Now by your furtherance, I am cloth'd in steel;
And, spite of all the rupture of the sea,
This jewel holds his biding on my arm :
Unto thy value will I mount myself
Upon a courser, whose delightful steps
Shall make the gazer joy to see him tread.-
Only, my friend, I yet am unprovided
Of a pair of bases. +

2 Fish. We'll sure provide: thou shalt have my best gown to make thee a pair; and I'll bring thee to the court myself.

Per. Then honour be but a goal to my will; This day I'll rise, or else add ill to ill.

[Exeunt. SCENE 11.-The same.-A public Way, or Platform, leading to the Lists. A Pavilion by the Side of it, for the reception of the KING, PRINCESS, LORDS, &c.

Enter SIMONIDES, THAISA, LORDS, and Atten

dants.

Sim. Are the knights ready to begin the triumph?

1 Lord. They are, my liege:
And stay your coming to present themselves.
Sim. Return them, we are ready; and our
daughter,

In honour of whose birth these triumphs are,
Sits here, like beauty's child, whom nature gat
For men to see, and seeing wonder at.

[Exit a LORD.
Thai. It pleaseth you, my father, to express
My commendations great, whose merit's less.
Sim. 'Tis fit it should be so; for princes are
A model, which heaven makes like to itself:
As jewels lose their glory, if neglected,
So princes their renown, if not respected.
'Tis now your honour, daughter, to explain
The labour of each knight, in his device. §
Thai. Which, to preserve mine honour, I'll
perform.

Enter a Knight; he passes over the Stage. and his Squire presents his Shield to the Princess.

Sim. Who is the first that doth prefer self?

him

Thai. A knight of Sparta, my renowned fa-
ther;

And the device he bears upon his shield
Is a black Ethiop, reaching at the sun :
The word, ¶ Lux tua vita mihi.

Sim. He loves you well, that holds his life of

you. [The second Knight passes. Who is the second, that presents himself?

Tha. A prince of Macedon, my royal father;
And the device he bears upon his shield
Is an arm'd knight, that's conquer'd by a lady:
The motto thus, in Spanish, Piu per dulcura
que per fuerca. **

[The third Knight passes.
Sim. And what's the third ?
Thai. The third, of Antioch;
And his device, a wreath of chivalry:
The word, Me pompa provexit apex.

The fourth Knight passes.

Sim. What is the fourth?
Thdi. A burning torch, that's turned upside
down:

The word, Quod me alit, me extinguit.

|

Sim. Which shows that beauty bath his power and will,

Which can as well inflame, as it can kill

[The fifth Knight passes. Thai. The fifth, a hand environed with clouds; Holding out gold that's by the touchstone tried: The motto thus, Sic spectanda fides. [The sixth Knight passes. Sim. And what's the sixth and last, which the knight himself

With such a graceful courtesy deliver'd?

Thai. He seems a stranger; but his present is
A wither'd branch, that's only green at top:
The motto, In hac spe vivo.

Sim. A pretty moral;

From the dejected state wherein he is,

He hopes by you his fortunes yet may flourish.
1 Lord. He had need mean better than his
outward show

Can any way speak in his just commend:
For, by his rusty outside, he appears
To have practis'd more the whipstock,
lance.

than the

2 Lord. He well may be a stranger, for he

comes

To an honour'd triumph strangely furnish'd.

3 Lord. And on set purpose let his armour rust Until this day, to scour it in the dust.

The outward habit by the inward man.
Sim. Opinion's but a fool, that makes us scan
But stay, the knights are coming; we'll with-
draw

Into the gallery.

[Exeunt. [Great shouts, and all cry, The meau knight! SCENE III.-The same.-A Hall of State.A Banquet prepared.

Enter SIMONIDES, THAISA, LORDS, KNIGHTS, and Attendants.

Sim. Knights,

To say you are welcome, were superfluous.
To place upon the volume of your deeds,
As in a title-page, your worth in arms,
Were more than you expect, or more than's fit,
Since every worth in show commends itself.
Prepare for mirth, for mirth becomes a feast:
You are my guests.

To whom this wreath of victory I give,
Thai. But you, my knight and guest:
And crown you king of this day's happiness.
Per. 'Tis more by fortune, lady, than my

merit.

Sim. Call it by what you will, the day is
yours;

And here, I hope, is none that envies it.
In framing artists, art hath thus decreed,
To make some good, but others to exceed;
And you're her labour'd scholar. Come, queen
o'the feast,
[place:
(For, daughter, so you are,) here take your
Marshal the rest, as they deserve their grace.
Knights. We are honour'd much by good
Simonides.

Sim. Your presence glads our days; honour
we love,

For who hates honour, hates the gods above.
Marsh. Sir, yond's your place.
Per. Some other is more fit.

1 Knight. Contend not, Sir; for we are gen.
tlemen,

That neither in our hearts, nor outward eyes,
Envy the great, nor do the low despise.

Per. You are right courteous knights.
Sim. Sit, sit, Sir; sit.

Per. By Jove, I wonder, that is king of
thoughts,

These cates resist me, she not thought upon.
Thai. By Juno, that is queen

Of marriage, all the viands that I eat
Sure he's a gallant gentleman.
Do seem unsavoury, wishing him my meat:

Scene 1V.

Sim. He's but

A country gentleman:

PERICLES, PRINCE OF TYRE.

He has done no more thau other knights have
[done;
Broken a staff, or so: so let it pass.
Thai. To me he seems like diamond to a glass.
Per. Yon' king's to me, like to my father's
picture,

Which teils me, in that glory once he was;
Had princes sit, like stars, about his throne,
And he the sun, for them to reverence.

None that beheld him, but, like lesser lights,
Did veil their crown to his supremacy;
Where now his son's a glow-worm in the night,
The which hath fire in darkness, none in light;
Whereby I see that time's the king of men,
For he's their parent, and he is their grave,
And gives them what he will, not what they

crave.

Sim. What, are you merry, knights?

1 Knight. Who can be other, in this royal presence?

Sim. Here, with a cup that's stor'd unto the brim,

(As you do love, fill to your mistress' lips,) We drink this health to you.

Knights. We thank your grace.

Sim. Yet pause a while:

You knight, methinks, doth sit too melancholy,
As if the entertainment in our court

Had not a show might countervail his worth.
Note it not you, Thaisa?

Thai. What is it

To me, my father?

Sim. Oh! attend, my daughter;

Princes, in this, should live like gods above,
Who freely give to every one that comes

To honour them: and princes, not doing so,
Are like to gnats, which make a sound,
kill'd

Are wonder'd at.

but

Therefore to make's entrance more sweet, here
say,

We drink this standing bowl of wine to him.
Thai. Alas, my father, it betits not me

Unto a stranger knight to be so bold;
He may my proffer take for an offence.
Since men take women's gifts for impudence.
Sim. How !

Do as I bid you, or you'll move me else.
Thai. Now, by the gods, he could not please
[Aside.
me better.

Sim. And further tell bim, we desire to
know,

Of whence he is, his name and parentage.
Thai. The king my father, Sir, has drunk to

you.

Per. I thank him.

Thai. Wishing it so much blood unto your
life.

Per. I thank both him and you, and pledge

him freely.

Thai. And further he desires to know of you, Of whence you are, your name and parentage. Per. A gentleman of Tyre-(my name, Peri

cles:

My education being in arts and arms ;)—
Who, looking for adventures in the world,
Was by the rough seas reft of ships and men,
And, after shipwreck, driven upon this shore.
Thai. He thanks your grace; names himself
Pericles,

A gentleman of Tyre, who, only by
Misfortune of the seas, has been bereft
of ships and men, and cast upon this shore.
Sim. Now, by the gods, I pity his misfor-

tune,

And will awake him from his melancholy.
Come, gentlemen, we sit too long on trifles,
And waste the time, which looks for other re-
vels.

Even in your armours, as you are address'd, †
Will very well become a soldier's dance.
1 will not have excuse, with saying, this

157

Loud music is too harsh for ladies' heads;
Since they love men in arms, as well as beds.
[The KNIGHTS dance.
So, this was well ask'd, 'twas so well perform'd.
Come, Sir:

Here is a lady that wants breathing too;
And I have often heard, you knights of Tyre
Are excellent in making ladies trip;

And that their measures are as excellent.
Per. In those that practise them, they are my
lord.

Sim. Oh! that's as much as you would be
deny'd

[The KNIGHTS and LADIES dance.
Of your fair conrtesy.-Uuclasp, unclasp:
Thanks, gentlemen, to all; all have done well;
[Sir,
But you the best. [To PERICLES.] Pages and
lights, conduct

These knights unto their several lodgings; Your's
We have given order to be next our own.
Per. I am at your grace's pleasure.
Sim. Princes, it is too late to talk of love,
For that's the mark I know you level at:
Therefore each one betake him to his rest;
To-morrow, all for speeding do their best.
[Excunt.

SCENE IV.-Tyre.-A Room in the Gover
nor's House.

Enter HELICANES and ESCANES.
Hel. No, no, my Escanes: know this of me,-
Antiochus from incest liv'd not free;

For which, the most high gods not minding
longer

To withhold the vengeance that they had in store,
Due to this heinous capital offence,

Even in the height and pride of all his glory,
When he was seated, and his daughter with him,
In a chariot of inestimable value,

A fire from heaven came, and shrivell'd up
Their bodies, even to loathing; for they so

stunk,

That all those eyes ador'd them, + ere their fall,
Scorn now their hand should give them burial.
Esca. 'Twas very strange.

Hel. And yet but just; for though

This king were great, his greatuess was no guard
To bar heaven's shaft, but sin had his reward.
Esca. 'Tis very true.

Enter three LORDS.

1 Lord. See, not a man in private conference, Or council, has respect with him but he. 2 Lord. It shall no longer grieve without reproof.

3 Lord. And curs'd be he that will not second it.

1 Lord. Follow me, then: Lord Helicane, a word.

Hel. With me? and welcome: Happy day,

my lords.

1 Lord. Know that our griefs are risen to the

top,

And now at length they overflow their banks.
Hel. Your griefs, for what? wrong not the

prince you love.

1 Lord. Wrong not yourself then, noble Heli

cane;

But if the prince do live, let us salute him,
Or know what ground's made happy by his

breath.

If in the world he live, we'll seek him out;
If in his grave he rest, we'll find him there;
And be resolv'd, he lives to govern us,
Or dead, gives cause to mourn his funeral,
And leaves us to our free election.

2 Lord. Whose death's, indeed, the strongest
in our censure: §

And knowing this kingdom, if without a head, (Like goodly buildings left without a roof,) Will soon to ruin fall, your noble self,

That best know'st how to rule, and how to | Ay, so well, Sir, that you must be her master,

Scene I.

PRINCE OF TYRE.

PERICLES,
And crickets sing at th' oven's mouth,
As the biither for their drouth.
Hymen hath brought the bride to bed,
Where, by the loss of maidenhead,
A babe is moulded.-Be attent,
And time, that is so briefly spent,
With your fine fancies quaintly eche:
What's dumb in show, I'll plain with speech.

Dumb show.

Eater PERICLES and SIMONIDES at one door, with Attendants; a Messenger meets them, kneels, and gives PERICLES a letter. PERICLES shows it to SIMONIDES; the Lords kneel to the former. Then enter THAISA with child, and LYCHORIDA.

SIMONIDES shows his daughter the letter; she rejoices: she and PERICLES take leave of her father, and depart. Then SIMONIDES, &c. retire.

Gow. By many a dearn and painful perch:
Of Pericles the careful search
By the four opposing coignes, $
Which the world together joins,
Is made, with all due diligence,

That horse, and sail, and high expense,
Can stead the quest. At last from Tyre
(Fame answering the most strong inquire,)
To the court of king Simonides

Are letters brought; the tenour these:-
Antiochus and his daughter's dead:
The men of Tyrus, on the head
Of Helicanus would set on

The crown of Tyre, but he will none;
The mutiny there he hastes t'appease :
Says to them, If king Pericles
Come not, in twice six moons, home,
He, obedient to their doom,

Will take the crown. The sum of this,
Brought hither to Pentapolis,
Y-ravished the regions round,

And every one, with claps, 'gan sound
Our heir apparent is a king:

Who dream'd, who thought, of such a thing?
Brief, he must hence depart to Tyre;
His queen, with child, makes her desire
(Which who shall cross ?) along to go:
(Omit we all their dole and woe)
Lychorida, her nurse, she takes,
And so to sea. Their vessel shakes
On Neptune's billow; half the flood

Hath their keel cut: but fortune's mood ¶
Varies again the grizzled north
Disgorges such a tempest forth,
That as a duck for life that dives,
So up and down the poor ship drives.
The lady shrieks, and, well-a-near! **
Doth fall in travail with her fear:
And what ensues in this fell storm,
Shall, for itself, itself perform.
I nill++ relate; action may
Conveniently the rest convey;
Which might not what by me is told.
In your imagination hold

This stage, the ship, upon whose deck
The sea-toss'd prince appears to speak.

SCENE 1.

[Exit.

Enter PERICLES, on a ship at sea.
Per. Thou God of this great vast, rebuke

these surges,

Which wash both heaven and hell; and thou,

that hast

Upon the winds command, bind them in brass,
Having call'd them from the deep! Oh! still thy
[ble,
deaf'ning,
Thy dreadful thunders; gently quench thy nim
Sulphureous flashes !-O how, Lychorida,

159

How does my queen ?-This storm, thou! veno

mously.

Wilt thou spit all thyself?-The seaman's whis
Is as a whisper in the ears of death,
Unheard.-Lychorida !-Lucina ! + O
Divinest patroness, and midwife, gentle
To those that cry by night, convey thy deity
make swift the
Aboard our dancing boat;

pangs

Of my queen's travails !-Now, Lychorida-
Enter LYCHORIDA, with an Infant.
Lyc. Here is a thing

Too young for such a place, who, if it had
Conceit, would die as I ain like to do.
Take in your arms this piece of your dead

queen.

Per, How! how, Lychorida!

Lyc. Patience, good Sir: do not assist the

storm.

Here's all that is left living of your queen,—
A little daughter: for the sake of it,
Be manly, and take comfort.

Per. O you gods!

Why do you make us love your goodly gifts,
And snatch them straight away?

below,

We, here

Recall not what we give, and therein may
Vie honour with yourselves.

Lyc. Patience, good Sir,

Even for this charge.

Per. Now, mild may be thy life!

For a more blust'rous birth had never babe :
Quiet and gentle thy conditions!

For thou'rt the rudeliest welcom'd to this world,
That e'er was prince's child.

follows!

Thou hast as chiding || a nativity,

Happy what

As fire, air, water, earth, and heaven can make,
To herald thee from the womb: even at the

first,

Thy loss is more than can thy portage quit, ¶
With all thou canst find here.-Now the good gods
Throw their best eyes upon it!

Enter two SAILORS.

1 Sail. What courage, Sir? God save you.
Per. Courage enough: I do not fear the
flaw:**

It hath done to me the worst. Yet, for the love
Of this poor infant, this fresh-new sea-farer,
I would, it would be quiet.

1 Sail. Slack the bolins ++ there; thou wilt not, wilt thou? Blow, and split thyself.

2 Sail. But sea-room, an the brine and cloudy billows kiss the moon, I care not.

1 Sail. Sir, your queen must overboard: the sea works high, the wind is loud, and will not lie, till the ship be cleared of the dead.

Per. That's your superstition.

1 Sail. Pardon us, Sir; with us at sea it still hath been observed; and we are strong in earnest. Therefore briefly yield her; for she must overboard straight.

Per. Be it as you think meet.-Most wretched queen!

Lyc. Here she lies, Sir.

Per. A terrible child-bed hast thou had, my
dear!

No light, no fire: the unfriendly elements
Forgot thee utterly; nor have I time
To give thee hallow'd to thy grave, but straight
Must cast thee, scarcely coffin'd, in the ooze;
Where, for a monument upon thy bones,
And aye-remaining lamps, the belching whale,
And humming water must o'erwhelm thy corpse,
Lying with simple shells. Lychorida,
Bid Nestor bring me spices, ink, and paper,
My casket and my jewels; and bid Nicander
Bring me the satin coffer: lay the babe

Upon the pillow; hie thee, whiles I say
A priestly farewell to her: suddenly, woman.
[Exit LYCHORIDA.
2 Sail. Sir, we have a chest beneath the
hatches, caulk'd and bitumed ready.

Per. I thank thee. Mariner, say, what coast
is this?

2 Sail. We are near Tharsus. Per. Thither, gentle mariner, Alter thy course for Tyre.

When canst thou

2 Sail. By break of day, if the wind cease.
Per. Oh! make for Tharsus.

There will I visit Cleon, for the babe
Cannot hold out to Tyrus; there I'll leave it
At careful nursing. Go thy ways, good mariner;
I'll bring the body presently.

2 Gent. Most likely, Sir.

Cer. Nay, certainly to-night;

For look, how fresh she looks!-They were too

rough,
That threw her in the sea. Make fire within ;
Fetch hither all the boxes in my closet.
Death may usurp on nature many hours,
The overpressed spirits. I have heard
And yet the fire of life kindle again
Of an Egyptian, had nine hours lieu dead,
By good appliance was recovered.

Enter a SERVANT, with boxes, napkins, and

Into life's flower again!
Above five hours. See, how she 'gins to blow

1 Gent. The heavens, Sir,

Through you, increase our wonder, and set up
Your fame for ever.

Cer. She's alive-behold

Her eyelids, cases to those heavenly jewels
Which Pericles hath lost,

Begin to part their fringes of bright gold;