University of Virginia Library

THE THIRDE SCEANE.

Atreus. Thyestes.
Thy.
Enough with meate and eke with wyne, now satisfyed am I.
But yet of all my ioyes it were a great encrease to mee,
If now about my syde I might my litle children see.

Atr.
Beleeue that here euen in thyne armes thy children present be.
For here they are, and shalbe here, no part of them fro thee
Sal be withhelde: their loued lookes now geue to thee I wil,
And with the heape of all his babes, the father fully fyll.
Thou shalt be glutted, feare thou not: they with my boyes as yet
The ioyful sacrifyces make at borde where children sit,
They shalbe cald, the frendly cup now take of curtesy
With wyne vpfylde.

Thy.
of brothers feast I take ful willingly
The fynal gyft, shed some to gods of this our fathers lande,
Then let the rest be dronke, what's this? in no wyse wil my hand
Obeye: the payse increaseth sore, and downe myne arme doth sway.
And from my lippes the wafting wyne it selfe doth flye away,
And in deceiued mouth, about my iawes it rūneth rounde.
The table to, it selfe doth shake and leape from trembling ground.
Scant burnes the fyre: the ayre it selfe with heauy chere to slyght
Forsooke of sonne amased is betweene the day and night.
What meaneth this? yet more and more of backward beaten saye
The compas falles, and thicker myst the world doth ouerly
Then blackest darkenes, and the night in night it selfe doth hyde.
All starres be fled, what so it bee my brother God prouyde
And soones to spare: the Gods so graunt that all this testmpest fall
On this vyle head: but now restore to me my children all,

Atr.
I wil, and neuer day agayne shal them from thee withdraw,

Thy.
What tumult tumbleth so my guttes, and doth my bowels gnaw?
What quakes within? with heauy payse I feele my selfe opprest,
And with an other voyce then myne bewayles my doleful brest:
Come nere my sonnes, for you now doth thunhappy father call:
Come nere, for you once seene, this griefe would soone asswage & fall
Whence murmure they?

Atr.
wt fathers armes embrace them quickly now
For here they are loe come to thee: dost thou thy children know?

Th.
I know my brother: such a gylt yet canst thou suffer well
O earth to beare? nor yet from hence to Stygian lake of hell
Dost thou both drowne thy selfe and vs? nor yet with broaken ground
Dost thou these kingdomes and their king with Chaos rude confounde?
Nor yet vprenting from the soyle the bowres of wicked land.
Dost thou Micenas ouerturne with Tantalus to stand,
And aunciters of ours, if there in hel be any one,
Now ought we both: now from the frames on eyther syde anone
Of ground, all here and there rent vp out of thy bosome depe:
Thy dens and dungeons set abrode, and vs enclosed keepe,
In bottome low of Acheron: aboue our heds aloft
Let wander all the gylty ghostes, with burning frete ful oft
Let fyry Phlegethon that driues his sands both to and fro
To our confusion ouerroon and vyolently flow
O slothful soyle vnshaken payse vnmoued yet art thou?
The Gods are fled:

Atr.
but take to thee with ioy thy children now,
And rather them embrace: at length thy children all of thee
So long wisht for (for no delay there standeth now in mee)
Enioy and kisse embracing armes deuyde thou vnto three.

Thy.
Is this thy league? may this thy loue and fayth of brother bee?
And doost thou so repose thy hate? the father doth not craue
His sonnes aliue (which might haue bene without thy gylt) to haue
And eke without thy hate, but this doth brother brother pray:
That them he may entoombe restore, whom see thou shalt strayght waye,
Be burnt: the father naught requires of thee that haue he shall,
But soone forgoe

Atr.
what euer part yet of thy children all
Remaynes, here shalt thou haue: and what remayneth not thou host.

Thy.
Lye they in fieldes, a food out flong for fleeyng fowles to wast?
Or are they kept a pray, for wyld and brutish beastes to eate?

Atr.
Thou hast deuourd thy sonnes and fyld thy selfe with wicked meat.

Thy.
Oh this is it that sham'de the Gods and day from hence did dryue
Turn'd back to east, alas I wretch what waylinges may I geue?
Or what complayntes? what woeful woordes may be enough for mee?
Their heads cut of, and handes of torne, I from their bodyes see,
And wrenched feete from broken thighes I here behold agayn
Tys this that greedy father could not suffer to sustayne.
In belly roll my bowels round, and cloased cryme so great
Without a passage stryues within and seekes a way to get.
The sword (O brother) lend to me much of my bloud alas
It hath: let vs therwith make way for all my sonnes to passe.
Is yet the sword from me withheld? thy selfe thy bosoms teare,
And let thy brestes resound with stroakes: yet wretch thy hand forbeare
And spare the deade: who euer saw such mischiefe put in proofe?
What rude Heniochus that dwels by ragged coast aloofe,
Of Caucasus vnapt for men? or feare to Athens, who
Procustes wyld? the father I oppress my children do
And am opprest, is any meane of gylt or mischiefe yet?

Atr.
I meane in mischiefe ought to be when gylt thou dost commit,
Not when thou quytst: for yet euen this to litle seemes to me.
The blood yet warme euen from the wound I should in sight of thee
Euen in thy iawes haue shed, that thou the bloud of them mightst drinke
That lyued yet: but whyle to much to hast my hate I thinke
My wrath beguyled is my selfe with sword the woundes them gaue
I strake them downe, the sacred fyres with slaughter vowde I haue
Wel pleasd, the carcase cutting then, and liueles lymmes on grounde.
I haue in litle parcels chopt, and some of them I drounde
In boyling cauderns, some to fyres that burnte ful slow I put,
And made to droppe: their synewes all, and limmes a two I cut
Euen yet alyue and on the spitte, that thrust was through the same
I harde the liuer wayle and crye, and with my hand the flame:
I oft kept in: but euery whit the father might of this
Haue better done, but now my wrath to lightly ended is.
He rent his sonnes with wicked gumme, himselfe yet wotting naught,
Nor they therof

Th.
O ye encloas'd with bending bankes abought
All seas me heare, and to this gylt ye Gods now harken well
What euer place ye fled are to here all ye sprites of hel,
And here ye landes, and night so darke that them dost ouerly
With clowde so blacke to my complayntes do than thy selfe apply.
To thee now left I am, thou dost alone me miser see,
And thou art left without thy starres: I wil not make for me
Peticions yet, nor ought for me require may ought yet bee
That me should vayle? for you shal all my wishes now foresee.
Thou guyder great of skyes aboue, & prince of highest might,
Of heauenly place now all with cloudes ful horrible to sight,
Enwrap the worlde, and let the wyndes on euery syde breake out
And send the dredfull thunderclap through al the world about
Not with what hand thou gyltles house and vndeserued wall
With lesser bolt are wonte to beate, but with the which did fall
The three vnheaped mountaynes once and which to hils in height
Stoode equall vp, the gyantes huge: throuw out such weapons streight,
And flyng thy fires: and therwithall reuenge the drowned day.
Let flee thy flames, the light thus lost and hid from heauen away,
With flashes fyll: the cause (lest long thou shouldst doubte whom to hit)
Of ech of vs is ill: if not at least let myne be it.
Me strike with tryple edged toole thy brande of flaminge fyre:
Beate through this breast: if father I my children do desyre
To lay in tombe or corpses cast to fyre as doth behoue,
I must be burnt if nothing now the gods to wrath may moue,
Nor powre from skies with thunder bolt none strikes the wicked men
Let yet eternall night rewayne, and hyde with darknes then
The world about: I, Titan naught complayne as now it standes
If stil thou hyde thee thus away.

Atre.
now prayse I well my handes,
Now got I haue the palme. I had bene ouercome of thee,
Except thou sorrow'dst so but now euen children borne to mee
I compt and uow of bridebed chast the fayth I do repayre,

Thy.
In what offended haue my sons:

Atr.
In that, that thyne they were

Thy.
Setst thou the sonnes for fathers foode?

Atr.
I do & (which is best)
The certayne sonnes,

Thy.
The gods that guyde all infantes I protest.

Atr.
What wedlock gods?

Th.
who would the gilt wt gylt so quite again?

Atr.
I know thy greefe preuented now with wrong thou dost complayne:
Nor this thee yrkes, that fed thou art with food of cursed kind,
But that thou hadst not it prepard for so it was thy mynd,
Such meates as these to set before thy brother wotting naught,
And by the mothers helpe to haue, likewyse my children caught:
And them with such like to slay: this one thing letted thee,
Thou thought'st them thine.

Thy.
the gods shall al of this reuengers be
And vnto them for vengeance due my vowes thee render shall

Atr.
But vext to be I thee the whyle, geeue to thy children all.