And on their Skins, as on the Bark of Trees,
Have with my Knife carved in Roman Letters,
Let not your Sorrow die, though I am Dead.
Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things,
As willingly as one would kill a Fly,
And nothing grieves me heartily indeed,
But that I cannot do ten thousand more.
Luc. Bring down the Devil, for he must not die
So fweet a Death, as Hanging presently.
Aar. If there be Devils, would I were a Devil, To live and burn in everlafting Fire,
So I might have your Company in Hell,
But to torment you with my bitter Tongue.
Luc. Sirs, ftop his Mouth, and let him speak no more. Enter Emilius.
Goth. My Lord, there is a Messenger from Rome Defires to be admitted to your Prefence.
Welcome, Æmilius, what's the News from Rome?
Ami. Lord Lucius, and you Princes of the Goths,
The Roman Emperor greets you all by me,
And, for he understands you are in Arms,
He craves a Parley at your Father's House,
Willing you to demand your Hoftages,
And they fhall be immediately delivered.
Gath. What fays our General?
Luc. Æmilius, let the Emperor give his Pledges
Unto my Father, and my Uncle Marcus,
And we will come: March away.
SCENE II. Titus's Palace in Rome.
Enter Tamora, Chiron and Demetrius, Disguis'd.
Tam. Thus in these strange and fad Habiliments,
I will encounter with Andronicus,
And fay, I am Revenge fent from below,
To join with him, and right his heinous Wrongs:
Knock at the Study, where they fay he keeps,
To ruminate ftrange Plots of dire Revenge;
Tell him Revenge is come to join with him,
And work Confufion on his Enemies..
[They knock, and Titus appears above.
Tit. Who doth moleft my Contemplation ?
Is it your trick to make me ope the Door,
That fo my fad Decrees may fly away,
And lony Study be to no effect?
Y re deceiv'd, for what I mean to do,
See here in bloody Lines I have fet down;
And what is written, fhall be executed.
Tam. Titus, I am come to talk with thee.
Tit. No not a word: How can I grace my Talk,
Wanting a Hand to give it Action?
Thou haft the odds of me, therefore no more.
Tam. If thou didst know me,
Thou would'ft talk with me.
Tit. I am not mad, I know thee well enough, Witness this wretched Stump,
Witness the Crimson Lines,
Witness these Trenches, made by Grief and Care,
Witness the tyring Day and heavy Night;
Witness all Sorrow, that I know thee well
For our proud Emprefs, mighty Tamora:
Is not thy coming for my other Hand?
Tam. Know thou, fad Man, I am not Tamora,
She is thy Enemy, and I thy Friend;
I am Revenge, fent from the infernal Kingdom,
To eafe the gnawing Vulture of thy Mind,
By working wreakful Vengeance on thy Foes.
Come down and welcome me to this World's light;
Confer with me of Murder and of Death,
There's not a hollow Cave, or lurking place,
No vaft Obfcurity or mifty Vale,
Where bloody Murther or detefted Rape,
Can couch for fear, but I will find them out,
And in their Ears tell them my dreadful Name,
Revenge, which makes the foul Offenders quake.
Tit. Art thou Revenge? And art thou fent to me,
To be a Torment to mine Enemies?
Tam. I am; therefore come down and welcome me.
Tit. Do me fome Service, e'er I come to thee:
Lo by thy fide, where Rape and Murder ftands,
Now give fome furance that thou art Revenge,
Stab them, or tear them on thy Chariot Wheels,
And then I'll come and be thy Waggoner,
And whirl along with thee about the Globes:
Provide two proper Palfries black as Jet,
To hale thy vengeful Waggon fwift away,
And find out Murders in their guilty Caves.
And when thy Car is loaden with their Heads,
I will difmount, and by thy Waggon Wheel
Trot like a fervile Foot-man all day long;
Even from Hyperion's rifing in the Eaft,
Until his very downfal in the Sea.
And day by day I'll do this heavy Task,
So thou deftroy Rapine and Murder there.
Tam. These are my Ministers, and come with me.
Tit. Are they thy Minifters; what are they call'd?
Tam. Rapine and Murder, therefore called fo,
Cause they take Vengeance on fuch kind of Men.
Tit. Good Lord, how like the Emprefs Sons they are,
And you the Emprefs: But we Worldly Men,
Have miferable mad mistaking Eyes:
Ofweet Revenge, now do I come to thee,
And if one Arm's embracement will content thee,
I mill embrace thee in it by and by. [Exit Titus from above.
Tam. This clofing with him fits his Lunacy,
What e'er I forge to feed his brain-fick fits,
Do you uphold, and maintain in your Speech
For now he firmly takes me for Revenge;
And being credulous in this mad Thought,
I'll make him fend for Lucius his Son:
And whilft I at a Banquet hold him fure,
I'll find fome cunning Practice out of Hand,
To fcatter and difperfe the giddy Goths,
Or at the least make them his Enemies:
See here he comes, and I muft play my Theam.
Enter Titus.
Tit. Long have I been forlorn, and all for thee:
Welcome, dread Fury, to my woful House;
Rapine and Murther, you are welcome too:
How like the Empref, and her Sons you are!
Well are you fitted, had you but a Moor;
Could not all Hell afford you fuch a Devil?
For well I wot, the Emprefs never wags,
But in her Company there is Moor;
And would you reprefent our Queen aright,
It were convenient you had fuch a Devil:
But welcome, as you are, what fhall we do?
Tam. What wouldst thou have us do, Andronicus?
Dem. Shew me a Murtherer, I'll deal with him.
Chi. Shew me a Villain that hath done a Rape,
And I am fent to be reveng'd on him.
Tam. Shew me a Thoufand that have done thee wrong, And I will be revenged on them all.
Tit. Look round about the wicked Streets of Rome,
And when thou find'ft a Man that's like thy self,
Good Murder stab him, he's a Murderer.
Go thou with him, and when it is thy hap
To find another that is like to thee,
Good Rapine ftab him, he is a Ravisher.
Go thou with them, and in the Emperor's Court
There is a Queen attended by a Moor ;
Well may'ft thou know her by thy own proportion,
For up and down the doth refemble thee;
I pray thee do on them fome violent Death;
They have been violent to me and mine.
Tam. Well haft thou Leffon'd us; this fhall we do.
But would it please thee, good Andronicus,
To fend for Lucius thy thrice valiant Son,
Who leads towards Rome a Band of Warlike Goths,
And bid him come and Banquet at thy House.
When he is here, even at thy folemn Feast,
I will bring in the Emprefs and her Sons;
The Emperor himself, and all thy Foes,
And at thy Mercy fhall they ftoop and kneel,
And on them fhalt thou cafe thy angry Heart:
What fays Andronicus to this Devife?
Tit. Marcus my Brother, 'tis fad Titus calls;
Go gentle Marcus to thy Brother Lucius;
Thou shalt enquire him out among the Goths:
Bid him repair to me, and bring with him
Some of the chiefeft Princes of the Goths;
Bid him Encamp his Soldiers where they are;
Tell him the Emperor and the Emprefs too,
Feast at my House, and he fhall Feast with them;
This do thou for my love, and fo let him,
As he regards his aged Father's Life.
Mar. This will I do, and foon return again.
Tam. Now will I hence about thy Business,
And take my Minifters along with me.
Tit. Nay, nay, let Rape and Murder stay with me, Or elfe I'll call my Brother back again,
And cleave to no Revenge but Lucius.
Tam. What fay you, Boys, you will abide with him, Whiles I go tell my Lord, the Emperor,
How I have govern'd our determin'd Jeft?
Yield to his humour, fmooth and fpeak him fair,
And tarry with him 'till I return again.
Tit. I know them all, tho' they fuppofe me mad, And will o'er-reach them in their own Devices, A pair of curfed Hell-hounds and their Dam. Dem. Madam, depart at pleasure, leave us here. Tam. Farewel, Andronicus, Revenge now goes To lay a Complot to betray thy Foes. [Exit Tamora. Tit. I know thou doft, and fweet Revenge farewel. Chi. Tell us, Old Man, how fhall we be employ'd? Tit. Tut, I have work enough for you to do. Publius, come hither, Caius and Valentine.
Enter Publius and Servants.
Pub. What is your will?
Tit. Know ye these two?
Pub. The Empress Sons
I take them, Chiron, Demetrius.
Tit. Fie, Publius, fie, thou art too much deceiv'd,
The one is Murder, Rape is the other's Name;
And therefore bind them, gentle Publius,
Caius and Valentine, lay hands on them,
Oft have you heard me with for fuch an hour,
And now I find it, therefore bind them fure. [Exit Titus.
Chi. Villains, forbear, we are the Emprefs' Sons.
Pub. And therefore do we what we are commanded.
Stop close their Mouths; let them not speak a Word.
Is he fure bound? look that ye bind them faft.
Enter Titus Andronicus with a Knife, and Lavinia with a Bafon
Tit. Come, come, Lavinia, look, thy Foes are bound;
VOL. IV.
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