 | Cinthia's revenge : Or Maenanders extasie |  |
Scœn. 2.
Gracchvs, Amilcar, Servi.
Successe attend her, till I soone dispatch
And speedily escape Amilcars rage:
Saddle my horse, and fetch my Caskets, hoe,
Seruants make ready I must ride to Athens.
All men desirous to preuent quicke fate
Scorne (aboue all things) to procrastinate:
Watch there without, like busy centinels
And of my Lords returne, see some fore-tels.—
Ser.
Hee is return'd already; doth approach,
Gra.
Yes, to the diuell; death! is hee return'd?
I am vndone, I am vndone; (good genius)
Helpe mee; (good Angels) be auspicious,
Or I shall perish past recouery:
Senge mee some lightning, though in-visible;
O burne my bleeding heart; consume, consume!
Flye from my nosthrils an infectious fume!
Stop all my organs, ô commisserate
The bad mis-fortune of a poore estate:
Hee comes, hee comes—
Am.
(Gracchus my deere) how dost?
What answere makes my Goddesse? doth shee melt?
Doth she recant and aske my pardon? speake.
Gra.
No: I am troubled with a falling rhume.
Ami.
Fetch forth Pigmalions Image, I will doate,
And so become Cupids Idolater:
Stay Gracchus, wee will both accompany
Her sacred passage to the publicke aire:
What shaking palsie doth detaine thy steps?
Where is the Queene? speake (trembling coward) speake.
Gra.
She ouer-came mee with incessant teares;
To those I yeelded, ô forgiue my feares.
Am.
Yeelded? (base caitife) be our hopes all dead?
My labour, lyes, delusion, studied care,
All turn'd to smoake through yeelding of a drudge?
All our ingagements, my beneuolence,
My proiects, aimes, and large gratuities,
All come to this? the center of my thoughts,
My double trickes, and cunny-catching slights,
All come to this? the rich fælicity
Whereon my faith was grounded, come to this?
Come gastly horror to consummate all,
Adde ruine like-wise to my wit-lesse fall.
O my loud curse! delusion was my baite
And I am now deluded; learning failes;
No new inuented stratageme auailes;
And vertue I am not accquainted with.
You hope the Queene (sir) will aduance you high,
And hope so still, but (very, very knaue)
I will dis-ioint your eleuated hopes;
And make you (sir) an Alcibiades:
The Queene departed?
Gra.
Pitty did preuaile,
For shee did weepe, nor did of passion faile:
Her eyes (good Lady!) did with weeping smart,
Which made mee giue her licence to depart.
Ami.
I am vndone (you fragment) I'me vndone,
I am detected, whither shall I runne?
The haruest of my long laborious toyle,
Now I haue swom through death and swallow'd fire,
Giu'n doubtfull fury a most braue repulse
Put backe suspence, and all approaching feares
Almost concluded things impossible;
Made smooth my way, and tilted in the face
Of frowning mischiefe ready to take place;
Now, now is all sub-verted; I am lost
In a large Wood, a winding laborinth:
I am excluded from all natiue power,
Am like the rubbish of a ruin'd Tower;
I am abus'd, I am to death betrai'd,
By thee a doctor villaine; not afrai'd
To sweare mee homage, and vn-lace my heart:
The blessings of your body, breath, and soule
Be so engag'd, as their existence knowes
Not one redeemer among all the Gods,
(Fabulous things to you) except my selfe;
Thus did you sweare, and swore I gaue thee life,
Nay did bestow a whole creations worke
Vpon thee offal-caitiffe, who ador'd
Impression of my foote-steps that was all
Exspecting hourely on the happy time
When I should dare command what you durst doe,
When with aduantage, I would but pronounce
O Gracchus giue mee of thy bloud an ounce:
And yet your actions bee malicious:
Teach mee, some diuell, to torment the rogue,
Else take the righteous rigor of his fault
Into the depth of hels extremity;
Rescue, ô rescue this offending wretch
(Some powers aboue) from my most fatall-wrath,
For to afflict thee as the crime deserues
Would loose a double part in Paradice:
Yet must I punish thee (thou Spiders-gall)—
Ser.
The toade and spider cannot chuse but brawle.
Am.
—I must (you creeping cur) and would refuse
Rather to be a God, then to forgiue
A thing so capitall; and thou escape;
But an arch-diuell would I euer bee
A fiend of horrour beneath all degree,
Eate flames and brimstone to beget mee fierce
That with astonish'd fury I might pierce
And split each sinew; scare thy plumpest vaine,
So racke thy feeling with perpetuall paine.
Gra.
O feele compassion, for I do repent.
Ami.
Repent? compassion? I would rather whip
My weakned carcasse with a Scorpions taile;
Dwell in a nest of Adders, make them sting
Till patience could endure; then wash my wounds
With burning pitch and lamp-oile, bath in leade,
Or make a poultice of some swelling toad,
Rather then take one cruell thought from 'load.
Gra.
Your meanace and commotion do torment
Aboue all suffering; ô I will repent
Sixe thousand times a day; deuoure my flesh,
Feede vpon frogs, or quaffe downe aconite,
Kisse and embrace, a fearefull Succubus,
If you but leaue to terrifie mee thus.
Am.
No (theeuish tumbler) leaue thy cheating tricks
And sweare allegeance to some puny Lord,
Make those beleeue that lacke intelligence,
Though on thy bosome thou wouldst therefore crawle.
And, like a Serpent, liue vpon the dust:
Though by continuall creeping thou didst weare
Thy breast and belly, (so become submisse
In a most new degree) didst licke pathes cleane
Where I should walke, and scrape away the filth:
Imploy each seruile sinew to my ends,
Yet you and I must neuer more be friends.
Fall flat vpon thy face (thou paracide)
Fall downe as ready (captiue) to abide
Our indignation, which in child-birth lies,
Big with a thousand swelling lunacies:
Expecting all to be deliuered out,
And by vexation of thy falling strength,
To be an orbe in bredth, an age in length:
Fall (thou condemned Shismaticke) and charme
The killing rage of my aduanced arme;
For I shall proue so desperately mad
And full of rigor, in my sharpe reuenge;
As to reuoule the terrour of my doome
Phansy doth tremble, but my rage makes roome:
(False wretch) I must forget humanity,
And fall acquainted with some forrest Woolfe;
Hee, and such bloudy Tutors shall instruct
The shamelesse Art of sauage cruelty,
To kill thee, and become exorbitant;
I will anatomise thy limbs aliue;
Will mince small gobbets of thy quaking flesh
And feed my Haukes, while life continues fresh
Within the bloudy morsell; make the sluce
To quauer when they swallow downe the iuice:
The Turke shall teach mee to extend some plague
Of most vn-suffering nature: till the day,
And thy blaspheming breath doe both decay.
But ô quicke sorrow seize mee) what auailes
This villaines torture to my liuing woe?
Into a Rat, a Hedge-hog, Lowse, or Toade,
Some base and obscure animall) must feele
Torments more tedious then tongues may expresse,
AEquall to which is doubtfull heauinesse:
Nay, our attempts and high abuses done
Be of such horrid shape, such ample straine;
As to absolue them would require a Saint
With speciall pardon from almighty Ioue:
Yes, though I should obtaine that idle wish
Of transmigration; yet the shamefull troupe
Of sinnes which weare my scarlet liuery
Would follow fast, and (as Acteons dogs)
Teare mee to peeces, not remembring, once,
That I was maister of the family:
If, to become a new conformitant,
Imply'd a veniall act; each vertuous thought
Should be my fellow: 'tis the fault of all,
Wee doe despaire to stand, because we fall.
One maxime I retaine by priuiledge;
Such secrets, they doe seldome thriue, nor can,
Where we depend vpon the breath of man:
O had my drudge, my Vassaile bene but true,
And faithfull to the fore-cast of my hopes,
I had bene braue confederate of Kings,
Nay, might haue cal'd some Kings my feodars.
(O deuill) hadst thou bene to my desires
A sudden knaue and dutifull enough:
But for a time hadst thou continued so
Vntill some limitation did expire
With such obseruance as ranke deuils vse
Vpon the pretious morgage of a soule
I had bene ready to depart with all;
With pleasures, titles, all things, to enrich
Thy budding fortunes; all did I reserue
Till death determin'd my approaching fate,
Onely to thee, then all, was consecrate,
Your hopes and life (poore slaue) be pawn'd to mee
Whom no sworne-diuels Broker shall exceed
In scuruy vsage, though my heart-strings bleed.
Gra.
If no true mercy then may mittigate
Thy dull and stupid deafenesse. I do dare
The vt-most of your franticke violence,
Cast all thy Adder-stings vpon my heart;
Be thy conceited cramps more exquisite
Then is a terrible tormenting Bull;
Breake forth (Hyæna) get some peeuish dwarfe
To hacke mee downe at leasure; till I stand
Like a Colossus, like a Cedar tall
And yet immoueable with smarting wounds:
Stab me now (tyrant) or inflict full paine
Vpon each noble ioint and glorious veine,
Vertue shall keepe mee with a sacred charme
Against the strength of a stipendious arme:
The challenge of my cause being heard at large
All (to thy damage) would my griefes discharge:
Mocke babes and children (sir) with rods in pisse,
I did approue no true defence like this,
That I haue done vprightly; knit your brow,
Swell with a crabbed face conformable,
Let your offended garbidge fry in steakes,
Truth will auerre, and honest dealing speakes
That I haue done vprightly; be asham'd
Of thy vniust reuenge, and murther nam'd.
Ami.
Dare you then buzze (you beetle) and aduance
Your voice to contradict superiours?
Proud slaue come neerer; hee may liue 'mong rats,
Who will be daunted with a swarme of gnats,
Much lesse with one poore mushrump; petty sir
'Pray leaue to grumble, (you mad factious curre)
Torments shall mittigate and make you tame
Paines worse then death, shal make thee deadly lame.
Gra.
Do I deserue such paines? no fiery youth
A good officious part, if you proceed,
I will vn-maske your shamefull trickes indeed.
Am.
A squib, a squib, cracke, flash, and spit apace,
Breake (my oxe-bladder) vanish into breath,
A scritch-owle bids thee sing before thy death,
Squeake our rare bag-pipe; flesh-flye buzze againe,
Seeme to insult with voyce, (thou very sound)
Take thy last leaue, bequeath short life to ground.
Gra.
Harke how the monstrous whale doth roare alowd.
Am.
Presaging tempests (Pilot) in the straights.
Gra.
No huge sea-wonder) I a sword-fish am,
Who will by vertue most vpright and plaine,
Sting thee, and thresh thee, till thou rore with paine:
Proud man, remember what thou well deseru'st,
Thinke who hath tempted royall chastity;
VVho like a cheating thiefe did steale the Queene,
VVith lying vowes, and studied shamelesse oathes,
Did play the Iuggler; left the Kings high-way,
And went about to breake inclosures: thinke
VVho did excell in mischiefe, who did striue
To worship Diuels, who did seeke by lust,
And meanes new moulded, most in-ordinate,
To make a Heauenly Saint a Sodomite,
Compell pure thoughts to worship Priapus.
Thinke who protended to defile the Queene,
And did (aboue pretence) affirme the death
Of mad Mænander, the deluded King,
And vow Lucilla's death: obserue yong sir
The sutable description to the end;
And tell vs if it bee significant:
Or if the language be too blunt; obserue;
Tell your opinion of the congruence,
And spew a whetstone vp er'e I proceed:
Thinke if I vfe (sir) an affected stile,
Thinke also of the strange absurdities,
Thinke who's the subiect of my railing theame,
It is thy wicked selfe whereof I speake
And all vprightly spoken; you'le perceiue
You want much leasure (friend) to punish mee
For mischiefes neerer hand doe threaten thee:
Except thou dost despaire and hang thy selfe.
Ami.
Impudent diuell, didst not heare the voice
Of threatning tortures; like so many toads,
Night-rauens, or scritch-owles which together sing
Thy deaths decree, as a sad funerall dirge?
Repent, repent (slaue) and consider well,
Who is now sailing to the gates of hell.
(Scruants) come apprehend this Eunuch; hoe,
Reserue him till the rigor of my doome
Demands sharpe execution; tie the wretch
With loading manacles, and crucifie
This false condemned railer fifty times,
Till with excesse of paine the Traitor dies.
Gra.
I cannot now with-stand hostility,
But follow death with such alacrity
As one resolu'd vpon religious warre,
Such deaths doe purchase a triumphal carre.
| Cinthia's revenge : Or Maenanders extasie | |