Francis Beaumont

“ Jun. I will not love; I am a man, have reason,
And I will use it: I'll no more tormenting,
Nor whining for a wench, there are a thousand.
Petill. Hold thee there boy.
Jun. A thousand will intreat me.
Petill. Ten thousand, Junius.
Jun. I am young and lusty,
And to my fashion valiant; can please nightly.
Petill. I'll swear thy back's probatum, for I have known thee
Leap at sixteen like a strong Stallion.
Jun. I will be man again.
Petill. Now mark the working,
The devil and the spirit tug for't: twenty pound
Upon the devils head. ”

“ Petill. Your leave, Sir,
And I beseech ye note me; for I love ye,
And bring [along] all comfort: Are we gods,
Alli'd to no infirmities? are our natures
More than mens natures? when we slip a little
Out of the way of virtue, are we lost?
Is there no medicine called Sweet mercy?
Pen. None, Petillius;
There is no mercy in mankind can reach me,
Nor is it fit it should; I have sinn'd beyond it.
Petill. Forgiveness meets with all faults.
Pen. 'Tis all faults,
All sins I can commit, to be forgiven:
'Tis loss of whole man in me, my discretion
To be so stupid, to arrive at pardon. ”

“ And never shall thou sit, or be alone
In any place, but I will visit thee
With gastly looks, and put into thy mind
The great offences which thou didst to me.
When thou art at thy Table with thy friends,
Merry in heart, and fild with swelling wine,
I'll come in midst of all thy pride and mirth,
Invisible to all men but thy self,
And whisper such a sad tale in thine ear,
Shall make thee let the Cup fall from thy hand,
And stand as mute and pale as Death itself.
Merch. Forgive me Jasper; Oh! what might I do? ”

“ Sailing through seas of blood; thou sure-steel'd sternness,
Give us this day good hearts, good enemies,
Good blowes o' both sides, wounds that fear or flight
Can claim no share in; steel us both with angers,
And warlike executions fit thy viewing;
Let Rome put on her best strength, and thy Britain,
Thy little Britain, but as great in fortune,
Meet her as strong as she, as proud, as daring;
And then look on, thou red ey'd god: who does best,
Reward with honor; who despair makes flie,
Unarm for ever, and brand with infamy:
Grant this, divine Andate, 'tis but justice ”

“ The Liberty we hold as dear as life,
The gods we worship, and next those, our Honors,
And with those swords that know no end of Battel:
Those men beside themselves allow no neighbor;
Those minds that where the day is, claim inheritance,
And where the Sun makes ripe the fruits, their harvest,
And where they march, but measure out more ground
To add to Rome, and here i'th' bowels on us;
It must not be; no, as they are our foes,
And those that must be so until we tire 'em,
Let's use the peace of Honor, that's fair dealing,
But in our ends, our swords. ”

“ Rafe. Presumptuous man, see to what desperate end
Thy treachery hath brought thee, the just Gods,
Who never prosper those that do despise them,
For all the villanies which thou hast done
To Knights and Ladies, now have paid thee home,
By my stiff arm, a Knight adventurous.
But say, vile wretch, before I send thy soul
To sad Avernus, whither it must go,
What captives holdst thou in thy sable cave?
Barba. Go in and free them all, thou hast the day.
Rafe. Go Squire and Dwarf, search in this dreadful cave,
And free the wretched prisoners from their bonds. ”

“ Enter Caratach.
Car. Sleep still, sleep sweetly child, 'tis all thou feedst on.
No gentle Britain near; no valiant charity
To bring thee food? poor knave, thou art sick extreme sick,
Almost grown wild for meat; and yet thy goodness
Will not confess, nor shew it. All the woods
Are double lin'd with soldiers; no way left us
To make a noble scape: I'll sit down by thee,
And when thou wak'st, either get meat to save thee,
Or lose my life i'th' purchase, Good gods comfort thee.
Enter Junius, Decius, Petillius, Guide.
Guide. Ye are not far off now, Sir. ”

“ I will not lay against Ralph, Honny, because I have not spoken with him: but look George, peace, here comes the merry old Gentleman again.
[Pg 191]
Enter old Merry-thought.
Old Mer. When it was grown to dark midnight,
And all were fast asleep,
In came Margarets grimly Ghost,
And stood at William's feet.
I have money, and meat, and drink before hand, till to morrow at noon, why should I be sad? methinks I have halfe a dozen jovial spirits within me, I am three merry men, and three merry men: To what end should any man be sad in this world? ”

“ Besides my souls peace, in my Juliana,
The honor of this action had been mine,
In which, accurs'd, I now can claim no share.
Jul. Ronvere! 'tis he, a thing, next to the devil
I most detest and like him terrible;
Martia's right hand, the instrument I fear too,
That is put to her bloody will, into act.
Have I not will enough, and cause too mighty?
Weak womens fear, fly from me. ”

“ And tug and pull, yet still we find a Giant:
Had we not then the priviledge to sleep,
Our everlasting sleep? he would make us idiots;
The memory and monuments of good men
Are more than lives, and though their tombs want tongues,
Yet have they eies that daily sweat their losses;
And such a tear from stone, no time can value.
To die both young and good, are natures curses
As the world saies; ask truth, they are bounteous blessings:
For then we reach at Heaven, in our full virtues,
And fix our selves new Stars, crown'd with our goodness. ”

“ Wife. Away George, away, raise the Watch at Ludgate, and bring a Mittimus from the Justice for this desperate Villain. Now I charge you Gentlemen, see the Kings peace kept. O my heart what a varlet's this, to offer Man-slaughter upon the harmless Gentlewoman?
Cit. I warrant thee (sweet heart) we'll have him hampered.
Luce. Oh Jasper! be not cruel,
If thou wilt kill me, smile, and do it quickly,
And let not many deaths appear before me.
I am a woman made of fear and love
A weak, weak woman, kill not with thy eyes,
They shoot me through and through. Strike I am ready. ”

“ Cur. reads. Health to thy heart, my honoured Junius,
And all thy love requited: I am thine,
Thine everlastingly, thy love has won me,
And let it breed no doubt; our new acquaintance
Compels this, 'tis the gods decree to bless us.
The times are dangerous to meet; yet fail not,
By all the love thou bear'st me I conjure thee,
Without distrust of danger, to come to me,
For I have purpos'd a delivery
Both of my self and fortune this blest day
Into thy hands, if thou thinkst good: to shew thee
How infinite my Love is, even my Mother
Shall be thy prisoner, the day yours without hazard ”

“ He ever holds most ominous, and hates most:
With what eyes can he look, how entertain me,
But with his fears and cruelties?
Asc. I have found you,
Suspect not, I am bound to what you like best,
What you intend, I dare not be so curious
To question now, and what you are, lies hid here.
Enter Ferrand and Ronvere above.
The King comes, make your fortune, I shall joy in't.
Ron. All things are ready sir to make you merry,
And such a King, you shall behold him now.
Fer. I long for't,
For I have need of mirth.
Ron. The Lady sir. ”

“ And be you witness, gods, and all my dangers)
As ready, and as full of that I brought
(Which was not fear nor flight) as valiant,
As vigilant, as wise, to do and suffer,
Ever advanced as forward as the Britains,
Their sleeps as short, their hopes as high as ours.
I, and as subtil, Lady. 'Tis dishonour,
And follow'd, will be impudence, Bonduca,
And grow to no belief, to taint these Romans.
Have not I seen the Britains—
Bond. ”

“ Enter Philippo, and Leocadia.
Ph. Will you not hear me!
Leo. I have heard so much
Will keep me deaf for ever; No, Mark-antonio
After thy sentence, I may hear no more,
Thou hast pronounc'd me dead.
Phi. Appeal to reason,
She will reprieve you from the power of grief,
Which rules but in her absence; Hear me say
A soveraign message from her, which in duty,
And love to your own safety, you ought hear:
Why do you strive so? whither would you flie?
You cannot wrest your self away from care
You may from counsel; you may shift your place
But not your person ”

“ Wife. 'Twas well done Ralph, I'll send thee a cold Capon a field, and a bottle of March-beer; and, it may be, come my self to see thee.
Cit. Nel, the boy hath deceiv'd me much, I did not think it had been in him: he has perform'd such a matter wench, that if I live, next year I'll have him Captain of the Gallifoist, or I'll want my Will.
Enter Old Merry-thought.
Old Mer. Yet I thank God, I break not a rinkle more than I had, not a stoop boys: Care live with Cats, I defie thee, my heart is as sound as an Oak; and though I want drink to wet my whistle, I can sing. ”

“ The gods defend, Sir.
Pen. See me, and understand me: This is he
Left to fill up your triumph; he that basely
Whistled his honour off to th' wind; that coldly
Shrunk in his politick head, when Rome like reapers
Sweat blood, and spirit, for a glorious harvest,
And bound it up, and brought it off: that fool,
That having gold and copper offer'd him,
Refus'd the wealth, and took the wast: that soldier
That being courted by loud fame and fortune,
[Pg 133] Labour in one hand, that propounds us gods,
And in the other, glory that creates us,
Yet durst doubt, and be damned. ”

“ Yes, and I will own her, Sir,
Till my revenge. It is my daughter, Ferrand;
My daughter thou hast whor'd.
Fer. I triumph in it:
To know she's thine, affords me more true pleasure,
Than the act gave me, when even at the height,
I crack'd her Virgin zone. Her shame dwell on thee,
And all thy family; may they never know
A female issue, but a whore; Ascanio.
Ronvere, look cheerfull; be thou a man too,
And learn of me to dye. That we might fall,
And in our ruines swallow up this Kingdom,
Nay the whole world, and make a second Chaos. ”

“ Why should I give you names, titles of honor,
Rob families to fill your private houses.
For your advancement, draw all curses on me,
Wake tedious winter nights, to make them happy
That for me break no slumber?
Ron. What we can,
We dare do.
Fer. Why is your Soverigns life then
(In which you live, and in whose fall your honors,
Your wealth, your pomp, your pride, and all must suffer)
No better guarded? Oh my cruel Stars,
That mark me out a King, raising me on
This pinnacle of greatness, only to be
The nearer blasting!
Vil. What think you now Castruccio?
Is not this a merry life? ”

“ Car. Farewel the hopes of Britain,
Thou Royal graft, Farewel for ever. Time and Death,
Ye have done your worst. Fortune now see, now proudly
Pluck off thy vail, and view thy triumph: Look
Look what thou hast brought this Land to. Oh fair flower,
How lovely yet thy ruines show, how sweetly
Even death embraces thee! The peace of heaven,
The fellowship of all great souls be with thee.
Enter Petillius and Junius on the rock.
Hah? dare ye Romans? ye shall win me bravely.
Thou art mine. ”