University of Virginia Library

Scæna. 2.

Tamburlain, Techelles, Theridamas, Vsumeasane, Zenocrate, Anippe, two Moores drawing Baiazeth in his cage, and his wife following him.
Tamb.
Bring out my foot-stoole.

They take him out of the cage.
Bai.
Ye holy Priests of heauenly Mahomet,
That sacrificing slice and cut your flesh,
Staining his Altars with your purple blood:
Make heauen to frowne and euery fixed starre
To sucke vp poison from the moorish Fens,
And poure it in this glorious Tyrants throat.

tam.
The chiefest God first moouer of that Spheare,
Enchac'd with thousands euer shining lamps,
Will sooner burne the glorious frame of Heauen.
Then it should so conspire my ouerthrow.
But Uillaine, thou that wishest this to me,
Fall prostrate on the lowe disdainefull earth.
And be the foot-stoole of great Tamburlain,
That I may rise into my royall throne.

Bai.
First shalt thou rip my bowels with thy sword,
And sacrifice my heart to death and hell,
Before I yeeld to such a slauery.

tamb.
Base villain, vassall, slaue to Tamburlaine:
Unworthy to imbrace or touch the ground.
That beares the honor of my royall waight.
Stoop villaine, stoope, stoope for so he bids,
That may command thee peecemeale to be torne,
Or scattered like the lofty Cedar trees,
Strooke with the voice of thundring Iupiter.

Bai.
Then as I look downe to the damned Feends.
Feends looke on me, and thou dread God of hell.
With Eban Scepter strike this hatefull earth,
And make it swallow both of vs at once.

He gets vp vpon him to his chaire.
Tamb.
Now cleare the triple region of the aire,
And let the maiestie of heauen beholde
Their Scourge and Terrour treade on Emperours,
Smile Stars that raign'd at my natiuity:
And dim the brightnesse of their neighbor Lamps,
Disdaine to borrow light of Cynthia,
For I the chiefest Lamp of all the earth,
First rising in the East with milde aspect,
But fixed now in the Meridian line,
Will send vp fire to your turning Spheares,
And cause the Sun to borrowe light of you.
My sword stroke fire from his coat of steele,
Euen in Bythinia, when I took this Turke:
As when a fiery exhalation
Wrapt in the bowels of a freezing cloude,
Fighting for passage, make the Welkin cracke,
And casts a flash of lightning to the earth.
But ere I martch to wealthy Persea,
Or leaue Damascus and th'Egyptian fields,
As was the fame of Clymeus brain-sicke sonne,
That almost brent the Axeltree of heauen,
So shall our swords, our lances and our shot.
Fill all the aire with fiery meteors.
Then when the Sky shal waxe as red as blood,
It shall be said, I made it red my selfe,
To make me think of nought but blood and war.

Zab.
Unworthy king, that by thy crueltie,
Unlawfully vsurpest the Persean seat:
Dar'st thou that neuer saw an Emperour,
Before thou met my husband in the field,
Being thy Captiue, thus abuse his state,
Keeping his kingly body in a Cage,
That rooffes of golde, and sun-bright Pallaces,
Should haue prepar'd to entertaine his Grace?
And treading him beneath thy loathsome feet,
Whose feet the kings of Affrica haue kist.

tech.
You must deuise some tormēt worsse, my Lord
To make these captiues reine their lauish tongues.

tam.
zenocrate, looke better to your slaue:

zen.
She is my Handmaids slaue, and she shal looke
That these abuses flow not from her tongue:
Chide her Anippe.

Anip.
Let these be warnings for you then my slaue,
How you abuse the person of the king:
Or els I sweare to haue you whipt stark nak'd.

Bai.
Great tamburlaine, great in my ouerthrow,
Ambitious pride shall make thee fall as low.
For treading on the back of Baiazeth,
That should be horsed on fower mightie kings.

tam.
Thy names and tytles, and thy dignities
Are fled from Baiazeth, and remaine with me,
That will maintaine it against a world of Kings.
Put him in againe.

Bai.
Is this a place for mighty Baiazeth?
Confusion light on him that helps thee thus.

tam.
There whiles he liues, shal Baiezeth be kept,
And where I goe be thus in triumph drawne:
And thou his wife shalt feed him with the scraps
My seruitures shall bring the from my boord.
For he that giues him other food than this:
Shall sit by him and starue to death himselfe.
This is my minde, and I will haue it so.
Not all the Kings and Emperours of the Earth:
If they would lay their crownes before my feet,
Shall ransome him, or take him from his cage.
The ages that shall talk of Tamburlain,
Euen from this day to Platoes wondrous yeare,
Shall talke how I haue handled Baiazeth.
These Mores that drew him from Bythinia,
To faire Damascus, where we now remaine,
Shall lead him with vs wheresoere we goe.
Techelles, and my louing followers,
Now may we see Damascus lofty towers,
Like to the shadowes of Pyramides,
That with their beauties grac'd the Memphion fields:
The golden stature of their feathered bird
That spreads her wings vpon the citie wals,
Shall not defend it from our battering shot.
The townes-men maske in silke and cloath of gold.
And euery house is as a treasurie.
The men, the treasure, and the towne is ours.

Ther.
Your tentes of white now pitch'd before the gates
And gentle flags of amitie displaid.
I doubt not but the Gouernour will yeeld,
Offering Damascus to your Maiesty.

Tam.
So shall he haue his life, and all the rest.
But if he stay vntil the bloody flag
Be once aduanc'd on my vermilion Tent,
He dies, and those that kept vs out so long.
And when they see me march in black aray,
With mournfull streamers hanging down their heads,
Were in that citie all the world contain'd.
Not one should scape: but perish by our swords.

zen.
Yet would you haue some pitie for my sake,
Because it is my countries, and my Fathers.

Tam.
Not for the world Zenocrate, if I haue sworn:
Come bring in the Turke.

Exeunt.