Titus Andronicus & Timon of Athens (7 page)

Rome and the righteous heavens be my judge

How I have loved and honoured Saturnine!

TAMORA
    My worthy lord, if ever Tamora

Were gracious in those princely eyes of thine,

Then hear me speak
indifferently
⁴³³
for all,

And at my suit, sweet, pardon what is past.

SATURNINUS
    What, madam, be dishonoured openly,

And basely
put it up
⁴³⁶
without revenge?

TAMORA
    Not so, my lord. The gods of Rome
forfend
⁴³⁷

I should be
author to dishonour
⁴³⁸
you.

But on mine honour dare I
undertake
⁴³⁹

For good Lord Titus’ innocence in all,

Whose
fury not dissembled speaks his griefs:
⁴⁴¹

Then at my suit look graciously on him.

Lose not so noble a friend on
vain suppose,
⁴⁴³

Nor with sour looks afflict his gentle heart.—

My lord, be ruled by me, be won at last,

Dissemble
⁴⁴⁶
all your griefs and discontents.

You are but newly planted in your throne:

Lest then the people, and patricians too,

Upon a just
survey
⁴⁴⁹
take Titus’ part,

And so supplant you for ingratitude,

Which Rome reputes to be a heinous sin,

Yield
at entreats
— and then
let me alone:
⁴⁵²

I’ll find a day to massacre them all,

And
raze
⁴⁵⁴
their faction and their family,

The cruel father and his traitorous sons

To whom I
suèd
⁴⁵⁶
for my dear son’s life,

And make them know what ’tis to let a queen

Kneel in the streets and beg for grace in vain.—

Come, come, sweet emperor.— Come, Andronicus—

Take up
⁴⁶⁰
this good old man, and cheer the heart

That dies in tempest of thy angry frown.

SATURNINUS
    Rise, Titus, rise: my empress hath prevailed.

TITUS
    I thank your majesty and her, my lord:

These words, these looks, infuse new life in me.

TAMORA
    Titus, I am
incorporate in
⁴⁶⁵
Rome,

A Roman now adopted
happily,
⁴⁶⁶

And must advise the emperor for his good.

This day all quarrels die, Andronicus:

And let it be mine honour, good my lord,

That I have reconciled your friends and you.—

For
⁴⁷¹
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.

LUCIUS
    We do, and vow to heaven and to his highness

That what we did was mildly as we might,

Tend’ring
⁴⁷⁹
our sister’s honour and our own.

MARCUS
    That on mine honour here I do
protest.
⁴⁸⁰

SATURNINUS
    Away, and talk not: trouble us no more.

TAMORA
    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.

SATURNINUS
    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.—

Lavinia, though you left me like a
churl,
⁴⁸⁸

I found a
friend
⁴⁸⁹
, 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,
⁴⁹³
Tamora.

TITUS
    Tomorrow,
an
⁴⁹⁴
it please your majesty

To hunt the panther and the
hart
⁴⁹⁵
with me,

With horn and hound we’ll give your grace
bonjour
⁴⁹⁶
.

SATURNINUS
    Be it so, Titus, and
gramercy
⁴⁹⁷
too.

AARON
    Now climbeth Tamora
Olympus
¹
’ top,

Safe out of fortune’s shot, and sits aloft,

Secure
of
³
thunder’s crack or lightning flash,

Advanced above pale envy’s threat’ning reach.

As when the golden sun salutes the morn,

And, having
gilt
⁶
the ocean with his beams,

Gallops
the zodiac in his
glistering
⁷
coach

And
overlooks
⁸
the highest-peering hills,

So Tamora.

Upon her
wit
¹⁰
doth earthly honour 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
¹⁴
long

Hast prisoner held, fettered in amorous chains

And faster bound to Aaron’s
charming
¹⁶
eyes

Than is
Prometheus tied to Caucasus.
¹⁷

Away with slavish
weeds
and
idle
¹⁸
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,
²¹

This goddess, this
Semiramis
²²
, this nymph,

This
siren
²³
that will charm Rome’s Saturnine

And see his shipwreck and his commonweal’s.

Hallo! What storm is this?

DEMETRIUS
    Chiron, thy years
want
wit, thy wit wants
edge
²⁶

And manners to intrude where I am
graced
²⁷

And may, for
aught
thou know’st,
affected
²⁸
be.

CHIRON
    Demetrius, thou dost
overween
²⁹
in all,

And so in this, to
bear me down
with
braves.
³⁰

’Tis not the difference of a year or two

Makes me less gracious or thee more fortunate:

I am as able and as fit as thou

To
serve
³⁴
, and to deserve my mistress’ grace,

And that my sword upon thee shall
approve,
³⁵

And plead my passions for Lavinia’s love.

AARON
    
Clubs, clubs!
³⁷
These lovers will not keep the peace.

DEMETRIUS
    Why, boy, although our mother,
unadvised,
³⁸

Gave you a
dancing-rapier
³⁹
by your side,

Are you so desperate grown to threat your
friends?
⁴⁰

Go to
: have your
lath
⁴¹
glued within your sheath

Till you know better how to handle it.

CHIRON
    Meanwhile, sir, with the little skill I have,

Full well shalt thou perceive how much I dare.

DEMETRIUS
    Ay, boy, grow ye so
brave?
⁴⁵

AARON
    Why, how now, lords?

So
near the emperor’s palace dare you draw
⁴⁷

And maintain such a quarrel openly?

Full well I
wot
⁴⁹
the ground of all this grudge:

I would not for a million of gold

The cause were known to them it most concerns,

Nor would your noble mother for much more

Be so dishonoured in the court of Rome.

For shame,
put up.
⁵⁴

DEMETRIUS
    Not I, till I have sheathed

My rapier in his bosom and withal

Thrust these reproachful speeches down his throat

That he hath breathed in my dishonour here.

CHIRON
    For that I am prepared and full resolved,

Foul-spoken coward, that thund’rest with thy tongue,

And with thy weapon nothing dar’st perform!

AARON
    Away, I say.

Now, by the gods that warlike Goths adore,

This petty
brabble
will
undo
⁶⁴
us all.

Why, lords, and think you not how dangerous

It is to
jet
⁶⁶
upon a prince’s right?

What, is Lavinia then become so
loose,
⁶⁷

Or Bassianus so degenerate,

That for her love such quarrels may be broached

Without
controlment
⁷⁰
, justice, or revenge?

Young lords, beware! And should the empress know

This discord’s
ground
⁷²
, the music would not please.

CHIRON
    I care not, I,
knew she
⁷³
and all the world:

I love Lavinia more than all the world.

DEMETRIUS
    Youngling, learn thou to make some
meaner
⁷⁵
choice:

Lavinia is thine elder brother’s hope.

AARON
    Why, are ye mad? Or know ye not in Rome

How furious and impatient they be,

And cannot
brook
⁷⁹
competitors in love?

I tell you, lords, you do but plot your deaths

By this
device.
⁸¹

CHIRON
    Aaron, a thousand
deaths
would I
propose
⁸²

T’achieve her whom I do love.

AARON
    T’achieve her how?

DEMETRIUS
    Why
mak’st thou it so strange?
⁸⁵

She is a woman, therefore may be wooed:

She is a woman, therefore may be won:

She is Lavinia, therefore must be loved.

What, man, more water glideth by the mill

Than wots the miller of, and easy it is

Of a cut loaf to steal a
shive
⁹¹
, we know:

Though Bassianus be the emperor’s brother,

Better than he have worn
Vulcan’s badge.
⁹³

AARON
    Ay, and as good as Saturninus may.

DEMETRIUS
    Then why should he despair that knows to
court it
⁹⁵

With words, fair looks and liberality?

What, hast not thou full often
struck a doe
⁹⁷

And borne her cleanly by the keeper’s nose?

AARON
    Why then, it seems some certain
snatch
⁹⁹
or so

Would
serve your turns.
¹⁰⁰

CHIRON
    Ay, so the turn were served.

DEMETRIUS
    Aaron, thou hast
hit it.
¹⁰²

AARON
    Would you had hit it too,

Then should not we be tired with this
ado.
¹⁰⁴

Why, hark ye, hark ye, and are you such fools

To
square for
¹⁰⁶
this? Would it offend you then

That both should speed?

CHIRON
    Faith, not me.

DEMETRIUS
    Nor me,
so
¹⁰⁹
I were one.

AARON
    For shame, be friends, and
join for that you jar:
¹¹⁰

’Tis
policy
¹¹¹
and stratagem must do

That you
affect
¹¹²
, and so must you resolve

That what you cannot
as you would achieve,
¹¹³

You must perforce accomplish as you may.

Take this of me:
Lucrece
¹¹⁵
was not more chaste

Than this Lavinia, Bassianus’ love.

A speedier course than
ling’ring languishment
¹¹⁷

Must we pursue, and I have found the path.

My lords, a
solemn
¹¹⁹
hunting is in hand:

There will the lovely Roman ladies
troop:
¹²⁰

The forest walks are wide and spacious,

And many unfrequented
plots
¹²²
there are

Fitted by
kind
¹²³
for rape and villainy.

Single
you thither then this
dainty
¹²⁴
doe,

And
strike her home
¹²⁵
by force, if not by words:

This way or not at all
stand
¹²⁶
you in hope.

Come, come, our empress, with her
sacred
¹²⁷
wit

To villainy and vengeance consecrate,

Will we acquaint with all that we intend,

And she shall
file our engines
¹³⁰
with advice

That will not suffer you to
square yourselves,
¹³¹

But to your wishes’ height advance you both.

The emperor’s court is like the
house of Fame,
¹³³

The palace full of tongues, of eyes, of ears.

The woods are ruthless,
dreadful
¹³⁵
, deaf and dull:

There speak and
strike
, brave boys, and take your
turns:
¹³⁶

There serve your lusts, shadowed from heaven’s eye,

And revel in Lavinia’s
treasury.
¹³⁸

CHIRON
    Thy counsel, lad, smells of no cowardice.

DEMETRIUS
    
Sit fas aut nefas
¹⁴⁰
, till I find the streams

To cool this heat, a charm to calm their fits,

Per Stygia, per manes vehor
.
¹⁴²