads;
And bid that strumpet, your unhallow'd dam,
Like to the earth, swallow her own increase.
This is the feast that I have bid her to,
And this the banquet she shall surfeit on;
For worse than Philomel you us'd my daughter,
And worse than Progne I will be reveng'd:
And now prepare your throats. Lavinia, come,
[He cuts their throats.
Receive the blood: and when that they are
dead,

Let me go grind their bones to powder small,
And with this hateful liquor temper it;
And in that paste let their vile heads be
bak'd.-

[prove

Come, come, be every one officious
To make this banquet; which I wish may
More stern and bloody than the Centaurs' feast.
So, now bring them in, for I will play the cook,
And see them ready 'gainst their mother comes.
[Exeunt, bearing the dead bodies.
SCENE III.-The Same. A pavilion.
Enter Lucius, Marcus, and Goths, with Aaron,
prisoner.

Luc. Uncle Marcus, since it is my father's
That I repair to Rome, I am content. mind,
1 Goth. And ours, with thine, befall what
fortune will.
[Moor,
Luc. Good uncle, take you in this barbarous
This ravenous tiger, this accursed devil ;
Let him receive no sustenance, fetter him,
Till he be brought unto the empress' face,
For testimony of her foul proceedings:
And see the ambush of our friends be strong;
I fear the emperor means no good to us.
Aar. Some devil whisper curses in mine

ear,

the parle ;

These quarrels must be quietly debated. The feast is ready, which the careful Titus Hath ordain'd to an honourable end, [Rome: For peace, for love, for league, and good to Please you, therefore, draw nigh, and take Sat. Marcus, we will. [your places. [Hautboys sound. The company sit down at table. Enter Titus, dressed like a cook, Lavinia, veiled, young Lucius, and others. Titus places the dishes on the table. Tit. Welcome, my gracious lord; welcome, dread queen;

Welcome, ye warlike Goths; welcome, Lucius; And welcome, all : although the cheer be poor, "Twill fill your stomachs; please you eat of it. Sat. Why art thou thus attir'd, Andronicus? Tit. Because I would be sure to have all well,

To entertain your highness, and your empress.
Tam. We are beholden to you, good An-
dronicus.
[you were.
Tit. And if your highness knew my heart,
My lord the emperor, resolve me this:
Was it well done of rash Virginius,
To slay his daughter with his own right hand,
Because she was enforced, stain'd, and de-
Sat. It was, Andronicus.
[flower'd?

Tit. Your reason, mighty lord!
Sat. Because the girl should not survive

her shame,

And by her presence still renew his sorrows.
Tit. A reason mighty, strong, and effectual;
A pattern, precedent, and lively warrant,
For me, most wretched, to perform the like:
Die, die, Lavinia, and thy shame with thee;
[Kills Lavinia.
And, with thy shame, thy father's sorrow die!
Sat. What hast thou done, unnatural and
unkind?
[made me blind.
Tit. Kill'd her, for whom my tears have
I am as woful as Virginius was,

Tam. Why hast thou slain thine only daughter thus ?

Tit. Not I; 'twas Chiron and Demetrius: They ravish'd her, and cut away her tongue : And they, 'twas they, that did her all this wrong.

Sat. Go, fetch them hither to us presently. Tit. Why, there they are both, baked in that pie;

Whereof their mother daintily hath fed, Eating the flesh that she herself hath bred. 'Tis true, 'tis true; witness my knife's sharp point. [Kills Tamora.

Sat. Die, frantic wretch, for this accursed deed!

[Kills Titus. Luc. Can the son's eye behold his father bleed? [deed! There's meed for meed, death for a deadly [Kills Saturninus. A great tumult. The people in confusion disperse. Marcus, Lucius, and their partisans, ascend the steps of Titus' house. [of Rome, Mar. You sad-fac'd men, people and sons By uproar sever'd, like a flight of fowl Scatter'd by winds and high tempestuous O, let me teach you how to knit again [gusts, This scatter'd corn into one mutual sheaf, These broken limbs again into one body; Lest Rome herself be bane unto herself, And she, whom mighty kingdoms court'sy to, Like a forlorn and desperate cast-away, Do shameful execution on herself. But if my frosty signs and chaps of age, Grave witnesses of true experience, Cannot induce you to attend my words, [To Lucius.] Speak, Rome's dear friend: as

erst our ancestor,

When with his solemn tongue he did discourse
To love-sick Dido's sad attending ear,
The story of that baleful burning night [Troy,
When subtle Greeks surpris'd king Priam's
Tell us what Sinon hath bewitch'd our ears,
Or who hath brought the fatal engine in,
That gives our Troy, our Rome, the civil
wound.

My heart is not compact of flint, nor steel;
Nor can I utter all our bitter grief,
But floods of tears will drown my oratory,
And break my very utterance, even i' the time
When it should move you to attend me most,
Lending your kind commiseration.
Here is a captain, let him tell the tale;
Your hearts will throb and weep to hear him
speak.
[you,

Luc. Then, noble auditory, be it known to That cursed Chiron and Demetrius [ther, Were they that murdered our emperor's broAnd they it were that ravished our sister:

headed;

the deed.

Our father's tears despis'd, and basely cozen'd
Of that true hand that fought Rome's quarrel
And sent her enemies unto the grave.
Lastly, myself unkindly banished,

[out,

Before the Palace of Antioch.
Enter Gower.

To sing a song that old was sung,
From ashes ancient Gower is come;
Assuming man's infirmities,

To glad your ear, and please your eyes.
It hath been sung at festivals,
On ember-eves, and holy-ales;
And lords and ladies in their lives
Have read it for restoratives:
The purchase is to make inen glorious;
Et bonum quo antiquius, eo melius.
If you, born in these latter times,
When wit's more ripe, accept my rhymes,
And that to hear an old man sing,
May to your wishes pleasure bring,
I life would wish, and that I might
Waste it for you, like taper-light.
This Antioch, then, Antiochus the great
Built up, this city, for his chiefest seat;
The fairest in all Syria;

I tell you what mine authors say:
This king unto him took a pheere,
Who died and left a female heir,
So buxom, blithe, and full of face,
As heaven had lent her all his grace;
With whom the father liking took,

And her to incest did provoke :

Which to prevent, he made a law,
To keep her still, and men in awe,
That whoso ask'd her for his wife,
His riddle told not, lost his life:
So for her many a wight did die,
As yon grim looks do testify.
What now ensues, to the judgment of your
I give, my cause who best can justify eye

[Exit.

SCENE I.-Antioch. A Room in the Palace. Enter Antiochus, Pericles, and Attendants. Ant. Young prince of Tyre, you have at large receiv'd

The danger of the task you undertake.

Per. I have, Antiochus; and, with a soul Embolden'd with the glory of her praise, Think death no hazard in this enterprise. Ant. Bring in our daughter, clothed like a bride,

For the embracements even of Jove himself;
At whose conception, till Luciňa reign'd,
Nature this dowry gave, to glad her presence,
The senate-house of planets all did sit,
To knit in her their best perfections. [Music.
Enter the Daughter of Antiochus
Per. See where she comes, apparell'd like

the spring,

To evil, should be done by none:
By custom what they did begin,
Was with long use account no sin.
The beauty of this sinful dame
Made many princes thither frame,
To seek her as a bed-fellow,
In marriage pleasures play-fellow :

Nothing but curious pleasures, as from thence
Sorrow were ever ras'd, and testy wrath
Could never be her mild companion.

Ye gods, that made me man, and sway in love,
That have inflam'd desire in my breast,
To taste the fruit of yon celestial tree,
Or die in the adventure, be my helps,

As I am son and servant to your will,
To compass such a boundless happiness!
Ant. Prince Pericles,---

Per. That would be son to great Antiochus.
Ant. Before thee stands this fair Hesperides,
With golden fruit, but dangerous to be touch'd;
For death-like dragons here affright thee hard:
Her face, like heaven, enticeth thee to view
Her countless glory, which desert must gain;
And which, without desert, because thine eye
Presumes to reach, all thy whole heap must die.
Yon sometime famous princes, like thyself,
Drawn by report, adventurous by desire,
Tell thee, with speechless tongues, and sem-
blance pale,

That, without covering, save yon field of stars,
They here stand martyrs, slain in Cupid's wars;
And with dead cheeks advise thee to desist,
For going on death's net, whom none resist.
Per. Antiochus, I thank thee, who hath
My frail mortality to know itself, [taught

And by those fearful objects to prepare
This body, like to them, to what I must:
For death remember'd should be like a mirror,
Who tells us, life's but breath; to trust it,

error.

I'll make my will, then: and, as sick men do, Who know the world, see heaven, but feeling woe,

Gripe not at earthly joys, as erst they did :
So, I bequeath a happy peace to you,
And all good men, as every prince should do;
My riches to the earth from whence they
came; [To the Daughter of Antiochus.
But my unspotted fire of love to you.
Thus, ready for the way of life or death,
I wait the sharpest blow.

[then;

For he's no man on whom perfections wait,
That, knowing sin within, will touch the gate.
You're a fair viol, and your sense the strings;
Who, finger'd to make man his lawful music,
Would draw heaven down, and all the gods,
to hearken;

But being play'd upon before your time,
Hell only danceth at so harsh a chime.
Good sooth, I care not for you.

Ant. Prince Pericles, touch not, upon thy For that's an article within our law, [life, As dangerous as the rest. Your time's expir'd: Either expound now, or receive your sentence. Per. Great king,

Few love to hear the sins they love to act;
'Twould 'braid yourself too near for me to tell it.
Who has a book of all that monarchs do,
He's more secure to keep it shut than shown:
For vice repeated, is like the wandering wind,
Blows dust in others' eyes, to spread itself;
And yet the end of all is bought thus dear,
The breath is gone, and the sore eyes see clear;
To stop the air would hurt them. The blind
mole casts

Copp'd hills towards heaven, to tell the earth is throng'd

By man's oppression; and the poor worm doth
die for't.
[will;

Kings are earth's gods; in vice their law's their
And if Jove stray, who dares say Jove doth ill?
It is enough you know; and it is fit,
What being more known grows worse, to
smother it.

All love the womb that their first being bred, Then give my tongue like leave to love my head.

Ant. Aside] Heaven, that I had thy head! he has found the meaning:

I will gloze with him.-[Aloud.] Young
prince of Tyre,

Though by the tenour of our strict edict,
Your exposition misinterpreting,
We might proceed to cancel of your days;
Yet hope, succeeding from so fair a tree
As your fair self, doth tune us otherwise :
Forty days longer we do respite you;
If by which time our secret be undone,
This mercy shows we'll joy in such a son:
And until then your entertain shall be,
As doth befit our honour, and your worth.
[Exeunt all but Pericles.
Per. How courtesy would seem to cover sin !
When what is done is like a hypocrite,
The which is good in nothing but in sight!
If it be true that I interpret false,
Then were it certain you were not so bad,
As with foul incest to abuse your soul;
Where now you're both a father and a son,
By your untimely claspings with your child,
(Which pleasure fits a husband, not a father ;)
And she an eater of her mother's flesh,
By the defiling of her parent's bed; [feed
And both like serpents are, who though they
On sweetest flowers, yet they poison breed.