 | Cinthia's revenge : Or Maenanders extasie |  |
Scœn. 3.
Evphorbvs, Bvfo, Menander, Laelio, Lvcilla, Mantesio, Perillvs.
Vnfold your Ensignes, beate your silent Drums,
Exchange (I say) their sable cognisance,
Adding a limitation to the feares
Of this great Captaines death: exhaustad teares
May mittigate compunction, not despaire
A losse vnmatch'd well worthy of repaire.
Weeping should shew our zeale, not once repine
At Prouidence aboue, which is Diuine.
But (Agamemnon) now the funerall rites
Be finished; new horror, new despights
Speake with a bloody accent: Aiax roares,
And like a tempest, or the Gyants race,
Which lay encamp'd against the God-like face
Of great Olimpus, doth hee bellow forth
Bumbast exclaimes, and cals vpon desert;
Giue me (saith hee) that armour which is due,
And (as a trophey of eternall fame)
May stout Achilles, that most valiant man,
Suruiue in mee: O thou vn-thankfull Greece,
(Helmets and launces bee my Orators)
Thou art indebted to my braue designes
Past restitution; let some Souldier speake,
And call thee Bankrout; for I am abus'd:
Will you admit a rivall then saith hee
In my magnanimous aimes to conquer mee?
Will you admit Vlysses?
Lae.
They approach.
Me.
Shall eu'ry coward be competitor
With Princes of such potent fortitude,
Such high descent, such saintish pedigree
As Greece can tell I Aiax doe enioy?
For Ioue and all the Gods acknowledge mee,
My arme hath whole share in the dust of Troy.
Per.
True (Aiax) true, take double share in dust,
But for Achilles now contend we must.
Me.
Contend with me? (thou creeping snaile) with me?
Whom wrathfull Hector on his Elephant,
Mounted like Neptune on the curled waues,
Loath to incounter, did forsake the field;
Through his faire absence did the Troians yeeld.
Pe.
But (Aiax) wise men know selfe-arrogance
Is still instructed sir to amplifie.
Me.
Fie (prating coxcombe) what a senslesse foole
To enter-change the aire, and empty voice
With such a sheeps-head, a poore Ithacan?
Per.
(Aiax) Your Giant bragges lacke pollicy,
Strength wanting wisedome, argues extasie.
Me.
Giue vs our launce and helmet, I consume
Till I haue turn'd this coward into fume:
Fetch some offensiue swords, and scimitars,
Iauelings and Curtaxe, I will crush this Ape,
And as a trophey weare his captiue skinne;
(The doubtfull terror of my certaine spoile
Which may affright, and make our foes recoile.)
Per.
What high renowne or fame is to be had
By fighting with a Souldier who is mad?
Me.
O my forgotten fury swell apace,
And spit forth lightning in the cowards face,
Who hath no title to his bold pretence,
But a most a poore vn-tutor'd eloquence.
Ev.
Aiax—
Bv.
Be silent, Agamemnon speakes.
Ev.
Hang taming fetters on your lofty frownes,
Compell thy wrath which is prædominant,
Force wilde affections (Aiax.) I professe.
Aiax you are too violent; leaue rage,
And by appointment of my poore aduice,
You (in this great assembly) shall recount
Your noble acts; which if they do amount
Beyond Vlysses memorable deeds,
The armour of Achilles then succeeds
To thee alone, made happy through desert,
Else to Vlysses shall the armes reuert.
Me.
Then let me challenge some prerogatiue
From this forgotten place: laugh Iupiter,
And blame the stupid braines of this rude throng,
Which with vnthankfull eies can here behold
(All rescu'd vassailes of my ventrous arme)
Yet make vs dead, and vaine Vlysses warme;
Warme with the bounty which the frozen snake
Will but abuse (my Lords) and you mistake.
What man was hee tooke danger by the iawes?
Gaue an assault of battry to the ribs
Of rampant Horror? hew'd a passage out
From spoile and ruine, to reape victory?
Wrestled, and rescu'd Nauies from the fire?
And did (for safety) senge his beard with flames?
Gaue to triumphant Hector the repulse?
Quench'd a combustion æquall in extreames
To burning Phaëton, and the torrid Zone?
What man was hee? No talking verbalist;
But I, eeu'n Aiax, with but halfe a fist:
Where was my smooth-tongu'd aduersary then?
What hope had weake Vlysses to supply
A Captaines part with schoole-boyes eloquence?
No (poore Vlysses) if thou apprehend'st
My vn-resisted victories aright;
If you conceiue your disabilities,
Your inclinations naturall, and raw,
Your lame, and halting courage in exploit;
Remembring sir with whom you do contend,
With mee, with Aiax, whom no feares offend,
Then magnifie your selfe, and thinke it praise,
Aboue thy merits, to confesse, by drum,
By harpe and sacke-but, that (though ouer-come)
Thou didst yet striue with Aiax, and renounce
Each other title, which may well denounce
Thee indiscreet, and thy assumption proud;
Helpe mee (deere Wisedome) to restraine, for I
Shall be transported into agony
So full of brazen impudence and feare,
As that proud linguist, my competitor.
Aduance, aduance, your melancholy brow,
Bend your attentiue polititians eare
To that which heauen and I will asseuere,
You haue been taught to dance, and turne the heele,
To runne away betimes, and to forsake
Thy friend, nay soule, vpon extremity.
Nestor, Tydides, both can well auerre,
You lacke the rules of doctrine militant;
All rescue is accounted heresie:
Which rule (if pitty and compassion both
Were not my maximes friend) had cost your life:
I saw death's Sergeant ready to arrest
Thy pensiue soule, when tumbling downe to earth,
I threw my target on thy pallid hearse,
Draue backe thy foes, and did thy soule reuerse.
Will you (sir) walke vnto the place againe?
Goe faigne some foes approach, put feare enough,
And wounds on, for a shift, shrinke vp againe,
And like the Tortoise vnder-creepe your shell;
So sir contend I pray, and stammer well:
Be wise (you mighty Captaines) and collect
How Hector did the Troian troopes renew,
Amazing vaunt-guards with a multitude
Of heathen Gods giuing a bloody cause
Of quicke despaire to my Antagonist;
Nay to the valiant and prouinciall Dukes:
This dreadfull man, this Hector (tossing soules
Like Gnats and Ants-egges downe to Erebus)
I beate him groueling, laid his limbs asleepe;
And like a mountaine from the firmament,
Downe fell great Hector from his Elephant:
And let Vlysses share with Diomed.
Mars be my æquall iudge! what simple man
(Except in league with sottish ignorance)
Would (vpon forfeit of his patrimony,
And stocke of wisedome to debility)
Admit Vlysses my competitor
To striue in iest with Aiax? if desert
Shall in the vp-shot be prædominant,
Looke on our out-sides, on our helmets looke;
View each mans Beuer, Breast-plate, Sword and Launce,
Looke on our out-sides hoe! consider well
And pawse vpon each target; giue me leaue,
To shew the tokens of a Souldiers claime,
And to vncase a cowards infamy.
Marke but the difference betwixt our shields:
Mine (a true target) hath sustain'd whole groues
Of artificiall timber, topt with steele,
I stood like Mars among my Troian foes,
When all forsooke me but my faithfull targe,
It still continued, and did nobly keepe,
My limbs expos'd to danger of the field;
A Crocodile I thinke may couert sleepe
Within the large wounds of my open shield:
Cast (I beseech) now halfe a pur-blinde looke
Vpon that theeuish varlet; and his shield,
Obserue how smooth and faire his night-caps be,
His helmets (Lords) I meane, obserue his shield,
His Beuer trim'd twise twenty times a day;
His gauntlets, gorgets, and his gilded Armes,
All of a sweet complexion, sanguine sappe,
As to incounter some fine Ladies lappe:
Meaning to be a Champion of the smockes,
A gallant spruce young warriour indeed,
Account my phrase no ambiguity,
Vlysses sloth my words will verifie:
I laugh most freely to imagine how
Effœminate Vlysses will support
The massy fabricke of Achiles armes,
If my deseruings shall be rob'd and loose
That which I honour, and affection wooes.
Ev.
(Aiax) enough; Vlysses now begin:
Per.
Desire (alas) being not effectuall
To raise from Cinders dead mortality,
And make a liuing heire indubitate,
Heau'n saith, hee shall remaine ambiguous,
Till you (great Iudges) doe decide the strife,
And so restore Achilles vnto life:
Which, because doubtfull, I doe challenge grace
Of you my patrons, and this publicke place.
The bragging fellow Aiax doth deriue
A long forgotten age from Telamon,
Striuing to fetch a foolish argument
Of his renowned acts, from high discent,
If which dead picture of Kings pedigree,
Could but infuce a fortune competent,
And make that piercing wisedome of the soule
A thing intitled to inheritance,
I could produce a genealogy,
From sacred Ioue, and subtill Mercury;
But, may the best of all my stratagems,
Which to thy sole aduantage (happy Greece)
I haue inuented; may they perish all
When I assume the vertue of my sire,
As agent for my hope, and chiefe desire.
Who tempted braue Achilles to the siege
When hee (detain'd with feare of destiny)
When hee forgot to be pontificall,
And was a true virago? did refuse
Both weapons, and each little sound of warre?
I had a feeling of my countries cause,
And drew Achilles to the Troian warres;
That mighty Captaine of the Mermedons
I drew to battell, made him disobey
His mother-goddesse, to aduance the state
Of weary toile, and trouble Pergamus:
I put his armour on; gaue weapons too;
For what I gaue (great Lords) I humbly wooe.
Speake, did not I incounter Telephon?
Turne Thebes to ashes? conquer Tenedos?
Chryses and Cylla, Syron, Hector, Troy,
All do acknowledge me; my valiant arme,
My notable aduice; all attribute
The shamelesse ruine of subuerted Troy
To me; as author sole, and absolute
Of such a safety to the common-weale;
Which, notwithstanding (fathers) I renounce,
And must acknowledge you the principals
Of an atchieuement so perspicuous:
And whatsouer the vaine peoples voice,
Captaines report, and painfull Souldiers loue,
Doth by mis-guided error giue to mee,
I render backe with all humility.
To vrge my owne directions, and aduice
In Architecture of that happy horse,
That fatall fabricke (being so fresh in thought)
Were to condemne you (mindfull country-men)
Of that which wisedome loathes, Ingratitude.
To reckon vp Minerua's image, bought
With hazard of my breath, and precious limbs,
And gaue accesse vnto that sacred spell,
Might argue a most false obliuion
In your quicke wisedomes with strange impudence
In my most bold surmise. But (Mighties all)
May stupid Aiax his reproachfull termes,
(Without each scruple to your iudging eares)
Be twice retorted in his rotten teeth;
So hee may swallow downe such base Rebukes,
And make amends to me: for let him know,
My suffring shoulders could sustaine the load
Not of Achilles armour, but his lumpe
Of solid, brawny flesh, both legges and armes,
Nay the whole massy trunke truss'd vp in steele:
I (Aiax) I, that carkasse once be-stridde,
Vpon my shoulders tooke his heauy trunke
When death stood there, and in the midst of all
Carried Achilles to his funerall.
When after thousand sharpe calamities
Of warre, of winter, famine, pestilence,
Of parching dog-daies, long and tædious,
Of tempest, thunder, much mortality,
After all these, and ten yeares doubtfull siege,
When you forsooke the Campe, did so recoile,
As almost scorning a recouery;
I charm'd the top-mast, hal'd you backe to shore,
Conuerted all to conquest, which before
Did seeme aboue my dull inuentiue braine,
Giue me a meed for ten yeares toile and paine.
Om.
Succeed Vlysses, take thy rich desire.
Me.
Death to my fortunes! shall Vlysses rob
My long deseruings of so rich a claime?
I will increase the bargaine, stay a while
Take my memento.
Om.
Sir, auoid his rage.
Do'st flye from vengeance? whither can you flye?
Whither (thou shifting coward) to escape
The indignation of my doubtlesse wrath?
See how the lurking caitife there doth hide
His Cuckow-bill; what fury could abstaine?
Lvc. Man.
Angels protect vs; helpe, we both are slaine?
Lae. Pe.
Defend it (fiction.)
Me.
Helpe it forward (faith)
And giue some fee to Iustice: (gallants) know,
Mischiefe to high extreames this paire did wooe.
Am.
With false Pheudippe did conspire wee two.
Me.
Harke they confesse what wonder did reueale,
Giue your applause, and make a merry peale:
Call mee not Aiax now, but Mercury,
Who could vn-tye a Tragicke riddle thus;
Worthy to be esteem'd miraculous.
| Cinthia's revenge : Or Maenanders extasie | |