For all the water in the ocean
Can never turn a swan's black legs to white,
Although she lave them hourly in the flood.
Tell the empress from me, I am of age
To keep mine own; excuse it how she can.
Dem. Wilt thou betray thy noble mistress
thus?
Aar. My mistress is my mistress; this, my-
self;
The vigour, and the picture of my youth:
This, before all the world, do I prefer;
This maugre* all the world, will I keep safe,
Or some of you shall smoke for it in Rome.
Dem. By this our mother is for ever sham'd.
Chi. Rome will despise her for this foul
escape.
Nur. The emperor, in his rage, will doom her death.
Chi. I blush to think upon this ignomy.t
Aar. Why, there's the privilege your beauty
bears:
Fie, treacherous hue! that will betray with
blushing
The close enacts and counsels of the heart!
Here's a young lad fram'd of another leer:
Look, how the black slave smiles upon the
father;
As who should say, Old lad, I am thine own.
He is your brother, lords; sensibly fed
Of that self-blood that first gave life to you;
And, from that womb, where you imprison'd
He is enfranchised and come to light: [were,
Nay, he's your brother by the surer side,
Although my seal be stamped in his face.
Nur. Aaron, what shall I say unto the em-
press?
Dem. Advise thee, Aaron, what is to be
done,
And we will all subscribe to thy advice;
Save thou the child, so we may all be safe.
Aar. Then sit we down, and let us all con-
sult.
My son and I will have the wind of you:
Keep there: Now talk at pleasure of your
And be received for the emperor's heir,
And substituted in the place of mine,
To calm this tempest whirling in the court;
And let the emperor dandle him for his own.
Hark ye, lords, ye see, that I have given her
physic, [Pointing to the NURSE.
And you must needs bestow her funeral;
The fields are near, and you are gallant grooms:
This done, see that you take no longer days,
But send the midwife presently to me.
The midwife, and the nurse, well made away,
Then let the ladies tattle what they please.
Chi. Aaron, I see, thou wilt not trust the air
With secrets.
Dem. For this care of Tamora,
Herself, and hers, are highly bound to thee.
[Exeunt DEM. and CHI. bearing off the
NURSE.
Aar. Now to the Goths, as swift as swallow
flies;
There to dispose this treasure in mine arms,
And secretly to greet the empress' friends.-
Come on, you thick-lipp'd slave, I'll bear you
hence;
For it is you that puts us to our shifts:
I'll make you feed on berries, and on roots,
And feed on curds and whey, and suck the
goat,
And cabin in a cave; and bring you up
To be a warrior, and command a camp. [Exit.
SCENE III. -The same. -A Public Place.
Enter TITUS, bearing Arrows, with Letters at
the ends of them; with him MARCUS, young
LUCIUS, and other Gentlemen, with Bows.
Tit. Come, Marcus, come;-Kinsmen, this
Sir boy, now let me see your archery;
Look ye draw home enough, and 'tis there
Terras Astræa reliquit:
[straight:
Be you remember'd, Marcus, she's gone, she's
fled.
[shall
Sir, take you to your tools. You, cousins,
Happily you may find her in the sea;
Yet there's as little justice as at land:-
No; Publius and Sempronius, you must do it;
'Tis you must lig mattock, and with
safety. [They sit on the Ground. Go sound the ocean, and cast your nets;
Dem. How many women saw this child of
his?
Aar. Why, so, brave lords; When we all
join in league,
I am a lamb: but if you brave the Moor,
The chafed boar, the mountain lioness,
The ocean swells not so as Aaron storms.-
But, say again, how many saw the child?
Nur. Cornelia the midwife, and myself,
And no one else, but the deliver'd empress.
Aar. The emperess, the midwife, and your-
self:
Two may keep counsel, when the third's away:
Go to the empress; tell her, this I said:-
[Stabbing her.
Weke, weke!-so cries a pig prepar'd to the
spit.
Dem. What mean'st thou, Aaron? Where-
fore didst thou this?
Aar. O, lord, Sir, 'tis a deed of policy:
Shall she live to betray this guilt of ours?
A long-tongu'd babbling gossip? no, lords, no.
And now be it known to you my full intent.
Not far, one Muliteus lives, my countryman,
His wife but yesternight was brought to bed;
His child is like to her, fair as you are:
Go packs with him, and give the mother gold,
And tell them both the circumstance of all;
And how by this their child shall be advanc'd
* In spite of. + I. e. Ignominy.
Contrive, bargain with,
And pierce the inmost centre of the earth:
Then, when you come to Pluto's region,
I pray you, deliver him this petition:
Tell him, it is for justice, and for aid:
And that it comes from old Andronicus,
Shaken with sorrows in ungrateful Rome.-
Ah, Rome!-Well, well; I made thee miser-
able,
What time I threw the people's suffrages
On him that thus doth tyrannise o'er me.-
Go, get you gone; and pray be careful all,
And leave you not a man of war unsearch'd;
This wicked emperor may have shipp'd her
hence,
And, kinsmen, then we may go pipe for justice.
Mar. O, Publius, is not this a heavy case,
To see thy noble uncle thus distract?
Pub. Therefore, my lord, it highly us con
By day and night to attend him carefully;
And feed his humour kindly as we may,
Till time beget some careful remedy.
Mar. Kinsmen, his sorrows are past remedy.
Join with the Goths; and with revengeful
Take wreak on Rome for this ingratitude,
And vengeance on the traitor Saturnine.
Tit. Publius, how now? how now, my masters? What,
Have you met with her?
Pub. No, my good lord; but Plutus sends you word,
If you will have revenge from hell, you shall: Marry, for Justice, she is so employ'd, [else, He thinks, with Jove in heaven, or somewhere So that perforce you must needs stay a time.
Tit. He doth me wrong, to feed me with de-
I'll dive into the burning lake below,
(lays.
And pull her out of Acheron by the heels.-
Marcus, we are but shrubs, no cedars we;
No big-bon'd men, fram'd of the Cyclop's size:
But metal, Marcus, steel to the very back;
Yet wrung with wrongs, more than our backs
can bear:
And sitht there is no justice in earth nor hell,
We will solicit heaven; and move the gods,
To send down justice for to wreak our wrongs:
Come, to this gear. You are a good archer,
Marcus. [He gives them the Arrows.
Ad Jovem, that's for you:-Here, ad Apolli-
Ad Martem, that's for myself;- [nem:-
Here, boy, to Pallas:-Here, to Mercury:
To Saturn, Caius, not to Saturnine,-
You were as good to shoot against the wind.-
To it, boy. Marcus, loose when I bid:
O' my word, I have written to effect;
There's not a god left unsolicited.
Mar. Kinsmen, shoot all your shafts into the court:
We will afflict the emperor in his pride.
Tit. Now, masters, draw. [They shoot.] O,
well said, Lucius!
Good boy, in Virgo's lap; give it Pallas.
Mar. My lord, I aim a mile beyond the moon;
Your letter is with Jupiter by this.
Tit. Ha! Publius, Publius, what hast thou done! [horns. See, see, thou hast shot off one of Taurus' Mar. This was the sport, my lord: when The bull being gall'd, gave Aries such a knock That down fell both the ram's horns in the And who should find them but the empress' She laugh'd, and told the Moor, he should not
But give them to his master for a present. Tit. Why, there it goes: God give your lordship joy.
Enter a Crown, with a Basket and two Pigeons. News, news from heaven! Marcus, the post is Sirrah, what tidings? have you any letters? Shall I have justice? what says Jupiter?
Clo. Ho! the gibbet-maker? he says, that he hath taken them down again, for the man must not be hanged till the next week.
Tit. But what says Jupiter, I ask thee? Clo. Alas, Sir, I know not Jupiter; I never drank with him in all my life.
Tit. Why, villain, art not thou the carrier? Clo. Ay, of my pigeons, Sir; nothing else. Tit. Why, didst thou not come from heaven? Clo. From heaven? alas, Sir, I never came there: God forbid, I should be so bold to press to heaven in my young days. Why, I am going with my pigeons to the tribunal plebs,|| to take up a matter of brawl betwixt my uncle and one of the emperial's men.
Strained. + Since. Revenge. Dress, furniture. | The Clown means to say plebeian tribune, i, e, tribune of the people.
Mar. Why, Sir, that is as fit as can be, to serve for your oration; and let him deliver the pigeons to the emperor from you.
Tit. Tell me, can you deliver an oration to the emperor with a grace?
Clo. Nay, truly, Sir, I could never say grace in all my life.
Tit. Sirrah, come hither: make no more ado, But give your pigeons to the emperor: By me thou shalt have justice at his hands. Hold, hold;-mean while, here's money for
Give me a pen and ink.-
Sirrah, can you with a grace deliver a supplica-
Clo. Ay, Sir.
Tit. Then here is a supplication for you. And when you come to him, at the first approach, you must kneel; then kiss his foot; then deliver up your pigeons; and then look for your reward, I'll be at hand, Sir: see you do it bravely.
Clo. I warrant you, Sir; let me alone. Tit. Sirrah, hast thou a knife? Come, let me see it.
Here, Marcus, fold it in the oration; For thou hast made it like an humble sup. pliant :
And when thou hast given it to the emperor, Knock at my door, and tell me what he says. Clo. God be with you, Sir; I will. Tit. Come, Marcus, let's go:-Publius, follow me. [Exeunt.
SCENE IV.- The same. - Before the Palace. Enter SATURNINUS, TAMORA, CHIRON, DEMETRIUS, LORDS, and others: SATURNINUS with the Arrows in his hand, that TITUS shot.
Sat. Why, lords, what wrongs are these?
An emperor of Rome thus overborne,
Troubled, confronted thus: and, for the extent
Of egal justice, us'd in such contempt?
My lords, you know, as do the mightful gods,
Buz in the people's ears, there nought hath
pass'd,
However these disturbers of our peace
But even with law, against the wilful sons
Of old Andronicus. And what an if
His sorrows have so overwhelm'd his wits,
Shall we be thus afflicted in his wreaks,
His fits, his frenzy, and his bitterness?
And now he writes to heaven for his redress:
See, here's to Jove, and this to Mercury;
This to Apollo; this to the god of war:
Sweet scrolls to fly about the streets of Rome!
What's this, but libelling against the senate,
And blazoning our injustice every where?
A goodly humour, is it not, my lords?
As who would say, in Rome no justice were.
But, if I live, his feigned ecstacies
Shall be no shelter to these outrages:
But he and his shall know, that justice lives
In Saturninus' health; whom, if she sleep,
He'll so awake, as she in fury shall
Cut off the proud'st conspirator that lives.
Tam. My gracious lord, my lovely Saturnine, Lord of my life, commander of my thoughts, Calm thee, and bear the faults of Titus' age, The effects of sorrow for his valiant sons, Whose loss hath pierc'd him deep, and scarr'd his heart;
And rather comfort his distressed plight,
Than prosecute the meanest, or the best,
For these contempts. Why, thus it shall be
Clo. 'Tis he. God, and saint Stephen, give you good den:-I have brought you a letter, and a couple of pigeons here.
[SATURNINUS reads the Letter.
Sat. Go, take him away, and hang him presently. Clo. How much money must I have? Tam. Come, Sirrah, you must be hang'd. Clo. Hang'd! By'r lady, then I have brought up a neck to a fair end. [Exit, guarded. Sat. Despiteful and intolerable wrongs!
Shall I endure this monstrous villany?
I know from whence this same device proceeds;
May this be borne?-as if his traitorous sons,
That died by law for murder of our brother,
Have by my means been butcher'd wrong-
fully.-
Go, drag the villain hither by the hair;
Nor age, nor honour, shall shape privilege :-
For this proud mock, I'll be thy slaughter-
man;
[great,
Sly frantic wretch, that holp'st to make me
In hope thyself should govern Rome and me.
Enter ÆMILIUS.
What news with thee, Æmilius?
Emil. Arm, arm, my lords; Rome never had
[power
The Goths have gather'd head; and with a
Of high-resolved men, bent to the spoil,
They hither march amain, under the conduct
Of Lucius, son to old Andronicus;
Who threats, in course of this revenge, to do
As much as ever Coriolanus did.
Sat. Is warlike Lucius general of the Goths? These tidings nip me; and I hang the head As flowers with frost, or grass beat down with
Ay, now begin our sorrows to approach: 'Tis he the common people love so much; Myself hath often over-heard them say, (When I have walked like a private man,) That Lucius' banishment was wrongfully, And they have wish'd that Lucius were their emperor.
Tum. Why should you fear? is not your city strong? Sat. Ay, but the citizens favour Lucius; And will revolt from me, to succour him. Tam. King, be thy thoughts imperious,† like
Is the sun dimm'd, that gnats do fly in it?
The eagle suffers little birds to sing,
And is not careful what they mean thereby;
Knowing that with the shadow of his wings,
He can at pleasure stint their melody:
Even so may'st thou the giddy men of Rome.
Then cheer thy spirit: for know thou, emperor,
I will enchant the old Andronicus,
Loves, With words more sweet, and yet more danger. Than baits to fish, or honey-stalks to sheep; When as the one is wounded with the bait, The other rotted with delicious feed.
Emil. Your bidding shall I do effectually. [Exit ÆMILIUS.
Tum. Now will I to that old Andronicus; And temper him, with all the art I have, To pluck proud Lucius from the warlike Goths. And now, sweet emperor, be blithe again, And bury all thy fear in my devices. Sat. Then go successfully, and plead to him. [Exeunt.
SCENE I. - Plains near Rome.
Enter Lucius, and Goths, with Drum and Colours.
Luc. Approved warriors, and my faithful friends, I have received letters from great Rome, Which signify, what hate they bear their emperor, And how desirous of our sight they are. [ness, Therefore, great lords, be, as your titles witImperious, and impatient of your wrongs; And, wherein Rome hath done you any scath,* Let him make treble satisfaction.
1 Goth. Brave slip, sprung from the great Andronicus, [comfort; Whose name was once our terror, now our Whose high exploits, and honourable deeds, Ingrateful Rome requites with foul contempt, Be bold in us: we'll follow where thou lead'st,
Like stinging bees in hottest summer's day, Led by their master to the flower'd fields,And be aveng'd on cursed Tamora.
Goths. And, as he saith, so say we all with him. Luc. I humbly thank him, and I thank you
But who comes here, led by a lusty Goth? Enter a Gori, leading AARON, with his Child in his Arms.
2 Goth. Renowned Lucius, from your troops I stray'd,
To gaze upon a ruinous monastery;
And as I earnestly did fix mine eye
Upon the wasted building, suddenly
I heard a child cry underneath a wall:
I made unto the noise; when soon I heard
The crying babe controll'd with this discourse:
Peace, tawny slave; half me, and half thy dam!
Did not thy hue bewray whose brat thou art,
Had nature lent thee but thy mother's look,
Villain, thou might'st have been an emperor:
But where the bull and cow are both milk-white,
They never do beget a coal-black calf.
Peace, villain, peace!--even thus he rates the
For I must bear thee to a trusty Goth;
Who, when he knows thou art the empress' babe,
Will hold thee dearly for thy mother's sake.
With this my weapon drawn, I rush'd upon
him,
[hither,
Surpris'd him suddenly; and brought hin
To use as you think needful of the man.
Luc. O worthy Goth! this is the incarnate
devil,
That robb'd Andronicus of his good hand:
This is the pearl that pleas'd your empress'
eye;
And here's the base fruit of his burning lust.-
Say, wall-ey'd slave, whither would'st thou
convey
This growing image of thy fiend-like face?
Why dost not speak? What! deaf? No; nota
word?
A halter, soldiers; hang him on this tree,
And by his side nis fruit of bastardy.
Aar. Touch not the boy, he is of royal blood.
Luc. Too like the sire for ever being good.-
First, hang the child, that he may see it sprawl;
A sight to vex the father's soul withal.
Get me a ladder.
[A Ladder brought, which AARON is
obliged to ascend.
Aar. Lucius, save the child;
And bear it from me to the emperess.
If thou do this, I'll show thee wondrous things,
That highly may advantage thee to hear:
If thou wilt not, befall what may befall,
I'll speak no more; But vengeance rot you all!
Luc. Say on; and, if it please me which thou
speak'st,
Thy child shall live, and I will see it nourish'd.
Aar. An if it please thee? why, assure thee,
Lucius,
'Twill vex thy soul to hear what I shall speak;
For I must talk of murders, rapes, and mas-
sacres,
Acts of black night, abominable deeds,
Complots of mischief, treason; villanies
Ruthful to hear, yet piteously perform'd:
And this shall all be buried by my death,
Unless thou swear to me, my child shall live.
Luc Tell on thy mind; I say, thy child
shall live.
Aar. Swear, that he shall, and then I will
begin.
Luc. Who should I swear by? thou believ'st
no god;
That granted, how canst thou believe an oath?
Aar. What if I do not? as indeed, I do not:
Yet, for I know thou art religious, [science,
And hast a thing within thee, called con-
With twenty popish tricks and ceremonies,
Which I have seen thee careful to observe,-
Therefore I urge thy oath;-For that, I know,
An idiot holds his bauble for a god, [swears;
And keeps the oath, which by that god he
To that I'll urge him:-Therefore, thou shalt
By that same god, what god soe'er it be,
That thou ador'st and hast in reverence,-
To save my boy, to nourish, and bring him up;
Or else I will discover nought to thee.
Luc. Even by my god, I swear to thee, I
Aar. First, know thou, I begot him on the
empress.
Luc. O most insatiate, luxurious woman!
To that which thou shalt hear of me anon.
'Twas her two sons that murder'd Bassianus':
They cut thy sister's tongue, and ravish'd her,
And cut her hands; and trimm'd her as thou
saw'st.
Luc. O, détestable villain! call'st thou that
trimming?
Aar. Why, she was wash'd, and cut, and trimm'd; and 'twas
Trim sport for them that had the doing of it. Luc. O barbarous, beastly villains, like thyself!
Aar. Indeed, I was their tutor to instruct
them;
That codding spirit had they from their mother,
As sure a card as ever won the set:
That bloody mind, I think, they learn'd of me,
As true a dog as ever fought at head.-
Well, let my deeds be witness of my worth.
I train'd thy brethren to that guileful hole,
Where the dead corpse of Bassianus lay:
I wrote the letter that thy father found,
And hid the gold within the letter mention'd,
Confederate with the queen, and her two sons;
And what not done, that thou hast cause to
rue,
Wherein I had no stroke of mischief in it?
I play'd the cheater for thy father's hand;
And, when I had it, drew myself apart,
And almost broke my heart with extreme
laughter.
I pry'd me through the crevice of a wall,
When, for his hand, he had his two sons'
heads;
Beheld his tears, and laugh'd so heartily,
That both mine eyes were rainy like to his;
And when I told the empress of this sport,
She swounded almost at my pleasing tale,
And, for my tidings, gave me twenty kisses.
Goth. What! canst thou say all this, and
never blush?
Aar. Ay, like a black dog, as the saying is.
Luc. Art thou not sorry for these heinous
deeds?
Aar. Ay, that I had not done a thousand
Even now I curse the day, (and yet, I think,
Few come within the compass of my curse,)
Wherein I did not some notorious ill:
As kill a man, or else devise his death;
Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it;
Accuse some innocent, and forswear myself;
Set deadly enmity between two friends;
Make poor men's cattle break their necks;
Set fire on barns and hay-stacks in the night,
And bid the owners quench them with their
tears.
[graves,
Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their
And set them upright at their dear friends'
doors,
Even when their sorrows almost were forgot;
And on their skins, as on the bark of trees,
Have with my knife carved in Roman letters,
Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.
Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things,
As willingly as one would kill a fly;
And nothing grieves me heartily indeed,
But that I cannot do ten thousand more.
Luc. Bring down the devil; for he must
not die
So sweet a death, as hanging presently.
Aar. If there be devils, 'would I were a devil,
Aar. Tut, Lucius! this was but a deed of To live and burn in everlasting fire;
• Alluding to the proverb, "A black man is a pearl in fair woman's eye."
So I might have your company in hell,
But to torment you with my bitter tongue !
Luc. Sirs, stop his mouth, and let him speak
Goth. My lord, there is a messenger from
Rome,
Desires to be admitted to your presence.
Luc. Let him come near.-
Welcome, Æmilius, what's the news
Emil. Lord Lucius, and you princes
The Roman emperor greets you all by me:
And, for he understands you are in arms,
He craves a parley at your father's house,
Willing you to demand your hostages,
And they shall be immediately deliver'd.
1 Goth. What says our general?
Luc. Æmilius, let the emperor give his
pledges
Unto my father and my uncle Marcus,
And we will come.-March away.* [Exeunt.
SCENE II.-Rome. Before TITUS' House.
Enter TAMORA, CHIRON, and DEMETRIUS,
disguised.
Tam. Thus, in this strange and sad habili-
I will encounter with Andronicus;
[ment,
And say, I am Revenge, come from below,
To join with him, and right his heinous wrongs.
Knock at his study, where, they say, he keeps,
To ruminate strange plots of dire revenge;
Tell him, Revenge is come to join with him,
And work confusion on his enemies.
Tit. Who doth molest my contemplation?
Is it your trick to make me ope the door;
That so my sad decrees may fly away,
And all my study be to no effect?
You are deceiv'd: for what I mean to do,
See here, in bloody lines I have set down;
And what is written shall be executed.
Tum. Titus, I am come to talk with thee.
Tit. No; not a word: How can I grace my
Wanting a hand to give it action?
[talk,
Thou hast the odds of me, therefore no more.
Tam. If thou didst know me, thou would'st
talk with me.
Tit. I am not mad; I know thee well
: enough:
[lines;
Witness this wretched stump, these crimson
Witness these trenches, made by grief and
Witness the tiring day, and heavy night;
Witness all sorrow, that I know thee well
For our proud empress, mighty Tamora:
Is not thy coming for my other hand?
Tam. Know thou, sad man, I am not Ta-
She is thy enemy, and I thy friend: [mora;
I am Revenge; sent from the infernal kingdom,
To ease the knawing vulture of thy mind,
By working wreakful vengeance on thy foes.
Come down, and welcome me to this world's
Confer with me of murder and of death:
There's not a hollow cave, or lurking-place,
No vast obscurity, or misty vale,
Where bloody murder, or detested rape,
Can couch for fear, but I will find them out;
And in their ears tell them my dreadful name,
Revenge, which makes the foul offender quake.
Tit. Art thou Revenge? and art thou sent
To be a torment to mine enemies? [to me,
Perhaps this is a stage direction, crept into the text.
Tam. I am; therefore come down, and wel-.
Tit. Do me some service, ere I come to thee. Lo, by thy side where Rape, and Murder, stands;
Now give some'surance that thou art Revenge,
Stab them, or tear them on thy chariot wheels
And whirl along with thee about the globes.
And then I'll come, and be thy waggoner,
To hale thy vengeful waggon swift away,
Provide thee proper palfries, black as jet,
And find out murderers in their guilty caves
And, when thy car is loaden with their heads,
I will dismount, and by the waggon wheel
Trot, like a servile footman, all day long;
Even from Hyperion's rising in the east,
Until his very downfal in the sea.
And day by day I'll do this heavy task,
So thou destroy Rapine and Murder there.
Tam. These are my ministers, and come with
And you the empress! But we worldly men
Have miserable, mad, mistaking eyes.
And, if one arre's embracement will content
O sweet Revenge, now do I to thee:
I will embrace thee in it by and by.
[Exit TITUS, from above.
Tam. This closing with him fits his lunacy:
Whate'er I forge, to feed his brain-sick fits,
Do you uphold and maintain in your speeches,
For now he firmly takes me for Revenge;
And, being credulous in this mad thought,
I'll make him send for Lucius, his son;
And, whilst I at a banquet hold him sure,
I'll find some cunning practice out of hand,
To scatter and disperse the giddy Goths,
Or, at the least, make them his enemies.
See, here he comes, and I must ply my theme
Tit. Long have I been forlorn, and all for
thee:
Welcome, dread fury, to my woful house;-
Rapine, and Murder, you are welcome too:-
How like the empress and her sons you are!
Well are you fitted, had you but a Moor:-
Could not all hell afford you such a devil?-
For, well I wot, the empress never wags,
But in her company there is a Moor;
And, would you represent our queen aright,
It were convenient you had such a devil:
But welcome, as you are. What shall we do?
Tam. What would'st thou have us do, An-
dronicus?
Dem. Show me a murderer, I'll deal with
him.
Chi. Show me a villain, that hath done a And I am sent to be reveng'd on him. [rape. Tam. Show me a thousand, that hath done thee wrong,
And I will be revenged on them all.
Tit. Look round about the wicked streets of
|