1 An emulation not vigorous and active, but malignant and sluggish. 2 Topless means fupreme; fovereign. 3 All our good of grace exact, means our excelle ice irreprehenfible. 4 That is, holds up his head as haughtily. We till fay of a girl, he bridles. 5. A rank weed is a high weed.

Aga. Sir, you of Troy, call you yourfelf Æneas? As may be in the world: His youth in food,

Anc. Ay, Greek, that is my name.
Aga. What's your affair, I pray you ?
Fine. Sir, pardon; 'tis for Agamemnon's ears.
Aga. He hears nought privately, that comes
from Troy.
[him:
Ene. Nor I from Troy come not to whisper
I bring a trumpet to awake his ear;
To fet his fenfe on the attentive bent,
And then to speak.

Aga. Speak frankly as the wind;
It is not Agamemnon's fleeping hour:
That thou fhalt know, Trojan, he is awake,
He tells thee fo himself.

Ene. Trumpet, blow loud,

Send thy brafs voice through all these lazy tents;
And every Greek of mettle, let him know,
What Troy means fairly, fhall be fpoke aloud.
[Trumpets found.
We have, great Agamemnon, here in Troy
A prince call'd Hector, Priam is his father,
Who in this dull and long-continu'd truce
Is rufty grown; he bade me take a trumpet,
And to this purpofe fpeak. Kings, princes, lords!
If there be one, among the fair'ft of Greece,
That holds his honour higher than his eafe;
That feeks his praise more than he fears his peril;
That knows his valour, and knows not his fear;
That loves his miftrefs more than in confeffion',
(With truant vows to her own lips he loves)
And dare avow her beauty, and her worth,
In other arms than hers,-to him this challenge.
Hector, in view of Trojans and of Greeks,
Shall make it good, or do his best to do it.
He hath a lady, wifer, fairer, truer,
Than ever Greek did compafs in his arms;
And will to-morrow with his trumpet call,
Mid-way between your tents and walls of Troy,
To roufe a Grecian that is true in love:
If any come, Hector fhall honour him;
If none, he'll fay in Troy, when he retires,
The Grecian dames are fun-burn'd, and not worth
The splinter of a lance. Even fo much.
Aga. This fhall be told our lovers, lord Æneas;
If none of them have foul in fuch a kind,
We left them all at home: But we are foldiers;
And may that foldier a mere recreant prove,
That means not, hath not, or is not in love!
If then one is, or hath, or means to be,
That one meets He&tor; if none elfe, I am he.
Neft. Tell him of Neftor, one that was a man
When Hector's grandfire fuck'd: he is old now;
But, if there be not in our Grecian hoft
One noble naan that hath one spark of fire,
To answer for his love, Tell him from me,-
I'll hide my filver beard in a gold beaver,
And in my vantbrace 2 put this wither'd brawn ;
And, meeting him, will tell him, That my lady
Was fairer than his grandame, and as chafte

1 Confeffion for profeffion.

I'll pawn this truth with my three drops of blood.
ne. Now heavens forbid such scarcity of youth !
Ulyff. Amen.

Aga. Fair lord Eneas, let me touch your hand;
To our pavilion fhall I lead you, fir.
Achilles fhall have word of this intent;
So fhall each lord of Greece, from tent to tent;
Yourself fhall feaft with us before you go,
And find the welcome of a noble foe.

- Manent Ulyffes and Nefior.

Ulf. Neftor,

Neft. What fays Ulyffes?

[Extant

Uly. I have a young conception in my brain,
Be you my time to bring it to fume shape.
Neft. What is 't?

Ulyff. This 'tis :

Blunt wedges rive hard knots: The feeded pride
That hath to its maturity blown up

In rank Achilles, muft or now be cropt,
Or, fhedding, breed a nursery of like evil,
To over-bulk us all.

Neft. Well, and how?

Uly. This challenge that the gallant Hector fends,
However it is fpread in general name,
Relates in purpofe only to Achilles. [itance,

Neft. The purpose is perfpicuous even as fub-
Whofe groffnets little characters fum up 3:
And, in the publication, make no strain 4,
But that Achilles, were his brain as barren
As banks of Libya,-though, Apollo knows,
'Tis dry enough,--will with great speed of judge-

ment,

Ay, with celerity, find Hector's purpofe
Pointing on him.

Ulyff. And wake him to the anfwer, think you?
Neft. Yes, 'tis most meet; Whom may you

elfe oppose,

That can from Hector bring thofe honours off,
If not Achilles? Though 't be a sportful combat,
Yet in this trial much opinion dwells;
For here the Trojans taste our dear'st repute
With their fin'ft palate: And trust to me, Ulyffes,
Our imputation fhall be oddly pois'd
In this wild action: for the fuccefs,
Although particular, fhall give a scantling
Of good or bad unto the general;
And in fuch indexes, although fmall pricks s
To their fubfequent volumes, there is feen
The baby figure of the giant mass
of things to come at large. It is fuppos'd,
He, that meets Hector, iffues from our choice:
And choice, being mutual act of all our fouls,
Makes merit her election; and doth boil,
As 'twere from forth us all, a man diftill'd
Out of our virtues; Who mifcarrying,
What heart receives from hence a conquering part,
To feel a ftrong opinion to themselves?
Which entertain'd, limbs are in his inftruments,

2 An armour for the arm, avantbras. of which is afcertained by the ufe of fmall characters, i. e. numerals. no doubt, when this duel comes to be proclaimed, but that Achilles, the drift of it." 5 Small points compared with the volumes.

3 Substance is eftate, the value * i. e. make no difficulty, dull as he is, will difeover

CT II.

Ther. Thou art proclaim'd a fool, I think. Ajax. Do not, porcupine, do not; my fingers itch. Ther. I would, thou didft itch from head to foot, and I had the fcratching of thee; I would make thee the loathfomeft fcab in Greece. When

Agamemnon-how if he had boils thou art forth in the incurfions, thou ftrikeft as flow as another.

2 Tarre is an old English word fignifying to provoke or urge on. falted leaven, means four without falt; metaphorically, malignity without wit. 4 A crufty uneven loaf is in fome counties called by this name. 5 Pun is in the midland counties the vulgar and colloquial word for pound. 6 In one way of trying a witch they ufed to place her on a chair or ftool, with her legs tied acrofs, that all the weight of her body might relt upon her feat; and by that means, after fome time, the circulation of the blood would be much topped, and her fitting would be as painful as the wooden horse. 1 Affinego feems to have been a cant term for a foolish Kkk

do, do.

Enter Achilles, and Patroclus.

Achil. Why, how now, Ajax? wherefore do
you thus ?

How now, Therfites? what's the matter, man?
Ther. You fee him there, do you?
Achil. Ay; What's the matter?

Ther. Nay, look upon him.

Achil. So I do; What's the matter?

Ther. Nay, but regard him well.

Achil. Well, why I do so.

[their toes,-yoke you like draft oxen, and make you plough up the war.

cbil. What, what?

Ther. Yes, good footh; To, Achilles ! to, Ajax ! to !

Ajax. I fhall cut out your tongue.

Ther. 'Tis no matter; I shall speak as much as thou, afterwards.

Patr. No more words, Therfites; peace.

Ther. I will hold my peace when Achilles' brach bids me 1, fhall I?

Atbil. There's for you, Patroclus.

Ther. I will fee you hang'd, like clotpoles, ere

I come any more to your tents; I will keep where

Ther. But yet you look not well upon him: for, there is wit stirring, and leave the faction of fools. whofoever you take him to be, he is Ajax.

Achil. I know that, fool.

Ther. Ay, but that fool knows not himself.
Ajax. Therefore I beat thee.

Patr. A good riddance.

[Exit.

Achil. Marry this, fir, is proclaim'd through ab

our hoft:

Ther. Lo, lo, lo, lo, what modicums of wit he That Hector, by the fifth hour of the fun, utters! his evafions have ears thus long. I have Will, with a trumpet, 'twixt our tents and Troy, bobb'd his brain, more than he has beat my bones :To-morrow morning call fome knight to arms, I will buy nine fparrows for a penny, and his pia mater is not worth the ninth part of a fparrow. This lord, Achilles, Ajax,-who wears his wit in his belly, and his guts in his head,-I'll tell you what I fay of him.

Achil. Nay, I must hold you.

That hath a ftomach; and fuch a one, that dare
Maintain-I know not what; 'tis trash : Farewel.
Ajax. Farewel. Who fhall aufwer him?
Achil. I know not, it is put to lottery; otherwife,
He knew his man.

Ajax. O, meaning you :-I'll go learn more of
[Excunt.

it.

Ther. As will ftop the eye of Helen's needle, Enter Priam, Hector, Troilus, Paris, and Helens. for whom he comes to fight.

Achil. Peace, fool!

Ther. 1 would have peace and quietnefs, but the fool will not: he there; that he; look you¦

there.

Ajax. O thou damn'd cur! 1 fhall

Achil. Will you fet your wit to a fool's?

Ther. No, I warrant you; for a fool's will shame it.

Patr. Good words, Therfites.
Acbil. What's the quarrel?

Ajax. I bade the vile owl go learn me the tenour
of the proclamation, and he rails upon me.
Ther. 1 ferve thee not.

jax. Well, go to, go to. Ther. I ferve here voluntary.

Achil. Your laft fervice was fufferance, 'twas not voluntary; no man is beaten voluntary: Ajax was here the voluntary, and you as under an imprefs.

Ther. Even fo?-a great deal of your wit too lies in your finews, or elfe there be liars. Hector fhall have a great catch, if he knock out either of your brains; 'a were as good crack a fufty nut with no kernel.

Achil. What, with me too, Therfites?

Ther. There's Ulyffes and old Neftor,-whofe wit was mouldy ere your grandfires had nails on

Pri. After fo many hours, lives, fpeeches (pent,
Thus once again fays Neftor from the Greeks;
Deliver Helen, and all damage elfe-

As bonour, loss of time, travel, expence,
Wounds, friends, and what elje dear that is confus'd
In het digeftion of this cormorant war,———
Shall be firuck off:-Hector, what fay you to 't?
He. Though no man leiler fears the Greeks
than I,

As far as toucheth my particular, yet,
Dread Priam,

There is no lady of more fofter bowels,
More fpungy to fuck in the fenfe of fear,
More ready to cry out—I'bo knows what fellows ?
Than Hector is: The wound of peace is furety,
Surety fecure; but modeft doubt is call'd
The beacon of the wife, the tent that fearches
To the bottom of the worst. Let Helen go:
Since the firft fword was drawn about this question,
Every tithe foul, 'mongst many thousand difmes 2,
Hath been as dear as Helen; I mean, of ours:
If we have loft fo many tenths of ours,
To guard a thing not ours; not worth to us,
Had it our name, the value of one ten;
What merit's in that reafon, which denies
The yielding of her up?

Troi. Fie, fie, my brother!
Weigh you the worth and honour of a king,

I He calls Patroclus, in contempt, Ac illes' dog.

2 Difme, Fr. is the tithe, the tenth.

So

So great as our dread father, in a scale

If you'll avouch, 'twas wifdom Paris went,

Of common ounces? will you with counters fum (As you must needs, for you all cry'd-Go, go)

The paft-proportion of his infinite?
And buckle-in a waift moft fathomlefs,
With fpans and inches fo diminutive

If you'll confefs, he brought home noble prize, (As you muft needs, for you all clapp'd your hands, And cry'd-Ineftimable!) why do you now As fears and reafons? fie, for godly shame! [fons, The iffue of your proper wisdoms rate; Hel. No marvel, though you bite fo fharp at rea-And do a deed that fortune never did, You are fo empty of them. Should not our father Bear the great fway of his affairs with reafons, Because your speech hath none, that tells him fo? Troi. You are for dreams and flumbers, brother prieft,

Beggar the estimation which you priz'd
Richer than fea and land? O theft most base;
That we have ftolen what we do fear to keep!
But, thieves, unworthy of a thing so stolen,
[reafons: That in their country did them that difgrace,
You fur your gloves with reafon. Here are your We fear to warrant in our native place l

You know, an enemy intends you harm;
You know, a fword employ'd is perilous,
And reason flies the object of all harm:
Who marvels then, when Helenus beholds
A Grecian and his fword, if he do fet
The very wings of reafon to his heels;
And fly like chidden Mercury from Jove,
Or like a stardif-orb'd?-Nay, if we talk of reafon,
Let's fhut our gates, and fleep: Manhood and honour
Should have hare hearts, would they but fat their
thoughts

With this cramm'd reafon : reafon and refpect
Make livers pale, and luftyhood deject. [coft
H. Brother, he is not worth what the doth
The holding.

Troi, What is aught, but as 'tis valu'd?
Hed. But value dwells not in particular will;
It holds his eftimate and dignity
As well wherein 'tis precious of itself,
As in the prizer: 'tis mad idolatry,
To make the fervice greater than the god;
And the will dotes, that is inclinable
To what infectiously itself affects,
Without fome image of the affected merit.
Troi. I take to-day a wife, and my election
Is led on in the conduct of my will;
My will enkindled by mine eyes and ears,
Two traded pilots 'twixt the dangerous fhores
Of will and judgement; How may I avoid,
Although my will diftafte what it elected,
The wife I chofe? There can be no evafion
To blench from this, and to stand firm by honour:
We turn not back the filks upon the merchant,
When we have foil'd them; nor the remainder

viands

Caf. [within] Cry, Trojans, cry!

Pri. What noife? what fhriek is this?

Troi. 'Tis our mad fifter, I do know her voice.

Caf. [within] Cry, Trojans !

Hect. It is Caffandra.

Enter Caffandra, raving.

Caf. Cry, Trojans, cry! lend me ten thousand eyes,
And I will fill them with prophetic tears.
Hect. Peace, fifter, peace.

[elders,
Caf. Virgins and boys, mid-age and wrinkled
Soft infancy, that nothing canft but cry,
Add to my clamours! let us pay betimes
A moiety of that mafs of moan to come.
Cry, Trojans, cry! practise your eyes with tears!
Troy muft not be, nor goodly Ilion ftand;
Our fire-brand brother, Paris, burns us all.
Cry, Trojans, cry! a Helen, and a woe:
Cry, cry! Troy burns, or elfe let Helen go. [Exir
Helt. Now, youthful Troilus, do not these high
ftrains

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 caufe,
Can qualify the fame ?

Troi. Why, brother Hector,

We may not think the juftnefs of each act
Such and no other than event doth form it;
Nor once deject the courage of our minds,
Becaufe Caffandra's mad; her brain-fick raptures
Cannot diftafte 3 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 thould be done amongst us
Such things as would offend the weakest spleen
To fight for and maintain !

We do not throw in unrefpective sieve 2, Because we now are full. It was thought meet, = Paris fhould do fome vengeance on the Grecks: Par. Elfe might the world convince of levity Your breath of full confent belly'd his fails; As well my undertakings, as your counfels : The feas and winds (old wranglers) took a truce, But I atteft the gods, your full confent And did him fervice: he touch'd the ports defir'd; Gave wings to my propenfion, and cut off And, for an old aunt, whom the Greeks held All fears attending on fo dire a project. captive, [frefhnefs For what, alas, can these my single arms ? He brought a Grecian queen, whofe youth and What propugnation is in one man's valour, = Wrinkles Apollo's, and makes pale the morning. To ftand the puth and enmity of those Why keep we her? The Grecians keep our aunt: This quarrel would excite? Yet, I proteft, Is the worth keeping? Why, fhe is a pearl, Were I alone to pafs the difficulties, Whofe price hath launch'd above a thoufand fhips, And had as ample power as I have will, And turn'd crown'd kings to merchants. Paris fhould ne'er retract what he hath done,

I The meaning is, that greatnefs to which no measure bears any propertion. 2 That is, into a common

woider.

3 i. e. corrupt; change to a worfe ftate.

Nor