PAN. Be moderate, be moderate.
CRES. Why tell you me of moderation?
The grief is fine, full, perfect, that I taste,
And violenteth† in a sense as strong

As that which causeth it: how can I moderate it?
If I could temporize with my affection,
Or brew it to a weak and colder palate,
The like allayment could I give my grief:
My love admits no qualifying dross; +
No more my grief, in such a precious loss.
PAN. Here, here, here he comes.-

where he answers again,

Because thou canst not ease thy smart, By friendship nor by speaking. There never was a truer rhyme. Let us cast away nothing, for we may live to have need of such a verse; we see it, we see it.-How now, lambs? TROIL. Cressid, I love thee in so strain'd* a purity,

That the bless'd gods-as angry with my fancy,
More bright in zeal than the devotion which
Cold lips blow to their deities,-take thee from me.
CRES. Have the gods envy?

PAN. Ay, ay, ay, ay; 'tis too plain a case.
CRES. And is it true that I must go from Troy?
TROIL. A hateful truth.

TROIL. And suddenly; where injury of chance
Puts back leave-taking, justles roughly by
All time of pause, rudely beguiles our lips
Of all rejoindure, forcibly prevents

Our lock'd embrasures, strangles our dear vows
Even in the birth of our own labouring breath:
We two, that with so many thousand sighs
Did buy each other, must poorly sell ourselves
With the rude brevity and discharge of one.†
Injurious Time now, with a robber's haste,
Crams his rich thievery up, he knows not how:
As many farewells as be stars in heaven,
With distinct breath and consign'd kisses to them,
He fumbles up into a loose adieu;

And scants us with a single famish'd kiss,
Distasted with the salt of broken tears.

ENE. [Without.] My lord, is the lady ready?
TROIL. Hark! you are call'd: some say the

Genius so

(+) First folio, our. (1) First folio, Distasting.

b When shall we see again?] In the folio, this inquiry is wrongly ascribed to Troilus.

CRES. O, you shall be expos'd, my lord, to As infinite as imminent! but I'll be true.

TROIL. And I'll grow friend with danger. Wear this sleeve.

[you? CRES. And you this glove. When shall I see TROIL. I will corrupt the Grecian sentinels, To give thee nightly visitation. But yet, be true. CRES.

O, heavens !-be true, again? TROIL. Hear why I speak it, love; The Grecian youths are full of quality; They're loving, well compos'd with gifts of nature,a And flowing" o'er with arts and exercise; How novelties may move, and parts with person, Alas, a kind of godly jealousy

(Which, I beseech you, call a virtuous sin) Makes me afeard.*

CRES.

O, heavens! you love me not. TROIL. Die I a villain then! In this I do not call your faith in question, So mainly as my merit: I cannot sing, Nor heel the high lavolt, nor sweeten talk, Nor play at subtle games; fair virtues all,

To which the Grecians are most prompt and pregnant:

But I can tell, that in each grace of these
There lurks a still and dumb-discoursive devil,
That tempts most cunningly but be not tempted.
CRES. Do you think I will?

TROIL. NO.

But something may be done that we will not:
And sometimes we are devils to ourselves,
When we will tempt the frailty of our powers,
Presuming on their changeful potency.
ENE. [Without.] Nay, good my lord,-
Come, kiss; and let us part.
PAR. [Without.] Brother Troilus !
TROIL.

TROIL.

Good brother, come you hither; And bring Æneas and the Grecian with you. CRES. My lord, will you be true?

TROIL. Who, I? alas, it is my vice, my fault: Whiles others fish with craft for great opinion, I with great truth catch mere simplicity; Whilst some with cunning gild their copper crowns, With truth and plainness I do wear mine bare. Fear not my truth; the moral of my wit Is-plain and true;-there's all the reach of it.

Enter ENEAS, PARIS, ANTENOR, DEIPHOBUS, and DIOMEDes.

Welcome, sir Diomed! here is the lady,
Which for Antenor we deliver you:

At the port, lord, I'll give her to thy hand;
And by the way possess thee what she is.
Entreat her fair; and, by my soul, fair Greek,
If e'er thou stand at mercy of my sword,
Name Cressid, and thy life shall be as safe
As Priam is in Ilion.

Dro.

Fair lady Cressid,
So please you, save the thanks this prince expects :
The lustre in your eye, heaven in your cheek,
Pleads your fair usage; * and to Diomed
You shall be mistress, and command him wholly.
TROIL. Grecian, thou dost not use me cour-
teously,

To shame the zeal† of my petition to thee,‡
In praising her: I tell thee, lord of Greece,
She is as far high-soaring o'er thy praises,
As thou unworthy to be call'd her servant.

I charge thee use her well, even for my charge;
For, by the dreadful Pluto, if thou dost not,
Though the great bulk Achilles be thy guard,
I'll cut thy throat!

DIO. O, be not mov'd, prince Troilus : Let me be privileg'd by my place and message, To be a speaker free; when I am hence, I'll answer to my lust: and know you,|| lord, I'll nothing do on charge: to her own worth She shall be priz'd; but that you say-Be't so, I'll speak it in my spirit and honour,-No.

TROIL. Come, to the port. I'll tell thee, Diomed,

This brave shall oft make thee to hide thy head.Lady, give me your hand; and, as we walk, To our own selves bend we our needful talk.(2) [Exeunt TROILUS, CRESSIDA, and DIOMEDES. [Trumpet heard.

PAR. Hark! Hector's trumpet. ENE. How have we spent this morning! The prince must think me tardy and remiss, That swore to ride before him to the field.

PAR. 'Tis Troilus' fault: come, come, to field

with him.

MEN. You fillip me o' the head. CRES.

No, I'll be sworn.

Come, stretch thy chest, and let thy eyes spout

blood;

AGAM. Most dearly welcome to the Greeks, sweet lady.

NEST. Our general doth salute you with a kiss. ULYSS. Yet is the kindness but particular; "Twere better, she were kiss'd in general.

NEST. And very courtly counsel: I'll begin.So much for Nestor. lady: ACHIL. I'll take that winter from your lips, fair Achilles bids you welcome.

MEN. I had good argument for kissing once. PATR. But that's no argument for kissing now: For thus popp'd Paris in his hardiment; And parted thus you and your argument."

ULYSS. O, deadly gall, and theme of all our scorns!

For which we lose our heads to gild his horns. PATR. The first was Menelaus' kiss ;—this, mine :

ULYSS. It were no match, your nail against his

horn.

May I, sweet lady, beg a kiss of you?

CRES. You may.

ULYSS.

CRES.

I do desire it.

Why, beg, then.b ULYSS. Why, then, for Venus' sake, give me a kiss,

When Helen is a maid again, and his.

CRES. I am your debtor, claim it when 'tis due.
ULYSS. Never's my day, and then a kiss of you.
Dio. Lady, a word;-I'll bring you to your
father.
[Exit with CRESSIDA.
NEST. A woman of quick sense.
ULYSS.
Fie, fie upon her!
There's language in her eye, her cheek, her lip,
Nay, her foot speaks; her wanton spirits look out
At every joint and motive of her body.
O, these encounterers, so glib of tongue,
That give a coasting welcome ere it comes,
And wide unclasp the tables of their thoughts
To every ticklish* reader! set them down
For sluttish spoils of opportunity,

And daughters of the game. [Trumpet without.
ALL. The Trojans' trumpet!
AGAM.
Yonder comes the troop.

Or else a breath: the combatants being kin, Half stints their strife before their strokes begin. [AJAX and HECTOR enter the lists. ULYSS. They are oppos'd already. AGAM. What Trojan is that same that looks so heavy? [knight;

ULYSS. The youngest son of Priam, a true Not yet mature, yet matchless; firm of word; Speaking in deeds, and deedless in his tongue; Not soon provok'd, nor being provok'd soon calm'd: His heart and hand both open and both free; For what he has he gives, what thinks, he shows; Yet gives he not till judgment guide his bounty, Nor dignifies an impair thought with breath: Manly as Hector, but more dangerous; For Hector, in his blaze of wrath, subscribes To tender objects; but he, in heat of action, Is more vindicative than jealous love: They call him Troilus; and on him erect A second hope, as fairly built as Hector. Thus says Eneas; one that knows the youth Even to his inches, and, with private soul, Did in great Ilion thus translate him to me.

[Alarum. HECTOR and AJAX fight.(3) AGAM. They are in action.

NEST. Now, Ajax, hold thine own!

TROIL.

Awake thee!

Hector, thou sleep'st;

ENE.
Princes, enough, so please you.
AJAX. I am not warm yet; let us fight again.
Dio. As Hector pleases.
НЕСТ.
Why then, will I no more:-
Thou art, great lord, my father's sister's son,
A cousin-german to great Priam's seed;
The obligation of our blood forbids
A gory emulation 'twixt us twain:
Were thy commixtion Greek and Trojan so,
That thou could'st say-This hand is Grecian all,
And this is Trojan; the sinews of this leg
All Greek, and this all Troy; my mother's blood
Runs on the dexter cheek, and this sinister
Bounds-in my father's; by Jove multipotent,
Thou should'st not bear from me a Greekish
member

Wherein my sword had not impressure made
Of our rank feud! But the just gods gainsay,
That any drop thou borrow'dst from thy mother,
My sacred aunt, should by my mortal sword
Be drained! Let me embrace thee, Ajax :
By him that thunders, thou hast lusty arms;
Hector would have them fall upon him thus:
Cousin, all honour to thee!

AJAX.
I thank thee, Hector :
Thou art too gentle and too free a man :
I came to kill thee, cousin, and bear hence
A great addition earned in thy death.

HECT. Not Neoptolemus so mirable

(On whose bright crest Fame with her loud'st O

yes

Cries, This is he,) could promise to himself
A thought of added honour torn from Hector.
ENE. There is expectance here from both the
sides,

What further you will do.
HECT.
We'll answer it;
The issue is embracement :-Ajax, farewell.
AJAX. If I might in entreaties find success
(As seld I have the chance), I would desire
My famous cousin to our Grecian tents.

Dio. 'Tis Agamemnon's wish: and great
Achilles

Doth long to see unarm'd the valiant Hector. HECT. Æneas, call my brother Troilus to me: And signify this loving interview

To the expecters of our Trojan part; Desire them home.-Give me thy hand, my cousin :

I will go eat with thee, and see your knights. AJAX. Great Agamemnon comes to meet us here. [name;

HECT. The worthiest of them tell me name by

a Or else a breath:] That is, a breathing; a combat merely for exercise. The folio reads "breach."

b Nor dignifies an impair thought-] Mr. Dyce, perhaps rightly, reads," an impure thought."

c Not Neoptolemus-] By Neoptolemus was meant Achilles; VOL. III. 305

(*) First folio, could'st.

the author, as Johnson conjectured, supposing, as that hero's son was Pyrrhus Neoptolemus, Neoptolemus must have been the nomen gentilitium.

Χ