Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

If any come, Hector fhall honour him:
If none, he'll say in Troy when he retires,
The Grecian dames are fun-burnt, and not worth
The splinter of a lance; even fo much.

[ocr errors]

Aga. This fhall be told our lovers, lord Æneas.
If none of them have foul in fuch a kind,
We've left them all at home: but we are foldiers;
And may that foldier a meer recreant prove,
That means not, hath not, or is not in love;
If then one is, or hath, or means to be,
That one meets Hector; if none else, I'm he.
Neft. Tell him of Neftor; one that was a man
When Hector's grandfire fuckt; he is old now,
But if there be not in our Grecian hoft
One nobleman that hath one spark of fire,
To answer for his love: tell him from me,
I'll hide my filver beard in a gold beaver,
And in my † vantbrace put this wither'd brawn,
And meeting him, will tell him, that my lady
Was fairer than his grandam, and as chafte
As may be in the world: his youth is flood;
I'll pawn this truth with my three drops of blood.
Ene. Now heav'ns forbid fuch scarcity of youth.
Ulys. Amen.

Aga. Fair lord Æneas, let me touch your hand:
To our pavillion shall I lead first:
you

Achilles fhall have word of this intent,

So fhall each lord of Greece from tent to tent:
Your felf fhall feast with us before you go,

And find the welcome of a noble foe.

• mold + An armour for the arm, Avant-bras.

[Exeunt.

SCENE

Ulys. Neftor.

SCENE VII.

Manent Ulyffes and Neftor.

Neft. What fays Ulysses?

Ulys. I have a young conception in my brain,
Be you my time to bring it to some shape.
Neft. What is't?

Uly. This 'tis :

Blunt wedges rive hard knots; the feeded pride
That hath to this maturity blown up

In rank Achilles, muft or now be

cropt,

Or, fhedding, breed a nursery of like evil
To over-bulk us all.

Neft. Well, and how now?

Uly. This challenge that the valiant Hector fends, However it is spread in general name,

Relates in purpose only to Achilles.

Neft. The purpose is perfpicuous even as substance,
Whose grossness little characters sum up,
And in the publication make no strain:
But that Achilles, were his brain as barren
As banks of Lybia, (tho', Apollo knows,

'Tis dry enough,) will with great speed of judgement, Ay, with celerity, find Hector's purpose

Pointing on him.

Ulys. And wake him to the answer, think you?

Neft. Yes, 'tis most meet; whom may you elfe oppofe That can from Hector bring his honour off,

If not Achilles? though a fportful combat,
Yet in this tryal much opinion dwells.

For here the Trojans taste our dear'st repute

With their fin'st palate; trust to me, Ulysses,
Our imputation fhall be odly pois'd
In this wild action. For the fuccefs,
Although particular, fhall give a fcantling
Of good or bad unto the general:
And in fuch indexes although small pricks
To their subsequent volumes, there is feen
The baby figure of the giant-mass

Of things to come, at large. It is fuppos'd,
He that meets Hector iffues from our choice;
And choice being mutual act of all our fouls,
Makes merit her election; and doth boil
As 'twere from forth us all, a man distill'd
Out of our virtues; who miscarrying,

What heart from hence receives the conqu'ring part!
To steel a strong opinion to themselves;
Which entertain'd, limbs are his inftruments,
In no less working, than are fwords and bows
Directive by the limbs.

Ulys. Give pardon to my speech;

Therefore 'tis fit Achilles meet not Hector.
Let us, like merchants, fhew our fowleft wares,
And think perchance they'll fell; if not,
The luftre of the better, yet to fhew,
Shall fhew the better. Do not then confent
That ever Hector and Achilles meet:

For both our honour and our fhame in this

Are dogg'd with two strange followers.

Neft. I fee them not with my old eyes: what are they?
Uly. What glory our Achilles fhares from Hector,

Were he not proud, we all should share with him:

But he already is too infolent;

And we were better parch in Africk Sun

Than

Than in the pride and salt scorn of his eyes,
Should he scape Hector fair. If he were foil'd,
Why then we did our main opinion crush
In taint of our best man.

No, make a lott'ry,

And by device let blockish Ajax draw

The fort to fight with Hector: 'mong our selves,
Give him allowance as the worthier man,
For that will phyfick the great Myrmidon
Who broils in loud applause, and make him fall
His creft, that prouder than blue Iris bends.
If the dull brainless Ajax come safe off,
We'll dress him up in voices: if he fail,
Yet go we under our opinion ftill,
That we have better men. But hit or miss,
Our project's life this shape of sense affumes,
Ajax imploy'd, plucks down Achilles' plumes.
Neft. Ulyffes, now I relish thy advice,
And I will give a taste of it forthwith
To Agamemnon, go we to him ftreight;
Two curs fhall tame each other; pride alone
Muft†tar the mastiffs on, as 'twere their bone.

+ Tarre, an old english word fignifying to provoke or urge on. 4. fc. 1.like a dog, fnatch at his mafter that doth tar him on.

[Exeunt.

See K. John, alt.

6

ACT

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

Ajax. Dog.

Ajax. Therfites.

how if he had biles
[Talking to himself.

Ther. And those biles did run

16

fay fo--- did

not the general run, were not that a botchy core?

Ther. Then there would come fome matter from him: I fee

none now.

Ajax. Thou bitch-wolfs fon, canft thou not hear? feel then.

[Strikes him. Ther. The plague of Greece upon thee, thou mungrel beefwitted lord.

Ajax. Speak then, you * unfalted leaven, speak, I will beat

thee into handsomness.

Ther. I fhall fooner rail thee into wit and holiness; but I think thy horse will sooner con an oration, than thou learn a prayer without book: thou canst strike, canft thou? a red murrain o'thy jades tricks.

Ajax. Toads-tool, learn me the proclamation.

Ther. Doeft thou think I have no sense, thou ftrik'ft me thus? Ajax. The proclamation.

Ther. Thou art proclaim'd a fool, I think.

Ajax. Do not, porcupine, do not; my fingers itch.

VOL. VI.

[blocks in formation]

f whinid'
ft

« AnteriorContinua »