Tro. Good brother, come you hither; And bring Æneas, and the Grecian, with you. Cres. My lord, will you be true? Tro. Who, I? alas, it is my vice, my fault: While others fish with craft for great opinion, I with great truth catch mere simplicity; Whilst some with cunning gold their copper crowns, With truth and plainness I do wear mine bare. Enter ENEAS, PARIS, ANTENOR, DEIPHOBUS, and DIOMEDES. Welcome, Sir Diomed! here is the lady, At the port, lord, I'll give her to thy hand; [pects: Dio. Fair lady Cressid, To shame the zeal of my petition to thee, Dio. O, be not mov'd, prince Troilus: This brave shall oft make thee to hide thy Lady, give me your hand; and, as we walk, To our own selves bend we our needful talk. [Exeunt TROILUS, CRESSIDA, and DIOMED. [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. Dei. Let us make ready straight. Ene. Yea, with a bridegroom's fresh alacrity, Let us address to tend on Hector's heels: [Exeunt. Thou dreadful Ajax; that the appalled air May pierce the head of the great combatant, And hale him thither. Ajax. Thou, trumpet, there's my purse. Now crack thy lungs, and split thy brazen pipe: Blow, villain, till thy sphered bias cheek Out-swell the colic of puff'd Aquilon: Come, stretch thy chest, and let thy eyes spout blood; Thou blow'st for Hector. Ulyss. No trumpet answers. [Trumpet sounds. Agum. Is not yon Diomed, with Calchas' daughter? Ulyss. 'Tis he, I ken the manner of his gait; Enter DIOMED, with CRESSIDA. Agam. Most dearly welcome to the Greeks, sweet lady. Nest. Our general doth salute you with a kiss. "Twere better, she were kiss'd in general. Ulyss. Yet is the kindness but particular; Nest. And very courtly counsel: I'll begin.So much for Nestor. Achil. I'll take that winter from your lips, fair lady: Achilles bids you welcome. now: Men. I had good argument for kissing once. Patr. But that's no argument for kissing 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. Paris, and I, kiss evermore for him. Men. I'll have my kiss, Sir:-Lady, by your leave. Cres. In kissing do you render or receive? The kiss you take is better than you give Therefore no kiss. his horn. May I, sweet lady, beg a kiss of you? Cres. You may. Ulyss. I do desire it. Cres. Why, beg then. 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. [DIOMED leads out CREssida. Nest. A woman of quick sense. There's language in her eye, her cheek, her lip, Enter HECTOR, armed; ENEAS, TROILUS, and other Trojans, with Attendants. Ene. Hail, all the state of Greece! what shall be done [pose, To him that victory commands? Or do you pur A victor shall be known? will you, the knights Shall to the edge of all extremity Pursue each other; or shall they be divided By any voice or order of the field? Hector bade ask. Agam. Which way would Hector have it? Ene. He cares not, he'll obey conditions. Achil. 'Tis done like Hector; but securely done, A little proudly, and great deal misprising The knight oppos'd. Ene. If not Achilles, Sir, What is your name? Achil. If not Achilles, nothing. In the extremity of great and little, Achil. A maiden battle then?-O, I perceive you. Re-enter DIOMED. Agam. Here is Sir Diomed :-Go, gentle knight, Stand by our Ajax: as you and lord Æneas 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? Ulyss. The youngest son of Priam, a true knight; 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 judgement guide his bounty, * Motion. + Breathing, exercise. + Stops. Unsuitable to his character. No boaster. Ene. Princes, enough, so please you. Ajax. I am not warm yet, let us fight again. Dio. As Hector pleases. Thou art, great lord, my father's sister's son, Hect. Why then, will I no more :cousin-german to great Priam's seed; A The obligation of our blood forbids Runs on the dexter; cheek, and this sinisters Wherein my sword had not impressure made Of our rank feud: But the just gods gainsay, Than any drop thou borrow'st from thy mother, My sacred aunt, should by my mortal sword Be drain'd! Let me embrace thee, Ajax: Hector would have them fall upon him thus: By him that thunders, thou hast lusty arms; Cousin, all honour to thee! Ajax. I thank thee, Hector: Thou art too gentle, and too free a man: Hect. Not Neoptolemus so mirable A thought of added honour torn from Hector. Ene. There is expectance here from both the What further you will do. Hect. We'll answer it; [sides, The issue is embracement :-Ajax, farewell. Ajax. If I might in entreaties tind success, (As seld** I have the chance,) I would desire My famous cousin to our Grecian tents. Dio. 'Tis Agamemnon's wish: and great Doth long to see unarm'd the valiant Hector. here. And that old common arbitrator, time, Will one day end it. And formless ruin of oblivion; come. Hect. I thank thee, most imperious* Aga memnon. Agam. My well fam'd lord of Troy, no less You brace of warlike brothers, welcome hither. Hect. O you, my lord? by Mars his gauntlet, thanks! Mock not, that I affect the untraded oath; Your quondam wife swears still by Venus' glove: [you. She's well, but bade me not commend her to Men. Name her not now, Sir; she's a deadly theme. Hect. O pardon; I offend. Nest. I have, thou gallant Trojan, seen thee Labouring for destiny, make cruel way [oft, Through ranks of Greekish youth: and I have seen thee, As hot as Perseus, spur thy Phrygian steed, Not letting it decline on the declin'd ;§ But, by great Mars, the captain of us all, Hect. Let me embrace thee, good old chronicle, [time:That hast so long walk'd hand in hand with Most reverend Nestor, I am glad to clasp thee. Nest. I would my arms could match thee in contention, As they contend with thee in courtesy. [row. By this white beard, I'd fight with thee to-morWell, welcome, welcome! I have seen the time Ulyss. I wonder now how yonder city stands, When we have here her base and pillar by us. Hect. I know your favour, lord Ulysses, well. Ah, Sit, there's many a Greek and Trojan dead, Since first I saw yourself and Diomed In Ilion, on your Greekish embassy. Ulyss. Sir, I foretold you then what would [come: Ulyss. So to him we leave it. Most gentle, and most valiant Hector, welAfter the general, I beseech you next To feast with me, and see me at my tent. Achil. I shall forestall thee, lord Ulysses, thou! Now, Hector, I have fed mine eyes on thee; I have with exact view perus'd thee, Hector, And quoted joint by joint. Hect. Is this Achilles? Achil. I am Achilles. Hect. Stand fair, I pray thee: let me look on thee. Achil. Behold thy fill. Hect. Nay, I have done already. Achil. Thou art too brief; I will the second time, As I would buy thee, view thee limb by limb. Hect. O, like a book of sport thou'lt read me o'er; But there's more in me than thou understand'st. vens! Hect. It would discredit the bless'd gods, proud man, To answer such a question: Stand again: Think'st thou to catch my life so pleasantly, As to prenominatet in nice conjecture, Where thou wilt hit me dead? Achil. I tell thee, yea. Hect. Wert thou an oracle to tell me so, I'd not believe thee. Henceforth guard thee well; [there; For I'll not kill thee there, nor there, nor Ajax. Do not chafe thee, cousin ;- Hect. I pray you, let us see you in the field; We have had pelting|| wars, since you refus'd The Grecians' cause. Achil. Dost thou entreat me, Hector? To-morrow, do I meet thee, fell as death; To-night, all friends. Hect. Thy hand upon that match. Agam. First, all you peers of Greece go to There Diomed doth feast with him to-night; Who neither looks upon the heaven, nor earth, But gives all gaze and bent of amorous view On the fair Cressid. Tro. Shall I, sweet lord, be bound to you so much, After we part from Agamemnon's tent, Ulyss. You shall command me, Sir. Tro. O, Sir, to such as boasting show their scars, Both taxing me, and gaging me to keep [it: An oath that I have sworn. I will not break Fall, Greeks; fail, fame; honour, or go, or stay; My major vow lies here, this I'll obey.-——— Come, come, Thersites, help to trim my tent. This night in banqueting must all be spent. Away, Patroclus. [Exeunt ACHILLES and PATROCLUS, Ther. With too much blood, and too little brain, these two may run mad; but if with too much brain, and too little blood, they do, I'll be a curer of madmen. Here's Agamemnon, -an honest fellow enough, and one that loves A mock is due. Will you walk on, my lord?quails; but he has not so much brain as ear- ACT V. SCENE I.-The Grecian Camp.-Before ACHILLES' Tent. Enter ACHILLES and PATROCLUS. Achil. I'll heat his blood with Greekish wine to-night, Which with my scimitar I'll cool to-morrow. Patroclus, let us feast him to the height. Patr. Here comes Thersites. Enter THERSITES. Achil. How now, thou core of envy? Thou crusty batch of nature, what's the news? Ther. Why, thou picture of what thou seemest, and idol of idiot-worshippers, here's a letter for thee. Achil. From whence, fragment? Ther. Why, thou full dish of fool, from Troy. Putr. Who keeps the tent now? Ther. The surgeon's box, or the patient's wound. Patr. Well said, Adversity!* and what need these tricks? Ther. Pr'ythee be silent, boy; I profit not by thy talk: thou art thought to be Achilles' male varlet. Patr. Male varlet, you rogue! what's that? Ther. Why, his masculine whore. Now the rotten diseases of the south, the guts-griping, ruptures, catarrhs, loads o'gravel i'the back, lethargies, cold palsies, raw eyes, dirt-rotten livers, wheezing lungs, bladders full of imposthume, sciaticas, limekilns i'the palm, incurable bone-ache, and the rivelled fee-simple of the tetter; take and take again such preposterous discoveries! Patr. Why thou damnable box of envy, thou, what meanest thou to curse thus? Ther. Do I curse thee? Patr. Why, no, you ruinous butt; you whore son indistinguishable cur, no. Ther. No? why art thou then exasperate, thou idle immaterial skein of sleivet silk, thou green sarcenet flap for a sore eye, thou tassel of a prodigal's purse, thou? Ah, how the poor world is pestered with such water-flies; diminutives of nature! Patr. Out, gall! Ther. Finch egg! Achil. My sweet Patroclus, I am thwarted wax: And the goodly transformation of Jupiter there, his brother, the bull,-the primitive statue, and oblique memorial of cuckolds; a thrifty shoeing-horn in a chain, hanging at his brother's leg,-to what form, but that he is, should wit larded with malice, and malice forced with wit, turn him to? To an ass, were nothing; he is both ass and ox: to an ox were nothing; he is both ox and ass. To be a dog, a mule, a cat, a fitchew, a toad, a lizard, an owl, a puttock, or a herring without a row, I would not care: but to be Menelaus,-I would conspire against destiny. Ask me not what I would be, if I were not Thersites; for I care not to be the louse of a lazar, so I were not Menelaus.-Hey-day! spirits and fires! Enter HECTOR, TROILUS, AJAX, AGAMEMNON, ULYSSES, NESTOR, MENELAUS, and DIOMED, with Lights. Agam. We go wrong, we go wrong, Ulyss. Here comes himself to guide you. Ther. That same Diomed's a false-hearted rogue, a most unjust knave; I will no more trust him when he leers, than I will a serpent when he hisses: he will spend his mouth, and promise, like Brabler the hound; but when he performs, astronomers foretell it; it is prodigious, there will come some change; the sun borrows of the moon, when Diomed keeps his word. I will rather leave to see Hector, than not to dog him: they say, he keeps a Trojan drab, and uses the traitor Calchas' tent: I'll after. Nothing but lechery! all incontinent varlets! [Exit. e.-Before CALCHAS' SCENE 11.-The same.- Enter DIOMEDES. Dio. What are you up here, ho? speak. Dio. Diomed.-Calchas, I think.-Where's your daughter? Cal. [Within.] She comes to you. Enter TROILUS and ULYSSES, at a distance; after them THERSITES. Ulyss. You shake, my lord, at something; will you go? You will break out. Tro. She strokes his cheek! Tro. Nay, stay; by Jove, I will not speak a There is between my will and all offences Ulyss. Stand where the torch may not disco- rump, and potatoe finger, tickles these together! Dio. Good night. Tro. Hold, patience! Ulyss. How now, Trojan? Cres. Diomed, Fry, lechery, fry! Dio. But will you then? Cres. In faith, I will, la; never trust me else. Ulyss. You have sworn patience. I will not be myself, nor have cognitiont Re-enter CRESSIDA. (Exit. Ther. Now the pledge; now, now, now! Tro. I will be patient; outwardly I will. well. He loved me-O false wench!-Giv't me again.. Cres. No matter, now I hav't again. I will not meet with you to-morrow night; stone. Dio. I shall have it. Cres. What, this? Dio. Ay, that. Cres. O, all you gods!-O pretty pretty Thy master now lies thinking in his bed glove, And gives memorial dainty kisses to it, [me; Dio. No, no, good night: I'll be your fool no He, that takes that, must take my heart withal. |