TECHELLES [to TAMBURLAINE]
His deep affections make him passionate.
TAMBURLAINE [to TECHELLES]
With what a majesty he rears his looks!
[To THERIDAMAS]
In thee, thou valiant man of Persia,
I see the folly of thy emperor.
Art thou but captain of a thousand horse,
That by characters graven in thy brows
And by thy martial face and stout aspect
170 Deserv’st to have the leading of an host?
Forsake thy king, and do but join with me,
And we will triumph over all the world.
I hold the Fates bound fast in iron chains
And with my hand turn Fortune’s wheel about,
And sooner shall the sun fall from his sphere
Than Tamburlaine be slain or overcome.
Draw forth thy sword, thou mighty man-at-arms,
Intending but to raze my charmèd skin,
And Jove himself will stretch his hand from heaven
180 To ward the blow and shield me safe from harm.
See how he rains down heaps of gold in showers
As if he meant to give my soldiers pay!
[He points to the gold bars.]
And, as a sure and grounded argument
That I shall be the monarch of the East,
He sends this Sultan’s daughter, rich and brave,
To be my queen and portly emperess.
If thou wilt stay with me, renownèd man,
And lead thy thousand horse with my conduct,
Besides thy share of this Egyptian prize,
190 Those thousand horse shall sweat with martial spoil
Of conquered kingdoms and of cities sacked.
Both we will walk upon the lofty clifts,
And Christian merchants that with Russian stems
Plough up huge furrows in the Caspian Sea
Shall vail to us as lords of all the lake.
Both we will reign as consuls of the earth,
And mighty kings shall be our senators.
Jove sometime masked in a shepherd’s weed,
And by those steps that he hath scaled the heavens
200 May we become immortal like the gods.
Join with me now in this my mean estate
(I call it mean, because, being yet obscure,
The nations far removed admire me not),
And when my name and honour shall be spread
As far as Boreas claps his brazen wings
Or fair Boötes sends his cheerful light,
Then shalt thou be competitor with me
And sit with Tamburlaine in all his majesty.
THERIDAMAS
210 Not Hermes, prolocutor to the gods,
Could use persuasions more pathetical.
TAMBURLAINE
Nor are Apollo’s oracles more true
Than thou shalt find my vaunts substantial.
TECHELLES
We are his friends, and if the Persian king
Should offer present dukedoms to our state,
We think it loss to make exchange for that
We are assured of by our friend’s success.
USUMCASANE
And kingdoms at the least we all expect,
Besides the honour in assurèd conquests
220 Where kings shall crouch unto our conquering swords
And hosts of soldiers stand amazed at us,
When with their fearful tongues they shall confess,
‘These are the men that all the world admires.’
THERIDAMAS
What strong enchantments tice my yielding soul?
Are these resolvèd noble Scythians?
But shall I prove a traitor to my king?
TAMBURLAINE
No, but the trusty friend of Tamburlaine.
THERIDAMAS
Won with thy words and conquered with thy looks,
I yield myself, my men, and horse to thee,
230 To be partaker of thy good or ill
As long as life maintains Theridamas.
TAMBURLAINE
Theridamas, my friend, take here my hand,
Which is as much as if I swore by heaven
And called the gods to witness of my vow.
Thus shall my heart be still combined with thine
Until our bodies turn to elements
And both our souls aspire celestial thrones.
Techelles and Casane, welcome him.
TECHELLES
Welcome, renownèd Persian, to us all!
USUMCASANE
240 Long may Theridamas remain with us!
TAMBURLAINE
These are my friends, in whom I more rejoice
Than doth the king of Persia in his crown.
And by the love of Pylades and Orestes,
Whose statues we adore in Scythia,
Thyself and them shall never part from me
Before I crown you kings in Asia.
Make much of them, gentle Theridamas,
And they will never leave thee till the death.
THERIDAMAS
Nor thee nor them, thrice-noble Tamburlaine,
Shall want my heart to be with gladness pierced
250 To do you honour and security.
TAMBURLAINE
A thousand thanks, worthy Theridamas.
And now, fair madam, and my noble lords,
If you will willingly remain with me
You shall have honours as your merits be –
Or else you shall be forced with slavery.
AGYDAS
We yield unto thee, happy Tamburlaine.
TAMBURLAINE
For you, then, madam, I am out of doubt.
ZENOCRATE
I must be pleased perforce, wretched Zenocrate!
Exeunt.
ACT 2
Scene 1
[Enter] COSROE, MENAPHON, ORTYGIUS, CENEUS, with other SOLDIERS.
COSROE
Thus far are we towards Theridamas
And valiant Tamburlaine, the man of fame,
The man that in the forehead of his fortune
Bears figures of renown and miracle.
But tell me, that hast seen him, Menaphon,
What stature wields he, and what personage?
MENAPHON
Of stature tall, and straightly fashionèd,
Like his desire, lift upwards and divine;
So large of limbs, his joints so strongly knit,
10 Such breadth of shoulders as might mainly bear
Old Atlas’ burden. ’Twixt his manly pitch,
A pearl more worth than all the world is placed,
Wherein by curious sovereignty of art
Are fixed his piercing instruments of sight,
Whose fiery circles bear encompassèd
A heaven of heavenly bodies in their spheres
That guides his steps and actions to the throne
Where honour sits invested royally;
Pale of complexion, wrought in him with passion,
20 Thirsting with sovereignty, with love of arms.
His lofty brows in folds do figure death,
And in their smoothness amity and life.
About them hangs a knot of amber hair
Wrappèd in curls, as fierce Achilles’ was,
On which the breath of heaven delights to play,
Making it dance with wanton majesty.
His arms and fingers long and sinewy,
Betokening valour and excess of strength;
In every part proportioned like the man
30 Should make the world subdued to Tamburlaine.
COSROE
Well hast thou portrayed in thy terms of life
The face and personage of a wondrous man.
Nature doth strive with Fortune and his stars
To make him famous in accomplished worth,
And well his merits show him to be made
His fortune’s master and the king of men,
That could persuade at such a sudden pinch,
With reasons of his valour and his life,
A thousand sworn and overmatching foes.
Then, when our powers in points of swords are joined
40 And closed in compass of the killing bullet,
Though strait the passage and the port be made
That leads to palace of my brother’s life,
Proud is his fortune if we pierce it not.
And when the princely Persian diadem
Shall overweigh his weary witless head
And fall like mellowed fruit, with shakes of death,
In fair Persia noble Tamburlaine
Shall be my regent and remain as king.
ORTYGIUS
In happy hour we have set the crown
50 Upon your kingly head, that seeks our honour
In joining with the man ordained by heaven
To further every action to the best.
CENEUS
He that with shepherds and a little spoil
Durst, in disdain of wrong and tyranny,
Defend his freedom ’gainst a monarchy,
What will he do supported by a king,
Leading a troop of gentlemen and lords,
And stuffed with treasure for his highest thoughts?
COSROE
60 And such shall wait on worthy Tamburlaine.
Our army will be forty thousand strong
When Tamburlaine and brave Theridamas
Have met us by the river Araris,
And all conjoined to meet the witless king
That now is marching near to Parthia,
And with unwilling soldiers faintly armed,
To seek revenge on me and Tamburlaine –
To whom, sweet Menaphon, direct me straight.
MENAPHON
I will, my lord.
Exeunt.
Scene 2
[Enter] MYCETES, MEANDER, with other LORDS and SOLDIERS.
MYCETES
Come, my Meander, let us to this gear.
I tell you true, my heart is swoll’n with wrath
On this same thievish villain Tamburlaine,
And of that false Cosroe, my traitorous brother.
Would it not grieve a king to be so abused
And have a thousand horsemen ta’en away?
And, which is worst, to have his diadem
Sought for by such scald knaves as love him not?
I think it would. Well then, by heavens I swear,
10 Aurora shall not peep out of her doors
But I will have Cosroë by the head
And kill proud Tamburlaine with point of sword.
Tell you the rest, Meander, I have said.
MEANDER
Then, having passed Armenian deserts now,
And pitched our tents under the Georgian hills,
Whose tops are covered with Tartarian thieves
That lie in ambush waiting for a prey,
What should we do but bid them battle straight
And rid the world of those detested troops,
Lest, if we let them linger here a while,
20 They gather strength by power of fresh supplies?
This country swarms with vile outrageous men
That live by rapine and by lawless spoil,
Fit soldiers for the wicked Tamburlaine.
And he that could with gifts and promises
Inveigle him that led a thousand horse
And make him false his faith unto his king
Will quickly win such as are like himself.
Therefore cheer up your minds, prepare to fight.
He that can take or slaughter Tamburlaine
30 Shall rule the province of Albania.
Who brings that traitor’s head, Theridamas’,
Shall have a government in Media,
Beside the spoil of him and all his train.
But if Cosroë (as our spials say,
And as we know) remains with Tamburlaine,
His highness’ pleasure is that he should live
And be reclaimed with princely lenity.
[Enter a SPY.]
SPY
An hundred horsemen of my company,
Scouting abroad upon these champian plains,
40 Have viewed the army of the Scythians,
Which make reports it far exceeds the king’s.
MEANDER
Suppose they be in number infinite,
Yet being void of martial discipline,
All running headlong after greedy spoils
And more regarding gain than victory,
Like to the cruel brothers of the earth
Sprung of the teeth of dragons venomous,
Their careless swords shall lance their fellows’ throats
50 And make us triumph in their overthrow.
MYCETES
Was there such brethren, sweet Meander, say,
That sprung of teeth of dragons venomous?
MEANDER
So poets say, my lord.
MYCETES
And ’tis a pretty toy to be a poet.
Well, well, Meander, thou art deeply read,
And having thee I have a jewel sure.
Go on, my lord, and give your charge, I say,
Thy wit will make us conquerors today.
MEANDER
Then, noble soldiers, to entrap these thieves
60 That live confounded in disordered troops,
If wealth or riches may prevail with them,
We have our camels laden all with gold
Which you that be but common soldiers
Shall fling in every corner of the field,
And while the base-born Tartars take it up,
You, fighting more for honour than for gold,
Shall massacre those greedy-minded slaves;
And when their scattered army is subdued
And you march on their slaughtered carcasses,
70 Share equally the gold that bought their lives
And live like gentlemen in Persia.
Strike up the drum, and march courageously!
Fortune herself doth sit upon our crests.
MYCETES
He tells you true, my masters, so he does.
[Strike drums.] Exeunt.
Scene 3
[Enter] COSROE, TAMBURLAINE, THERIDAMAS, TECHELLES, USUMCASANE, ORTYGIUS, with Others.
COSROE
Now, worthy Tamburlaine, have I reposed
In thy approvèd fortunes all my hope.
What think’st thou, man, shall come of our attempts?
For even as from assurèd oracle,
I take thy doom for satisfaction.
TAMBURLAINE
And so mistake you not a whit, my lord,
For fates and oracles of heaven have sworn
To royalize the deeds of Tamburlaine,
And make them blest that share in his attempts.
And doubt you not but, if you favour me
10 And let my fortunes and my valour sway
To some direction in your martial deeds,
The world will strive with hosts of men-at-arms
To swarm unto the ensign I support.
The host of Xerxes, which by fame is said
To drink the mighty Parthian Araris,
Was but a handful to that we will have.
Our quivering lances shaking in the air
And bullets like Jove’s dreadful thunderbolts,
Enrolled in flames and fiery smouldering mists,
20 Shall threat the gods more than Cyclopian wars;
And with our sun-bright armour as we march
We’ll chase the stars from heaven and dim their eyes
That stand and muse at our admirèd arms.
THERIDAMAS [to COSROE]
You see, my lord, what working words he hath.
&nbs
p; But when you see his actions top his speech,
Your speech will stay, or so extol his worth
As I shall be commended and excused
For turning my poor charge to his direction.
30 And these his two renownèd friends, my lord,
Would make one thrust and strive to be retained
In such a great degree of amity.
TECHELLES
With duty and with amity we yield
Our utmost service to the fair Cosroe.
COSROE
Which I esteem as portion of my crown.
Usumcasane and Techelles both,
When she that rules in Rhamnus’ golden gates
And makes a passage for all prosperous arms
Shall make me solely emperor of Asia,
40 Then shall your meeds and valours be advanced
To rooms of honour and nobility.
TAMBURLAINE
Then haste, Cosroë, to be king alone,
That I with these my friends and all my men
May triumph in our long-expected fate.
The king your brother is now hard at hand.
Meet with the fool, and rid your royal shoulders
Of such a burden as outweighs the sands
And all the craggy rocks of Caspia.
[Enter a MESSENGER.]
MESSENGER
My lord, we have discovered the enemy
50 Ready to charge you with a mighty army.
COSROE
Come, Tamburlaine, now whet thy wingèd sword
And lift thy lofty arm into the clouds,
That it may reach the king of Persia’s crown
And set it safe on my victorious head.
TAMBURLAINE [brandishing his sword]
See where it is, the keenest curtle-axe
That e’er made passage thorough Persian arms.
These are the wings shall make it fly as swift
As doth the lightning or the breath of heaven,
And kill as sure as it swiftly flies.
COSROE
Thy words assure me of kind success.
60 Go, valiant soldier, go before, and charge
The fainting army of that foolish king.
TAMBURLAINE
Usumcasane and Techelles, come.
We are enough to scare the enemy,
And more than needs to make an emperor.
[Exeunt.]
[Scene 4]
[Enter the armies] to the battle [and exeunt], and MYCETES comes out alone with his crown in his hand, offering to hide it.
MYCETES
Accurst be he that first invented war!
They knew not, ah, they knew not, simple men,
How those were hit by pelting cannon shot
Stand staggering like a quivering aspen leaf
Fearing the force of Boreas’ boist’rous blasts!
In what a lamentable case were I
If nature had not given me wisdom’s lore!