Christopher Marlowe

“ For which thy head shall overlook the rest, As much as thou in rage outwent'st the rest.
War. Tyrant, I scorn thy threats and menaces, It is but temporal that thou canst inflict.
Lan. The worst is death, and better die to live Than live in infamy under such a king.
Edw. Away with them, my lord of Winchester!60 These lusty leaders, Warwick and Lancaster, I charge you roundly—off with both their heads! Away!
War. Farewell, vain world!
Lan. Sweet Mortimer, farewell.
Y. Mor. England, unkind to thy nobility, Groan for this grief, behold how thou art maimed! ”

“ And now the Guise [7] is dead, is come from France, To view this land, and frolic with his friends. To some perhaps my name is odious, But such as love me guard me from their tongues; And let them know that I am Machiavel, And weigh not men, and therefore not men's words. Admired I am of those that hate me most. Though some speak openly against my books,10 Yet they will read me, and thereby attain To Peter's chair: and when they cast me off, Are poisoned by my climbing followers. I count religion but a childish toy, And hold there is no sin but ignorance. ”

“ Wast thou not wrecked upon this Libyan shore, And cam'st to Dido like a fisher swain? Repaired not I thy ships, made thee a king, And all thy needy followers noblemen? O serpent, that came creeping from the shore, And I for pity harbour'd in my bosom, Wilt thou now slay me with thy venomed sting, And hiss at Dido for preserving thee? Go, go, and spare not; seek out Italy: I hope that that which love forbids me do,170 The rocks and sea-gulfs will perform at large, And thou shalt perish in the billows' ways To whom poor Dido doth bequeath revenge: I, traitor! ”

“ Venus, sweet Venus, how may I deserve Such amorous favours at thy beauteous hand? But, that thou mayst more easily perceive How highly I do prize this amity, Hark to a motion of eternal league, Which I will make in quittance of thy love. Thy son, thou know'st, with Dido now remains,70 And feeds his eyes with favours of her court; She, likewise, in admiring spends her time, And cannot talk nor think of aught but him: Why should not they, then, join in marriage, And bring forth mighty kings to Carthage-town, Whom casualty of sea hath made such friends? ”

“ What say our minions? think they Henry's heart Will not both harbour love and majesty? Put off that fear, they are already join'd: No person, place, or time, or circumstance, Shall slack my love's affection from his bent:20 As now you are, so shall you still persist, Removeless from the favours of your king.
Mug. We know that noble minds change not their thoughts For wearing of a crown, in that your grace Hath worn the Poland diadem before You were invested in the crown of France.
Henry. I tell thee, Mugeroun, we will be friends, And fellows too, whatever storms arise. ”

“ Spencer, I here create thee Earl of Wiltshire, And daily will enrich thee with our favour,50 That, as the sunshine, shall reflect o'er thee. Beside, the more to manifest our love, Because we hear Lord Bruce doth sell his land, And that the Mortimers are in hand withal, Thou shalt have crowns of us t'outbid the barons And, Spencer, spare them not, lay it on. ”

“ Nay, I will have it callèd Anchisæon, Of my old father's name.
Enter Hermes with Ascanius.
Her. Æneas, stay; Jove's herald bids thee stay.
Æn. Whom do I see? Jove's wingèd messenger! Welcome to Carthage new-erected town.
Her. Why, cousin, stand you building cities here, And beautifying the empire of this queen, While Italy is clean out of thy mind? Too-too forgetful of thine own affairs,30 Why wilt thou so betray thy son's good hap? The king of gods sent me from highest heaven, To sound this angry message in thine ears: Vain man, what monarchy expect'st thou here? ”

“ Gov. What should I say? We are captives and must yield.
Caly. I, villains, you must yield, and under Turkish yokes Shall groaning bear the burden of our ire; And, Barabas, as erst we promised thee, For thy desert we make thee governor;10 Use them at thy discretion.
Bar. Thanks, my lord.
Gov. O fatal day, to fall into the hand Of such a traitor and unhallowed Jew! What greater misery could Heaven inflict?
Caly. 'Tis our command: and, Barabas, we give To guard thy person these our Janizaries: Intreat them well, as we have usèd thee. ”

“ Dido. Æneas! no; although his eyes do pierce.
Æn. What, hath Iarbas anger'd her in aught? And will she be avengèd on his life?
Dido. Not anger'd me, except in angering thee.
Æn. Who, then, of all so cruel may he be That should detain thy eye in his defects?
Dido. The man that I do eye where'er I am; Whose amorous face, like Pæan, sparkles fire, Whenas he butts his beams on Flora's bed.20 Prometheus hath put on Cupid's shape, And I must perish in his burning arms: Æneas, O Æneas, quench these flames!
Æn. What ails my queen? is she faln sick of late? ”

“ First will we raze the city walls ourselves, Lay waste the island, hew the temples down, And, shipping off our goods to Sicily, Open an entrance for the wasteful sea, Whose billows beating the resistless banks, Shall overflow it with their refluence.
Bas. Well, Governor, since thou hast broke the league By flat denial of the promised tribute,20 Talk not of razing down your city walls, You shall not need trouble yourselves so far, For Selim Calymath shall come himself, And with brass bullets batter down your towers, And turn proud Malta to a wilderness For these intolerable wrongs of yours ”

“ My lord, you need not marvel at the Guise, For what he doth, the Pope will ratify,40 In murder, mischief, or in tyranny.
Nav. But he that sits and rules above the clouds Doth hear and see the prayers of the just, And will revenge the blood of innocents, That Guise hath slain by treason of his heart, And brought by murder to their timeless [349] ends.
Adm. My lord, but did you mark the Cardinal, The Guise's brother, and the Duke Dumaine, How they did storm at these your nuptial rites, Because the house of Bourbon now comes in,50 And joins your lineage to the crown of France? ”

“ Spencer, Seeing that our lord the Earl of Gloucester's dead, Which of the nobles dost thou mean to serve?
Y. Spen. Not Mortimer, nor any of his side; Because the king and he are enemies. Baldock, learn this of me, a factious lord Shall hardly do himself good, much less us; But he that hath the favour of a king, May with one word advance us while we live: The liberal Earl of Cornwall is the man10 On whose good fortune Spencer's hope depends. ”

“ Sweet prince, I come; these, these thy amorous lines Might have enforced me to have swum from France, And, like Leander, gasped upon the sand, So thou would'st smile, and take me in thine arms. The sight of London to my exiled eyes10 Is as Elysium to a new-come soul; Not that I love the city, or the men, But that it harbours him I hold so dear— The king, upon whose bosom let me die, [164] [Pg 120] And with the world be still at enmity. What need the arctic people love starlight, To whom the sun shines both by day and night? Farewell base stooping to the lordly peers! ”

“ As for the peers, that back the clergy thus, If I be king, not one of them shall live.
Enter Gaveston.
Gav. My lord, I hear it whispered everywhere, That I am banished, and must fly the land.
Edw. 'Tis true, sweet Gaveston—O! were it false! The legate of the Pope will have it so, And thou must hence, or I shall be deposed.110 But I will reign to be revenged of them; And therefore, sweet friend, take it patiently. Live where thou wilt, I'll send thee gold enough; And long thou shalt not stay, or if thou dost, I'll come to thee; my love shall ne'er decline. ”

“ Æn. Yet flung I forth, and, desperate of my life, Ran in the thickest throngs, and with this sword Sent many of their savage ghosts to hell. At last came Pyrrhus, fell and full of ire, His harness [472] dropping blood, and on his spear The mangled head of Priam's youngest son; And, after him, his band of Myrmidons, With balls of wild-fire in their murdering paws, Which made the funeral flame that burnt fair Troy;220 All which hemmed me about, crying, "This is he!"
Dido. Ah, how could poor Æneas scape their hands? ”

“ Did ever sorrow go so near my heart, As doth the want of my sweet Gaveston! And could my crown's revenue bring him back, I would freely give it to his enemies, And think I gained, having bought so dear a friend.310
[Pg 145] Queen. Hark! how he harps upon his minion.
Edw. My heart is as an anvil unto sorrow, Which beats upon it like the Cyclops' hammers, And with the noise turns up my giddy brain, And makes me frantic for my Gaveston. Ah! had some bloodless fury rose from hell, And with my kingly sceptre struck me dead, When I was forced to leave my Gaveston! ”

“ My lord, pardon my speech, Did you retain your father's magnanimity, Did you regard the honour of your name, You would not suffer thus your majesty Be counterbuft of your nobility. Strike off their heads, and let them preach on poles!20 No doubt, such lessons they will teach the rest, As by their preachments they will profit much, And learn obedience to their lawful king. ”

“ Now, Guise, begin those deep-engendered thoughts To burst abroad those never-dying flames Which cannot be extinguished but by blood. Oft have I levelled, and at last have learn'd That peril is the cheapest way to happiness, And resolution honour's fairest aim. What glory is there in a common good, That hangs for every peasant to achieve? That like I best that flies beyond my reach.40 Set me to scale the high Pyramides, And thereon set the diadem of France ”

“ Enter Æneas, Ascanius, Achates, and others.
What do I see? my son now come on shore? Venus, how art thou compassed with content, The while thine eyes attract their sought-for joys! Great Jupiter, still honoured mayst thou be For this so friendly aid in time of need! Here in this bush disguisèd will I stand, Whiles my Æneas spends himself in plaints,140 And heaven and earth with his unrest acquaints.
Æn. You sons of care, companions of my course, Priam's misfortune follows us by sea, And Helen's rape doth haunt us [446] at our heels. How many dangers have we overpass'd! ”

“ Dido. Not all the world can take thee from mine arms. Æneas may command as many Moors As in the sea are little water-drops: And now, to make experience of my love,— Fair sister Anna, lead my lover forth, And, seated on my jennet, let him ride, As Dido's husband, through the Punic streets; And will [528] my guard, with Mauritanian darts To wait upon him as their sovereign lord. ”

“ This is no life for men-at-arms to live, Where dalliance doth consume a soldier's strength, And wanton motions of alluring eyes Effeminate our minds, inur'd to war.
Ili. Why, let us build a city of our own, And not stand lingering here for amorous looks. [Pg 354] Will Dido raise old Priam forth his grave, And build the town again the Greeks did burn?40 No, no; she cares not how we sink or swim, So she may have Æneas in her arms.
Clo. To Italy, sweet friends, to Italy! We will not stay a minute longer here. ”

“ Dido. Speak of no other land; this land is thine; Dido is thine, henceforth I'll thee lord.— Do as I bid thee, sister; lead the way; And from a turret I'll behold my love.
Æn. Then here in me shall flourish Priam's race; And thou and I, Achates, for revenge For Troy, for Priam, for his fifty sons, Our kinsmen's lives [529] and thousand guiltless souls,90 Will lead an host against the hateful Greeks, And fire proud Lacedæmon o'er their heads. ”

“ But trust him not, my lord; for, had your highness Seen with what a pomp he enter'd Paris, And how the citizens with gifts and shows Did entertain him,70 And promisèd to be at his command— Nay, they fear'd not to speak it in the streets, That the Guise durst stand in arms against the king, For not effecting of his holiness' will. ”

“ The king's alone, it cannot satisfy. Sweet Duke of Guise, our prop to lean upon, Now thou art dead, here is no stay for us. I am thy brother, and I'll revenge thy death, And root Valois his line from forth of France; And beat proud Bourbon to his native home, That basely seeks to join with such a king, Whose murderous thoughts will be his overthrow.10 He will'd the governor of Orleans, in his name, That I with speed should have been put to death; But that's prevented, for to end his life, And [425] all those traitors to the Church of Rome That durst attempt to murder noble Guise. ”

“ Dido. Yea, little son, are you so forward now?
Cup. I, mother; I shall one day be a man, And better able unto other arms; Meantime these wanton weapons serve my war, Which I will break betwixt a lion's jaws.
Dido. What? dar'st thou look a lion in the face?
[Pg 343] Cup. I; and outface him too, do what he can.40
Anna. How like his father speaketh he in all!
Æn. And mought I live to see him sack rich Thebes, And load his spear with Grecian princes' heads, Then would I wish me with Anchises' tomb, And dead to honour that hath brought me up. ”