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Sim.
O! attend, my daughter:
Princes, in this, should live like gods above,
Who freely give to every one that comes
To honour them; and princes, not doing so,
Are like to gnats, which make a sound, but kill'd
Are wonder'd at. Therefore,
To make his entrance more sweet, here say,
We drink this standing-bowl of wine to him.
Thai. Alas, my father! it befits not me
Unto a stranger knight to be so bold:
He may my proffer take for an offence,
Since men take women's gifts for impudence.
Sim. How!
Do as I bid you, or you'll move me else.
Thai. [Aside.] Now, by the gods, he could not please me better.
Sim. And farther tell him, we desire to know,
Of whence he is, his name, and parentage.
Thai. The king my father, sir, has drunk to you.
Per. I thank him.
Thai. Wishing it so much blood unto your life.
Per. I thank both him and you, and pledge him freely.
Thai. And, farther, he desires to know of you,
Of whence you are, your name and parentage.
Per. A gentleman of Tyre (my name, Pericles,
My education been in arts and arms)
Who looking for adventures in the world,
Was by the rough seas reft of ships and men,
And after shipwreck driven upon this shore.
Thai. He thanks your grace; names himself Pericles, A gentleman of Tyre,
Who only by misfortune of the seas
Bereft of ships and men, cast on the shore.
Sim. Now by the gods, I pity his misfortune,
And will awake him from his melancholy.
Come, gentlemen, we sit too long on trifles,
And waste the time which looks for other revels.
Even in your armours, as you are address'd,
Will very well become a soldier's dance.
I will not have excuse, with saying, this
Loud music is too harsh for ladies' heads,
Since they love men in arms, as well as beds.
[The Knights dance. So. this was well ask'd, 't was so well perform'd. Come, sir;
Here is a lady that wants breathing too:
And I have often heard, you knights of Tyre
Are excellent in making ladies trip,
And that their measures are as excellent.
Per. In those that practise them, they are, my lord.
Sim. O! that's as much, as you would be denied
[The Knights and Ladies dance.
Of your fair courtesy.-Unclasp, unclasp:
Thanks, gentlemen, to all; all have done well, [duct|
But you the best. [To PERICLES.] Pages and lights, to con-
These knights unto their several lodgings !-Yours, sit
We have given order to be next our own.
Per. I am at your grace's pleasure.
Sim. Princes, it is too late to talk of love,
And that's the mark I know you level at:
Therefore, each one betake him to his rest;
To-morrow all for speeding do their best.
SCENE IV.-Tyre. A Room in the Governor's House.
Enter HELICANUS and ESCANES.
Hel. No, Escanes; know this of me,
Antiochus from incest liv'd not free:
For which the most high gods, not minding longer
To withhold the vengeance, that they had in store,
Due to this heinous capital offence,
Even in the height and pride of all his glory,
When he was seated, and his daughter with him,
In a chariot of inestimable value,
A fire from heaven came, and shrivell'd up
Those bodies, even to loathing; for they so stunk,
That all those eyes ador'd them ere their fall,
Scorn now their hand should give them burial.
Esca. 'T was very strange.
Hel.
And yet but just; for thoug
This king were great, his greatness was no guard
To bar heaven's shaft, but sin had his reward.
Esca. 'Tis very true.
1 Lord. See! not a man, in private conference Or council, has respect with him but he.
2 Lord. It shall no longer grieve without reproof 3 Lord. And curs'd be he that will not second it 1 Lord. Follow me, then.-Lord Helicane, a word. Hel. With me? and welcome.-Happy day, my lords. 1 Lord. Know, that our griefs are risen to the top, And now at length they overflow their banks. Hel. Your griefs! for what? wrong not the prince you love.
1 Lord. Wrong not yourself, then, noble Helicane; But if the prince do live, let us salute him,
Or know what ground's made happy by his breath.
If in the world he live, we 'll seek him out;
If in his grave he rest, we 'll find him there;
And be resolved, he lives to govern us,
Or dead, gives cause to mourn his funeral,
And leaves us to our free election.
2 Lord. Whose death 's, indeed, the strongest in our
And knowing this kingdom is without a head,
Like goodly buildings left without a roof,
Soon fall to ruin. your noble self,
That best know'st how to rule, and how to reign,
We thus submit unto, our sovereign.
All. Live, noble Helicane!
Hel. Try' honour's cause; forbear your suffrages
If that you love prince Pericles, forbear.
Take I your wish, I leap into the seas,
Where 's hourly trouble for a minute's ease.
A twelvemonth longer, let me entreat you
To forbear the absence of your king;
If in which time expir'd he not return,
I shall with aged patience bear your yoke.
But if I cannot win you to this love.
Go search like nobles, like noble subjects,
And in your search spend your adventurous worth.
Whom if you find, and win unto return,
You shall like diamonds sit about his crown.
1 Lord. To wisdom he's a fool that will not yield And since lord Helicane enjoineth us,
We with our travels will endeavour.
Hel. Then, you love us, we you, and we 'll clasp hands
When peers thus knit a kingdom ever stands. [Exeunt. SCENE V.-Pentapolis. A Room in the Palace. Enter SIMONIDES, reading a Letter: the Knights meet him.
1 Knight. Good morrow to the good Simonides. Sim. Knights, from my daughter this I let you know: That for this twelvemonth she 'll not undertake A married life.
Her reason to herself is only known,
Which yet from her by no means can I get.
2 Knight. May we not get access to her, my lord? Sim. 'Faith, by no means; she hath so strictly tied her To her chamber, that it is impossible. One twelve moons more she'll wear Diana's livery; This by the eye of Cynthia hath she vow'd, And on her virgin honour will not break it. 3 Knight. Though loath to bid farewell, we leaves. Sim. So,
They're well despatch'd; now to my daughter's letter.
She tells me here, shell wed the stranger knight,
O never more to view nor day nor light.
'Tis well, mistress; your choice agrees with mine;
I like that well:-nay, how absolute she's in 't,
Not minding whether I dislike or no.
Well, I commend her choice,
And will no longer have it be delay'd.
Soft! here he comes: I must dissemble it.
Per. All fortune to the good Simonides!
Sim. To you as much, sir. I am beholding to you For your sweet music this last night: I do Protest, my ears were never better fed With such delightful pleasing harmony. Per. It is your grace's pleasure to commend, Not my desert.
Sir, you are music's master.
Per. The worst of all her scholars, my good lord. Sim. Let me ask one thing.
What do you think of my daughter, sir?
Per. As of a most virtuous princess.
Sim. And she is fair too, is she not?
Per. As a fair day in summer; wondrous fair. Sim. My daughter, sir, thinks very well of you; Ay, so well, sir, that you must be her master, And she'll your scholar be: therefore, look to it. Per. I am unworthy for her schoolmaster. Sim. She thinks not so; peruse this writing else. Per. [Aside.] What's here?
A letter, that she loves the knight of Tyre? 'T is the king's subtilty, to have my life.
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Per. My actions are as noble as my thoughts,
That never relish'd of a base descent.
I came unto your court for honour's cause,
And not to be a rebel to her state;
And he that otherwise accounts of me,
This sword shall prove he 's honour's enemy.
Sim. No!-
Here comes my daughter, she can witness it.
Enter THAISA.
Per. Then, as you are as virtuous as fair,
Resolve your angry father, if my tongue
Did e'er solicit, or my hand subscribe
To any syllable that made love to you?
Thai. Why, sir, if you had,
Who takes offence at that would make me glad?
Sim. Yea, mistress, are you so peremptory?—
[Aside.] I am glad on't with all my heart.
[To her.] I'll tame you; I'll bring you in subjection Will you, not having my consent,
Bestow your love and your affections
Upon a stranger? [Aside.] who, for aught I know, May be, (nor can I think the contrary)
As great in blood as I myself.
[To her.] Therefore, hear you, mistress; either frame
Your will to mine; and you, sir, hear you,
Either be rul'd by me, or I will make you-
Man and wife.-Nay, come; your hands,
And lips must seal it too;
And being join'd, I'll thus your hopes destroy;
And for farther grief.-God give you joy!—
What, are you both pleas'd?
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Gow. Now sleep yslaked hath the rout; No din but snores the house about, Made louder by the o'er-fed breast Of this most pompous marriage feast. The cat with eyne of burning coal, Now couches 'fore the mouse's hole;
And crickets sing at the oven's mouth,
Are the blither for their drouth.
Hymen hath brought the bride to bed,
Where, by the loss of maidenhead,
A babe is moulded.-Be attent,
And time that is so briefly spent.
With your fine fancies quaintly eche1;
What's dumb in show, I'll plain with speech
Divinest patroness and midwife, gentle
Enter PERICLES and SIMONIDES at one door, with At-To those that cry by night, convey thy deity tendants; a Messenger meets them, kneels, and gives Aboard our dancing boat; make swift the pangs my queen's travails!-Now, LychoridaEnter LYCHORIDA, with an Infant.
PERICLES a Letter: PERICLES shows it to SIMONIDES;
the Lords kneel to PERICLES. Then, enter THAISA
with child, and LYCHORIDA: SIMONIDES shows his
Daughter the Letter; she rejoices: she and PERICLES
take leave of her Father, and all depart.
Gow. By many a der.. and painful perch
Of Pericles the careful search
By the four opposing coignes,
Which the world together joins,
Is made, with all due diligence,
That horse, and sail, and high expence,
Can stand the quest. At last from Tyre
(Fame answering the most strange inquire,)
To the court of king Simonides
Are letters brought, the tenour these:-
Antiochus and his daughter dead:
The men of Tyrus on the head
Of Helicanus would set on
The crown of Tyre, but he will none:
The mutiny he there hastes t' oppress;
Says to them, if king Pericles
Come not home in twice six moons,
He, obedient to their dooms,
The sum of this, Brought hither to Pentapolis,
Yravished the regions round,
And every one with claps 'gan sound,
"Our heir apparent is a king!
Who dream'd, who thought of such a thing?"
Brief, he must hence depart to Tyre:
His queen, with child, makes her desire
(Which who shall cross?) along to go.
Omit we all their dole and woe:
Lychorida, her nurse, she takes,
And so to sea. Then, vessel shakes
On Neptune's billow; half the flood
Hath their keel cut; but fortune's mood
Varies again the grizzly north
Disgorges such a tempest forth
That, as a duck for life that dives,
So up and down the poor ship drives.
The lady shrieks, and well-a-near,
Does fall in travail with her fear:
And what ensues in this self storm
Shall for itself itself perform.
I nill relate, action may
Conveniently the rest convey,
Which might not what by me is told.
In your imagination hold
This stage the ship, upon whose deck
The seas-tost Pericles appears to speak.
SCENE I.
Enter PERICLES, on shipboard.
Lyc. Here is a thing too young for such a place,
Who, if it had conceit, would die as I
Take in your arms this piece
Am like to do.
Of your dead queen.
How! how, Lychorida!
Lyc. Patience, good sir; do not assist the storm.
Here's all that is left living of your queen,
A little daughter: for the sake of it,
Be manly, and take comfort.
Per.
O you gods!
Why do you make us love your goodly gifts,
And snatch them straight away? We, here below,
Recall not what we give, and therein may
Use honour with you.
Lyc.
Now, mild may be thy life;
For a more blust'rous birth had never babe :
Quiet and gentle thy conditions;
For thou 'rt the rudeliest welcome to this world,
That e'er was prince's child. Happy what follows!
Thou hast as chiding a nativity,
As fire, air, water, earth, and heaven can make,
To herald thee from the womb even at the first,
Thy loss is more than can thy portage quit,
With all thou canst find here.-Now the good gods
Throw their best eyes upon it!
1 Sail. What, courage, sir! God save you.
Per. Courage enough. I do not fear the flaw1;
It hath done to me the worst: yet, for the love
Of this poor infant, this fresh new sea-farer,
I would it would be quiet.
1 Sail. Slack the bowlines there; thou wilt not, wilt thou ?-Blow, and split thyself.
2 Sail. But sea-room, an the brine and cloudy billow kiss the moon, I care not.
1 Sail. Sir. your queen must overboard; the sea works high, the wind is loud, and will not lie till the ship be cleared of the dead.
Per. That's your superstition.
1 Sail. Pardon us, sir; with us at sea it hath been still observed, and we are strong in earnest. There fore briefly yield her, for she must overboard straight. Per. As you think meet.-Most wretched queen! Lyc. Here she lies, sir.
Per. A terrible child-bed hast thou had, my dear;
No light, no fire: the unfriendly elements
Forgot thee utterly; nor have I time
[Exit. To give thee hallow'd to thy grave, but straight
Must cast thee, scarcely coffin'd, in the ooze;
Where, for a monument upon thy bones,
And aye-remaining lamps, the belching whale,
And humming water must o'erwhelm thy corpse,
Lying with simple shells.-O Lychorida!
Bid Nestor bring me spices, ink and paper,
My casket and my jewels; and bid Nicander
Bring me the satin coffers: lay the babe
Upon the pillow. Hie thee, whiles I say
A priestly farewell to her: suddenly, woman.
[Exit LYCHORIDA.
Per. Thou God of this great vast, rebuke these surges,
Which wash both heaven and hell; and thou, that hast
Upon the winds command, bind them in brass,
Having call'd them from the deep. O! still
Thy deafening, dreadful thunders; duly' quench
Thy nimble, sulphurous flashes!-O! how, Lychorida,
How does my queen ?-Thou storm, venomously
Wilt thou spit ali thyself?-The seaman's whistle
Is as a whisper in the ears of death,
Unheard.-Lychorida !-Lucina, O!
2 Sail. Sir, we have a chest beneath the hatches, caulk'd and bitumed ready.
eastern in old copies. M. Mason made the change. Boswell reads: custom. ayre in old copies n old copies.
Per. I thank thee. Mariner, say what coast is this? | Such strong renown as time shall never-
2 Sail. We are near Tharsus.
Per. Thither, gentle mariner,
Alter thy course for Tyre. When canst thou reach it?
2 Sail. By break of day, if the wind cease.
Per. O make for Tharsus.-
There will I visit Cleon, for the babe
Cannot hold out to Tyrus: there I'll leave it
At careful nursing.-Go thy ways, good mariner :
I'll bring the body presently.
[Exeunt. SCENE II.-Ephesus. A Room in CERIMON'S House.
Enter CERIMON, a Servant, and some Persons who have been Shipwrecked.
Enter PHILEMON.
Phil. Doth my lord call?
Cer. Get fire and meat for these poor men: It has been a turbulent and stormy night.
Serv. I have been in many; but such a night as this, Till now I ne'er endur'd.
Cer. Your master will be dead ere you return: There's nothing can be minister'd to nature, That can recover him. Give this to the 'pothecary, And tell me how it works. [TO PHILEMON. [Exeunt PHILEMON, Servant, and the rest. Enter Two Gentlemen.
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Virtue and cunning' were endowments greater
Than nobleness and riches: careless heirs
May the two latter darken and expend;
But immortality attends the former,
Making a man a god. 'T is known, I ever
Have studied physic, through which secret art,
By turning o'er authorities, I have
(Together with my practice) made familiar
To me and to my aid, the blest infusions
That dwell in vegetives, in metals, stones;
And can speak of the disturbances that nature
Works, and of her cures; which doth give me
A more content, in course of true delight,
Than to be thirsty after tottering honour,
Or tie my treasure up in silken bags,
To please the fool and death.
2 Gent. Your honour has through Ephesus pour'd forth
Your charity, and hundreds call themselves
Your creatures, who by you have been restor❜d:
And not your knowledge, your personal pain, but even
Your purse, still open, hath built lord Cerimon
Enter Two Servants with a Chest.
Serv. So; lift there.
Did the sea toss upon our shores this chest:
'T is of some wreck.
Cer.
Set it down; let's look upon't.
2 Gent. 'T is like a coffin, sir.
Cer.
Whate'er it be,
'Tis wondrous heavy. Wrench it open straight:
If the sea's stomach be o'ercharg'd with gold,
'Tis a good constraint of fortune it belches upon us.
2 Gent. 'T is so, my lord.
How close 't is caulk'd and bitum'd.
Soft, soft! it smells most sweetly in my sense. 2 Gent. A delicate odour.
Cer. As ever hit my nostril. So, up with it. O, you most potent gods! what's here? a corse? 1 Gent. Most strange!
Cer. Shrouded in cloth of state; balm'd and en-
treasured
With full bags of spices! A passport too:
Apollo, perfect me i' the characters! [Unfolds a Scroll.
Here I give to understand,
(If e'er this coffin drive a-land)
I, king Pericles, have lost
This queen, worth all our mundane cost.
Who finds her, give her burying;
She was the daughter of a king:
Besides this treasure for a fee,
The gods requite his charity!"
If thou liv'st, Pericles, thou hast a heart
That even cracks for woe!-This chanc'd to-night.
2 Gent. Most likely, sir.
Cer.
Nay, certainly to-night;
For look, how fresh she looks.-They were too rough,
That threw her in the sea. Make fire within:
Fetch hither all the boxes in my closet.
Death may usurp on nature many hours,
And yet the fire of life kindle again
The overpressed spirits. I heard
Of an Egyptian, that had nine hours lien dead,
Who was by good appliance recovered.
Enter a Servant, with Boxes, Napkins, and Fire.
Well said, well said; the fire and the cloths.-
The rough and woful music that we have,
Cause it to sound, 'beseech you.
The vial once more;-how thou stirr'st, thou block!-
The music there!—I pray you, give her air.
Gentlemen,
This queen will live: nature awakes a warm
Breath out of her: she hath not been entranc'd
Above five hours. See, how she 'gins to blow
Into life's flower again!
1 Gent.
The heavens
Through you increase our wonder, and set up
Your fame for ever.
Cer.
She is alive! behold,
Her eyelids, cases to those heavenly jewels
Which Pericles hath lost,
Begin to part their fringes of bright gold:
The diamonds of a most praised water
Do appear to make the world twice rich. Live,
And make us weep to hear your fate, fair creature,
Lend me your hands; to the next chamber bear her.
Get linen: now this matter must be look'd to,
For her relapse is mortal. Come, come;
And Esculapius guide us!
[Exeunt, carrying THAISA out. SCENE III.-Tharsus. A Room in CLEON'S House. Enter PERICLES, CLEON, DIONYZA, LYCHORIDA, and MARINA.
Per. Most honour'd Cleon, I must needs be gone : My twelve months are expir'd, and Tyrus stands In a litigious peace. You, and your lady, Take from my heart all thankfulness; the gods Make up the rest upon you!
Cle. Your shafts' of fortune, though they hurt you Yet glance full wanderingly' on us. [mortally, Dion. O, your sweet queen That the strict fates had pleas'd you had brought her To have bless'd mine eyes! [hither, Per. We cannot but obey Could I rage and roar
As doth the sea she lies in, yet the end
Must be as 't is. My gentle babe Marina (whom,
For she was born at sea, I have nam'd so) here
I charge your charity withal, and leave her
The infant of your care; beseeching you
To give her princely training, that she may
Be manner'd as she is born.
Cle. Fear not, my lord, but think
Your grace, that fed my country with your corn,
(For which the people's prayers still fall upon you)
Must in your child be thought on. If neglection
Should therein make me vile, the common body,
By you reliev'd, would force me to my duty;
But if to that my nature need a spur,
The gods revenge it upon me and mine,
To the end of generation.
I have one myself, Who shall not be inore dear to my respect, Than yours, my lord. Per.
Madam. my thanks and prayers
Cle. We'll bring your grace even to the edge of the shore ;
Then give you up to the mask'd Neptune, and
The gentlest winds of heaven.
I will embrace
Come, dear'st madam.-O! no tears,
Lychorida, no tears:
Look to your little mistress, on whose grace
You may depend hereafter.-Come, my lord. [Exeunt.
SCENE IV.-Ephesus. A Room in CERIMON's House.
Enter CERIMON and THAISA.
Cer. Madam, this letter, and some certain jewels,
Lay with you in your coffer, which are
At your command. Know you the character?
Thai. It is my lord's.
That I was shipp'd at sea, I well remember,
Even on my yearning time; but whether there
Delivered or no, by the holy gods,
I cannot rightly say. But since king Pericles,
My wedded lord, I ne'er shall see again,
A vestal livery will I take me to,
And never more have joy.
Cer. Madam, if this you purpose as you speak,
Diana's temple is not distant far,
Where you may abide till your date expire.
Moreover, if you please, a niece of mine
Shall there attend you.
Thai. My recompense is thanks, that's all;
Yet my good will is great, though the gift small. [Exeuni
Gow. Imagine Pericles arriv'd at Tyre,
Welcom'd and settled to his own desire:
His woful queen we leave at Ephesus,
Unto Diana there a votaress.
Now to Marina bend your mind,
Whom our fast-growing scene must find
At Tharsus, and by Cleon train'd
In music, letters; who hath gain'd
Of education all the grace,
Which makes her both the heart and place
Of general wonder. But alack!
That monster envy, oft the wrack
Of earnest praise, Marina's life
Seeks to take off by treason's knife.
And in this kind hath our Cleon
One daughter, and a wench full grown, Even ripe for marriage rite: this maid Hight Philoten; and it is said
For certain in our story, she
Would ever with Marina be:
Be 't when she weav'd the sleided silk
With fingers, long, small, white as milk;
Or when she would with sharp needle wound
The cambric, which she made more sound
By hurting it; or when to the lute
She sung, and made the night-bird mute,
That still records with moan; or when
She would with rich and constant pen
Vail to her mistress Dian; still
This Philoten contends in skill
With absolute Marina: so
With the dove of Paphos might the crow
Vie feathers white. Marina gets
All praises, which are paid as debts,
And not as given. This so darks
In Philoten all graceful marks,
That Cleon's wife, with envy rare,
A present murderer does prepare
For good Marina, that her daughter
Might stand peerless by this slaughter.
shakes 2 haunt: wondringly in old copies. Steevens made the changes. Dyce reads: i. sight: in old copies. Raw
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