Quin. Not I, till Mutius' bones be buried.

[Marcus and the sons of Titus kneel. Marc. Brother, for in that name doth nature

plead,―

370

Quin. Father, and in that name doth nature speak,

Tit. Speak thou no more, if all the rest will speed. Marc. Renowned Titus, more than half my soul,— Luc. Dear father, soul and substance of us all,Marc. Suffer thy brother Marcus to inter

Tit.

His noble nephew here in virtue's nest,
That died in honor and Lavinia's cause.
Thou art a Roman; be not barbarous:
The Greeks upon advice did bury Ajax
That slew himself; and wise Laertes' son
Did graciously plead for his funerals:
Let not young Mutius then, that was thy joy,
Be barr'd his entrance here.

Rise, Marcus, rise:
The dismall'st day is this that e'er I saw,
To be dishonor'd by my sons in Rome!
Well, bury him, and bury me the next.

380

[Mutius is put into the tomb. Luc. There lie thy bones, sweet Mutius, with thy friends,

Till we with trophies do adorn thy tomb.

All. [Kneeling] No man shed tears for noble Mutius;

He lives in fame that died in virtue's cause. 390 Marc. My lord, to step out of these dreary dumps, How comes it that the subtle Queen of Goths Is of a sudden thus advanced in Rome?

Tit. I know not, Marcus; but I know it is, Whether by device or no, the heavens can tell: Is she not then beholding to the man

That brought her for this high good turn so far?

Yes, and will nobly him remunerate.

Flourish. Re-enter, from one side, Saturni-
nus attended, Tamora, Demetrius,
Chiron, and Aaron; from the other, Bas-
sianus, Lavinia, with others.

Sat. So, Bassianus, you have play'd your prize:
God give you joy, sir, of your gallant bride! 400
Bas. And you of yours, my lord! I say no more,
Nor wish no less; and so I take my leave.
Sat. Traitor, if Rome have law, or we have power,
Thou and thy faction shall repent this rape.
Bas. Rape, call you it, my lord, to seize my own,
My true-betrothed love, and now my wife?
But let the laws of Rome determine all;
Meanwhile I am possess'd of that is mine.
Sat. 'Tis good, sir: you are very short with us;
you.

But, if we live, we 'll be as sharp with 410 Bas. My lord, what I have done, as best I may,

Answer I must, and shall do with my life.
Only thus much I give your grace to know:
By all the duties that I owe to Rome,
This noble gentleman, Lord Titus here,
Is in opinion and in honor wrong'd;

That, in the rescue of Lavinia,

With his own hand did slay his youngest son,
In zeal to you and highly moved to wrath

420

To be controll'd in that he frankly gave: Receive him then to favor, Saturnine, That hath express'd himself in all his deeds A father and a friend to thee and Rome. Tit. Prince Bassianus, leave to plead my deeds: "Tis thou and those that have dishonor'd me. Rome and the righteous heavens be my judge, How I have loved and honor'd Saturnine! Tam. My worthy lord, if ever Tamora

Were gracious in those princely eyes of thine,
Then hear me speak indifferently for all; 430
And at my suit, sweet, pardon what is past.
Sat. What, madam! be dishonor'd openly,
And basely put it up without revenge?
Tam. Not so, my lord; the gods of Rome forfend
I should be author to dishonor you!
But on mine honor dare I undertake
For good Lord Titus' innocence in all;
Whose fury not dissembled speaks his griefs:
Then, at my suit, look graciously on him;
Lose not so noble a friend on vain suppose, 440
Nor with sour looks afflict his gentle heart.
[Aside to Sat.] My lord, be ruled by me, be
won at last;

Dissemble all your griefs and 'discontents:
You are but newly planted in your throne;
Lest then the people, and patricians too,
Upon a just survey, take Titus' part,
And so supplant you for ingratitude,
Which Rome reputes to be a heinous sin,
Yield at entreats, and then let me alone:
I'll find a day to massacre them all,

450

And raze their faction and their family, The cruel father and his traitorous sons, To whom I sued for my dear son's life; And make them know what 'tis to let a queen Kneel in the streets and beg for grace in vain.Come, come, sweet emperor; come, Andronicus; Take up this good old man, and cheer the heart That dies in tempest of thy angry frown. Sat. Rise, Titus, rise; my empress hath prevail'd. Tit. I thank your majesty, and her, my lord: 460 These words, these looks, infuse new life in me. Tam. Titus, I am incorporate in Rome,

A Roman now adopted happily,

And must advise the emperor for his good.
This day all quarrels die, Andronicus.
And let it be mine honor, good my lord,
That I have reconciled your friends and you.
For you, Prince Bassianus, I have pass'd
My word and promise to the emperor,

That you will be more mild and tractable. 470
And fear not, lords, and you, Lavinia;

By my advice, all humbled on your knees,
You shall ask pardon of his majesty.

Luc. We do; and vow to heaven, and to his high

ness,

That what we did was mildly as we might,

Tendering our sister's honor and our own. Marc. That, on mine honor, here I do protest. Sat. Away, and talk not; trouble us no more. Tam. Nay, nay, sweet emperor, we must all be friends:

479

The tribune and his nephews kneel for grace;

I will not be denied: sweetheart, look back. Sat. Marcus, for thy sake and thy brother's here, And at my lovely Tamora's entreats,

I do remit these young men's heinous faults:
Stand up.

Lavinia, though you left me like a churl,

I found a friend; and sure as death I swore
I would not part a bachelor from the priest.
Come, if the emperor's court can feast two
brides,

489

You are my guest, Lavinia, and your friends. This day shall be a love-day, Tamora. Tit. To-morrow, an it please your majesty

To hunt the panther and the hart with me, With horn and hound we'll give your grace bonjour.

Sat. Be it so, Titus, and gramercy too.

[Flourish. Exeunt.

485. "stand up"; perhaps these words were, as Pope suggested,

merely a stage-direction.-I. G.

491. "love-day"; day of reconciliation.-C. H. H.