By him one step below: he, by the next; Agam. The nature of the sickness found, Ulysses, What is the remedy? Ulyss. The great Achilles, whom opinion crowns The sinew and the forehand of our host,Having his ear full of his airy fame, Grows dainty of his worth, and in his tent Lies mocking our designs: With him, Patroclus, Upon a lazy bed, the livelong day Breaks scurril jests, And with ridiculous and awkward action (Which, slanderer, he imitation calls) He pageants us. Sometime, great Agamemnon, Thy topless deputation he puts on; And, like a strutting player, whose conceit Lies in his ham-string, and doth think it rich To hear the wooden dialogue and sound 'Twixt his stretch'd footing and the scaffoldage, Such to-be-pitied and o'er-rested seeming He acts thy greatness in: and when he speaks, 'Tis like a a chime a m chime a mending; with terms unsquar'd, Which, from the tongue of roaring Typhon drop'd, Would seem hyperboles. At this fusty stuff, The large Achilles, on his press'd bed lolling, In such a rein', in full as proud a place 5 (A slave, whose gall coins slanders like a mint) 10 Count wisdom as no member of the war; Of their observant toil, the enemies weight, Nest. Let this be granted, and Achilles' horse 25 Makes many Thetis' sons. 'd, 30 Agam. What trumpet? look, Menelaus. Men. From Troy. Enter Eneas. Cries Excellent!-'tis Agamemnon just. - 35 'Fore all the Greekish heads, which with one voice From his deep chest laughs out a loud applause; Agam. With surety stronger than Achilles' arm 'Now play me Nestor;-hem, and stroke thy Call Agamemnon head and general. ' beard, • As he, being 'drest to some oration. That's done as near as the extremest ends Æne. Fair leave, and large security. How may A stranger to those most imperial looks Know them from eyes of other mortals? Of parallels; as like as Vulcan and his wife: Yet good Achilles still cries, 'Excellent! 40 Agam. How? 'Tis Nestor right! Now playhim me, Patroclus, • Arming to answer in a night alarm.' And then, forsooth, the faint defects of age Ane. I ask, that I might waken reverence, And bid the cheek be ready with a blush Modest as morning when she coldly eyes The youthful Phœbus: Must be the scene of mirth; to cough, and spit, 45 Which is that god in office, guiding men? In pleasure of my spleen.' And in this fashion, 50 As bending angels; that's their fame in peace: (Whoni, as Ulysses says, opinion crowns With an imperial voice) many are infect. Ajax is grown self-will'd; and bears his head But when they would seem soldiers, they have galls, [accord, Good arms, strong joints, true swords; and, Jove's Nothing so full of heart. But peace, Æneas, 55 Peace, Trojan; lay thy finger on thy lips! The worthiness of praise distains his worth, If that the prais'd himself bring the praise forth: But what the repining enemy commends, That breath fame blows; that praise, sole pure, from Troy. 1601 Ar emulation not vigorous and active, but malignant and sluggish. • Topless means supreme, sovere gn. Read o'er-wrested, i, e. over-charged. * All our good of grace exact, means our excellene irreprehensible. * That is, holds up his head as haughtily. We still say of a girl, she A rank weed is a high weed. transcends. bridle. Agam. Agam. Sir, you of Troy, call you yourself Eneast Ane. Sir, pardon; 'tis for Agamemnon's ears. [him: Ane. Nor I from Troy come not to whisper Agam. Speak frankly as the wind; Ane. Trumpet, blow loud, We have, great Agamemnon, here in Troy Agam. This shall be told our lovers, lord Æneas; As may be in the world: His youth in flood, I'll pawn this truth with my three drops of blood. Ane. Nowheavens forbid such scarcityof youth! Ulyss. Amen. Agam. Fair lord Æneas, let me touch your hand; Ulyss. Nestor, 15 Be you my time to bring it to some shape. Ulyss. This challenge that the gallant Hector 25 However it is spread in general name, [sends, Relates in purpose only to Achilles. [stance, Nest. The purpose is perspicuous even as subWhose grossness little characters sum up3: And, in the publication, make no strain, 30 But that Achilles, were his brain as barren As banks of Libya,-though, Apollo knows, 'Tis dry enough,-will with great speed of judge ment, Ay, with celerity, find Hector's purpose 35 Pointing on him. Ulyss. And wake him to the answer, think you? Nest. Yes, 'tis most meet: Whom may you else oppose, That can from Hector bring those honours off, 40 If not Achilles? Though't be a sportful combat, Yet in this trial much opinion dwells; For here the Trojans taste our dear'st repute With their fin'st palate: And trust to me, Ulysses, Our imputation shall be oddly pois'd 45 In this wild action: for the success, If then one is, or hath, or means to be, Although particular, shall give a scantling That one meets Hector; if none else, I am he. 50 The baby figure of the giant mass Of things to come at large. It is suppos'd, He, that meets Hector, issues from our choices And choice, being mutual act of all our souls, Makes merit her election; and doth boil, 55 As 'twere from forth us all, a man distill'd Out of our virtues; Who miscarrying, What heart receives from hence a conquering To steel a strong opinion to themselves? [part, Which entertain'd, limbs are in his instruments, Nest. Tell him of Nestor, one that was a man When Hector's grandsire suck'd: he is old now; But, if there be not in our Grecian host One noble man that hath one spark of fire, To answer for his love, Tell him from me,I'll hide my silver beard in a gold beaver, And in my vantbrace2 put this wither'd brawn; And, meeting him, will tell him, That my lady Was fairer than his grandame, and as chaste Confession for profession. 2 An armour for the arm, -avantbras. 3 Substance is estate; the value of which is ascertained by the use of small characters, i. e. numerals. i. e. make no difficulty, no doubt, when this duel comes to be proclaimed, but that Achilles, dull as he is, will discot er the drift of it. Sinall points compared with the volumes. In no less working, thân are swords and bows Ulyss. Give pardon to my speech; In taint of our best man. No, make a lottery; 10 Yet go we under our opinion still, Our project's life this shape of sense assumes, Were he not proud, we all should share with him: 15 Now I begin to relish thy advice; Nest. I see them not with my old eyes; What Ulyss. What glory our Achilles shares from Hec But he already is too insolent; And we were better parch in Africk sun, Than in the pride and salt scorn of his eyes, Should he 'scape Hector fair: If he were foil'd, And I will give a taste of it forthwith Why, then we did our main opinion crush 20 [Exeunt. SCENE I The Grecian Camp. Enter Ajax, and Thersiles. Ajax. THERSITES, Ther. ACT II. 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. Thou art proclaim'd a fool, I think. Ajax. Donot, porcupine, donot; my fingersitch. 35 Ther. I would, thou didst itch from head to foot, and I had the scratching of thee; I would make thee the loathsomest scab in Greece. When thou art forth in the incursions, thou strik'st as slow as another. 40 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 Proserpine's beauty, ay, that thou bark'st at him, Ther. Then there would come some matter 45 Ajax. Mistress Thersites! from him; I see none now. Ajax. Thou bitch-wolf's son, canst thou not [Strikes him. hear? Feel then. Ther. The plague of Greece upon thee, thou mungrel beef-witted lord! Ajar. Speak then, thou unsalted leaven3, speak: I will beat thee into handsomeness. Ther. I shall sooner rail thee into wit and holi ness: but, I think, thy horse will sooner con an Ther. Thou should'st strike him, his fist, as a sailor breaks a bisket, 50 Ajax. You whoreson cur! Ther. Do, do. oration, than thou learn a prayer without book. 55 an assinego may tutor thee: Thou scurvy valiant Thou canst strike, canst thou? a red murrain o' thy jade's tricks! Ajax. Toads-stool, learn me the proclamation. Ther: Dost thou think, I have no sense, thou strik'st me thus? Ajax. The proclamation, 'i. e. the lot [Beating him. Ajdx. Thou stool for a witch ! thou hast no more brain than I have in my elbows; ass! thou art here put to thrash Trojans; and thou art bought and sold among those of any wit, will begin at thy heel and tell what thou art by like a barbarian slave. If thou use to beat me, I 60 inches, thou thing of no bowels, thou! leaven, means sour without salt; metaphorically, malignity without wit. Tarre is an old English word, signifying to provoke or urge on. in some counties called by this name. * Pun is, in the midland counties, the vulgar and colloquial word for pound. legs tied across, that all the weight of her body might rest upon her seat; and by that means, after In one way of trying a witch, they used to place her on a chair or stool, with her some time, the circulation of the blood would be much stopped, and her sitting would be as painful as the wooden horse.. Assinego seems to have been a cant term for a foolish fellow, Assinega Ther Portuguese for a little ass. 3 K Achil. Well, why I do so. I come any more to your tents; I will keep where Ther. But yet you look not well upon him: for, 15 there is wit stirring, and leave the faction of fools. whosoever you take him to be, he is Ajax. [Exit. Achil. I know that, fool. Patr. A goodriddance. Ther. Ay, but that fool knows not himself. Achil. Marry this, sir, is proclaim'd through Ajax. Therefore I beat thee. all our host: Ther. Lo, lo, lo, lo, what modicums of wit he 20 That Hector, by the fifth hour of the sun, utters! his evasions have ears thus long. I have bobb'd his brain, more than he has beat my bones: I will buy nine sparrows for a penny, and his pia mater is not worth the ninth part of a sparrow. Will, with a trumpet, 'twixt our tents and Troy, This lord, Achilles, Ajax, who wears his wit in 25 Ajax. Farewell. Who shall answer him? his belly, and his guts in his head, I'll tell you what I say of him. Achil. I know not, it is put to lottery; otherwise, He knew his man. Achil. What? Ther. I say, this Ajax Ajax. O, meaning you :-I'll go learn more Achil. Nay, good Ajax. 30 [Ajax offers to strike him, Achilles interposes. Ther. Has not so much wit SCENE II. TROY. Priam's Palace. Enter Priam, Hector, Troilus, Paris, and Helenus. Shall be struck of:-Hector, what say you to't? As far as toucheth my particular, yet, 45 Dread Priam, There is no lady of more softer bowels, 50 Surety secure; but modest doubt is call'd The beacon of the wise, the tent that searches Ther. Even so?-a great deal of your wit too 55 Hath been as dear as Helen; I mean, of ours: lies in your sinews, or else there be liars. Hector shall have a great catch, if he knock out either of your brains; 'a were as good crack a fusty nut with no kernel. Achil. What, with me too, Thersites? Ther. There's Ulysses and old Nestor, whose wit was mouldy ere your grandsires had nails on If we have lost so many tenths of ours, He calls Patroclus, in contempt, Achilles' dog. Troi. Fie, fie, my brother! Disme, Fr. is the tithe, the teath. S So great as our dread father, in a scale If you'll avouch, 'twas wisdom Paris went, With spans and inches so diminutive As fears and reasons? fie, for godly shame! [sons, Hel. No marvel, though you bite so sharp at reaYou are so empty of them. Should not our father Bear the great sway of his affairs with reasons, 5 And cry'd-Inestimable!) why do you now But, thieves, unworthy of a thing so stolen, 15 Because your speech hath none, that tells him so? 10 That we have stolen what we do fear to keep ! Troi. You are for dreams and slumbers, brother thoughts Cas. [within.] Cry, Trojans, cry! Enter Cassandra, rating. Cas. Virgins and boys, mid-age and wrinkled Soft infancy, that nothing canst but cry, With this cramm'd reason: reason and respect 25 Add to my clamours! let us pay betimes Make livers pale, and lustyhood deject. [cost Hect. Brother, she is not worth what she doth The holding. Troi. What is aught, but as 'tis valu'd? A moiety of that mass of moan to come. Hect. But value dwells not in particular will; 30 Cry, Trojans, cry! a Helen, and a woe: It holds his estimate and dignity As well wherein 'tis precious of itself, As in the prizer: 'tis mad idolatry, To make the service greater than the god; Cry, cry! Troy burns, or else let Helen go. [Exit. Hect. Now, youthful Troilus, do not these high strains Of divination in our sister work 35 Some touches of remorse? or is your blood And the will dotes, that is inclinable Troi. Why, brother Hector, My will enkindled by mine eyes and ears, Although my will distaste what it elected, 40 We may not think the justness of each act Cannot distaste the goodness of a quarrel, Teblench from this, and to stand firm by honour: 45 Which hath our several honours all engag'd We turn not back the silks upon the merchant, When we have soil'd them; nor the remainder To make it gracious. For my private part, viands And Jove forbid, there should be done amongst us We do not throw in unrespective sieve2, And, for an old aunt, whom the Greeks held 55 All fears attending on so dire a project. captive, 60 Were I alone to pass the difficulties, The meaning is, that greatness to which no measure bears any proportion. That is, into a common voider. 1. e. corrupt; change to a worse state. Nor Such things as would offend the weakest spleen 50 To fight for and maintain ! Par. Else might the world convince of levity For what, alas, can these my single arms? |