To beat us down, the which are down already;
And make a conquest of unhappy men,

Whereas 5 no glory's got to overcome.

Lord. That's the least fear; for, by the semblance
Of their white flags display'd, they bring us peace,
And come to us as favourers, not as foes.

Cle. Thou speak'st like him's untutor'd to repeat : 6
Who makes the fairest show means most deceit.
But, bring they what they will, and what they can,
What need we fear?

The ground's the lowest, and we're half-way there.
Go tell their general we attend him here,

To know for what he comes, and whence he comes,
And what he craves.

Lord. I go, my lord.

Cle. Welcome is peace, if he on peace consist; 7 If wars, we are unable to resist.

Enter PERICLES with Attendants.

Per. Lord governor, for so we hear you are,
Let not our ships and number of our men
Be like a beacon fired t' amaze your eyes.
We've heard your miseries as far as Tyre,
And seen the desolation of
your streets :
Nor come we to add sorrow to your hearts,
But to relieve them of their heavy load;
And these our ships, you happily may think
Are like the Trojan horse was stuff'd within
With bloody veins,8 expecting overthrow,

17.

[Exit.

5 Whereas for where; as, before, where for whereas. See page 18, note

"Thou speak'st like a man who is untaught to remember, that is, has no memory; referring to the proverb quoted in the next line.

To consist in the Latin sense; to stand, or to take a stand, to rest.
"And these our ships, which you, expecting overthrow, may perhaps

Are stored with corn to make your needy bread,

And give them life whom hunger starved half dead.
All. The gods of Greece protect you!

And we'll pray for you.

Per.

Rise, I pray you, rise :
We do not look for reverence, but for love,
And harbourage for ourself, our ships, and men.
Cle. The which when any shall not gratify,
Or pay you with unthankfulness in thought,
Be it our wives, our children, or ourselves,

The curse of Heaven and men succeed 9 their evils!
Till when, the which I hope shall ne'er be seen,
Your Grace is welcome to our town and us.

Per. Which welcome we'll accept ; feast here awhile,
Until our stars that frown lend us a smile.

[Exeunt.

ACT II.

Enter GOWER.

Gow. Here have you seen a mighty king

His child, I wis, to incest bring;

A better prince, and benign lord,

That will prove awful1 both in deed and word.

Be quiet, then, as men should be,

Till he hath pass'd necessity.

I'll show you those in troubles reign,

think to be like the Trojan horse which was stuff'd with living men, are,"

&c. Happily was often used for haply, when the verse wanted a trisyllable. 'Bloody veins" for veins filled with blood.

9 Succeed in the Latin sense of follow; a frequent usage.

1 Awful is full of awe, that is, reverent. The force of you have seen is continued over a better prince.

Losing a mite, a mountain gain.
The good in conversation

To whom I gave my benison —
Is still at Tarsus, where each man
Thinks all is writ he speken can;2
And, to remember what he does,
Build his statue to make him glorious :

But tidings to the contrary

Are brought your eyes; what need speak I?

DUMB-SHOW.

Enter, from one side, PERICLES, talking with CLEON; their Trains with them. Enter, from the other side, a Gentleman, with a letter to PERICLES; who shows the letter to CLEON; then gives the Messenger a reward, and knights him. Exeunt severally PERICLES and CLEON, with their Trains.

Good Helicane hath stay'd at home,
Not to eat honey like a drone

From others' labours, though3 he strive
To killen bad, keep good alive;
And, to fulfil his Prince' desire,
Sends word of all that haps in Tyre:
How Thaliard came full bent with sin
And hid intent to murder him;
And that in Tarsus was not best
Longer for him to make his rest.

He, knowing so, put forth to seas,

2 "The good prince (on whom I bestow my blessing) is still at Tarsus, where every man pays as much respect to all he can speak, as if it were holy writ." Conversation is conduct, or behaviour, as in the Bible.

3 Though was not unfrequently used for since, for, because, or inasmuch as; and Shakespeare has it repeatedly in that sense. So that "though he strive" is simply equivalent to "since he strives," or "for he strives." See vol. xvii. page 230, note 13.

Where when men been, there's seldom ease;
For now the wind begins to blow;
Thunder above and deeps below
Make such unquiet, that the ship

Should house him safe is wreck'd and split;
And he, good prince, having all lost,

By waves from coast to coast is tost:
All perishen of man, of pelf,

Ne aught escapen but himself;
Till fortune, tired with doing bad,

Threw him ashore, to give him glad :
And here he comes. What shall be next,
Pardon old Gower; this 'longs the text.4

SCENE I.

[Exit.

Pentapolis. An open Place by the Sea-side.

Enter PERICLES, wet,

Per. Yet cease your ire, you angry stars of heaven!
Wind, rain, and thunder, remember, earthly man
Is but a substance that must yield to you ;

And I, as fits my nature, do obey you.

Alas, the sea hath cast me on the rocks,

Wash'd me from shore to shore, and left me breath
Nothing to think on but ensuing death:
Let it suffice the greatness of your powers

To have bereft a prince of all his fortunes;
And, having thrown him from your watery grave,
Here to have death in peace is all he'll crave.

Enter three Fishermen.

I Fish. What, ho, Pilch !!

4 "Pardon old Gower from telling what ensues: that belongs to the text, not to his part as Chorus."

1 Pilch is a leathern coat; of course here put for the wearer; as Patchbreech is just after.

2 Fish. Ho, come and bring away the nets!

1 Fish. What, Patch-breech, I say!

3 Fish. What say you, master?

I Fish. Look how thou stirrest now! come away, or I'll fetch thee with a wanion.2

3 Fish. Faith, master, I am thinking of the poor men that were cast away before us even now.

1 Fish. Alas, poor souls, it grieved my heart to hear what pitiful cries they made to us to help them, when, well-a-day, we could scarce help ourselves.

3 Fish. Nay, master, said not I as much when I saw the porpus, how he bounced and tumbled? they say they're halffish, half-flesh: a plague on them, they ne'er come but I look to be wash'd.3 Master, I marvel how the fishes live in the sea.

1 Fish. Why, as men do a-land; the great ones eat up the little ones. I can compare our rich misers to nothing so fitly as to a whale; 'a plays and tumbles, driving the poor fry before him, and at last devours them all at a mouthful: such whales have I heard on o' the land, who never leave gaping till they've swallow'd the whole parish, church, steeple, bells, and all.

Per. [Aside.] A pretty moral.

3 Fish. But, master, if I had been the sexton, I would have been that day in the belfry.

2 Fish. Why, man?

3 Fish. Because he should have swallow'd me too; and, when I had been in his belly, I would have kept such a jangling of the bells, that he should never have left, till he

2 This expression, which is equivalent to with a mischief, or with a vengeance, is of very frequent occurrence in old writers.

3 Sailors have observed, that the playing of porpoises round a ship is a certain prognostic of a violent gale of wind.

"Because he should" is old language for in order that he might. Shakespeare has it several times so. See vol. xvi. page 268, note 21.