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There never was a truer rhyme. Let us cast
away nothing, for we may live to have need of
such a verse; we see it, we see it.-How now,
lambs?

Troi. Cressid, I love thee in so strain'd a purity, 5
That the blest gods-as angry with my fancy,
More bright in zeal than the devotion which
Cold lips blow to their deities—take thee from me.
Cres. Have the gods envy?

Pun. Ay, ay, ay, ay; 'tis too plain a case.
Cres. And is it true, that I must go from Troy?
Troi. A hateful truth.

Cres. What, and from Troilus too?
Troi. From Troy, and Troilus.
Cres. Is it possible?

Troi. And suddenly; where injury of chance
Puts back leave-taking, justles roughly by
All time of pause, rudely beguiles our lips
Of all rejoindure, forcibly prevents
Our lock'd embrasures, strangles our dear vows
Even in the birth of our own labouring breath:
We two, that with so many thousand sighs
Did buy each other, must poorly sell ourselves
With the rude brevity and discharge of one.
Injurious time now, with a robber's haste,
Crams his rich thievery up, he knows not how:
As many farewells as be stars in heaven,
With distinct breath and consign'd kisses to them,
He fumbles up into a loose adieu;
And scants us with a single famish'd kiss,
Distasted with the salt of broken tears.

Eneas. [Within.] My lord! is the lady ready?
Troi. Hark! you are call'd: Some say, the
Genius so

Cries, Come! to him that instantly must die.-
Bid them have patience; she shall come anon.
Pan. Where are my tears? rain, to lay this wind,
Or my heart will be blown up by the root.

[Exit Pandarus.
Cres. I must then to the Grecians?
Troi. No remedy.

[Greeks!

Cres. A woeful Cressid 'mongst the merry When shall we see again?

Troi. Hear me, my love :-Be thou but true of heart,

To give thee nightly visitation.
But yet, be true.

Cres. O heavens!-be true, again?

Troi. Hear why I speak it, love: The Grecian
youths

Are well compos'd, with gifts of nature flowing,
And swelling o'er with arts and exercise;
How novelties may move, and parts with person'
Alas, a kind of godly jealousy

10(Which, I beseech you, call a virtuous sin)
Makes me afeard.

Cres. O heavens! you love me not.
Troi. Die I a villain then!

In this I do not call your faith in question,
15 So mainly as my merit: I cannot sing,
Nor heel the high lavolt, nor sweeten talk,
Nor play at subtle games; fair vittues all,
To which the Grecians are most prompt and
pregnant:

20 But I can tell, that in each grace of these
There lurks a still and dumb-discoursive devil,
That tempts most cunningly: But be not tempted.
Cres. Do you think, I will?

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Troi. No.

But something may be done, that we will not:
And sometimes we are devils to ourselves,
When we will tempt the frailty of our powers,
Presuming on their changeful potency.
Aneas. [Within.] Nay, good my lord,-
Troi. Come, kiss; and let us part.
Paris. [Within.] Brother Troilus!
Troi. Good brother, come you hither;
And bring Æneas, and the Grecian, with you.
Cres. My lord, will you be true?

Troi. Who I? alas, it is my vice, my fault:
While others fish with craft for great opinion,

I with great truth catch mere simplicity;
Whilst somewith cunning gild their copper crowns,
With truth and plainness I do wear mine bare.
Fear not my truth; the moral of my wit'
Is-plain, and true, there's all the reach of it.
Enter Aneas, Paris, and Diomed.
Welcome, sir Diomed! here is the lady,
Whom for Antenor we deliver you:
At the port, lord, I'll give her to thy hand;
And, by the way, possess thee what she is.
Entreat her fair; and, by my soul, fair Greek,
If e'er thou stand at mercy of my sword,
Name Cressid, and thy life shall be as safe
50 As Priam is in Ilion.

[this? 45

Cres. I true! how now? what wicked deem is
Troi. Nay, we must use expostulation kindly,
For it is parting from us :-

I speak not, be thou true, as fearing thee;
For I will throw my glove to death himself,
That there's no maculation in thy heart:
But, be thou true, say I, to fashion in
My frequent protestation; be thou true,
And I will see thec.

Diom. Fair lady Cressid,
[pects!
So please you, save the thanks this prince ex-
The lustre in your eye, heaven in your cheek,
Pleads your fair usage; and to Diomed
You shall be mistress, and command him wholly.
Troi. Grecian, thou dost not use me courteously,
To shame the zeal of my petition to thee,
In praising her: I tell thee, lord of Greece,
She is as far high-soaring o'er thy praises,
60 As thou unworthy to be call'd her servant.
* The lavolta was a dance:

[gers Cres. O, you shall be expos'd, my lord, to dan-55 As infinite as imminent! but, I'll be truc. Troi. And I'll grow friend with danger. Wear this sleeve. [you Cres. And you this glove. When shall I see Troi. I will corrupt the Grecian centinels,

1 That is, I will challenge death himself in defence of thy fidelity.

That is, the governing principle of my understanding. 4. c. the gate. i. e. I will make thee fully understand.

I charge

I charge thee, use her well, even for my charge: For, by the dreadful Pluto, if thou dost not, Though the great bulk Achilles be thy guard, I'll cut thy throat.

Achil. I'll take that winter from your lips, fair Achilles bids you welcome. [lady: Men. I had good argument for kissing once. Patr. But that's no argument for kissing now: 5 For thus popp'd Paris in his hardiment; And parted thus you and your argument.

be 't so, 10

Diom. Ú, be not mov'd, prince Troilus : Let me be privileg'd by my place, and message, To be a speaker free; when I am hence, I'll answer to my lust: And know you, lord, I'll nothing do on charge: to her own worth She shall be priz'd; but that thou say I speak it in my spirit and honour,-no. Troi.Come, to the port.--I'll tell thee, Diomed, This brave shall oft make thee to hide thy head.Lady, give me your hand; and as we walk, To our own selves bend we our needful talk. [Exeunt Troilus and Cressida. Sound trumpet. Par. Hark! Hector's trumpet. Ane. How have we spent this morning! The prince must think me tardy and remiss, That swore to ride before him to the field.

Par. "Tis Troilus' fault: Come, come, to field with him.

Diom. Let us make ready straight.

Ane. Yea, with a bridegroom's fresh alacrity, Let us address to tend on Hector's heels: The glory of our Troy doth this day lie On his fair worth and single chivalry. [Exeunt.

SCENE V.

The Grecian Camp.

Enter Ajax arm'd, Agamemnon, Achilles, Putroclus, Menelaus, Ulysses, Nestor, &c.

Agam. Here art thou in appointment fresh and fair,

Anticipating time with starting courage.
Give with thy trumpet a loud note to Troy,
Thou dreadful Ajax; that the appalled air
May pierce the head of the great combatant,
And hale him hither.

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Agam. Is not yon Diomed, withCalchas' daugh-
Vyss. 'Tis he, I ken the manner of his gait; 50
He rises on his toc; that spirit of his
In aspiration lifts him from the earth.

Enter Diomed, with Cressida.
Agam. Is this the lady Cressida?
Diom. Even she.

Ulyss.O deadly gall,and theme of allour scorns! For which we lose our heads, to gild his horns. Patr. The first was Menelaus' kiss; this, mine: Patroclus kisses you.

Men. O, this is trim !

Patr. Paris, and I, kiss evermore for him. Men. I'll have my kiss, sir; Lady, by your

leave.

Cres. In kissing, do you render, or receive? Patr. Both take and give.

Cres. I'll make my match to live,

The kiss you take is better than you give;
Therefore no kiss.

[one.
Men. I'll give you boot, I'll give you three for
Cres. You're an odd man;give even,orgivenone.
Men. An odd man, lady? every man is odd.
Cres. No, Paris is not; for, you know, 'tis true,
That you are odd, and he is even with you.
Men. You filp me o' the head.

Cres. No, I'll be sworn.

Ulyss. It were no match, your nail against his

horn.

May I, sweet lady, beg a kiss of you?

Cres. You may.

Ulyss. I do desire it.

Cres. Why, beg then.

[kiss

Ulyss. Why then, for Venus' sake, give me a When Helen is a maid again and his.

Cres. I ain your debtor, claim it when 'tis due.
Ulyss. Never's my day, and thena kiss of you.
Dio. Lady, a word; I'll bring you to your fa-
ther. [Diomed leads out Cressida.
Nest. A woman of quick sense.
Ulyss. Fie, fie, upon her!

There's language in her eye, her cheek, her lip,
Nay, her foot speaks; her wanton spirits look out
At every joint and motive 2 of her body.
O, these encounters, so glib of tongue,
That give a coasting' welcome ere it comes,
And wide unclasp the tables of their thoughts-
To every ticklish reader! set them down
For sluttish spoils of opportunity *,
And daughters of the game.

[Trumpet within.

All. The Trojans' trumpet!
Agam. Yonder comes the troop.

Enter Hector, Æneas, Troilus, &c. with attendants.
Ane. Hail, all the state of Greece! What shall
be done to him

[lady. 55 That victory commands? Or do you purpose
A victor shall be known? Will you the knights
Shall to the edge of all extremity
Pursue each other; or shall they be divided
By any voice or order of the field?

Agam. Most dearlywelcometothe Greeks,sweet Nest. Our general doth salute you with a kiss. Ulyss. Yet is the kindness but particular; Twere better, she were kiss'd in general. Nest. And very courtly counsel: I'll begin. So much for Nestor.

1 Swelling out like the bias of a bowl. amorous address; a courtship. may make a prey,

60 Hector bade ask.

Agum. Which way would Hector have it?

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Ene. He cares not, he'll obey conditions.
Agam. 'Tis donelike Hector! butsecurely'done,
A little proudly, and great deal misprising
The knight oppos'd.

Ane. If not Achilles, sir,

What is your name?

Achil. If not Achilles, nothing.

[this:

Ene. Therefore Achilles : But, whate'er, know
In the extremity of great and little,
Valour and pride excel themselves in Hector;
The one almost as infinite as all,

The other blank as nothing. Weigh him well,
And that, which looks like pride, is courtesy..
This Ajax is half made of Hector's blood;
In love whereof, half Hector stays at home;
Half heart, half hand, half Hector comes to seek
This blended knight, half Trojan, and half Greek.
Achil. A maiden battle then!--O,I perceive you.
Re-enter Diomed.

That thou could'st say--"This hand is Grecian all, "And this is Trojan; the sinews of this leg "All Greek, and this all Troy; my mother's blood Runs on the dexter cheek, and this sinister 5" Bounds-in my father's;" by Jove multipotent, Thou shouldst not bearfrommeaGreekishmember Wherein my sword had not impressure made Of our rank feud: But the just gods gainsay, That any drop thou borrow'st from thy mother, 10 My sacred aunt, should by my mortal sword Be drain'd! Let me embrace thee, Ajax; By him that thunders, thou hast lusty arms; Hector would have them fall upon him thus:Cousin, all honour to thee!

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Agam. Here is Sir Diomed --Go, gentle knight, 20
Stand by our Ajax: as you and lord Eneas
Consent upon the order of their fight,
So be it; either to the uttermost,
Or else a breath: the combatants being kin,
Half stints their strife before their strokes begin.
Ulyss. They are oppos'd already. [heavy?
Agam. What Trojan is that same that looks so
Ulyss. The youngest sonof Priam, a true knight;
Not yet mature, yet matchless; firm of word;
Speaking in deeds, and deedless in his tongue;
Notsoonprovok'd,nor,beingprovok'd,sooncalm'd:
His heart and hand both open, and both free;
For what he has, he gives, what thinks, he shews;
Yet gives he not,'till judgement guide his bounty,
Nor dignifies an impair thought with breath:
Manly as Hector, but more dangerous:
For Hector, in his blaze of wrath, subscribes 3
To tender objects; but he, in heat of action,
Is more vindicative than jealous love:
They call him Troilus, and on him erect
A second hope, as fairly built as Hector.
Thus says Aneas; one that knows the youth
Even to his inches, and, with private soul,
Did in great Ilion thus translate him to me *.

Ajax. I thank thee,, Hector:

Thou art too gentle and too free a man

[yes

I came to kill thee, cousin, and bear hence
A great addition earned in thy death.
Heet. Not Neoptolemus so mirable
(On whose bright crest Fame with her loud'st
Cries, This is he) could promise to himself
A thought of added honour torn from Hector.
Ane. There is expectance here from both the
What further you will do.
[sides,

Hect. We'll answer it ' ;

The issue is embracement :-Ajax, farewell.
Ajax. If I might in entreaties find success,
(As seld I have the chance) I would desire
My famous cousin to our Grecian tents.

Dio.'Tis Agamemnon's wish; and greatAchilles
Doth long to see unarm'd the valiant Hector.
Hect. Æneas, call my brother Troilus to me;
And signify this loving interview

To the expecters of our Trojan part:
35 Desire them home.--Give me thy hand,my cousin;
I will go eat with thee, and see your knights.
Ajax.GreatAgamemnon comesto meet us here.
Hect. The worthiest of them tell me name by

name;

40 But for Achilles, my own searching eyes
Shall find him by his large and portly size.
Agam. Worthy of arms! as welcome as to one
That would be rid of such an enemy:
But that 's no welcome: Understand more clear,

[Alarum. Hector and Ajax fight. 45 What 's past, and what 's to come, is strew'd with Agam. They are in action.

Nest. Now, Ajax, hold thine own!
Troi. Hector, thou sleep'st, awake thee!
Agam. Hisblowsarewelldispos'd: there, Ajax!

Diom. You must no more.

[Trumpets cease. 50

Ene. Princes, enough,, so please you

jax. I am not warm yet, let us fight again. Diom. As Hector pleases.

Hect. Why then, will I no more:

Thou art, great lord, my father's sister's son,

A cousin-german to great Priam's seed;
The obligation of our blood forbids
A gory emulation 'twixt us twain :

Were thy commixtion Greek and Trojan so,

Securely is here used in the sepse of tempt of the object opposed. 'That is, yields, gives way,

Dectance.

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60

[huske

And formless ruin of oblivion;
But in this extant moment, faith and troth,
Strain'd purely from all hollow bias-drawing,
Bids thee, with most divine integrity,
From heart of very heart, great Hector, welcome.
Hect.I thank thee, most imperious Agamemnon.
Agam. My well-fam'd lord of Troy, no less to
[To Troilus.
Men. Let me confirm my princely brother's

you.

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4 i. e.

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Mock not, that I affect the untraded oath ;
Your quondam wife swears still by Venus' glove:
She's well, but bade me not commend her to you.
Men. Name her not now, sir; she's a deadly
theme.

Hect. O, pardon; I offend.

Nest. I have, thou gallant Trojan, seen thee oft,
Labouring for destiny, make cruel way [thee
Through ranks of Greekish youth: and I have seen
As hot as Perseus, spur thy Phrygian steed,
Despising many forfeits and subduements,
When thou hast hung thy advanced sword i'theair,
Not letting it decline on the declin'd;
That I have said to some my standers-by,
Lo, Jupiter is yonder, dealing life!
And I have seen thee pause, and take thy breath,
When that a ring of Greeks have hemm'd thee in,
Like an Olympian wrestling: This have I seen;
But this thy countenance, still lock'd in still,
I never saw 'till now. I knew thy grandsire,
And once fought with him : he was a soldier good
But, by great Mars, the captain of us all,
Never like thee ! let an old man embrace thee;
And, worthy warrior, welcome to our tents.

Ane. 'Tis the old Nestor:

Hect. Let me embrace thee, good old chronicle,
That hast so long walk'd hand in hand with time:--
Most reverend Nestor, I am glad to clasp thee.
Nest. I would, my arms could match thee in
contention,

As they contend with thee in courtesy.
Hect. I would they could.

Nest. Ha! by this white beard, I'd fight with
thee to-morrow.

5

[thee,

Achil. I am Achilles.
Hect. Stand fair, I pray thee: let me look on
Achil. Behold thy fill.

Hect. Nay, I have done already.
Achil.Thou art too brief; I willthe second time,
As I would buy thee, view thee limb by limb.
Hect. O, like a book of sport thou 'It read me
o'er;

But there's more in me than thou understand'st.
10Why dost thou so oppress me with thine eye?
Achil. Tell me, you heavens, in which part of
his body
[there?
Shall I destroy him? whether there, there, or
That I may give the local wound a name;
15 And make distinct the very breach whereout
Hector's great spirit flew: Answer me, heavens!
Hect. It would discredit the blest gods, proud

man,

To answer such a question: Stand ágain:
20 Think'st thou to catch my life so pleasantly,
As to prenominate in nice conjecture,
Where thou wilt hit me dead?

25

Achil. I tell thee, yea.

Hect. Wert thou an oracle to tell me so,
I'd not believe thee. Henceforth guard thee well;
For I'll not kill thee there, nor there, nor there;
But, by the forge that stithy'd Mars his elm,
I'll kill thee every where, yea, o'er and o'er.-
You wisest Grecians, pardon me this brag,
30 His insolence draws folly from my lips;
But I'll endeavour deeds to match these words,
Or may I never-

Well, welcome; welcome! I have seen the time-35
Ulyss. I wonder now how yonder city stands,]
When we have here her base and pillar by us.

Hect. I know your favour, lord Ulysses, well.
Ah, sir, there's many a Greek and Trojan dead,
Since first I saw yourself and Diomed
In Ilion, on your Greekish embassy.

Ulyss.Sir, I foretold you then what would ensue :|
My prophecy is but half his journey yet;
For yonder walls that pertly front your town,

40

Ajax. Do not chafe thee, cousin;
And you; Achilles, let these threats alone,
Till accident, or purpose, bring you to 't:
You may have every day enough of Hector,
If
you have stomach; the general state, I fear,
Can scarce entreat you to be odd with him.
Hect. I pray you, let us see you in the field:
We have had pelting wars, since you refus'd
The Grecians cause.

Achil. Dost thou entreat me, Hector?
To-morrow do I meet thee; fell as death;
To-night, all friends.

Yon towers, whose wanton tops do buss theclouds, 45 Hect. Thy hand upon that match.

Must kiss their own feet.

Hect. I must not believe you:

There they stand yet; and modestly I think,
The fall of every Phrygian stone will cost

A drop of Grecian blood: The end crowns all;
And that old common arbitrator, time,
Will one day end it.

Ulyss. So to him we leave it.

Most gentle, and most valiant Hector, welcome:
After the general, I beseech you next
To feast with me, and see me at my tent.

Achil. I shall forestall thee,lord Ulysses, thou".
Now, Hector, I have fed mine eyes on thee;
I have with exact view perus'd thee, Hector,
And quoted joint by joint.

Hect. Is this Achilles?

[tent;

Agam. First all your peers of Greece, go to my
There in the full convive 'we: afterwards,
As Hector's leisure and your bounties shall
Concur together, severally entreat him.

50 Beat loud the tabourines, let the trumpets blow,
That this great soldier may his welcome know.
[Exeunt.

Manent Troilus, and Ulysses.
Troi. My lord Ulysses, tell me, I beseech you,
55 In what place of the field doth Calchas keep?

Ulyss. At Menelaus' tent, most princely Troilus:
There Diomed doth feast with him to-night;
Who neither looks on heaven, nor on the earth,
But gives all gaze and bent of amorous view
60 On the fair Cressid.

[much, Troi. Shall I, sweet lord, be bound to you so 2 i. e. ob

'The repetition of thou! was anciently used by one who meant to insult another.

served.

To convive is to feast.

4

Tabourines are small drums.
3L 2

After

After we part from Agamemnon's tent,
To bring them thither?

Ulyss. You shall command me, sir.
As gentle tell me, of what honour was

This Cressida in Troy? Had she no lover there, 5
That wails her absence?

Troi.O, sir, to such as boasting shew their scars A mock is due. Will you walk on, my lord? She was belov'd, she lov'd; she is, and doth: But, still, sweet love is food for fortune's tooth. [Exeunt.

SCENE I.

Achilles' Tent.

A CT V.

Enter Achilles, and Patroclus.

'LL heat his blood with Greekish wine

Achil.

I'LL

to-night,

Which with my scimitar I'll cool to-morrow.
Patroclus, let us feast him to the height.
Patr. Here comes Thersites.

Enter Thersites.

Achil. Ho now, thou core of envy?
Thou crusty batch' of nature, what's the news?

Ther. Why, thou picture of what thou seemest, and idol of ideot-worshippers, here's a letter for thee.

Achil. From whence, fragment?

Ther. Why, thou full dish of fool, from Troy.
Patr. Who keeps the tent now?

Ther.The surgeon's box,or the patient's wound. Patr. Well said, adversity! and what need these tricks?

Ther. Pr'ythee be silent, boy; I profit not by thy talk: thou art thought to be Achilles' male varlet.

Ther. Finch egg!

Achit. My sweet Patroclus, I am thwarted quite From my great purpose in to-morrow's battle. Here is a letter from queen Hecuba;

A token from her daughter, my fair love;
20 Both taxing me, and gaging me to keep

An oath that I have sworn. I will not break it:
Fall, Greeks; fail, fame; honour, or go or stay;
My major vows lie here, this I'll obey.-
Come, come, Thersites, help to trim my tent;
25 This night in banqueting must all be spent.-
Away, Patroclus.
Exeunt.

Ther.With too much blood, and too little brain, these two may run mad: but if with too much brain and too little blood, they do, I'll be a curer 30 of madmen. Here's Agamemnon,-an honest fellow enough, and one that loves quails 2; but he hath not so much brain as ear-wax: And the goodly transformation of Jupiter there, his brother, the bull,-the primitive statue, and oblique' me35 morial of cuckolds; a thrifty shoeing-horn in a chain, hanging at his brother'sleg,-to what form, but that he is, should wit larded with malice, and malice forced with wit, turn him? To an ass, Patr. Male varlet, you rogue! what's that? were nothing; he is both ass and ox: to an ox Ther. Why, his masculine whore. Now the 40 were nothing; he is both ox and ass. rotten diseases of the south, the guts-griping, rup-dog, a mule, a cat, a fitchew, a toad, a lizard, an tures, catarrhs, loads o' gravel i' the back, lethargies, cold palsies, raw eyes, dirt-rotten livers, wheezing lungs, bladders fullof imposthume, sciaticas, lime-kilns i' the palm, incurable bone-ache, 45 and the rivell'd fee-simple of the tetter, take and take again such preposterous discoveries!

Patr. Why, thou damnable box of envy, thou, what meanest thou to curse thus?

Ther. Do I curse thee?

Patr. Why, no, you ruinous butt; you whoreson indistinguishable cur, no.

50

Ther. No? why art thou then exasperate, thou idle immaterial skein of sleive silk, thou green sarcenet frap for a sore eye, thon tassel of a prodi-55 gal's purse, thou? Ah, how the poor world is pester'd with such water-flies? diminutives of nature!

Patr. Out, gall!

To be a

owl, a puttock, or a herring without a roe, I
would not care: but to be a Menelaus,-I would
conspire against destiny. Ask me not what I
would be, if I were not Thersites; for I care not
to be the louse of a lazar, so I were not Menelaus
-Hey day! spirits, and fires!

Enter Hector, Troilus, Ajax, Agamemnon, Ulysses,
Nestor, and Diomed, with lights.
Agam. We go wrong, we go wrong.
Ajax. No, yonder 'tis;

There, where we see the light.
Hect. I trouble you.
Ajax. No, not a whit.

Ulyss. Here comes himself to guide you
Enter Achilles

Achil. Welcome, brave Hector; welcome, princes all

The author

1 Batch signifies all that is baked at one time, without heating the oven afresh. A batch of bread is a phrase still used in Staffordshire.-Thersites had already been called cobloaf. 2 By loving quails, the poet may mean loving the company of harlots.A quail is remarkably salacious. of The Revisal observes, that "the memorial is called oblique, because it was only indirectly such, upon the common supposition that both bulls and cuckolds were furnished with horns." stuffed with wit.

+i. e.

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