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SCENE IV.

Enter Caffandra with her hair about her ears.

Caf. Cry, Trojans, cry; lend me ten thousand eyes, And I will fill them with prophetick tears.

Het. Peace, fifter, peace.

Caf. Virgins and boys, mid-age and wrinkled old,
Soft infancy, that nothing can but cry,
Add to my clamour! let us pay betimes

A moiety of that mafs of moan to come:
Cry, Trojans, cry, practife your eyes with tears.
Troy must not be, nor goodly Ilion ftand:
Our fire-brand brother, Paris, burns us all.
Cry, Trojans, cry! a Helen and a wo;

Cry, cry, Troy burns, or elfe let Helen go.

[Exit.

Het. Now, youthful Troilus, do not the high strains

Of divination in our fifter work

Some touches of remorfe? Or is your blood

So madly hot, that no difcourfe of reafon,
Nor fear of bad fuccefs in a bad cause,
Can qualifie the fame?

Troi. Why, brother Hector,

We may not think the juftness of each act
Such and no other than event doth form it;
Nor once deject the courage of our minds,
Because Caffandra's mad; her brain-fick raptures
Cannot diftafte the goodness of a quarrel,
Which hath our feveral honours all engag'd
To make it gracious. For my private part,
I am no more touch'd than all Priam's fons ;
And Jove forbid there fhould be done amongst us
Such things as might offend the weakest spleen
To fight for and maintain!

Par. Elfe might the world convince of levity 3/As well your counfels, as my undertakings:` For I atteft the Gods, your full confent

Gave

3 As well my undertakings, as your counfels :

4 But

Gave wings to my propenfion, and cut off
All fears attending on fo dire a project.
For what, alas, can thefe my fingle arms?
What propugnation is in one man's valour,
To ftand the push and enmity of thofe
This quarrel would excite? yet I proteft,
Were I alone to pafs the difficulties,
And had as ample power, as I have will,
Paris fhould ne'er retract what he hath done,
Nor faint in the purfuit.

Pri. Paris, you speak

Like one befotted on your fweet delights;
You have the honey ftill, but these the gall,
So to be valiant is no praise at all.

Par. Sir, I propofe not meerly to my felf
The pleasures fuch a beauty brings with it:
But I would have the foil of her fair rape
Wip'd off in honourable keeping her.
What treafon were it to the ranfack'd Queen,
Difgrace to your great worths, and fhame to me,
Now to deliver her poffeffion up,

On terms of base compulfion! can it be,
That fo degenerate a strain as this

Should once fet footing in your generous bofoms?
There's not the meaneft fpirit on our party,
Without a heart to dare, or fword to draw,
When Helen is defended: none fo noble,
Whose life were ill beftow'd, or death unfam'd,
Where Helen is the fubject. Then, I fay,
Well may we fight for her, whom we know well
The world's large fpaces cannot parallel.

Het. Paris and Troilus, you have both faid well:
s'But on the cause and queftion now in hand
Have glofs'd but fuperficially; not much
Unlike young men, whom Ariftotle thought
Unfit to hear moral philofophy.

The reasons you alledge, do more conduce

5 And... old edit. Theob. emend.

To the hot paffion of diftemper'd blood,
Than to make up a free determination
'Twixt right and wrong: for pleasure and revenge
Have ears more deaf than adders to the voice
Of any true decifion. Nature craves

All dues be render'd to their owners; now
What nearer debt in all humanity,

Than wife is to the husband? if this law
Of nature be corrupted through affection,
And that great minds, of partial indulgence
To their benummed wills, refift the fame;
There is a law in each well-order'd nation,
To curb thofe raging appetites that are
Moft difobedient and refractory.
If Helen then be wife to Sparta's King,
(As it is known fhe is) these moral laws
Of nature, and of nations, fpeak aloud
To have her back return'd. Thus to perfift
In doing wrong, extenuates not wrong,

But makes it much more heavy. Hector's opinion
Is this in way of truth; yet ne'ertheless,

My sprightly brethren, I propend to you

In refolution to keep Helen ftill;

For 'tis a caufe that hath no mean dependance

Upon our joint and feveral dignities.

Troi. Why, there you touch'd the life of our defign:

Were it not glory that we more affected,

Than the performance of our heaving fpleens,

I would not wifh a drop of Trojan blood

Spent more in her defence. But, worthy Hector,
She is a theam of honour and renown,

A spur to valiant and magnanimous deeds,
Whofe prefent courage may beat down our foes,
And fame, in time to come, canonize us.
For I prefume brave Hector would not lofe
So rich advantage of a promis'd glory,
As fmiles upon the forehead of this action,
For the wide world's revenue.

нея.

Het. I am yours,

You valiant off-fpring of great Priamus ;
I have a roifting challenge fent amongst
The dull and factious Nobles of the Greeks,
Will strike amazement to their drowfie fpirits.
I was advertis'd their great General flept,
This I prefume will wake him.

SCENE V.

The Grecian Camp.

Enter Therfites folus.

[Exeunt.

If

Ther.HOW now, Therfites? what, loft in the labyrinth of thy fury? fhall the elephant Ajax carry it thus? he beats me, and I rail at him: O worthy fatisfaction! would it were other wife; that I could beat him, whilst he rail'd at me: 'sfoot, I'll learn to conjure and raise devils, but I'll fee fome iffue of my fpiteful execrations. Then there's Achilles, a rare engineer. Troy be not taken 'till these two undermine it, the walls will stand 'till they fall of themselves. O thou great thunder-darter of Olympus, forget that thou art Jove the King of Gods; and, Mercury, lofe all the ferpentine craft of thy Caduceus, if thou take not that little, little, lefs than little wit from them that they have; which fhort-arm'd ignorance it felf knows is fo abundant scarce, it will not in circumvention deliver a fly from a spider, without drawing the maffy irons and cutting the web. After this, the vengeance on the whole camp! or rather the bone-ach, for that methinks is the curfe dependant on those that war for a placket. I have faid my prayers, and devil Envy fay Amen! What ho! my Lord Achilles. Enter Patroclus.

Pat. Who's there? Therfites? Good Therfites, come in and rail.

Ther.

Ther. If I could have remember'd a gilt counter, thou could'ft not have flip'd out of my contemplation; but it is no matter, thy felf upon thy felf! The common curfe of mankind, folly and ignorance, be thine in great revenue! heaven bless thee from a tutor, and difcipline come not near thee! Let thy blood be thy direction 'till thy death! then if the that lays thee out fays thou art a fair coarfe, I'll be fworn and fworn upon't fhe never fhrowded any but Lazars; Amen! Where's Achilles?

Pat. What, art thou devout? waft thou in a prayer? Ther. Ay, the heav'ns hear me!

Enter Achilles.

Achil. Who's there?

Pat. Therfites, my Lord.

Achil. Where, where? art thou come? why, my cheese, my digeftion- -why haft thou not ferved thy felf up to my table, fo many meals? come, what's Aga

memnon?

Ther. Thy commander, Achilles; then tell me, Patroclus, what's Achilles?

Pat. Thy lord, Therfites: then tell me, I pray thee, what's thy felf?

Ther. Thy knower, Patroclus: then tell me, Patroclus, what art thou?

Pat. Thou may'ft tell, that know'st.

Achil. O tell, tell.

Ther. I'll

derive the whole queftion. Agamemnon commands Achilles, Achilles is my lord, I am Patroclus's knower, and Patroclus is a fool.

Pat. You rascal

Ther. Peace, fool, I have not done.

Achil. He is a privileg'd man. Proceed, Therfites. Ther. Agamemnon is a fool, Achilles is a fool, Therfites is a fool, and, as aforefaid, Patroclus is a fool. Achil. Derive this; come.

Ther. Agamemnon is a fool to offer to command Achil

6 decline

les,

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