ACT FOURTH

Enter GoWER

MAGINE PERICLES ARrived at Tyre,

Welcomed and settled to his own
desire.

His woeful queen we leave at
Ephesus,

Unto Diana there as a votaress.
Now to Marina bend your mind,
Whom our fast-growing scene
must find

At Tarsus, and by Cleon train'd
In music, letters; who hath gain'd
Of education all the grace,

Which makes her both the heart and place

Of general wonder. But, alack,

That monster envy, oft the wrack

10 makes her heart] The early editions read makes hie [i. e., high]

both the art. The correction is due to Steevens. "Heart and place" means "centre and abiding-place.'

10

Of earned praise, Marina's life
Seeks to take off by treason's knife.
And in this kind hath our Cleon
One daughter, and a wench full grown,
Even ripe for marriage rite; this maid
Hight Philoten: and it is said
For certain in our story, she

Would ever with Marina be:

Be't when she weaved the sleided silk
With fingers long, small, white as milk;

Or when she would with sharp needle wound
The cambric, which she made more sound
By hurting it; or when to the lute
She sung, and made the night-bird mute,
That still records with moan; or when
She would with rich and constant pen
Vail to her mistress Dian; still

This Philoten contends in skill

With absolute Marina: so

With the dove of Paphos might the crow

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15 in this kind] in this manner.

17 ripe... rite] The first Quarto reads, "Even right for marriage sight." The second Quarto substituted ripe for right. Percy proposed rites for sight. More recent editors have adopted rite.

21 sleided silk] raw, untwisted silk. The phrase recurs in "Lover's Complaint," 48.

26-27 night-bird . . . moan] Cf. Two Gent., V, iv, 5-6, "to the nightingale's complaining notes Tune my distresses and record my woes."

32 Paphos] A shrine of Venus, who was attended by doves. Cf. Tempest,

Vie feathers white. Marina gets

All praises, which are paid as debts,

And not as given. This so darks

In Philoten all graceful marks,

That Cleon's wife, with envy rare,
A present murderer does prepare
For good Marina, that her daughter
Might stand peerless by this slaughter.
The sooner her vile thoughts to stead,
Lychorida, our nurse, is dead:
And cursed Dionyza hath

The pregnant instrument of wrath
Prest for this blow. The unborn event
I do commend to your content:

Only I carry winged time

Post on the lame feet of my rhyme;

Which never could I so convey,

Unless your thoughts went on my way.

Dionyza does appear,

With Leonine, a murderer.

[Exit.

IV, i, 92-94: "I met her Deity Cutting the clouds towards Paphos, and her son Dove-drawn with her."

44-45 pregnant . . . Prest] Both words here mean "ready." For "prest" cf. Merch. of Ven., I, i, 160, and note.

47-48 Only... rhyme] In my slowly-spoken verse I make time fly posthaste.

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50

SCENE I- TARSUS

AN OPEN PLACE NEAR THE SEA-SHORE

Enter DIONYZA with LEONINE

DION. Thy oath remember; thou hast sworn to do 't:

'T is but a blow, which never shall be known.
Thou canst not do a thing in the world so soon,
To yield thee so much profit. Let not conscience,
Which is but cold, inflaming love i' thy bosom,
Inflame too nicely; nor let pity, which

Even women have cast off, melt thee, but be
A soldier to thy purpose.

LEON. I will do 't; but yet she is a goodly creature.

DION. The fitter then the gods should have her. 10 Here she comes weeping for her only mistress' death. Thou art resolved?

LEON. I am resolved.

1 etc. Thy oath remember, etc.] In the original edition almost the whole of this scene is printed as prose. Rowe first divided the lines into verse. 5–6 inflaming . . . nicely] The early Quartos read, “in flaming thy love bosom." The Folios make inflaming a single word. The collocation of "inflaming" and "inflame" renders the text suspicious. Various changes have been suggested, e. g., enforcing for inflaming, and inform for inflame. The meaning seems to be that conscience, which has just been lulled to insensibility or become cold, must not, by stirring love or pity, be suffered to work too scrupulously.

8 A soldier to thy purpose] A man of resolute courage.

Enter Marina, with a basket of flowers

MAR. No, I will rob Tellus of her weed,
To strew thy green with flowers: the yellows, blues,
The purple violets, and marigolds,

Shall, as a carpet, hang upon thy grave,

While summer-days do last. Ay me! poor maid,
Born in a tempest, when my mother died,
This world to me is like a lasting storm,
Whirring me from my friends.

DION. How now, Marina! why do you keep alone?
How chance my daughter is not with you?

Do not consume your blood with sorrowing:
You have a nurse of me. Lord, how your favour's
Changed with this unprofitable woe!

Come, give me your flowers, ere the sea mar it.
Walk with Leonine; the air is quick there,

And it pierces and sharpens the stomach.

Come, Leonine, take her by the arm, walk with her. MAR. No, I pray you; I'll not bereave you of your

servant.

DION. Come, come;

14 Tellus . . . weed] "Tellus," Latin for "earth," is the Earth personified. Weed" means "garment."

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15 green] the green grass about thy grave.

21 Whirring] Thus the first three Quartos. The other editions read

Hurrying.

27 ere the sea mar it] Thus the original reading, for which many changes have been suggested, e. g., on the sea margent. The "it" probably refers to the wreath of flowers.