Why are you sequester'd from all your train? Dismounted from your snow-white goodly steed,

And wander'd hither to an obscure plot,
Accompanied with a barbarous Moor,
If foul desire had not conducted you?

Lav. And, being interrupted in your sport,
Great reason that my noble lord be rated
For sauciness.-I pray you, let us hence,
And let her 'joy her raven-colour'd love;
This valley fits the purpose passing well.
Bas. The king, my brother, shall have note
of this.

Lav. Ay, for these slips have made him noted long:

Good king! to be so mightily abus'd!

To see her tears: but be your heart to them, As unrelenting flint to drops of rain.

Lav. When did the tiger's young ones teach the dam?

Enter CHIRON and DEMETRIUS.

Dem. How now, dear sovereign, and our

gracious mother,

Why doth your highness look so pale and wan? Tam. Have I not reason, think you, to look pale?

These two have 'tic'd me hither to this place,
A barren detested vale, you see, it is:
The trees, though summer, yet forlorn and lean,
O'ercome with moss, and baleful misletoe.
Here never shines the sun; here nothing
breeds,

Unless the nightly owl, or fatal raven.
And, when they show'd me this abhorred pit,
They told me, here, at dead time of the night,
A thousand fiends, a thousand hissing snakes,
Ten thousand swelling toads, as many ur-
chins,*

Would make such fearful and confused cries,
As any mortal body, hearing it,

[here

Should straight fall mad, or else die suddenly.
No sooner had they told this hellish tale,
But straight they told me, they would bind me
Unto the body of a dismal yew;
And leave me to this miserable death.
And then they call'd me, foul adulteress,
Lascivious Goth, and all the bitterest terms
That ever ear did hear to such effect.
And, had you not by wondrous fortune come,
This vengeance on me had they executed:
Revenge it, as you love your mother's life,
Or be ye not henceforth call'd my children.
Dem. This is a witness that I am thy son.
[Stabs BASSIANUS.
Chi. And this for me, struck home to show
my strength. [Stabbing him likewise.
Lav. Ay, come, Semiramis,-nay, barbarous
Tamora!

For no name fits thy nature but thy own!
Tam. Give me thy poinard; you shall know,
my boys,
[wrong.
Your mother's hand shall right your mother's
Dem. Stay, madam, here is more belongs to
her;
[straw:
First, thrash the corn, then after burn the
This minion stood upon her chastity,
Upon her nuptial vow, her loyalty,
And with that painted hope braves your
mightiness:

And shall she carry this unto her grave?

Chi. An if she do, I would I were a eunuch.

Drag hence her husband to some secret hole, And make his dead trunk pillow to our lust. Tam. But when you have the honey you desire,

Let not this wasp outlive, us both to sting. * Hedge-hogs.

thee:

The milk, thou suck'dst from her, did turn to marble;

Even at thy teat thou hadst thy tyranny.—
Yet every inother breeds not sons alike;
Do thou entreat her show a woman's pity.
[TO CHIRON.

Chi. What! would'st thou have me prove myself a bastard?

Lav. 'Tis true; the raven doth not hatch a lark:

Yet I have heard, (O could I find it now!)
The lion mov'd with pity, did endure
To have his princely paws par'd all away.
Some say that ravens foster forlorn children,
The whilst their own birds famish in their

Lav. O, let me teach thee: for my father's sake,

That gave thee life, when well he might have slain thee,

Be not obdurate, open thy deaf ears.

Tam. Had thou in person ne'er offended me,
Even for his sake am I pitiless :-
Remember, boys, I pour'd forth tears in vain,
To save your brother from the sacrifice;
But fierce Andronicus would not relent.
Therefore away with her, and use her as you
will;

The worse to her, the better lov'd of me.
Lar. O Tamora, be call'd a gentle queen,
And with thine own hands kill me in this
place:

For 'tis not life, that I have begg'd so long;
Poor I was slain, when Bassianus died.

Tam. What begg'st thou then; fond woman, let me go.

Lav. 'Tis present death I beg; and one thing more,

That womanhood denies my tongue to tell:
O, keep me from their worse than killing lust,
And tumble me into some loathsome pit;
Where never man's eye may behold my body:
Do this, and be a charitable murderer.

Tam. So should I rob my sweet sons of their fee:

No, let them satisfy their lust on thee. Dem. Away, for thou hast staid us here too long.

Lav. No grace? no womanhood? Ah, beastly creature!

The blot and enemy to our general name '
Confusion fall-

Chi. Nay, then I'll stop your mouth :-
Bring thou her husband;

[Dragging of LAVINIA

Enter AARON, with QUINTUS and MARTIUS.

Aar. Come on, my lords; the better foot before:

Straight will I bring you to the loathsone pit,
Where I espy'd the panther fast asleep.
Quin. My sight is very dull, whate'er it
bodes.

Mart. And mine, I promise you; wer't not for shame,

Well could I leave our sport to sleep awhile. [MARTIUS falls into the Pit. Quin. What art thou fallen? What subtle hole is this, [briers; Whose mouth is cover'd with rude-growing Upon whose leaves are drops of new-shed blood,

As fresh as morning's dew distill'd on flowers? A very fatal place it seems to me:- [fall? Speak, brother, hast thou hurt thee with the Mart. O, brother, with the dismallest object That ever eye, with sight, made heart lament. Aar. [Aside.] Now will I fetch the king to

find them here;

Mart. Nor I no strength to climb without thy help.

Quin. Thy hand once more; I will not loose Till thou art here aloft, or I below: (again, Thou canst not come to me, I come to thee. [Falls in.

Enter SATURNINUS and AARON.

Sat. Along with me:-I'll see what bolt is here,

And what he is, that now is leap'd into it. Say, who art thou, that lately didst descend Into this gaping hollow of the earth?

Mart. The unhappy son of old Andronicus; Brought thither in a most unlucky hour, To find thy brother Bassianus dead.

Sat. My brother dead? I know, thou dat but jest:

He and his lady both are at the lodge, Upon the north side of this pleasant chase;

'Tis not an hour since I left him there.

Mart. We know not where you left him d alive,

But, out alas! here have we found him dead. Enter TAMORA, with Attendants; TITUS AxDRONICUS, and Lucius.

Tam. Where is my lord, the king? Sut. Here, Tamora; though griev'd with kill ing grief.

Tam. Where is thy brother Bassianus? Sat. Now to the bottom dost thou search Poor Bassianus here lies murdered. my wound; Tum. Then all too late I bring this fatal writ, [Giving a Letter

ther.

me out

[Exit.

From this unhallow'd and blood-stained hole? Quin. Tam surprised with an uncouth fear: A chilling sweat o'er-runs my trembling joints; My heart suspects more than mine eye can

see.

Mart. To prove thou hast a true-divining heart,

Aaron and thou look down into this den,
And see a fearful sight of blood and death.
Quin. Aaron is gone; and my compassionate

heart

Will not permit mine eyes once to behold
The thing, whereat it trembles by surmise:
O, tell me how it is; for ne'er till now
Was I a child, to fear I know not what.

Mart. Lord Bassianus lies embrewed here,
All on a heap, like to a slaughter'd lamb,
In this detested, dark, blood-drinking pit.
Quin. If it be dark, how dost thou know 'tis

he?

Mart. Upon his bloody finger he doth wear A precious ring, that lightens all the hole, Which, like a taper in some monument, Doth shine upon the dead man's earthy cheeks, And shows the ragged entrails of this pit:/ So pale did shine the moon on Pyramus, When he by night lay bath'd in maiden blood. O brother, help me with thy fainting hand,If fear hath made thee faint, as me it hath,Out of this fell devouring receptacle, As hateful as Cocytus' misty mouth.

Quin. Reach me thy hand, that I may help

thee out;

Or, wanting strength to do hee so much good,
I may be pluck'd into the swallowing womb
Of this deep pit, poor Bassianus' grave.
I have no strength to pluck thee to the brink.

Sat. [Reads.] An if we miss to meet him hand

somely,

Sweet huntsman, Bassianus 'tis, we mean,-
Do thou so much as dig the grave for him;
Thou know'st our meaning: Look for thy rewa
Among the nettles at the elder tree,

Which overshades the mouth of that same pit,
Where we decreed to bury Bassianus.
Do this, and purchase us thy lasting friends.
O, Tamora! was ever heard the like?

This is the pit, and this the elder tree:
Look, Sirs, if you can find the huntsman out,
That should have murder'd Bassianus here.
Aar. My gracious lord, here is the bag of

gold.

[Showing it.

Sat. Two of thy whelps, [To Tir.] fell curs of bloody kind,

Have here bereft my brother of his life:Sirs, drag them from the pit unto the prison; There let them bide, until we have devis'd Some never-heard-of torturing pain for them. Tam. What, are they in this pit? O WOR

drous thing! How easily murder is discovered!

Tit. High emperor, upon my feeble knee I beg this boon, with tears not lightly shed, That this fell fault of my accursed sons, Accursed, if the fault be prov'd in them,

Sut. If it be prov'd! you see, it is appa

A stone is silent, and offendeth not; [death. And tribunes with their tongues doom men to But wherefore stand'st thou with thy weapon drawn?

Luc. To rescue my two brothers from their death:

For which attempt, the judges have pronounc'd My everlasting doom of banishment.

Tit. O happy man! they have befriended thee. Why, foolish Lucius, dost thou not perceive, That Rome is but a wilderness of tigers? Tigers must prey; and Rome affords no prey, But me and mine: How happy art thou then, From these devourers to be banished? But who comes with our brother Marcus here?

Enter MARCUS and LAVINIA.

Mar. Titus, prepare thy noble eyes to weep; Or, if not so, thy noble heart to break; I bring consuming sorrow to thine age. Tit. Will it consume me? let me see it then. Mar. This was thy daughter. Tit. Why, Marcus, so she is. Luc. Ah me! this object kills me!

Tit. Faint-hearted boy, arise, and look upon her:

Speak, my Lavinia, what accursed hand
Hath made thee handless in thy father's sight?
What fool hath added water to the sea?
Or brought a faggot to bright burning Troy?
My grief was at the height before thou cam'st,
And now, like Nilus, it disdaineth bounds.
Give me a sword, I'll chop off my hands too;
For they have fought for Rome, and all in vain;
And they have nurs'd this woe, in feeding life;
In bootless prayer have they been held up,
And they have serv'd me to effectless use:
Now, all the service I require of them
Is, that the one will help to cut the other.-
'Tis well, Lavinia, that thou hast no hands;
For hands, to do Rome service, are but vain.
Luc. Speak, gentle sister, who hath martyr'd
thee?

Mar. O, that delightful engine of her thoughts, [quence, That blabb'd them with such pleasing eloIs torn from forth that pretty hollow cage: Where, like a sweet melodious bird, it sung Sweet varied notes, enchanting every ear! Luc. O, say thou for her, who hath done this deed?

Mar. O, thus I found her, straying in the park,

Seeking to hide herself, as doth the deer,
That hath receiv'd some unrecuring wound.
Tit. It was my deer; and he that wounded
her,

Hath hurt me more, than had he kill'd me dead:
For now I stand as one upon a rock,
Environ'd with a wilderness of sea; [wave,
Who marks the waxing tide grow wave by
Expecting ever when some envious surge
Will in his brinish bowels swallow him.
This way to death my wretched sons are gone;
Here stands my other son, a banish'd man;
And here, my brother, weeping at my woes;
But that, which gives my soul the greatest

It would have madded me; What shall I do
Now I behold thy lively body so?
Thou hast no hands, to wipe away thy tears;
Nor tongue, to tell me who hath martyr'd thee:
Thy husband he is dead; and, for his death,
Thy brothers are condemn'd, and dead by
this:-

Look, Marcus! ah, son Lucius, look on her'
When I did name her brothers, then fresh

tears

Stood on her cheeks; as doth the honey dew Upon a gather'd lily almost wither'd.'

Mar. Perchance, she weeps because they kill'd her husband: Perchance, because she knows them innocent. Tit. If they did kill thy husband, then be joyful,

Because the law hath ta'en revenge on them.No, no, they would not do so foul a deed; Witness the sorrow that their sister makes.Gentle Lavinia, let me kiss thy lips;

Or make some sign how I may do thee ease: Shall thy good uncle, and thy brother Lacias, And thou, and I, sit round about some fourtain;

Looking all downwards, to behold thy cheeks How they are stain'd; like meadows, yet not dry

With miry slime left on them by a flood? And in the fountain shall we gaze so long, Till the fresh taste be taken from that clearness. And made a brine-pit with our bitter tears! Or shall we cut away our hands, like thine? Or shall we bite our tongues, and in dumb

shows

Let Marcus, Lucius, or thyself old Titus, Or any one of you, chop off your hand, And send it to the king: he for the same, Will send thee hither both thy sons alive; And that shall be the ransom for their fault.

Tit. O, gracious emperor! O, gentle Aaron! Did ever raven sing so like a lark, That gives sweet tidings of the sun's uprise! With all my heart, I'll send the emperor My hand:

Good Aaron, wilt thou help to chop it off? Luc. Stay, father; for that noble hand of thine,

That hath thrown down so many enemies, Shall not be sent: my hand will serve the turn: My youth can better spare my blood than you; And therefore mine shall save my brother's lives.

Mar. Which of your hands hath not defended
Rome,

And rear'd aloft the bloody battle-axe,
Writing destruction on the enemy's castle ?
O, none of both but are of high desert:
My hand hath been but idle; let it serve
To ransom my two nephews from their death;
Then have I kept it to a worthy end.

Aar. Nay, come agree, whose hand shall go
along,

For fear they die before their pardon come.
Mar. My hand shall go.

Luc. By heaven, it shall not go.

Tit. Sirs, strive no more; such wither'd herbs as these

Are meet for plucking up, and therefore mine. Luc. Sweet father, if I shall be thought thy

son,

Let me redeem my brothers both from death. Mar. And, for our father's sake, and mother's care,

Now let me show a brother's love to thee.
Tit. Agree between you; I will spare my
hand.

Luc. Then I'll go fetch an axe.
Mur. But I will use the axe.

[Exeunt LUCIUS and MARCUS. Tit. Come hither, Aaron; I'll deceive them both;

Lend me thy hand, and I will give thee mine. Aar. If that be call'd deceit, I will be honest, And never, whilst I live, deceive men so :But I'll deceive you in another sort, [Aside. And that you'll say, ere half an hour can pass. [He cuts off TITUS' Ĥand.

Enter LUCIUS and MARCUS.

Tit. Now, stay your strife; what shall be, is despatch'd.

[Aside.

Good Aaron, give his majesty my hand:
Tell him, it was a hand that warded him
From thousand dangers; bid him bury it;
More hath it merited, that let it have.
As for my sons, say, I account of them
As jewels purchas'd at an easy price;
And yet dear too, because I bought mine own.
Aar. I go, Andronicus: and for thy hand,
Look by and by to have thy sons with thee:-
Their heads, I mean.-O, how this villany
Doth fat me with the very thoughts of it!
Let fools do good, and fair men call for grace,
Aaron will have his soul black like his face.
[Exit.
Tit. O, here I lift this one hand up to heaven,
And bow this feeble ruin to the earth:
If any power pities wretched tears, [me?
To that I call;-What, wilt thou kneel with
[To LAVINIA.
Do then, dear heart; for heaven shall hear our

prayers;

Or with our sighs we'll breathe the welkin dim, And stain the sun with fog, as sometime clouds, When they do hug him in their melting bosoms. Mar. O! brother, speak with possibilities, And do not break into these deep extremes. Tit. Is not my sorrow deep, having no

bottom?

Then be my passions bottomless with them. Mar. But yet let reason govern thy lament. Tit. If there were reason for these miseries,

* Sufferings.

Then into limits could I bind my woes: When heaven doth weep, doth not the earth o'erflow?

If the winds rage, doth not the sea wax mad, Threat'ning the welkin with his big-swoln face?

And wilt thou have a reason for this coil?*
I am the sea; hark, how her sighs do blow!
She is the weeping welkin, I the earth:
Then must my sea be moved with her sighs;
Then must my earth with her continual tears
Become a deluge, overflow'd and drown'd:
For why? my bowels cannot hide her woes,
But like a drunkard must I vomit them.
Then give me leave; for losers will have leave
To ease their stomachs with their bitter tongues.
Enter a MESSENGER, with two Heads and a
Hand.

Mess. Worthy Andronicus, ill art thou repaid For that good hand thou sent'st the emperor. Here are the heads of thy two noble sons; And here's thy hand, in scorn to thee sent back;

Thy griefs their sports, thy resolution mock'd:
That woe is me to think upon thy woes,
More than remembrance of my father's death.
[Exit.

Mar. Now let hot Ætna cool in Sicily,
And be my heart an ever-burning hell!
These miseries are more than may be borne !
To weep with them that weep doth ease some
But sorrow flouted at is double death. [deal,
Luc. Ah, that this sight should make so deep

a wound,

And yet detested life not shrink thereat!
That ever death should let life bear his name,
Where life hath no more interest but to breathe!
[LAVINIA kisses him.
Mar. Alas, poor heart, that kiss is comfort-
As frozen water to a starved snake. [less,
Tit. When will this fearful slumber have an
end?

Mar. Now, farewell, flattery: Die, Andro-
nicus;
[heads;
Thou dost not slumber: see, thy two sons'
Thy warlike hand; thy mangled daughter here;
Thy other banish'd son, with this dear sight
Struck pale and bloodless; and thy brother, I,
Even like a stony image, cold and numb.
Ah! now no more will I control thy griefs:
Rent off thy silver hair, thy other hand [sight
Gnawing with thy teeth; and be this dismal
The closing up of our most wretched eyes!
Now is a time to storm; why art thou still?
Tit. Ha, ha, ha!

Mar. Why dost thou laugh? it fits not with this hour.

Besides this sorrow is an enemy,
Tit. Why, I have not another tear to shed:

And would usurp upon my watery eyes,
And make them blind with tributary tears;
Then which way shall I find revenge's cave?
And threat me, I shall never come to bliss,
For these two heads do seem to speak to me ;
Till all these mischiefs be return'd again,
Even in their throats that have committed them.
Come, let me see what task I have to do.
You heavy people, circle me about;
That I may turn me to each one of you,
The vow is made.-Come, brother, take a head;
And swear unto my soul to right your wrongs.
And in this hand the other will I bear:
Lavinia, thou shalt be employed in these
things;

* Stir, bustle.