University of Virginia Library

Scæna. 4.

Tamburlaine with Zenocrate, and his three sonnes, Calyphas, Amyras, and Celebinus, with drummes and trumpets.
Tamb.
Now bright zenocrate, the worlds faire eie,
Whose beames illuminate the lamps of heauē,
Whose chearful looks do cleare the clowdy aire
And cloath it in a christall liuerie,
Now rest thee here on faire Larissa Plaines,
Where Egypt and the Turkish Empire parts,
Betweene thy sons that shall be Emperours,
And euery one Commander of a world.

zen.
Sweet tamburlain, when wilt thou leaue these armes
And saue thy sacred person free from scathe:
And dangerous chances of the wrathfull war.

Tam.
When heauen shal cease to mooue on both the poles
& when the ground wheron my souldiers march
Shal rise aloft and touch the horned Moon,
And not before my sweet zenocrate:
Sit vp and rest thee like a louely Queene.
So, now she sits in pompe and maiestie:
When these my sonnes, more procions in mine eies
Than all the wealthy kingdomes I subdewed:
Plac'd by her side, looke on their mothers face,
But yet me thinks their looks are amorous,
Not martiall as the sons of Tamburlaine
Water and ayre being simbolisde in one:
Argue their want of courage and of wit,
Their haire as white as milke and soft as Downe.
Which should be like the quilles of Porcupines.
As blacke as Ieat, and hard as Iron or steel,
Bewraies they are too dainty for the wars.
Their fingers made to quauer on a Lute,
Their armes to hang about a Ladies necke:
Their legs to dance and caper in the aire:
Would make me thinke them Bastards, not my sons,
But that I know they issued from thy wombe,
That neuer look'd on man but Tamburlaine.

zen.
My gratious Lord, they haue their mothers looks
But whē they list, their cōquering fathers hart:
This louely boy the yongest of the three,
Not long agoe bestrid a Scythian Steed:
Trotting the ring, and tilting at a gloue:
Which when he tainted with his slender rod,
He raign'd him straight and made him so curuet,
As I cried out for feare he should haue falne,

Tam.
Wel done my boy, thou shalt haue shield and lance
Armour of proofe, horse, helme, & Curtle-axe
And I will teach thee how to charge thy foe,
And harmelesse run among the deadly pikes.
If thou wilt loue the warres and follow me,
Thou shalt be made a King and raigne with me,
Keeping in yron cages Emperours.
If thou exceed thy elder Brothers worth,
And shine in compleat vertue more than they,
Thou shalt be king before them, and thy seed
Shall issue crowned from their mothers wombe,

Cel.
Yes father, you shal see me if I liue,
Haue vnder me as many kings as you,
And martch with such a multitude of men,
As all the world shall tremble at their view.

tam.
These words assure me boy, thou art my sonne,
When I am old and cannot mannage armes,
Be thou the scourge and terrour of the world,

Amy.
Why may not I my Lord, as wel as he,
Be tearm'd the scourge and terrour of the world?

tam.
Be al a scourge and terror to the world,
Or els you are not sons of Tamburlaine.

Cal.
But while my brothers follow armes my lord
Let me accompany my gratious mother,
They are enough to conquer all the world
And you haue won enough for me to keep.

tam.
Bastardly boy, sprong frō some cowards loins:
And not the issue of great Tamburlaine,
Of all the prouinces I haue subdued
Thou shalt not haue a foot, vnlesse thou beare
A mind corragious and inuincible:
For he shall weare the crowne of Persea,
Whose head hath deepest scarres, whose breast most woundes,
Which being wroth, sends lightning from his eies.
And in the furrowes of his frowning browes,
Harbors reuenge, war, death and cruelty:
For in a field whose superfluities
Is couered with a liquid purple veile,
And sprinkled with the braines of slaughtered men,
My royal chaire of state shall be aduanc'd:
And he that meanes to place himselfe therein
Must armed wade vp to the chin in blood.

zen.
My Lord, such speeches to our princely sonnes,
Dismaies their mindes before they come to prooue
The wounding troubles angry war affoords.

Cel.
No Madam, these are speeches fit for vs,
For if his chaire were in a sea of blood,
I would prepare a ship and saile to it.
Ere I would loose the tytle of a king,

Amy:
And I would striue to swim through pooles of blood,
Or make a bridge of murthered Carcases,
Whose arches should be fram'd with bones of Turks,
Ere I would loose the tytle of a king.

tam.
Wel louely boies, you shal be Emperours both
Stretching your conquering armes from east to west:
And sirha, if you meane to weare a crowne,
When we shall meet the Turkish Deputie
And all his Uiceroies, snatch it from his head,
And cleaue his Pericranion with thy sword.

Cal.
If any man will hold him, I will strike,
And cleaue him to the channell with my sword,

tamb.
Hold him, and cleaue him too, or Ile cleaue thee
For we will martch against them presently.
Theridamas, Techelles, and Casane
Promist to meet me on Larissa plaines
With hostes apeece against this Turkish crue,
For I haue sworne by sacred Mahomet,
To make it parcel of my Empery,
The trumpets sound Zenocrate, they come.