Pursue we him on knees; for I have dream'd
Of bloody turbulence, and this whole night
Hath nothing been but shapes and forms of slaughter.
Cas. O, it is true.

Hect.

Ho! bid my trumpet sound!
Cas. No notes of sally, for the heavens, sweet broth-

er.

Hect. Be gone, I say; the
say; the gods have heard me

swear.

Cas. The gods are deaf to hot and peevish vows; They are polluted offerings, more abhorr'd Than spotted livers in the sacrifice.

And. O! be persuaded: Do not count it holy
To hurt by being just: it is as lawful,

For we would give much, to use violent thefts,
And rob in the behalf of charity.

Cas. It is the purpose, that makes strong the vow; But vows to every purpose, must not hold;

Unarm, sweet Hector.

Heet.

Holl 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 thon to fight to-day? And. Cassandra, call my father to persuade..

[Exit Cassandra. Hert. 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,
And tempt not yet the brushes of the war.
Unarm thee, go; and doubt thou not, brave boy,
I'll stand, to-day, for thee, and me, and Troy.

Tro. Brother, you have a vice of merey in you,

525

TROILUS AND

TROILUS AND CRESSIDA.

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. 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 thein from ruth.
Hect. Fie, savage, fie!

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
Beckoning with fiery truncheon my retire;
Not Priamus and Hecuba on knees,

Their eyes o'er-galled with recourse of tears;
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:
Thy wife hath dream'd; thy mother hath had visions;
Cassandra doth foresee; and I myself

Am like a prophet suddenly enrapt,
To tell thee-that this day is ominous :
Therefore, come back.

Æneas is a-field;

Hect.

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.

you:

Hect. Andromache, I am offended with Upon the love you bear me, get you in. [Exit And. Tro. This foolish, dreaming, superstitious girl Makes all these bodements.

Cas.

O farewell, dear Hector.

Look, how thou diest! look, how thy eye turns pale!
Look, how thy wounds do bleed at many vents!
Hark, how Troy roars! how Hecuba cries out!
How poor Andromache shrills her dolours forth!
Behold, destruction, frenzy, and amazement,
Like witless antics, one another meet,

And all ery-Hector! Hector's dead! O Hector!
Tro. Away!-Away!-

Cas. Farewell.-Yet, soft :-Hector, I take my

leave:

Thou dost thyself and all our Troy deceive.

[Exit.

Hect. You are amaz'd, my liege, at her exclaim: Go in, and cheer the town: we'll forth, and fight; Do deeds worth praise, and tell you them at night. Pri. Farewell: the gods with safety stand about thee !

[Exeunt severally Priam and Hector. Alarums. Tro. They are at it; hark! Proud Diomed, believe I come to lose my arm, or win my sleeve.

As Troilus is going out, enter, from the other side,

Pandarus.

Pan. Do you hear, my lord? do you hear?

Tro. What now?

Pan. Here's a letter from yon' poor girl.
Tro. Let me read.

Pan. A whoreson ptisie, a whoreson rascally ptisic 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: Aud I have a rheum in mine eyes too; and such an ache in my bones, that, unless a man were curs d, 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. The effect doth operate another way.Go, wind, to wind, there turn and change together.My love with words and errors still she feeds; But editles another with her deeds. [Exeunt severally.

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 varlet, Diomed, has got that same scurvy,doting, foolish young Knave's sleeve of Troy there, in his helm: I would fain see them meet; that that same young Trojan ass, that loves the whore there, might send that Greekish whore-masterly villain, with the sleeve, back to the dissembling luxurious drab, on a sleeveless errand. O' the other side, The policy of those crafty swearing ras cals, that stale old mouse-eaten dry cheese, Nestor; and that same dog-fox, Ulysses,-is not proved worth a black-berry: They set me up, in policy, that mongrel eur, Ajax, against that dog of as bad a kind, Achil les; and now is the cur Ajax prouder than the cur

Achilles, and will not arm to-day; whereupon the Grecians begin to proclaim barbarism, and policy grows into an ill opinion. Soft! here come sleeve and t'other.

Enter Diomedes, Troilus following.

Tro. Fly not; for, shouldst thou take the river Styx I would swim after.

Dio.

Thou dost miscall retire:

I do not fly; but advantageous care

Withdrew me from the odds of multitude:

Have at thee!

Ther. Hold thy whore, Grecian! Now for thy whore, Trojan !-now the sleeve, now the sleeve!

[Exeunt Troilus and Diomedes fighting.

Enter Hector.

Hect. What art thou, Greek? art thou for Hector's match?

Art thou of blood, and honour?

Ther. No, no-I am a rascal; a scurvy railing knave; a very filthy rogue.

Hect. I do believe thee:-live.

[Exit.

Ther. God-a-merey, that thou wilt believe me; But a plague break thy neck, for frighting me! What's become of the wenching rogues? I think, they have swallowed one another: I would laugh at that miracle. Yet, in a sort, lechery eats itself. I'll seek them.

[Exit.

SCENE V.-The same. Enter Diomedes and a Ser

vant.

Dio. Go, go, my servant, take thou Troilus' horse; Present the fair steed to my lady Cressid: Fellow, commend my service to her beauty; Tell her, I have chastis'd the amorous Trojan, And am her knight by proof.

Serv.

I go, my lord. [Exit Serv.