 | Cinthia's revenge : Or Maenanders extasie |  |
Scœn. 4.
The Ghost Of Phevdippe, Menander.
Vp from earths lodging, and those rotten sculs,
Buried in embers till the earth awake,
Wrapt in my funerall-ashes, safe reseru'd,
I doe arise from rude antiquity,
To begge but pardon as a mid-nights almes,
Feeling the horror of my fault immence,
Which doth exceed in nature all offence.
I come (Mænander.)
Me.
Who Mænander cal's?
What hidden Diuell dares molest my muse?
Phe.
Denounce thy iudgement with a milder tune,
I come (Mænander.)
Me.
Death to my soule! what comes?
Who comes? or how do'st come? inuisible?
Ph.
I come with meeknesse.
Me.
Why, or whence dost come?
Damnation ouertake thee, what's thy name?
Shadow of Stygian horror! what's thy name?
(Intruder) know thy distance, keepe aloofe,
Come not within sixe yards, vpon the price
And perill of an vn-avoided charme:
By which, and thousand other potent spels,
The magicke Herball, oyntments, numbers odde,
By trans-mutations, mid-nights, Incubus,
Squint-ey'd Ericthon, soule of Hecate,
I doe con-iure thee, tell, and not mistake,
How fares Pheudippe of the Stygian lake?
Phe.
O I am hee, a spirit of despaire,
Compact (by Ioues decree) of cloudy aire.
I am the wretch, who was in life, a span;
But in excesse of crime, a crooked man.
Me.
Blesse the good stars aboue, thou guilty theefe
Which doe in-close thee with a robe of clouds,
Spight of protection else, and coats of steele,
The tempest of my passion thou shouldst feele;
Thunder and lightning should not dare with-stand
Phe.
My tortures be aboue thy humane gesse,
The torment of my soule who may expresse?
My comforts now be multitudes of paine,
Viewing a number infinite of soules,
Which stuffe the dampish pit with piercing howles,
Restlesse they tumble, hoping to get ease,
And, more they moue, out-rage doth more increase.
Wee raile at our conception, curse the skye,
And in the face of heau'n spit blasphemy.
Wee all enioy a most impatient curse,
Yet all suppose our owne paine still the worse;
Motion doth vexe vs, sitting still doth vexe,
Torment, no age escapes, no sumptuous sexe:
Me.
Did thy ambitious height incurre all this?
Phe.
My falshood, flattery, and a Courtiers life,
(The fountaines to all sorrow) did infect
My soule with disease vn-curable.
Me.
I doe indeed forgiue thee, therefore tell
Compassion to the Purseuant of hell;
Say I forgiue thee, and on that dis-charge,
Command the crabbed Iaylor to in-large
Thy long and lowlie thraldome; often say
I doe forgiue thee (false vngracious man)
O often-times repeat, the King forgiues,
Often repeat, as an exemplar thing,
Thou hast obtain'd forgiuenesse of a King,
For a tall gyant-error, an offence
Made monstrous bigge by circumstance; contempt
In a degree aboue comparison;
Yet I forgiue those capitall crimes done:
If thou attainted be with some offence,
Equall in nature to this high contempt,
Goe then, accurs'd, till I redeeme thee, goe
Accounted worthy of damnations woe:
But, because officers do sting like bees,
Say I forgiue thee, and will pay thy fees.
Though I without a iudgement will release
Errors escap'd from youth, soliue in peace.
Phe.
But I am past repentance (royall sir)
And so thy pardon is like bounty giuen
To beggers dead, or med'cines ill-bestow'd
On separated members, like vaine life
Purchas'd by seales and writings after death,
And execution of a guilty theefe;
There's no capacity for dead reliefe,
Kings, clad with numerous titles, cannot giue
Promethean fire, to make a dead man liue:
Pardon of Kings no benefite may deale,
Except it passe by a superiour seale:
Surfets and rupture, to be dumbe, and blinde;
Acknowledge Art; but surfets of the minde
And rupture in affections forcing ill,
Know none aboue, but a free gouern'd will:
Which if it proue re-misse, mans powerfull fate
Carries him head-long to my damn'd estate;
The ship-wrack'd Pilot may discerne a shelfe,
But euery foole vn-cheated, cheats himselfe:
Aduance thy pale desires, looke fresh and big,
Thinke on revenge, cleare thy contracted brow,
Be sensible of wrong, and (worthy) know
My false co-partners liue, who did conspire,
And frame the bellowes of ambitious fire:
Amilcar liues (my sonne) Lucilla liues
(Thy subtill sister) old Mantesio liues:
All my adhærents, all competitors
In mischiefe, most well-knowne conspirators;
Yet all suruiue in safety, traytors liue;
Thinke on revenge, I doe aduise thee well;
Sleepe not vpon thy proiects, if thou want
Opinion of a friend, heare mee a supplicant:
Levell inuention with a speedy aime,
Till thou the cunning of such knaues reclaime.
My sister false? Amilcar such a knaue?
Who indeed is, but is affections slaue?
Ph.
And none but him, iudgements incounter can,
Although aspersions touch the honest man.
Remember these my motiues, morning peepes,
The day no dilatory time doth giue,
To eccho forth at large, thy Queene doth liue.
Me.
Doth Fauorina liue? deere shadow stay,
Phe.
My absence is enforc'd through rising day.
Me.
Split then in peeces thou pernitious toade,
My plagues deminish to augment thy load.
My Queene sur-viue? ioynt-cause of all my woe?
Of all my anger, blasphemy and rage?
Is shee reseru'd? doth Fauorina liue?
Whose absence made me raile at Cinthia?
O I haue swallow'd poyson, which torments
All my distracted veines with agony,
A griefe continuing without all re-lease,
Consumption of my paine breeds paines increase.
Now for ob-noxious compounds to possesse
The soule with euerlasting lethargy,
Ransome of thousand Kings would I exchange,
Or like a beast, humanity estrange.
O for inchanted Poppei, or the iuice
Of drunken Hemlocke, to lay soules asleepe,
I'de like a Serpent on our belly creepe,
Licking each humble shrub, and carelesse feed
Vpon the stubble of each stinking weed.
Shreike ô the mid-night-mandrakes voyce aloud,
So may the horror of that piercing sound,
Turne soule and body both alike to ground:
Pel-mel together my affections fight,
Each conquer each, some scudd away by flight.
| Cinthia's revenge : Or Maenanders extasie | |