"Like to a gallant horse fall'n in first rank, "For pavement to the abject rear, o'er-run "And trampled on : then what they do in prefent, "Tho' lefs than your's in.paft, mult o'ertop your's. For time is like a fashionable host,

That flightly shakes his parting guest by th' hand; But with his arms outstretch'd, as he would fly, Grafps in the comer: Welcome ever smiles,

And Farewel goes out fighing. O, let not virtue feek
Remuneration for the thing it was;

"For beauty, wit, high birth, desert in service,
Love, friendship, charity, are fubjects all
To envious and calumniating Time.

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin; That all, with one confent, praise new-born gawds, "Tho' they are made and moulded of things past; And give to duft that is a little gilt,

"More laud than they will give to gold o'er-dufted:
The prefent eye praifes the prefent object.
Then marvel not, thou great and compleat man,
That all the Greeks begin to worship Ajax ;
Since things in motion fooner catch the eye,

Than what not ftirs. The cry went once for thee;
And still it might, and yet it may again,

If thou would'ft not intomb thyself alive,

And cafe thy reputation in thy tent;

Whofe glorious deeds, but in thefe fields of late, Made emulous miffions * 'mongst the gods themselves, And drave great Mars to faction.

Achil. Of my privacy

I have ftrong reasons.

Ulyff. 'Gainft your privacy

The reasons are more potent and heroical.

'Tis known, Achilles, that you are in love

With one of Priam's daughters.

Achil. Ha! known!

Uly. Is that a wonder?

The providence that's in a watchful state,
Knows almost every grain of Pluto's gold;
Finds bottom in th' uncomprehenfive deep;

Keeps place with thought; and almoft, like the gods,

miffions, for divifions, i. e. goings out on one fide and the other.

Does ev'n our thoughts unveil in their dumb cradles.
There is a mystery, (with which relation
Durft never meddle) in the foul of state;
Which hath an operation more divine,
Than breath or pen can give expreffure to.
All the commerce that you have had with Troy,
As perfectly is ours, as your's, my Lord.
And better would it fit Achilles much,
To throw down Hector, than Polyxena.

but it must grieve young Pyrrhus now at home,
When fame fhall in his ifland found her trump,
And all the Greekish girls fhall tripping fing,
Great Hector's fifter did Achilles win;
But our great Ajax bravely beat down him.
Farewel, my Lord-I, as your lover, speak;
The fool flides o'er the ice that you fhould break. [Exitt.

Pat. To this effect, Achilles, have I mov'd

A woman impudent and manish grown,
Is not more loth'd than an effeminate man

In time of act.—I stand condemn'd for this;
They think, my little ftomach to the war,

you;

And your great love to me, reftrains you thus. • Sweet, rouse yourself; and the weak wanton Cupid • Shall from your neck unloofe his am'rous fold d; And, like a dew-drop from the lion's mane,

Be fhook to air.

Achil. Shall Ajax fight with Hector!

Pat. Ay, and perhaps receive much honour by him. Achil. I fee my réputation is at ftake;

My fame is fhrewdly gor'd.

Pat. O then beware:

Those wounds heal ill that men do give themselves :~

Omiffion to do what is neceffary,

Seals a commiffion to a blank of danger;

And danger, like an ague, subtly taints

Even then when we fit idly in the fun.

Achil. Go call Therfites hither, sweet Patroclus:

I'll fend the fool to Ajax, and defire him

T' invite the Trojan Lords, after the combat,

To fee us here unaim'd.

I have a woman's longing

An appetite that I am fick withal,

To fee great Hector in the weeds of peace;
To talk with him, and to behold his visage,
Ev'n to my full of view

SCENE

A labour fav'd!

IX. Enter Therfites.

Ther. A wonder!

Achil. What?

Ther. Ajax goes up and down the field, asking for himself.

Achil. How fo?

Ther. He must fight fingly to morrow with Hector, and is fo prophetically proud of an heroical cudgelling, that he raves in faying nothing.

Achil. How can that be?

Ther. Why, he ftalks up and down like a peacock, a ftride and a stand; ruminates like an hofte fs, that hath no arithmetic but her brain to fet down her reckoning; bites his lip with a politic regard, as who fhould fay, there were wit in his head, if't wou'd out; and fo there is, but it lies as coldly in him as fire in a flint, which will not fhew without knocking. The man's undone for ever: for if Hector break not his neck i' th' combat, hell break't himfelt in vain glory. He knows not me: I faid, Good inorrow, Ajax; and he replied, Thacks, Agamemnon. What think you of this man, that takes me for the General? he's grown a very land-fil, language-lefs, a monster. "A plague of opinion! a man may wear it on both fides, like a leather jerkin. Achil. Thou must be my ambaffador to him, Therfites.

66

Ther. Who, I?—why, he'll answer no body; he profeffès not answering; fpeaking is for beggars; he wears his tongue in's arms. I will put on his prefence; let Patroclus make his demands to me, you fall fee the pageant of Ajax.

Achil. To him, Patroclus-tell him, I humbly defire the valiant Ajax, to invite the most valourous Hector to come unarm'd to my tent, and to procure fafe conduct for his person of the magnanimous and molt illyfiricus, fix or feven times honour'd, Captain General et the Grecian army, Agamemnon, e. Do this.

Pat. Jove blefs great Ajax !

Ther. Hum.

Pat. I come from the worthy Achilles.

Ther Ha!

Pat. Who moft humbly defires you to invite Hector to his tent.

Ther. Hum

Pat. And to procure fafe conduct from Agamemnon.. Ther. Agamemnon!

Pat. Ay, my Lord..

Ther. Ha!

Pat. What fay you to't?

Ther. God be wi' you, with all my heart.

Pat. Your anfwer, Sir,

Ther. If to-morrow be a fair day, by eleven o'clock it will go one way or other; howfoover, he shall pay for r me ere he has me.

Pat. Your answer, Sir.

Ther. Fare ye well, with all my heart.

Achil. Why, but he is not in this tune, is he?

Ther. No, but he's out o' tune thus. What mufic will be in him, when Hector has knock'd out his brains, I know not. But, I am fure, none; unless the fidler Apollo get his finews to make catlings on.

Achil. Come, thou fhalt bear a letter to him ftraight. Ther. Let me carry another to his horfe; for that's the more capable creature.

Achil. My mind is troubled like a fountain stirr'd, And I myself fee not the bottom of it.

[Exit. Ther. 'Would the fountain of your mind were clear again, that I might water an afs at it! I had rather be a tick in a fheep, than fuch a valiant ignorance; [Exe..

Enter at one door Eneas with a torch; at another Paris,s, Deiphobus, Antenor, and Diomedes, with torches,

Par.

EE, ho! who is that there?

SEE

Dei. It is the Lord Æneas.

Ene. Is the Prince there in person?

Had I fo good occafion to lie long,

As you, Prince Paris, nought but heav'nly business.
Should rob my bed-mate of my company.

Dis. That's my mind too. Good morrow, Lord.
Eneas.

Par A valiant Greck, Æneas; take his hand;
Witness the process of your speech, wherein.
You told, how Diomed a whole week, by days,
Did haunt you in the field.

Ane. Health to you, valiant Sir,

During all queftion of the gentle tuce:
But when I meet you arm'd, as black defiance.
As heart can think, or courage execute.

Dio The one and th' other Diomede embraces.
Our bloods are now in calm, and fo long, health ;:
But when contention and occafion meet,

ky Jove, I'll play the hunter for thy life, With all my force, purfuit, and policy.

Ene. And thou fhall hunt a lion that will fly With his face backward.— In humane gentleness,, Welcome to Troy-Now, by Anchifes' life, Welcome indeed!-by Venus' hand. I swear, No man alive can love, in fuch a sort, The thing he means to kill more excellently. Dio. We fympathize—Jove, let Æneas live: (If to my word his fate be not the glory) A thousand compleat courfes of the fun : But in mine emulous honour let him die, With every joint a wound, and that to-morrow, Ene. We know each other well.

Dio. We do; and long to know each other worse. Par. This is the most defpightful, gentle greeting;: The noblet, hateful love, that e'er I heard of. What bufinefs, Lord, fo early?

[Greek

Ene. I was fent for to the King; but why, I know not, Par. His purpofe meets you; 'twas to bring this To Calchas' houfe, and there to render him (For the infreed Antenor) the fair Creffid. Let's have your company; or, if you please, Hafle thee before, I conftantly do think,

question, for force, virtue