Read Titus Andronicus & Timon of Athens Online

Authors: William Shakespeare

Titus Andronicus & Timon of Athens (7 page)

Kneels

Rome and the righteous heavens be my judge

How I have loved and honoured Saturnine!

To Saturninus

TAMORA
    My worthy lord, if ever Tamora

Were gracious in those princely eyes of thine,

Then hear me speak
indifferently
433
for all,

And at my suit, sweet, pardon what is past.

SATURNINUS
    What, madam, be dishonoured openly,

And basely
put it up
436
without revenge?

TAMORA
    Not so, my lord. The gods of Rome
forfend
437

I should be
author to dishonour
438
you.

But on mine honour dare I
undertake
439

For good Lord Titus’ innocence in all,

Whose
fury not dissembled speaks his griefs:
441

Then at my suit look graciously on him.

Lose not so noble a friend on
vain suppose,
443

Nor with sour looks afflict his gentle heart.—

Aside to Saturninus

My lord, be ruled by me, be won at last,

Dissemble
446
all your griefs and discontents.

You are but newly planted in your throne:

Lest then the people, and patricians too,

Upon a just
survey
449
take Titus’ part,

And so supplant you for ingratitude,

Which Rome reputes to be a heinous sin,

Yield
at entreats
— and then
let me alone:
452

I’ll find a day to massacre them all,

And
raze
454
their faction and their family,

The cruel father and his traitorous sons

To whom I
suèd
456
for my dear son’s life,

And make them know what ’tis to let a queen

Kneel in the streets and beg for grace in vain.—

Aloud

Come, come, sweet emperor.— Come, Andronicus—

Take up
460
this good old man, and cheer the heart

That dies in tempest of thy angry frown.

SATURNINUS
    Rise, Titus, rise: my empress hath prevailed.

Rises

TITUS
    I thank your majesty and her, my lord:

These words, these looks, infuse new life in me.

TAMORA
    Titus, I am
incorporate in
465
Rome,

A Roman now adopted
happily,
466

And must advise the emperor for his good.

This day all quarrels die, Andronicus:

And let it be mine honour, good my lord,

That I have reconciled your friends and you.—

For
471
you, Prince Bassianus, I have passed

My word and promise to the emperor,

That you will be more mild and tractable.—

And fear not, lords, and you, Lavinia:

By my advice, all humbled on your knees,

You shall ask pardon of his majesty.

Titus’ sons kneel

LUCIUS
    We do, and vow to heaven and to his highness

That what we did was mildly as we might,

Tend’ring
479
our sister’s honour and our own.

Kneels

MARCUS
    That on mine honour here I do
protest.
480

SATURNINUS
    Away, and talk not: trouble us no more.

TAMORA
    Nay, nay, sweet emperor, we must all be friends:

The tribune and his nephews kneel for grace,

I will not be denied: sweet heart, look back.

SATURNINUS
    Marcus, for thy sake and thy brother’s here,

And at my lovely Tamora’s entreats,

I do remit these young men’s heinous faults.—

[
Marcus and Titus’ sons
]
stand up

Lavinia, though you left me like a
churl,
488

I found a
friend
489
, and sure as death I swore

I would not part a bachelor from the priest.

Come, if the emperor’s court can feast two brides,

You are my guest, Lavinia, and your friends.

This day shall be a
love-day,
493
Tamora.

TITUS
    Tomorrow,
an
494
it please your majesty

To hunt the panther and the
hart
495
with me,

With horn and hound we’ll give your grace
bonjour
496
.

SATURNINUS
    Be it so, Titus, and
gramercy
497
too.

Flourish. Exeunt

Act 2 [Scene 1]

running scene 1 continues

Enter Aaron alone

AARON
    Now climbeth Tamora
Olympus
1
’ top,

Safe out of fortune’s shot, and sits aloft,

Secure
of
3
thunder’s crack or lightning flash,

Advanced above pale envy’s threat’ning reach.

As when the golden sun salutes the morn,

And, having
gilt
6
the ocean with his beams,

Gallops
the zodiac in his
glistering
7
coach

And
overlooks
8
the highest-peering hills,

So Tamora.

Upon her
wit
10
doth earthly honour wait,

And virtue stoops and trembles at her frown.

Then, Aaron, arm thy heart and fit thy thoughts

To mount aloft with thy imperial mistress,

And
mount her pitch
whom thou
in triumph
14
long

Hast prisoner held, fettered in amorous chains

And faster bound to Aaron’s
charming
16
eyes

Than is
Prometheus tied to Caucasus.
17

Away with slavish
weeds
and
idle
18
thoughts:

I will be bright, and shine in pearl and gold

To wait upon this new-made emperess.

To wait, said I? — To
wanton
with this
queen,
21

This goddess, this
Semiramis
22
, this nymph,

This
siren
23
that will charm Rome’s Saturnine

And see his shipwreck and his commonweal’s.

Hallo! What storm is this?

Enter Chiron and Demetrius,
braving

DEMETRIUS
    Chiron, thy years
want
wit, thy wit wants
edge
26

And manners to intrude where I am
graced
27

And may, for
aught
thou know’st,
affected
28
be.

CHIRON
    Demetrius, thou dost
overween
29
in all,

And so in this, to
bear me down
with
braves.
30

’Tis not the difference of a year or two

Makes me less gracious or thee more fortunate:

I am as able and as fit as thou

To
serve
34
, and to deserve my mistress’ grace,

And that my sword upon thee shall
approve,
35

And plead my passions for Lavinia’s love.

Aside

AARON
    
Clubs, clubs!
37
These lovers will not keep the peace.

DEMETRIUS
    Why, boy, although our mother,
unadvised,
38

Gave you a
dancing-rapier
39
by your side,

Are you so desperate grown to threat your
friends?
40

Go to
: have your
lath
41
glued within your sheath

Till you know better how to handle it.

CHIRON
    Meanwhile, sir, with the little skill I have,

Full well shalt thou perceive how much I dare.

DEMETRIUS
    Ay, boy, grow ye so
brave?
45

They draw

Comes forward

AARON
    Why, how now, lords?

So
near the emperor’s palace dare you draw
47

And maintain such a quarrel openly?

Full well I
wot
49
the ground of all this grudge:

I would not for a million of gold

The cause were known to them it most concerns,

Nor would your noble mother for much more

Be so dishonoured in the court of Rome.

For shame,
put up.
54

DEMETRIUS
    Not I, till I have sheathed

My rapier in his bosom and withal

Thrust these reproachful speeches down his throat

That he hath breathed in my dishonour here.

CHIRON
    For that I am prepared and full resolved,

Foul-spoken coward, that thund’rest with thy tongue,

And with thy weapon nothing dar’st perform!

AARON
    Away, I say.

Now, by the gods that warlike Goths adore,

This petty
brabble
will
undo
64
us all.

Why, lords, and think you not how dangerous

It is to
jet
66
upon a prince’s right?

What, is Lavinia then become so
loose,
67

Or Bassianus so degenerate,

That for her love such quarrels may be broached

Without
controlment
70
, justice, or revenge?

Young lords, beware! And should the empress know

This discord’s
ground
72
, the music would not please.

CHIRON
    I care not, I,
knew she
73
and all the world:

I love Lavinia more than all the world.

DEMETRIUS
    Youngling, learn thou to make some
meaner
75
choice:

Lavinia is thine elder brother’s hope.

AARON
    Why, are ye mad? Or know ye not in Rome

How furious and impatient they be,

And cannot
brook
79
competitors in love?

I tell you, lords, you do but plot your deaths

By this
device.
81

CHIRON
    Aaron, a thousand
deaths
would I
propose
82

T’achieve her whom I do love.

AARON
    T’achieve her how?

DEMETRIUS
    Why
mak’st thou it so strange?
85

She is a woman, therefore may be wooed:

She is a woman, therefore may be won:

She is Lavinia, therefore must be loved.

What, man, more water glideth by the mill

Than wots the miller of, and easy it is

Of a cut loaf to steal a
shive
91
, we know:

Though Bassianus be the emperor’s brother,

Better than he have worn
Vulcan’s badge.
93

Aside

AARON
    Ay, and as good as Saturninus may.

DEMETRIUS
    Then why should he despair that knows to
court it
95

With words, fair looks and liberality?

What, hast not thou full often
struck a doe
97

And borne her cleanly by the keeper’s nose?

AARON
    Why then, it seems some certain
snatch
99
or so

Would
serve your turns.
100

CHIRON
    Ay, so the turn were served.

DEMETRIUS
    Aaron, thou hast
hit it.
102

AARON
    Would you had hit it too,

Then should not we be tired with this
ado.
104

Why, hark ye, hark ye, and are you such fools

To
square for
106
this? Would it offend you then

That both should speed?

CHIRON
    Faith, not me.

DEMETRIUS
    Nor me,
so
109
I were one.

AARON
    For shame, be friends, and
join for that you jar:
110

’Tis
policy
111
and stratagem must do

That you
affect
112
, and so must you resolve

That what you cannot
as you would achieve,
113

You must perforce accomplish as you may.

Take this of me:
Lucrece
115
was not more chaste

Than this Lavinia, Bassianus’ love.

A speedier course than
ling’ring languishment
117

Must we pursue, and I have found the path.

My lords, a
solemn
119
hunting is in hand:

There will the lovely Roman ladies
troop:
120

The forest walks are wide and spacious,

And many unfrequented
plots
122
there are

Fitted by
kind
123
for rape and villainy.

Single
you thither then this
dainty
124
doe,

And
strike her home
125
by force, if not by words:

This way or not at all
stand
126
you in hope.

Come, come, our empress, with her
sacred
127
wit

To villainy and vengeance consecrate,

Will we acquaint with all that we intend,

And she shall
file our engines
130
with advice

That will not suffer you to
square yourselves,
131

But to your wishes’ height advance you both.

The emperor’s court is like the
house of Fame,
133

The palace full of tongues, of eyes, of ears.

The woods are ruthless,
dreadful
135
, deaf and dull:

There speak and
strike
, brave boys, and take your
turns:
136

There serve your lusts, shadowed from heaven’s eye,

And revel in Lavinia’s
treasury.
138

CHIRON
    Thy counsel, lad, smells of no cowardice.

DEMETRIUS
    
Sit fas aut nefas
140
, till I find the streams

To cool this heat, a charm to calm their fits,

Per Stygia, per manes vehor
.
142

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