Enter TROILUS. How now, young man? mean'st thou to fight to-day. And. Cassandra, call my father to persuade. [Exit CASSANDra. Hect. No, 'faith, young Troilus; doff thy harness, | youth, I am to-day i'the vein of chivalry: Let grow thy sinews till their knots be strong, Tro. Brother, you have a vice of mercy in you, Which better fits a lion, than a man. Hect. What vice is that, good Troilus? chide me for it. Tro. When many times the captive Grecians fall, Even in the fan and wind of your fair sword, You bid them rise and live. Hect. Troilus, I would not have you fight to-day. Not fate, obedience, nor the hand of Mars Their eyes o'ergalled with recourse of tears; Re-enter CASSANDRA, with PRIAM. Cas. Lay hold upon him, Priam, hold him fast: He is thy crutch; now if thou lose thy stay, Thou on him leaning, and all Troy on thee, Fall all together. Pri. Come, Hector, come, go back: Thy wife hath dream'd; thy mother hath had visions; Cassandra doth foresee; and I myself Hect. Æneas is a-field; And I do stand engag'd to many Greeks, Even in the faith of valour, -to appear This morning to them. Pri. But thou shalt not go. Hect. I must not break my faith. You know me dutiful; therefore, dear sir, Let me not shame respect; but give me leave To take that course by your consent and voice, Which you do here forbid me, royal Priam. Cas. O Priam, yield not to him. And. Do not, dear father. Hect. Andromache, I am offended with you: Upon the love you bear me, get you in. [Exit ANDROMACHE. Tro. This foolish, dreaming superstitious girl Makes all these bodements. Cas. O farewell, dear IIector. Look, how thou diest! look, how thy eye turns pale! I come to lose my arm, or win my sleeve. AS TROILUS is going out, enter, from the other side, Pan. Do you hear, my lord? do you hear? Pan. Here's a letter from yon' poor girl. Pan. A whoreson ptisick, a whoreson rascally ptisick so troubles me, and the foolish fortune of this girl; and what one thing, what another, that I shall leave you one o'these days: And I have a rheum in mine eyes too; and such an ache in my bones, that, unless a man were cursed, I cannot tell what to think on't. What says she there? Tro. Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart; [Tearing the letter. SCENE IV. Between Troy and the Grecian Camp. Alarums: Excursions. Enter THERSITES. Ther. Now they are clapper-clawing one another; I'll go look on. That dissembling abominable var let, Diomed, has got that same scurvy doting foolis young knave's sleeve of Troy there in his helm. ! would fain see them meet; that that same young Trojan ass, that loves the whore there, might ser that Greekish whoremasterly villain, with the sleeve, back to the dissembling luxurious drab, on a sleeveless errand. O' the other side, The policy of those crafty swearing rascals, — that stale old mouse-eIL® dry cheese, Nestor; and that same dog-fox, Ulyss -is not proved worth a blackberry: - They set i up, in policy, that mongrel cur, Ajax, against tha dog of as bad a kind, Achilles: and now is the cu’ Ajax prouder than the cur Achilles, and will not ar to-day; whereupon the Grecians begin to prociau barbarism, and policy grows into an ill opinio Soft! here come sleeve, and t'other. Enter DIOMEDES, TROILUS following. Nest. Go, bear Patroclus' body to Achilles; And bid the snail-pac'd Ajax arm for shame. There is a thousand Hectors in the field: Now here he fights on Galathe his horse, And there lacks work; anon, he's there afoot, And there they fly, or die, like scaled sculls Before the belching whale; then is he yonder, And there the strawy Greeks, ripe for his edge, Fall down before him, like the mower's swath; Here, there, and every where, he leaves, and takes; Dexterity so obeying appetite, That what he will, he does; and does so much, Enter ULYSSES. Ulyss. O courage, courage, princes! great Achilles Is arming, weeping, cursing, vowing vengeance; Patroclus' wounds have rous'd his drowsy blood, Together with his mangled Myrmidons, Troilus! Enter TROILUS. Tro. O traitor Diomed! thou traitor, turn thy false face, And Ajar. I'll fight with him alone: stand, Diomed. Tro. Ajax hath ta'en Æneas; Shall it be? No, by the flame of yonder glorious heaven, He shall not carry him; I'll be taken too, Hect. Most putrified core, so fair without, Thy goodly armour thus hath cost thy life. Now is my day's work done: I'll take good breath: Rest, sword: thou hast thy fill of blood and death! [Puts off his helmet, and hangs his shield behind him. Enter ACHILLES and Myrmidons. Achil. Look, Hector, how the sun begins to set; How ugly night comes breathing at his heels: Even with the vail and dark'ning of the sun, To close the day up, Hector's life is done. Hect. I am unarm'd; forego this vantage, Greek. seek. Achil. Strike, fellows, strike; this is the man I [HECTOR falls. So, Ilion, fall thou next; now, Troy, sink down; Here lies thy heart, thy sinews, and thy bone. Hector?- The gods forbid! Tro. He's dead; and at the murderer's horse's tail, In beastly sort, dragg'd through the shameful field.— Frown on, you heavens, effect your rage with speed! Sit, gods, upon your thrones, and smile at Troy! say, at once let your brief plagues be mercy, And linger not our sure destructions on! I Ene. My lord, you do discomfort all the host. Tro. You understand me not, that tell me so: I do not speak of flight, of fear, of death; But dare all imminence, that gods and men, Address their dangers in. Hector is gone! Who shall tell Priam so, or Hecuba? Let him, that will a screech-owl aye be call'd, Go in to Troy, and say there - Hector's dead: There is a word will Priam turn to stone; Make wells and Niobes of the maids and wives, Cold statues of the youth; and, in a word, Scare Troy out of itself. But, march, away: Hector is dead; there is no more to say. Stay yet;- You vile abominable tents, Thus proudly pight upon our Phrygian plains, Let Titan rise as early as he dare, I'll through and through you! siz'd coward! And thou, great. No space of earth shall sunder our two hates; I'll haunt thee like a wicked conscience still, TROILUS AND CRESSIDA. That mouldeth goblins swift as frenzy thoughts. Strike a free march to Troy! with comfort go: Hope of revenge shall hide our inward woe. [Exeunt ENEAS and Trojans. As TROLLUS is going out, enter, from the other side, PANDARUS. Pan. But hear you, hear you! Tro. Hence, broker lackey! ignomy and shame Pursue thy life, and live aye with thy name. Pan. A goodly med'cine for my aching bones![Exit TROILUS. O world! world! world! thus is the poor agent despised! O traitors and bawds, how earnestly are you set a' work, and how ill requited! Why should our endeavour be so loved, and the performance so loathed? what verse for it? what instance for it? Let me see: 649 Full merrily the humble-bee doth sing, Till he hath lost his honey, and his sting: And being once subdued in armed tail, Good traders in the flesh, set this in your painted Sweet honey and sweet notes together fail. cloths. As many as be here of pander's hall, Your eyes, half out, weep out at Pandar's fall: Or, if you cannot weep, yet give some groans, Though not for me, yet for your aching bones. Some two months hence my will shall here be made: Brethren, and sisters, of the hold-door trade, Some galled goose of Winchester would hiss: It should be now, but that my fear is this, Till then I'll sweat, and seek about for eases; And, at that time, bequeath you my diseases. [Exit. |