Read Titus Andronicus & Timon of Athens Online

Authors: William Shakespeare

Titus Andronicus & Timon of Athens (5 page)

Sound drums and trumpets, and then enter two of Titus’ sons
[
Martius and Mutius
].
After them, two men bearing a coffin covered with black, then two other sons
[
Lucius and Quintus
].
After them, Titus Andronicus, and then
Tamora
, Queen of Goths, and her two sons Chiron and Demetrius, with
Aaron
the
Moor
and others, as many as can be. They set down the coffin and Titus speaks

TITUS
    Hail, Rome, victorious in thy mourning
weeds!
70

Lo, as the
bark
71
that hath discharged his freight

Returns with precious
lading
72
to the bay

From whence at first she weighed her
anchorage,
73

Cometh Andronicus, bound with laurel boughs,

To resalute his country with his tears,

Tears of true joy for his return to Rome.

Thou
77
great defender of this Capitol,

Stand gracious to
78
the rites that we intend.

Romans, of five and twenty valiant sons,

Half of the number that
King Priam
80
had,

Behold the poor remains, alive and dead!

These that survive, let Rome reward with love:

These that I bring unto their
latest
83
home,

With
84
burial amongst their ancestors.

Here Goths have
given me leave
85
to sheathe my sword.

Titus,
unkind
and
careless
86
of thine own,

Why suffer’st thou thy sons unburied yet

To hover on the dreadful shore of
Styx?
88

Make way to lay them by their brethren.

They open the tomb

There greet in silence, as the dead are
wont,
90

And sleep in peace, slain in your country’s wars.

O sacred receptacle of my joys,

Sweet
cell
93
of virtue and nobility,

How many sons of mine hast thou in store,

That thou wilt never render to me
more!
95

LUCIUS
    Give us the proudest prisoner of the Goths,

That we may
hew
97
his limbs, and on a pile

Ad manus fratrum
98
sacrifice his flesh

Before this earthly prison of their bones,

That so
the
shadows
100
be not unappeased,

Nor we disturbed with
prodigies
101
on earth.

TITUS
    I give him you, the noblest that survives,

The eldest son of this distressèd queen.

↓Kneels↓

TAMORA
    Stay, Roman brethren,
gracious
104
conqueror,

Victorious Titus,
rue
105
the tears I shed,

A mother’s tears in
passion
106
for her son:

And if thy sons were ever dear to thee,

O, think my sons to be as dear to me.

Sufficeth not
109
that we are brought to Rome

To beautify thy
triumphs
110
and return,

Captive to thee and to thy Roman yoke?

But must my sons be slaughtered in the streets

For valiant doings in their country’s cause?

O, if to fight for king and commonweal

Were piety in thine, it is in these.

Andronicus, stain not thy tomb with blood.

Wilt thou draw near the nature of the gods?

Draw near them then in being merciful:

Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge.

Thrice-noble Titus, spare my first-born son.

TITUS
    
Patient
121
yourself, madam, and pardon me.

These are the brethren whom you Goths beheld

Alive and dead, and for their brethren slain

Religiously they ask a sacrifice:

To this your son is marked, and die he must,

To appease their groaning shadows that are gone.

LUCIUS
    Away with him, and make a fire
straight,
127

And with our swords, upon a pile of wood,

Let’s hew his limbs till they be
clean
129
consumed.

Exeunt Sons
[
Lucius, Quintus, Martius and Mutius
]
with Alarbus

Rises

TAMORA
    O cruel, irreligious piety!

CHIRON
    Was ever
Scythia
131
half so barbarous?

DEMETRIUS
    
Oppose
132
not Scythia to ambitious Rome.

Alarbus goes to rest and we survive

To tremble under Titus’ threat’ning looks.

Then, madam, stand resolved, but hope
withal
135

The self-same gods that armed the
Queen of Troy
136

With opportunity of
sharp
137
revenge

Upon the Thracian tyrant in his tent

May favour Tamora, the Queen of Goths —

When Goths were Goths and Tamora was queen —

To
quit
141
the bloody wrongs upon her foes.

Enter the Sons of Andronicus again

LUCIUS
    See, lord and father, how we have performed

Our Roman rites: Alarbus’ limbs are lopped,

And
entrails
144
feed the sacrificing fire,

Whose smoke like incense doth perfume the sky.

Remaineth nought but to inter our brethren

And with loud
’larums
147
welcome them to Rome.

TITUS
    Let it be so, and let Andronicus

Make this his
latest
149
farewell to their souls.

Flourish. Then sound trumpets, and lay the coffins in the tomb

In peace and honour rest you here, my sons:

Rome’s readiest champions, repose you here in rest,

Secure from worldly chances and mishaps.

Here lurks no treason, here no
envy
153
swells,

Here grow no damnèd grudges, here are no storms,

No noise, but silence and eternal sleep:

In peace and honour rest you here, my sons.

Enter Lavinia

LAVINIA
    In peace and honour live Lord Titus long:

My noble lord and father, live in
fame!
158

Lo, at this tomb my
tributary
159
tears

I render for my brethren’s
obsequies,
160

Kneels

And at thy feet I kneel with tears of joy

Shed on the earth for thy return to Rome.

O, bless me here with thy victorious hand,

Whose fortune Rome’s best citizens applaud.

TITUS
    Kind Rome, that hast thus lovingly reserved

The
cordial
166
of mine age to glad my heart.

Lavinia, live, outlive thy father’s days

Lavinia rises

[
Enter Marcus, below
]

MARCUS
    Long live Lord Titus, my belovèd brother,

Gracious triumpher in the eyes of Rome!

TITUS
    Thanks,
gentle
171
tribune, noble brother Marcus.

MARCUS
    And welcome, nephews, from successful wars,

You that survive and you that sleep in fame.

Fair lords,
your fortunes are alike in all,
174

That in your country’s service drew your swords:

But safer
triumph
176
is this funeral pomp

That hath
aspired
to
Solon’s happiness
177

And triumphs over chance in honour’s
bed.
178

Titus Andronicus, the people of Rome,

Whose friend in justice thou hast ever been,

Send thee by me, their
tribune and their trust,
181

This
palliament
182
of white and spotless hue,

And name thee in election for the empire

With these our late-deceasèd emperor’s sons:

Offers a robe

Be
candidatus
185
then and put it on,

And help to set a head on headless Rome.

TITUS
    A better head her glorious body
fits
187

Than his that shakes for age and feebleness.

What, should I don this robe and trouble you?

Be chosen with proclamations today,

Tomorrow yield up rule, resign my life

And
set abroad
192
new business for you all?

Rome, I have been thy soldier forty years,

And led my country’s strength successfully,

And buried one and twenty valiant sons,

Knighted in field, slain manfully in arms

In
right and service
197
of their noble country:

Give me a staff of honour for mine age,

But not a sceptre to control the world.

Upright he held it, lords, that held it last.

MARCUS
    Titus, thou shalt
obtain and ask
201
the empery.

SATURNINUS
    Proud and ambitious tribune, canst thou tell?

TITUS
    Patience, Prince Saturninus—

SATURNINUS
                             Romans, do me right.

Patricians, draw your swords and sheathe them not

Till Saturninus be Rome’s emperor.

Andronicus,
would
206
thou wert shipped to hell,

Rather than rob me of the people’s hearts.

LUCIUS
    Proud Saturnine, interrupter of the good

That noble-minded Titus means to thee.

TITUS
    Content thee, prince, I will restore to thee

The people’s hearts, and
wean them from themselves.
211

BASSIANUS
    Andronicus, I do not flatter thee,

But honour thee, and will do till I die:

My faction if thou strengthen with thy friends,

I will most thankful be, and thanks to men

Of noble minds is honourable
meed.
216

TITUS
    People of Rome, and noble tribunes here,

I ask your
voices and your suffrages,
218

Will you bestow them friendly on Andronicus?

TRIBUNES
    To gratify the good Andronicus

And
gratulate
221
his safe return to Rome,

The people will accept whom he
admits.
222

TITUS
    Tribunes, I thank you, and this
suit
223
I make,

That you
create
224
our emperor’s eldest son,

Lord Saturnine, whose virtues will, I hope,

Reflect on Rome as
Titan’s
226
rays on earth,

And ripen justice in this commonweal:

Then if you will elect by my advice,

Crown him and say, ‘Long live our emperor!’

MARCUS
    With voices and applause of every sort,

Patricians and plebeians, we create

Lord Saturninus Rome’s great emperor,

And say, ‘Long live our Emperor Saturnine!’

A long flourish till they come down

SATURNINUS
    Titus Andronicus, for thy favours done

To us in our election this day,

I give thee thanks
in part of thy deserts,
236

And will with deeds requite thy
gentleness:
237

And, for
an onset,
238
Titus, to advance

Thy name and honourable family,

Lavinia will I make my emperess,

Rome’s royal mistress, mistress of my heart,

And in the sacred
Pantheon
242
her espouse:

Tell me, Andronicus, doth this
motion
243
please thee?

TITUS
    It doth, my worthy lord, and in this match

I
hold me
highly honoured
of
245
your grace,

And here in sight of Rome to Saturnine,

King and commander of our commonweal,

The wide world’s emperor, do I consecrate

My sword, my chariot and my prisoners,

Presents well worthy Rome’s imperial lord:

Titus’ sword, chariot
(
?
)
and prisoners are given to Saturninus

Receive them then, the tribute that I owe,

Mine honour’s
ensigns
252
humbled at thy feet.

SATURNINUS
    Thanks, noble Titus, father of my life.

How proud I am of thee and of thy gifts,

Rome shall record, and when I do forget

The least of these
unspeakable
256
deserts,

Romans forget your
fealty
257
to me.

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