University of Virginia Library

Scæna. I.

Enter the Gouernour of Babylon vpon the walles with others.
Gouer.
What saith Maximus?

Max.
My Lord, the breach the enimie hath made
Giues such assurance of our ouerthrow,
That litle hope is left to saue our liues,
Or hold our citie from the Conquerours hands.
Then hang out flagges (my Lord of humble truce,
And satisfie the peoples generall praiers,
That Tamburlains intollorable wrath
May be supprest by our submission.

Gou.
Uillaine, respects thou more thy slauish life,
Than honor of thy countrie or thy name?
Is not my life and state as deere to me,
The citie and my natiue countries weale,
As any thing of price with thy conceit?
Haue we not hope, for all our battered walles,
To liue secure, and keep his forces out,
When this our famous lake of Limnasphaltis
Makes walles a fresh with euery thing that falles
Into the liquid substance of his streame,
More strong than are the gates of death or hel.
What faintnesse should dismay our courages,
When we are thus defenc'd against our Foe,
And haue no terrour but his threatning lookes?

Enter another, kneeling to the Gouernour.
My Lord, if euer you did deed of ruth,
And now will work a refuge to our liues,
Offer submission, hang vp flags of truce,
That Tamburlaine may pitie our distresse,
And vse vs like a louing Conquerour,
Though this be held his last daies dreadfull siege,
Wherein he spareth neither man nor child,
Yet are there Christians of Georgia here,
Whose state he euer pitied and relieu'd:
Wil get his pardon if your grace would send.

Gouer.
How is my soule enuironed,
And this eternisde citie Babylon,
Fill'd with a packe of faintheart Fugitiues,
That thus intreat their shame and seruitude?

Another.
My Lord, if euer you wil win our hearts,
Yeeld vp the towne, saue our wiues and children:
For I wil cast my selfe from off these walles,
Or die some death of quickest violence,
Before I bide the wrath of Tamburlaine.

Gouer.
Uillaines, cowards, Traitors to our state,
Fall to the earth, and pierce the pit of Hel,
That legions of tormenting spirits may vex
Your slauish bosomes with continuall paines,
I care not, nor the towne will neuer yeeld
As long as any life is in my breast.

Enter Theridamas and Techelles, with other souldiers.
Thou desperate Gouernour of Babylon,
To saue thy life, and vs a litle labour,
Yeeld speedily the citie to our hands,
Or els be sure thou shalt be forc'd with paines,
More exquisite than euer Traitor felt.

Gou.
Tyrant, I turne the traitor in thy throat,
And wil defend it in despight of thee.
Call vp the souldiers to defend these wals.

tech.
Yeeld foolish Gouernour, we offer more
Than euer pet we did to such proud slaues,
As durst resist vs till our third daies siege:
Thou seest vs prest to giue the last assault,
And that shal bide no more regard of parlie.

Gou.
Assault and spare not, we wil neuer yeeld.

Alarme, and they scale the walles.
Enter Tamburlain, with Vsumeasane, Amyras, and Celebinus, with others, the two spare kings.
Tam.
The stately buildings of faire Babylon,
Whose lofty Pillers, higher than the cloudes,
Were woont to guide the seaman in the deepe.
Being caried thither by the cannons force,
Now fil the mouth of Limnasphaltes lake,
And make a bridge vnto the battered walles,
Where Belus, Ninus and great Alexander
Haue rode in triumph, triumphs Tamburlaine,
Whose chariot wheeles haue hurst th'Assirians bones,
Drawen with these kings on heaps of carkasses,
Now in the place where faire Semiramis,
Courted by kings and peeres of Asia,
Hath trode the Meisures, do my souldiers martch,
And in the streets, where braue Assirian Dames
Haue rid in pompe like rich Saturnia,
With furious words and frowning visages,
My horsmen brandish their vnruly blades.
Enter Theridamas and Techelles bringing the Gouernor of Babylon.
Who haue ye there my Lordes?

Ther.
The sturdy Gouernour of Babylon,
That made vs all the labour for the towne,
And vsde such slender reckning of you maiesty.

tam.
Go bind the villaine, he shall hang in chaines,
Upon the ruines of this conquered towne,
Sirha, the view of our vermillion tents,
Which threatned more than if the region
Next vnderneath the Element of fire,
Were full of Commets and of blazing stars,
Whose flaming traines should reach down to the earth
Could not affright you, no, nor I my selfe,
The wrathfull messenger of mighty Ioue,
That with his sword hath quail'd all earthly kings,
Could not perswade you to submission,
But stil the ports were shut: villaine I say,
Should I but touch the rusty gates of hell,
The triple headed Cerberus would howle,
And wake blacke Ioue to crouch and kneele to me,
But I haue sent volleies of shot to you,
Yet could not enter till the breach was made,

Gou.
Nor if my body could haue stopt the breach,
Shouldst thou haue entred, cruel tamburlaine:
Tis not thy bloody tents can make me yeeld,
Nor yet thy selfe, the anger of the highest,
For though thy cannon shooke the citie walles,
My heart did neuer quake, or corrage faint.

tam.
Wel, now Ile make it quake, go draw him vp,
Hang him vp in chaines vpon the citie walles,
And let my souldiers shoot the slaue to death.

Gouern.
Uile monster, borne of some infernal hag,
And sent from hell to tyrannise on earth,
Do all thy wurst, nor death, nor Tamburlaine,
Torture or paine can daunt my dreadlesse minde.

tam.
Up with him then, his body shalbe scard.

Gou
But Tamburlain, in Lymnasphaltis lake,
There lies more gold than Babylon is worth,
Which when the citie was besieg'd I hid,
Saue but my life and I wil giue it thee.

tam.
Then for all your valour, you would saue your life,
Where about lies it?

Gou.
Under a hollow bank, right opposite
Against the Westerne gate of Babylon.

tam
Go thither some of you and take his gold,
The rest forward with execution,
Away with him hence, let him speake no more:
I think I make your courage something quaile,
When this is done, we'll martch from Babylon,
And make our greatest haste to Persea:
These Iades are broken winded, and halfe tyr'd,
Unharnesse them, and let me haue fresh horse:
So, now their best is done to honour me,
Take them, and hang them both vp presently.

Tre.
Uild Tyrant, barbarous bloody Tamburlain

Tamb.
Take them away Theridamas, see them dispatcht.

Ther
I will my Lord.

tam.
Come Asian Uiceroies, to your taskes a while
And take such fortune as your fellowes felt.

Orc.
First let thy Scythyan horse teare both our limmes
Rather then we should draw thy chariot.
And like base slaues abiect out princely mindes
To vile and ignominious seruitude.

Ier.
Rather lend me thy weapon Tamburlain,
That I may sheath it in this breast of mine,
A thousand deathes could not torment our hearts
More than the thought of this dooth vexe our soules.

Amy.

They will talk still my Lord, if you doe not
bridle them.

tam.
Bridle them, and let me to my coach.

They bridle them.
Amy.
See now my Lord how braue the Captaine hangs.

tam.
Tis braue indeed my boy, wel done,
Shoot first my Lord, and then the rest shall follow,

ther.
Then haue at him to begin withall.

Theridamas shootes.
Gou.
Yet saue my life, and let this wound appease
The mortall furie of great Tamburlain.

tam.
No, though Asphaltis lake were liquid gold,
And offer'd me as ransome for thy life,
Yet shouldst thou die, shoot at him all at once.
They shoote.
So now he hangs like Bagdets Gouernour,
Hauing as many bullets in his flesh,
As there be breaches in her battered wall.
Goe now and bind the Burghers hand and foot,
And cast them headlong in the cities lake:
Tartars and Perseans shall inhabit there,
And to command the citie, I will build
A Cytadell, that all Affrica
Which hath bene subiect to the Persean king,
Shall pay me tribute for, in Babylon.

tech.

What shal be done with their wiues and children
my Lord.

tam,
Techelles, Drowne them all, man, woman, and child,
Leaue not a Babylonian in the towne.

tech
I will about it straight, come Souldiers.

Exit
tam.
Now Casane, wher's the Turkish Alcaron,
And all the heapes of supersticious bookes,
Found in the Temples of that Mahomet?
Whom I haue thought a God, they shal be burnt.

Cas.
Here they are my Lord.

tam.
Wel said, let there be a fire presently,
In vaine I see men worship Mahomet,
My sword hath sent millions of Turks to hell.
Slew all his Priests, his kinsmen, and his friends,
And yet I liue vntoucht by Mahomet:
There is a God full of reuenging wrath,
From whom the thunder and the lightning breaks,
Whose Scourge I am, and him will I obey.
So Casane, fling them in the fire.
Now Mahomet, if thou haue any power,
Come downe thy selfe and worke a myracle,
Thou art not woorthy to be worshipped,
That suffers flames of fire to burne the writ
Wherein the sum of thy religion rests.
Why send'st thou not a furious whyrlwind downe,
To blow thy Alcaron vp to thy throne,
Where men report, thou sitt'st by God himselfe,
Or vengeance on the head of Tamburlain,
That shakes his sword against thy maiesty.
And spurns the Abstracts of thy foolish lawes.
Wel souldiers, Mahomet remaines in hell,
He cannot heare the voice of Tamburlain,
Seeke out another Godhead to adore,
The God that sits in heauen, if any God,
For he is God alone, and none but he.

tech.
I haue fulfil'd your highnes wil, my Lord,
Thousands of men drown'd in Asphaltis Lake,
Haue made the water swell aboue the bankes,
And fishes feed by humaine carkasses,
Amasde, swim vp and downe vpon the waues,
As when they swallow Assafitida,
Which makes them fleet aloft and gaspe for aire,

tam.
Wel then my friendly Lordes, what now remaines
But that we leaue sufficient garrison
And presently depart to Persea,
To triumph after all our victories.

ther.
I, good my Lord, let vs in hast to Persea,
And let this Captaine be remoou'd the walles,
To some high hill about the citie here.

tam.
Let it be so, about it souldiers:
But stay, I feele my selfe distempered sudainly.

tech.
What is it dares distemper Tamburlain?

tam.
Something tcchelles but I know not what,
But foorth ye vassals, what so ere it be,
Sicknes or death can neuer conquer me.

Exeunt