University of Virginia Library

Actus Quintus.

Euridices
, Dircus.
That was my feare before, I thought my sonne
Too farre in loue to beare, with patience,
His Ladies death, and therefore did entreat
The King with teares, and sighs, that would haue moou'd
A rocke of flint, but hee more hard then rocks,
Deafer then Northerne winds, with rage repuls'd
My oft repeated suite, and now, ay rue,
What most I fear'd is proou'd, my sonne will dy;
For he has vow'd neuer to pardon her.

Dir.
Must I returne the Prince this killing newes?

Eur.
No gentle Dircus, stay a little while,
Twill not be long before the King returne,
Ile mooue him once againe.

Dir.
Your highnesse pardon,
Not for the world would I delay the time—
Vpon vncertainties; I feare I haue
Already stay'd too long. My quicke returne
Is th'only meanes to keepe the prince aliue.
Please it your highnesse then when I am gone
To mooue the King, and feare not, gratious madam,
The Princes life a while how ere.
Exit Dircus.

Eur.
Farewell,
True faithfull Dircus, all the gods assist
Thy good entents, and blesse thy loyalty.

Enter Creon.
Cre.
What, weeping still?

Eur.
Would I could weepe my selfe
Like Niobe to marble, and become
A wofull tombe to Æmon, whom my womabe
With fates disastrous brought into the world,
My vertuous Æmon.

Cre.
Why, is Æmon dead?

Eur.
Why doe you aske, that meane to murder him?

Cre.
How? murder him?

Eur.
Yes in Antigone
His most inseparable loue.

Cre.
Must then
Th'audacious giglot, liue vnpunished,
To braue a King?

Eur.
Were kings ordain'd to kill
Vertues true seruants, and controll her lawes?

Enter Tiresias, Chorus senum.
Tir.
Where is the king?

Cre.
Hee's heere. What mischiefe now
Com'st thou to vtter, neuer from thy tongue
Flow'd any good to me.

Tir.
A guilty man
Was neuer pleas'd with truth, but heare me, Creon.
I come to thee sent from the wrathfull gods
To let thee know thy guilt, and punishment.
Great plagues from heauen, if Tiresias
Truly diuine, are threaten'd 'gainst thy house.
When I for thee vnthankefull man prepar'd
A sacrifice within, the open'd beast
No signes but sad and fatall did afford.
None but th'infernall gods deign'd to appeare.
The blood was blacke, the burning entrailes gaue
No flame at all, but darkely did consume,
Mouldring away to ashes, and with blacke
Vnsauoury smoake clouded the fearefull ayre.
Vnto our augury no birds at all
But sad, and balefull birds of night appear'd.
Nor to our orizons would th'inuoked gods
Vouchsafe an answer, but in signes alone
Declar'd their wrath. The cause of these their threats
Against thy house is for thy cruelty
To good Antigone, and if she dy
These plagues will surely fall.

Eur.
Can we auoide them.
By sparing her?

Tir.
The gods aboue relent
At humane penitence, and heare their prayers,
Nor like the fiends are they inexorable.

Eur.
No longer, Creon, shalt thou now deny me
Since heauen is ioyn'd with my petition.

Tir.
You are not constant in persisting thus,
But obstinate.

Eur.
Now I renew my suite.

Cho.
In which we bend our knnes, release, O king,
For Thebes, for Æmons sake, that vertuous maide,
And to preuent a feirce and cruell warre,
Vouchsafe to grant our suite, and giue vs leaue
To bury those dead Græcians in the field.

Cre.
No more of them; that last must not be granted,
For our command is past too farre already,
And must be iustifi'd, not changed now.
But for the life of that Antigone,
Although it cannot suite well with our iustice
To pardon her rebellious stubbornnesse,
Yet shee is thine Eurydice, to thee
Do we referre her wholly; take this ring,
And absolute power to dispose of her,
Either to pardon, or to punishment.

Eur.
The gods reward thee for't; Ile goe my selfe
And bring her out with speede from that sad place;
Heauen grant that griefe haue not already kill'd her.

Nuntius, Creon.
Nun.
To armes, my Lord, if any armes so soone
Can rescue Thebes from quicke destruction.
The mighty Theseus threatens you at hand.

Creon.
Why let him come: Should I esteeme the name
Of Theseus such a buggebeare it should fright
Me from my constant resolution?
Haue our late conquests, haue the ouerthrowes
Of Argos and Mycenæ taught the world
Nothing of vs? looke on yon purple fields
With slaughter dy'd, and learne what Thebes can doe,
Where Capanæus, and stout Tydeus
Parthenopæus and Hippomedon
Ly weltring in their gores, and should we then.
So tremble at the threates of Theseus?
No power must daunt me; 'tis not Kingly now
Vpon constraint to change my rough decree.
Though I relented now, though my soft breast
Were moou'd with piety, yet thought of honour
Would conquer that, as now it conquers feare,
The feare of Theseus hand; nor haue I left
A place for wisedome now; it comes too late;
I must preuent or meete my instant fate.

Dircus Aemon.
Dir.
Yonder's the tombe, my Lord, which though it seeme
Too hard, and solid for our strength to force,
I know a place will open presently.

Aem.
Then let vs breake this wealthy Cabinet,
And take from thence a iewell, which the ransome
Of all the Kings on earth would be a price
To poore to purchase: Knew'st thou, happy caue,
Or knew the world what true vnualew'd wealth
Thy bare vnpolish'd bosome did containe,
Thou would'st despise the richest temples rear'd
On Marble Columnes, and high-roof'd with gold;
To thee would men with adoration come
As to a place more sacred then the caue
That nourish'd Cretan Ioue, then Bacchus Nisa,
Or the Oetæan Mount, from whence in flames
The great Alcides mounted to the sky.
But I forget my selfe, I first must know
Whether I liue or no; for in that caue,
Not heere does Æmon breath. Antigone.

Anti.
Who calls Antigone? is it my Aemon?

Aem.
Dircus I liue; heardst thou that heauenly voice
Which has inspir'd a happyer life into me
Then my creation did. Lets loose no time
In this sweete businesse.

Dir.
Ile ope the tombe
Immediatly, my Lord.

Aem.
Sad Thebes adieu,
Ile finde some happyer countrey to conuey
My enuy'd treasure to. Possest of her
I shall be richer then the Theban crowne
Can make me; speake how fares my fairest loue;
Shall we be gone?

Ant.
I would, my dearest Aemon,
Be gone wit thee rather then liue; but fate
Too cruell, fate preuents it.

Aem.
How? what fate
Can let our iourney, if thy loue consent?

Anti.
I loue thee, Aemon, better then my life,
And neuer truly wish'd to liue till now,
But now I cannot liue.

Aem.
Oh doe not mocke
My ioyes, Antigone, or if thou doest not,
Tell me what sad disaster can befall.

Anti.
That sad disaster is befall'n already;
Fearing the paines that such a lingring death
Might bring vpon me, I haue tane already
A gentle poison downe, which long before
'Gainst some such dire occasion I prepar'd,
I feele it worke; my vitall spirits faile.
My dearest loue farewell. Liue long and happy;
Let fate hereafter recompence to thee
What ere her cruelty 'gainst me has wrought,

Aem.
No fate can make me happy, I am lost
Beyond her cure.

Dir.
What end of tragedyes
Can wofull Thebes for euer hope to see
After this sorrow. Oh I more then feare
The Princes fury;

Aem.
Her white soule is fled.
What vnsubstantiall bubbles are the best
Of humane ioyes? how from the top of all
My hopes and comforts in one fatall minute
Has enuious fortune throwne me downe againe
Into the depth of misery, and woe.
Oh fortune how extreme thou art in all
Thy fauours and thy frownes!

Dir.
Most noble prince,
Collect that strength of man, which all the world
Expects from you, and arme your selfe to beare
With fitting patience this calamity.
The passiue fortitude is great and noble
As is the actiue.

Aem.
Strike that string no more,
Doe not in vaine torment a desperate man
With thy dull counsell: Tis as possible
Thou should'st perswade a dead man to arise
After his soule is fled, as me to liue.
Now shee is dead, I doe coniure thee Dircus
By all the loue thou bearst me, by that faith
Which I haue euer found and priz'd in thee,
To leaue me heere.

Dir.
My Lord, I will obey;
And thus I take my leaue.

Dyes.
Aem.
Too cruell Dircus.
Was I not miserable enough before,
But thou must loade my sufferings with thy death?
What cause hadd'st thou to dy? thou hast not lost
A loue, why should my losse extend so farre
As to the ruine of so braue a friend?
Thy death has iniur'd faire Antigone,
And made a strange Diuision in my griefe.
For all the sorrow which this breast could hold,
Was due to her before. I must encroach
Vpon her right in spending teares for thee.
My breast's too narrow for so great a griefe,
And must be quickly open'd. Thou pure soule
Of my Antigone, which still suruiu'st,
Though this faire palace be demolish'd quite
By deaths vngentle hand, thou heauenly substance,
True obiect of a chast, and spotlesse Ioue,
Thy Aemon comes; and from these bonds of nature
Flyes forth to meete thee in the other world,
To wedd thee there; to finish there the rites
Of long-cross'd loue, and tast eternall sweetes.

Dyes.
Ianthus, Aephytus, Eurydice.
Ian.
Oh horrid spectacle! see Aephytus,
The Prince, Antigone, and Dircus dead.

Aeph.
All dead?

Eur.
Ay me.

Ian.
Looke to the Queene, she sownes

Aephy.
Alas, tis more then so; cold death has seiz'd her
I feare, beyond recouery, Lett's in,
And certifie the King, who now may see.
The dire effects of his rash cruelty.

Theseus, Chorus Thebanorum.
The.
Our warre's already ended, and the death
Of sauage Creon, whose dire soule is fled
To pacifie the Argiues wandring ghosts,
Hath satisfi'd our iustice, heere we sheath
Our sword againe, and free your towne from feares.
And now enterre with fitting obsequies
The Carcasses of all your slauter'd foes.
Let cruell Creon too, though he at all
Deserue it not, haue rites of funerall.

Cre.
Those pious rites will we performe with ioy,
And thankes to mighty Theseus, may the Gods.
Assist thee euer; and great Hercules
Beholding thy braue actions from the sky
Reioyce, and not disdaine at all to be
Esteem'd thy æquall by posterity.

The.
Send backe Argia to her father's court
With faire attendance; and tis left to you
To place the Theban scepter where tis due.

Cho.
Thebes humbly bowes to mighty Theseus,
And layes her crowne and scepter at his feete.

The.
No; still let Thebes be gouern'd by her owne;
Twas not our warres intention to enthrall
Your land, but free it from a tyrants yoake;
And to preserue the conquer'd, not destroy them.
We drew the sword of iustice, not of conquest,
Ambitiously to spread our Kingdomes bounds,
But to auenge the lawes of nature broke;
This act being done, Theseus is peace againe.
Souldiers march on to Athens. Thebes adieu.
Now let mankinde enioy a happy peace;
Oh let no monsters breede on earth, to glut
Themselues with human slaughter, let no theeues
Infest the woods; no tyrants staine the cities
With blood of innocents; but if such monsters
Must needes be bred to plague the wretched earth,
'Gainst nature, and her holy lawes to striue,
Let them appeare while Theseus is aliue.