Troy. Before PRIAM’S Palace. | |
| |
Enter HECTOR and ANDROMACHE. | |
| And. When was my lord so much ungently temper’d, | |
| To stop his ears against admonishment? | 4 |
| Unarm, unarm, and do not fight to-day. | |
| Hect. You train me to offend you; get you in: | |
| By all the everlasting gods, I’ll go. | |
| And. My dreams will, sure, prove ominous to the day. | 8 |
| Hect. No more, I say. | |
| |
Enter CASSANDRA. | |
| Cas. Where is my brother Hector? | |
| And. Here, sister; arm’d, and bloody in intent. | 12 |
| Consort with me in loud and dear petition; | |
| Pursue we him on knees; for I have dream’d | |
| Of bloody turbulence, and this whole night | |
| Hath nothing been but shapes and forms of slaughter. | 16 |
| Cas. O! ’tis true. | |
| Hect. Ho! bid my trumpet sound. | |
| Cas. No notes of sally, for the heavens, sweet brother. | |
| Hect. Be gone, I say: the gods have heard me swear. | 20 |
| Cas. The gods are deaf to hot and peevish vows: | |
| They are polluted offerings, more abhorr’d | |
| Than spotted livers in the sacrifice. | |
| And. O! be persuaded: do not count it holy | 24 |
| To hurt by being just: it is as lawful, | |
| For we would give much, to use violent thefts, | |
| And rob in the behalf of charity. | |
| Cas. It is the purpose that makes strong the vow; | 28 |
| But vows to every purpose must not hold. | |
| Unarm, sweet Hector. | |
| Hect. Hold you still, I say; | |
| Mine honour keeps the weather of my fate: | 32 |
| Life every man holds dear; but the dear man | |
| Holds honour far more precious-dear than life. | |
| |
Enter TROILUS. | |
| How now, young man! mean’st thou to fight to-day? | 36 |
| And. Cassandra, call my father to persuade. [Exit CASSANDRA. | |
| Hect. No, faith, young Troilus; doff thy harness, youth; | |
| I am to-day i’ the vein of chivalry: | |
| Let grow thy sinews till their knots be strong, | 40 |
| And tempt not yet the brushes of the war. | |
| Unarm thee, go, and doubt thou not, brave boy, | |
| I’ll stand to-day for thee and me and Troy. | |
| Tro. Brother, you have a vice of mercy in you, | 44 |
| Which better fits a lion than a man. | |
| Hect. What vice is that, good Troilus? chide me for it. | |
| Tro. When many times the captive Grecian falls, | |
| Even in the fan and wind of your fair sword, | 48 |
| You bid them rise, and live. | |
| Hect. O! ’tis fair play. | |
| Tro. Fool’s play, by heaven, Hector. | |
| Hect. How now! how now! | 52 |
| Tro. For the love of all the gods, | |
| Let’s leave the hermit pity with our mothers, | |
| And when we have our armours buckled on, | |
| The venom’d vengeance ride upon our swords, | 56 |
| Spur them to ruthful work, rein them from ruth. | |
| Hect. Fie, savage, fie! | |
| Tro. Hector, then ’tis wars. | |
| Hect. Troilus, I would not have you fight to-day. | 60 |
| Tro. Who should withhold me? | |
| Not fate, obedience, nor the hand of Mars | |
| Beckoning with fiery truncheon my retire; | |
| Not Priamus and Hecuba on knees, | 64 |
| Their eyes o’ergalled with recourse of tears; | |
| Nor you, my brother, with your true sword drawn, | |
| Oppos’d to hinder me, should stop my way, | |
| But by my ruin. | 68 |
| |
Re-enter CASSANDRA, with PRIAM. | |
| Cas. Lay hold upon him, Priam, hold him fast: | |
| He is thy crutch; now if thou lose thy stay, | |
| Thou on him leaning, and all Troy on thee, | 72 |
| Fall all together. | |
| Pri. Come, Hector, come; go back: | |
| Thy wife hath dream’d; thy mother hath had visions; | |
| Cassandra doth foresee; and I myself | 76 |
| Am like a prophet suddenly enrapt, | |
| To tell thee that this day is ominous: | |
| Therefore, come back. | |
| Hect. Æneas is a-field; | 80 |
| And I do stand engag’d to many Greeks, | |
| Even in the faith of valour, to appear | |
| This morning to them. | |
| Pri. Ay, but thou shalt not go. | 84 |
| Hect. I must not break my faith. | |
| You know me dutiful; therefore, dear sir, | |
| Let me not shame respect, but give me leave | |
| To take that course by your consent and voice, | 88 |
| Which you do here forbid me, royal Priam. | |
| Cas. O Priam! yield not to him. | |
| And. Do not, dear father. | |
| Hect. Andromache, I am offended with you: | 92 |
| Upon the love you bear me, get you in. [Exit ANDROMACHE. | |
| Tro. This foolish, dreaming, superstitious girl | |
| Makes all these bodements. | |
| Cas. O farewell! dear Hector. | 96 |
| Look! how thou diest; look! how thy eye turns pale; | |
| Look! how thy wounds do bleed at many vents: | |
| Hark! how Troy roars: how Hecuba cries out! | |
| How poor Andromache shrills her dolours forth! | 100 |
| Behold, distraction, frenzy, and amazement, | |
| Like witless anticks, one another meet, | |
| And all cry Hector! Hector’s dead! O Hector! | |
| Tro. Away! Away! | 104 |
| Cas. Farewell. Yet, soft! Hector, I take my leave: | |
| Thou dost thyself and all our Troy deceive. [Exit. | |
| Hect. You are amaz’d, my liege, at her exclaim. | |
| Go in and cheer the town: we’ll forth and fight; | 108 |
| Do deeds worth praise and tell you them at night. | |
| Pri. Farewell: the gods with safety stand about thee! [Exeunt severally PRIAM and HECTOR. Alarums. | |
| Tro. They are at it, hark! Proud Diomed, believe, | |
| I come to lose my arm, or win my sleeve. | 112 |
| |
As TROILUS is going out, enter, from the other side, PANDARUS. | |
| Pan. Do you hear, my lord? do you hear? | |
| Tro. What now? | |
| Pan. Here’s a letter come from yond poor girl. | 116 |
| Tro. Let me read. | |
| Pan. A whoreson tisick, a whoreson rascally tisick so troubles me, and the foolish fortune of this girl; and what one thing, what another, that I shall leave you one o’ these days: and I have a rheum in mine eyes too, and such an ache in my bones that, unless a man were cursed, I cannot tell what to think on’t. What says she there? | |
| Tro. Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart; | |
| The effect doth operate another way. [Tearing the letter. | 120 |
| Go, wind to wind, there turn and change together. | |
| My love with words and errors still she feeds, | |
| But edifies another with her deeds. [Exeunt severally. | |
