University of Virginia Library

THE FOVRTH ACTE.

Nuntius,
Theseus,
O heauy happe and cruell chaunce of Seruantes slauish state,
Why am I Poast to bring the newes of this il fauord fate?

Th.
Be not abasht the ruthful wracke with courage to declare:
My breast agaynst the brunt of broyles stil armed I prepare,

Nun.
My foltring tongue doth speach vnto my glutting griefe denye.

Th.
Our stocke with sorrow shuken sore what cares do crush escrie.

Nun.
Hippolytus (ay woe is me) is slayne by doleful death.

Tn.
Now Father do I know my Sonne bereaued of his breath,
For why the Leacher life is lost: shew in what sort he dide.

Nun.
In all poast hast as fugitiue to shunne the Towne he hyde
Once hauing caught his cutting course apace he scuddes away,
His prauncing Palfrayes straite he doth with Collers close araye:
With curbed bittes their snaffled heads at wil he brydles in,
Then talking much vnto himselfe to curse he doth beginne
His natiue soyle: alas deare Father, Father stil he cryes:
And angry lasheth with his whip, whyle loose his Bridle lies:
Then sodenly a hugy swolue gan swel amid the deepe,
And starteth vp into the starres no pipling wind doth sweepe
Along the Seas in Heauen so lith no noyse at all there was:
The Seas ful calme euen as their kindly Tyde doth driue them, passe.
Nor yet no boysterous Southerne wynd the Sycill sand turmoyles.
Nor yet with fomie ramping surge the raging gulph vp boyles,
Heaude vp by Westerne puffes: when as the rockes with flappyng flash
Do shake and drownd Lucates cliue the hoary fome doth dash.
The tombling waues togeather tost on hils are heaped hie,
The swelling swolue with Monster much to land alofe doth flye,
Nor only shaken ships in Seas do suffer wracke hereby:
The land in hazard lyes of stormes a waltring waue is rold
In tottring wise a wallowing gulph with winding compas fold,
Driues downe I know not what withall: a flat vprisyng new
An head aboue the water brim doth rayse the Starres to vew.
In foggie cloud eclipsed is Apollos dusky gleede,
And Scyros Rocks whom Trumpe of Fame aduaunst by dreary deede
Corynthus eake whom double Sea on eyther side assayle:
While greatly we agriesd, these thinges do languishing bewayle,
The belking Seas yell out the grunting Rockes with all do rore:
The slabby Cliue doth reke, fro whence the water ebde before,
It frothes, and keping course by course it spewes the waters out,
As doth Physeter fish (that flittes the Ocean Coast about)
And gulping doth from yawning throat his flouds of water spoute.
The shaken surge did tottre strayte and brake it selfe in twayne:
With wracke (more violent then wee did feare) it rusht amayne
Agaynst the shore, beyond the bankes it breakes into the land:
And hideous Monster followes: these for feare did quaking stand

Th.
What shape that vncouth Monster had and body vast declare.

Nu
A boasting Bull, his marble necke aduaunced hye that bare,
Upraysd his lofty bristled Mayn on curled forhead greene
With shaggy eares prickt vp his diuers speckled hornes were seene.
(Whom Bacchus earst possessed had, who tames the Cattell wyld,
And eake the God that borne in flouds was bred a water Chyld)
Now puffing he perbraketh flames, and now as leaming light
With sparckling beams his goggle eyes do glare and glister bright.
His greasy larded necke (a marke for to be noted well)
With rough and knobby curnels hie out bumping big do swell.
His snorting Nostrilles wyde do grunt and yawning gulphes they sosse,
His breast and throtebag greenishly are dawbd with clammy mosse
His side along begrymed is with Lactuse red of hue,
On snarling knots his wrinkled rumpe toward his face he drue,
His scaly haunch, and lagging tayle most vgly dragges hee vp,
As Pristis in the deepe of Seas the swallowed Keele doth sup,
Or else perbraketh out agayne the vndigested pup.
The earth did quake, the Cattel feard about the field do rampe,
The hunter starke with chilling feare beginnes to stare and stampe,
The heirdman had no mynd his scattrynge Heyfers to pursue,
The Deere amazed brake the pale and bad the Laundes adue.
But onely yet Hippolytus. deuoyde of faynting feare
His neyng horses with the raynes of Bridles hard doth beare,
With wonted woordes he cheareth vp his nymble Nagges afraide:
A steepe hie way at Argos lies with stony cliues decaide,
That nodding ouerhangs the Sea, which vnderfleetes that wayes:
That vgly Royle heere beates him selfe, and raging wrath doth rayse,
And kindling courage hoate, him force with burning breast assayes,
And chaufing eft himselfe before gan fret with angry hart.
Lo then into a scouring course on sodayne doth hee start,
With whirling pace he girding forth doth scarcely touch the ground,
Lighting a front the trimbling Cart with glaring Eyes hee glowmd.
Then also doth thy threatning Son with lowring browes vpstart,
Nor chaungeth Countenaunce, but speakes with stout couragious hart.
This foolish feare doth not appaule my bold and hardned brest,
It comes to mee by kinde, that Bulls by mee should bee opprest.
His Steedes defying strait the Raynes plonge forward with the Cart,
As rage did prick them, sore afright beside the way they start.
This bias way among the Rocks they raunge, and wander wyde,
But as the Pylot (least the Barke should totter to one syde)
Doth beare it euen in wrastling waues: so while his horses skip,
He ruleth them, now raines them hard, and now with winding whip
Free lashes on their buttocks layes: his Foe doth him pursue,
Now step by step, now meeting full agaynst his face hee flue.
Prouoking terror euery where. No further fly they might:
The horned beast with butting Browes gan run vpon them right.
The trampling Gennets straught of wits doe straight way breake their ray,
The struggle striuing hard to slip the Collar if they may.
And prauncing on their hinder Feete, the burden hurle on ground:
Thy Son flat falling on his Face, his body fast was bound,
Entangled in the winding ropes, the more he striues to loose
The slipping knots, he faster sticks within the sliding noose.
The Horses doe perceyue the broyle: and with the Waggon light
While none there is to rule the Raynes, with skittish feare afright
At randon out they ramping runne, (euen as the Welkin hye
The Cart that mist his woonted waight, disdayning in the Skye
The dreery day that falsely was commit vnto the Sun,
From off the fiery Marble Poale that downe askew doth run,
Flang Phaeton topsie toruey tost) his bloud begores the ground:
And dingd agaynst the rugged Rocks his head doth oft rebound:
The brambles rent his haled hayre the edged flinty stones,
The beauty batter of his Face, and breake his crashing bones:
At Mouth his blaring tongue hangs out with squeased eyne out dasht,
His Iawes & Skull doe crack, abrode his spurting Braynes are pasht,
His cursed beauty thus defoylde with many wounds is spent:
The iotting Wheeles do grinde his guts, and drenched lims they rent.
At length a Stake wt Trūchion burnt his ripped Paūch hath caught,
From riued Grine to th' Nauell stead within his wombe it raught:
The Cart vpon his Maister pawsde agaynst the ground ycrusht,
The Fellies stuck within the wounds, and out at length they rusht:
So both delay and Maisters limbs are broke by stresse of Wheeles:
His dragling guts then trayle about the wincing horses heeles.
They thumping with their horny Hooues agaynst his Belly kick,
From bursten Paunch on heapes his blouddy bowells tumble thick:
The scratting Bryers on the Brakes with needle poynted pricks
His gory Carkas all to race with spelles of thorny sticks
And of his flesh ech ragged shrub a gub doth snatch and rent,
His men (a mourning troupe God knowes) with brackish teares besprēt
Doe stray about the fielde, whereas Hippolytus was tore:
A piteous signe is to bee seene by tracing long of gore:
His howling Dogges their Maisters limmes with licking follow still:
The earnest toyle of woful Wights can not the coars vp fill,
By gathering vp the gobbets sparst and broken lumps of flesh.
Is this the flaunting brauery that comes of beauty fresh?
Who in his Fathers Empyre earst, did raigne vs pryncely Peare
The Heyre apparant to the Crowne, and shone in honour cleare,
Lyke to the glorious Stars of Heauen, his Limmes in pieces small
Are gathred to his fatall Graue, and swept to funerall.

TH.
O Nature that preuaylste too much, (alas) how dost thou binde
Whyth bonds of bloud the Parents breast? how loue we thee by kinde?
Maugre our Teeth whom guilty eeke we would haue rest of breath?
And yet lamenting with my teares I doe bewayle thy death.

NVN.
None can lament with honesty that which he wisht destroyde.

TH.
The hugiest heape of woes by this I thinke to be enioyde,
When flickering Fortunes cursed wheele doe cause vs cry alas,
To rue the wrack of things which earst wee wished brought to passe.

NVN.
If stil thou keepe thy grudge, why is thy Face wt teares besprēt?

TH.
Because I slue him, not because I lost him, I repent.

Chorus.