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Tit. Speak thou no more, if all the rest will speed.
Mar. Renowned Titus, more than half my soul,-
Luc. Dear father, soul and substance of us all,-
Mar. Suffer thy brother Marcus to inter
His noble nephew here in virtue's nest,
That died in honor and Lavinia's cause.
Thou art a Roman, be not barbarous.
The Greeks, upon advice, did bury Ajax
That slew himself; and wise Laertes' son
Did graciously plead for his funerals.1

Let not young Mutius, then, that was thy joy,
Be barred his entrance here.

Tit.
Rise, Marcus, rise.—
The dismal'st day is this, that e'er I saw,
To be dishonored by my sons in Rome !-
Well, bury him, and bury me the next.

[MUTIUS is put into the tomb. Luc. There lie thy bones, sweet Mutius, with thy

friends,

Till we with trophies do adorn thy tomb!—

All. No man shed tears for noble Mutius; He lives in fame that died in virtue's cause.

Mar. My lord,-to step out of these dreary dumps,

How comes it, that the subtle queen of Goths
Is of a sudden thus advanced in Rome?

Tit. I know not, Marcus; but, I know, it is;
Whether by device, or no, the heavens can tell.
Is she not then beholden to the man

That brought her for this high, good turn so far?
Yes, and will nobly him remunerate.

1 "This passage alone would sufficiently convince me that the play before us was the work of one who was conversant with the Greek tragedies in their original language. We have here a plain allusion to the Ajax of Sophocles, of which no translation was extant in the time of Shakspeare. In that piece, Agamemnon consents at last to allow Ajax the rites of sepulture, and Ulysses is the pleader whose arguments prevail in favor of his remains."-Steevens.

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Flourish. Re-enter, at one side, SATURNINUS, attended; TAMORA, CHIRON, DEMETRIUS, and AARON: at the other, BASSIANUS, LAVINIA, and others.

Sat. So, Bassianus, you have played your prize ;1 God give you joy, sir, of your gallant bride.

Bas. And you of yours, my lord. I say no more, Nor wish no less; and so I take my leave.

Sat. Traitor, if Rome have law, or we have power, Thou and thy faction shall repent this rape.

Bas. Rape, call you it, my lord, to seize my own, My true betrothed love, and now my wife? But let the laws of Rome determine all; Meanwhile, I am possessed of that is mine.

Sat. 'Tis good, sir. You are very short with us; But, if we live, we'll be as sharp with

you.

Bas. My lord, what I have done, as best I may,
Answer I must, and shall do with my life.
Only this much I give your grace to know,
By all the duties that I owe to Rome,
This noble gentleman, lord Titus here,
Is in opinion and in honor wronged;
That, in the rescue of Lavinia,

With his own hand did slay his youngest son,
In zeal to you, and highly moved to wrath
To be controlled in that he frankly gave.
Receive him then to favor, Saturnine;
That hath expressed himself, in all his deeds,
A father, and a friend, to thee, and Rome.

Tit. Prince Bassianus, leave to plead my deeds;
'Tis thou, and those, that have dishonored me.
Rome and the righteous heavens be my judge,
How I have loved and honored Saturnine!

Tam. My worthy lord, if ever Tamora
Were gracious in those princely eyes of thine,
Then hear me speak indifferently for all;
And at my suit, sweet, pardon what is past.

1 To play a prize, was a technical term in the ancient fencing-schools.

Sat. What! madam! be dishonored openly, And basely put it up without revenge?

Tam. Not so, my lord; the gods of Rome forefend, I should be author to dishonor you!

But, on mine honor, dare I undertake

For good lord Titus' innocence in all,
Whose fury, not dissembled, speaks his griefs.
Then, at my suit, look graciously on him;
Lose not so noble a friend on vain suppose,
Nor with sour looks afflict his gentle heart.
My lord, be ruled by me, be won at last,
Dissemble all your griefs and discontents.
You are but newly planted in your throne;
Lest then the people, and patricians too,
Upon a just survey, take Titus' part,
And so supplant us for ingratitude,
(Which Rome reputes to be a heinous sin,)
Yield at entreats, and then let me alone.
I'll find a day to massacre them all,
And raze their faction, and their family,
The cruel father, and his traitorous sons,
To whom I sued for my dear son's life;
And make them know, what 'tis to make a

queen

Kneel in the streets, and beg for grace in

vain.

Aside.

Come, come, sweet emperor,-Come, Andronicus,
Take up this good old man, and cheer the heart
That dies in tempest of thy angry frown.

Sat. Rise, Titus, rise; my empress hath prevailed.
Tit. I thank your majesty, and her, my lord;
These words, these looks, infuse new life in me.
Tam. Titus, I am incorporate in Rome,

A Roman now adopted happily,

And must advise the emperor for his good.
This day all quarrels die, Andronicus;—
And let it be mine honor, good my lord,
That I have reconciled your friends and you.-
For you, prince Bassianus, I have passed
My word and promise to the emperor,

That you will be more mild and tractable.—
And fear not, lords,-and you, Lavinia;
By my advice, all humbled on your knees,
You shall ask pardon of his majesty.

Luc. We do; and vow to Heaven, and to his highness,

That what we did, was mildly, as we might,
Tendering our sister's honor, and our own.

Mar. That on mine honor here I do protest.

Sat. Away, and talk not; trouble us no more.— Tam. Nay, nay, sweet emperor, we must all be friends.

The tribune and his nephews kneel for grace;
I will not be denied. Sweet heart, look back.
Sat. Marcus, for thy sake, and thy brother's here,
And at my lovely Tamora's entreats,

I do remit these young men's heinous faults.
Stand up.

Lavinia, though you left me like a churl,

I found a friend; and sure as death I swore,
I would not part a bachelor from the priest.
Come, if the emperor's court can feast two brides,
You are my guest, Lavinia, and your friends.
This day shall be a love-day, Tamora.

Tit. To-morrow, an it please your majesty
To hunt the panther and the hart with me,
With horn and hound, we'll give your grace bon jour.
Sat. Be it so, Titus, and gramercy too.

[Exeunt.

ACT II.1

SCENE I. Rome. Before the Palace.

Enter AARON.

Aar. Now climbeth Tamora Olympus' top,
Safe out of fortune's shot; and sits aloft,
Secure of thunder's crack, or lightning's flash;
Advanced above pale envy's threatening reach.
As when the golden sun salutes the morn,
And, having gilt the ocean with his beams,
Gallops the zodiac in his glistering coach,
And overlooks the highest-peering hills;
So Tamora.-

Upon her wit doth earthly honor wait,
And virtue stoops and trembles at her frown.
Then, Aaron, arm thy heart, and fit thy thoughts
To mount aloft with thy imperial mistress,
And mount her pitch; whom thou in triumph long
Hast prisoner held, fettered in amorous chains;
And faster bound to Aaron's charming eyes,
Than is Prometheus tied to Caucasus.
Away with slavish weeds, and idle thoughts!
I will be bright, and shine in pearl and gold,
To wait upon this new-made emperess.
To wait, said I? to wanton with this queen,
This goddess, this Semiramis ;-this nymph,
This siren, that will charm Rome's Saturnine,
And see his shipwreck, and his commonweal's.
Holloa! what storm is this?

Enter CHIRON and DEMETRIUS, braving. Dem. Chiron, thy years want wit, thy wit wants edge,

1 In the quarto of 1600, the stage direction is, "Sound trumpets, manet Moore." In the quarto of 1611, the direction is, " Manet Aaron," and he is before made to enter with Tamora, though he says nothing. This scene ought to continue the first act.

2 Ed. 1600, servile thoughts.

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