The fragments, scraps, the bits, and greasy reliques Of her o'er-eaten faith, are bound to Diomed. Ulyss. May worthy Troilus be half attach'd With that which here his passion doth express? Tro. Ay, Greek; and that shall be divulged well In characters as red as Mars his heart Inflam'd with Venus: never did young man fancy Hark, Greek; As much as I do Cressid love, That sleeve is mine, that he'll bear on his helm; Ther. He'll tickle it for his concupy.9 Tro. O Cressid! O false Cressid! false, false, false! Let all untruths stand by thy stained name, And they'll seem glorious. Ulyss O, contain yourself; Your passion draws ears hither. Enter ENEAS. Ene. I have been seeking you this hour, my lord : Hector, by this, is arming him in Troy; Ajax, your guard, stays to conduct you home. Tro. Have with you, prince:-My courteous lord, adieu: 8 May worthy Troilus-] Can Troilus really feel, on this occasion, half of what he utters? A question suitable to the calm Ulysses. JOHNSON. 9 concupy.] A cant word, formed by our author from concupiscence. Farewell, revolted fair!—and, Diomed, Tro. Accept distracted thanks. Exeunt TROILUS, ENEAS, and ULYSSES. Ther. Would, I could meet that rogue Diomed! I would croak like a raven; I would bode, I would bode. Patroclus will give me any thing for the intelligence of this whore: the parrot will not do more for an almond, than he for a commodious drab. Lechery, lechery; still, wars and lechery; nothing else holds fashion: A burning devil take them. [Exit. SCENE III. Troy. Before Priam's Palace. Enter HECTOR and ANDROMACHE. And. When was my lord so much ungently temper'd, To stop his ears against admonishment? Unarm, unarm, and do not fight to-day. Hect. You train me to offend you; get you By all the everlasting gods, I'll go. in : And. My dreams will, sure, prove ominous to the Where is my brother Hector? And. Here, sister; arm'd, and bloody in intent: Consort with me in loud and dear petition,' and wear a castle on thy head!] i. e. defend thy head with armour of more than common security. 2 dear petition,] Dear, on this occasion, seems to mean important, consequential. Pursue we him on knees; for I have dream'd Hect. Ho! bid my trumpet sound! Cas. No notes of sally, for the heavens, sweet brother. Hect. Begone, I say: the gods have heard me swear. Cas. The gods are deaf to hot and peevish3 vows; They are polluted offerings, more abhorr'd Than spotted livers in the sacrifice. And. O! be persuaded: Do not count it holy For we would give much, to use violent thefts, 4 Cas. It is the purpose, that makes strong the vow; But vows, to every purpose, must not hold: Unarm, sweet Hector. Hect. Hold you still, I say; Mine honour keeps the weather of my fate: Life every man holds dear; but the dear man' Holds honour far more precious-dear than life.— 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: 3 -peevish] i. e. foolish. It is the purpose,] The mad prophetess speaks here with all the coolness and judgment of a skilful casuist. "The essence of a lawful vow, is a lawful purpose, and the vow of which the end is wrong, must not be regarded as cogent." JOHNSON. 5 dear man -] Valuable man. Let grow thy sinews till their knots be strong, 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. O, 'tis fair play. Tro. Fool's play, by heaven, Hector. Hect. How now? how now? Tro. For the love of all the gods, Let's leave the hermit pity with our mother; And when we have our armours buckled on, The venom'd vengeance ride upon our swords; Spur them to ruthful work, rein them from ruth. Hect. Fye, savage, fye! Tro. Hector, then 'tis wars. Hect. Troilus, I would not have you fight to-day. Tro. Who should withhold me? Not fate, obedience, nor the hand of Mars Their eyes o'ergalled with recourse of tears; 6 Which better fits a lion,] The traditions and stories of the darker ages abounded with examples of the lion's generosity. Upon the supposition that these acts of clemency were true, Troilus reasons not improperly, that to spare against reason, by mere instinct of pity, became rather a generous beast than a wise man. 7 You bid them rise, and live.] Shakspeare seems not to have studied the Homeric character of Hector, whose disposition was by no means inclined to clemency. 8 with fiery truncheon -] We have here but a modern Mars. Antiquity acknowledges no such ensign of command as a truncheon. The spirit of the passage, however, is such as might atone for a greater impropriety. Nor you, my brother, with your true sword drawn, Oppos'd to hinder me, should stop my way, But by my ruin. 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: Hect. Pri. But thou shalt not go. Hect. I must not break my faith. You know me dutiful; therefore, dear sir, And. Do not, dear father. Hect. Andromache, I am offended with you: Upon the love you bear me, get you in. Tro. This foolish, dreaming, superstitious girl Makes all these bodements. Cas. [Exit ANDROMACHE. O farewell, dear Hector. Look, how thou diest! look, how thy eye turns pale! shame respect;] i. e. disgrace the respect I owe you, by acting in opposition to your commands. |