Tamburlaine the Great — Part 2
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ACT III
SCENE I
Enter the KINGS OF TREBIZON and SORIA, 96 one bringing a sword and the other a sceptre; next, ORCANES king of Natolia, and the KING OF JERUSALEM with the imperial crown, after, CALLAPINE; and, after him, other LORDS and ALMEDA.
ORCANES and the KING OF JERUSALEM crown CALLAPINE, and the others give him the sceptre.
ORCANES. Callapinus Cyricelibes, otherwise Cybelius, son and successive heir to the late mighty emperor Bajazeth, by the aid of God and his friend Mahomet, Emperor of Natolia, Jerusalem, Trebizon, Soria, Amasia, Thracia, Ilyria, Carmania, and all the hundred and thirty kingdoms late contributory to his mighty father,—long live Callapinus, Emperor of Turkey!
CALLAPINE. Thrice-worthy kings, of Natolia and the rest, I will requite your royal gratitudes With all the benefits my empire yields; And, were the sinews of th' imperial seat So knit and strengthen'd as when Bajazeth, My royal lord and father, fill'd the throne, Whose cursed fate 97 hath so dismember'd it, Then should you see this thief of Scythia, This proud usurping king of Persia, Do us such honour and supremacy, Bearing the vengeance of our father's wrongs, As all the world should blot his 98 dignities Out of the book of base-born infamies. And now I doubt not but your royal cares Have so provided for this cursed foe, That, since the heir of mighty Bajazeth (An emperor so honour'd for his virtues) Revives the spirits of all 99 true Turkish hearts, In grievous memory of his father's shame, We shall not need to nourish any doubt, But that proud Fortune, who hath follow'd long The martial sword of mighty Tamburlaine, Will now retain her old inconstancy, And raise our honours 100 to as high a pitch, In this our strong and fortunate encounter; For so hath heaven provided my escape ]From all the cruelty my soul sustain'd, By this my friendly keeper's happy means, That Jove, surcharg'd with pity of our wrongs, Will pour it down in showers on our heads, Scourging the pride of cursed Tamburlaine. ORCANES. I have a hundred thousand men in arms; Some that, in conquest 101 of the perjur'd Christian, Being a handful to a mighty host, Think them in number yet sufficient To drink the river Nile or Euphrates, And for their power enow to win the world. KING OF JERUSALEM. And I as many from Jerusalem, Judaea, 102 Gaza, and Sclavonia's 103 bounds, That on mount Sinai, with their ensigns spread, Look like the parti-colour'd clouds of heaven That shew fair weather to the neighbour morn. KING OF TREBIZON. And I as many bring from Trebizon, Chio, Famastro, and Amasia, All bordering on the Mare-Major-sea, Riso, Sancina, and the bordering towns That touch the end of famous Euphrates, Whose courages are kindled with the flames The cursed Scythian sets on all their towns, And vow to burn the villain's cruel heart. KING OF SORIA. From Soria 104 with seventy thousand strong, Ta'en from Aleppo, Soldino, Tripoly, And so unto my city of Damascus, 105 I march to meet and aid my neighbour kings; All which will join against this Tamburlaine, And bring him captive to your highness' feet. ORCANES. Our battle, then, in martial manner pitch'd, According to our ancient use, shall bear The figure of the semicircled moon, Whose horns shell sprinkle through the tainted air The poison'd brains of this proud Scythian. CALLAPINE. Well, then, my noble lords, for this my friend That freed me from the bondage of my foe, I think it requisite and honourable To keep my promise and to make him king, That is a gentleman, I know, at least. ALMEDA. That's no matter, 106 sir, for being a king; or Tamburlaine came up of nothing. KING OF JERUSALEM. Your majesty may choose some 'pointed time, Performing all your promise to the full; 'Tis naught for your majesty to give a kingdom. CALLAPINE. Then will I shortly keep my promise, Almeda. ALMEDA. Why, I thank your majesty. [Exeunt.]SCENE II
Enter TAMBURLAINE and his three sons, CALYPHAS, AMYRAS, and CELEBINUS; USUMCASANE; four ATTENDANTS bearing the hearse of ZENOCRATE, and the drums sounding a doleful march; the town burning.
TAMBURLAINE. So burn the turrets of this cursed town, Flame to the highest region of the air, And kindle heaps of exhalations, That, being fiery meteors, may presage Death and destruction to the inhabitants! Over my zenith hang a blazing star, That may endure till heaven be dissolv'd, Fed with the fresh supply of earthly dregs, Threatening a dearth 107 and famine to this land! Flying dragons, lightning, fearful thunder-claps, Singe these fair plains, and make them seem as black As is the island where the Furies mask, Compass'd with Lethe, Styx, and Phlegethon, Because my dear Zenocrate is dead! CALYPHAS. This pillar, plac'd in memory of her, Where in Arabian, Hebrew, Greek, is writ, THIS TOWN, BEING BURNT BY TAMBURLAINE THE GREAT, FORBIDS THE WORLD TO BUILD IT UP AGAIN AMYRAS. And here this mournful streamer shall be plac'd, Wrought with the Persian and th' 108 Egyptian arms, To signify she was a princess born, And wife unto the monarch of the East. CELEBINUS. And here this table as a register Of all her virtues and perfections. TAMBURLAINE. And here the picture of Zenocrate, To shew her beauty which the world admir'd; Sweet picture of divine Zenocrate, That, hanging here, will draw the gods from heaven, And cause the stars fix'd in the southern arc, (Whose lovely faces never any view'd That have not pass'd the centre's latitude,) As pilgrims travel to our hemisphere, Only to gaze upon Zenocrate. Thou shalt not beautify Larissa-plains, But keep within the circle of mine arms: At every town and castle I besiege, Thou shalt be set upon my royal tent; And, when I meet an army in the field, Those 109 looks will shed such influence in my camp, As if Bellona, goddess of the war, Threw naked swords and sulphur-balls of fire Upon the heads of all our enemies.— And now, my lords, advance your spears again; Sorrow no more, my sweet Casane, now: Boys, leave to mourn; this town shall ever mourn, Being burnt to cinders for your mother's death. CALYPHAS. If I had wept a sea of tears for her, would not ease the sorrows 110 I sustain. AMYRAS. As is that town, so is my heart consum'd With grief and sorrow for my mother's death. CELEBINUS. My mother's death hath mortified my mind, And sorrow stops the passage of my speech. TAMBURLAINE. But now, my boys, leave off, and list to me, That mean to teach you rudiments of war. I'll have you learn to sleep upon the ground, March in your armour thorough watery fens, Sustain the scorching heat and freezing cold, Hunger and thirst, 111 right adjuncts of the war; And, after this, to scale a castle-wall, Besiege a fort, to undermine a town, And make whole cities caper in the air: Then next, the way to fortify your men; In champion 112 grounds what figure serves you best, For which 113 the quinque-angle form is meet, Because the corners there may fall more flat Whereas 114 the fort may fittest be assail'd, And sharpest where th' assault is desperate: The ditches must be deep; the 115 counterscarps Narrow and steep; the walls made high and broad; The bulwarks and the rampires large and strong, With cavalieros 116 and thick counterforts, And room within to lodge six thousand men; It must have privy ditches, countermines, And secret issuings to defend the ditch; It must have high argins 117 and cover'd ways To keep the bulwark-fronts from battery, And parapets to hide the musketeers, Casemates to place the great 118 artillery, And store of ordnance, that from every flank May scour the outward curtains of the fort, Dismount the cannon of the adverse part, Murder the foe, and save the 119 walls from breach. When this is learn'd for service on the land, By plain and easy demonstration I'll teach you how to make the water mount, That you may dry-foot march through lakes and pools, Deep rivers, havens, creeks, and little seas, And make a fortress in the raging waves, Fenc'd with the concave of a monstrous rock, Invincible by nature 120 of the place. When this is done, then are ye soldiers, And worthy sons of Tamburlaine the Great. CALYPHAS. My lord, but this is dangerous to be done; We may be slain or wounded ere we learn. TAMBURLAINE. Villain, art thou the son of Tamburlaine, And fear'st to die, or with a 121 curtle-axe To hew thy flesh, and make a gaping wound? Hast thou beheld a peal of ordnance strike A ring of pikes, mingled with shot and horse, 122 Whose shatter'd limbs, being toss'd as high as heaven, Hang in the air as thick as sunny motes, And canst thou, coward, stand in fear of death? Hast thou not seen my horsemen charge the foe, Shot through the arms, cut overthwart the hands, Dying their lances with their streaming blood, And yet at night carouse within my tent, Filling their empty veins with airy wine, That, being concocted, turns to crimson blood, And wilt thou shun the field for fear of wounds? View me, thy father, that hath conquer'd kings, And, with his 123 host, march'd 124 round about the earth, Quite void of scars and clear from any wound, That by the wars lost not a drop 125 of blood, And see him lance 126 his flesh to teach you all.[He cuts his arm.]
A wound is nothing, be it ne'er so deep; Blood is the god of war's rich livery. Now look I like a soldier, and this wound As great a grace and majesty to me, As if a chair of gold enamelled, Enchas'd with diamonds, sapphires, rubies, And fairest pearl of wealthy India, Were mounted here under a canopy, And I sat down, cloth'd with a massy robe That late adorn'd the Afric potentate, Whom I brought bound unto Damascus' walls. Come, boys, and with your fingers search my wound, And in my blood wash all your hands at once, While I sit smiling to behold the sight. Now, my boys, what think ye of a wound? CALYPHAS. I know not 127 what I should think of it; methinks 'tis a pitiful sight. CELEBINUS. 'Tis 128 nothing.—Give me a wound, father. AMYRAS. And me another, my lord. TAMBURLAINE. Come, sirrah, give me your arm. CELEBINUS. Here, father, cut it bravely, as you did your own. TAMBURLAINE. It shall suffice thou dar'st abide a wound; My boy, thou shalt not lose a drop of blood Before we meet the army of the Turk; But then run desperate through the thickest throngs, Dreadless of blows, of bloody wounds, and death; And let the burning of Larissa-walls, My speech of war, and this my wound you see, Teach you, my boys, to bear courageous minds, Fit for the followers of great Tamburlaine.— Usumcasane, now come, let us march Towards Techelles and Theridamas, That we have sent before to fire the towns, The towers and cities of these hateful Turks, And hunt that coward faint-heart runaway, With that accursed 129 traitor Almeda, Till fire and sword have found them at a bay. USUMCASANE. I long to pierce his 130 bowels with my sword, That hath betray'd my gracious sovereign,— That curs'd and damned traitor Almeda. TAMBURLAINE. Then let us see if coward Callapine Dare levy arms against our puissance, That we may tread upon his captive neck, And treble all his father's slaveries. [Exeunt.]SCENE III
Enter TECHELLES, THERIDAMAS, and their train.
THERIDAMAS. Thus have we march'd northward from Tamburlaine, Unto the frontier point 131 of Soria; 132 And this is Balsera, their chiefest hold, Wherein is all the treasure of the land. TECHELLES. Then let us bring our light artillery, Minions, falc'nets, and sakers, 133 to the trench, Filling the ditches with the walls' wide breach, And enter in to seize upon the hold.— 134 How say you, soldiers, shall we not? SOLDIERS. Yes, my lord, yes; come, let's about it. THERIDAMAS. But stay a while; summon a parle, drum. It may be they will yield it quietly, 135 Knowing two kings, the friends 136 to Tamburlaine, Stand at the walls with such a mighty power.[A parley sounded.—CAPTAIN appears on the walls,
with OLYMPIA his wife, and his SON.]
CAPTAIN. What require you, my masters? THERIDAMAS. Captain, that thou yield up thy hold to us. CAPTAIN. To you! why, do you 137 think me weary of it? TECHELLES. Nay, captain, thou art weary of thy life, If thou withstand the friends of Tamburlaine. THERIDAMAS. These pioners 138 of Argier in Africa, Even in 139 the cannon's face, shall raise a hill Of earth and faggots higher than thy fort, And, over thy argins 140 and cover'd ways, Shall play upon the bulwarks of thy hold Volleys of ordnance, till the breach be made That with his ruin fills up all the trench; And, when we enter in, not heaven itself Shall ransom thee, thy wife, and family. TECHELLES. Captain, these Moors shall cut the leaden pipes That bring fresh water to thy men and thee, And lie in trench before thy castle-walls, That no supply of victual shall come in, Nor [any] issue forth but they shall die; And, therefore, captain, yield it quietly. 141 CAPTAIN. Were you, that are the friends of Tamburlaine, 142 Brothers of 143 holy Mahomet himself, I would not yield it; therefore do your worst: Raise mounts, batter, intrench, and undermine, Cut off the water, all convoys that can, 144 Yet I am 145 resolute: and so, farewell.[CAPTAIN, OLYMPIA, and SON, retire from the walls.]
THERIDAMAS. Pioners, away! and where I stuck the stake, Intrench with those dimensions I prescrib'd; Cast up the earth towards the castle-wall, Which, till it may defend you, labour low, And few or none shall perish by their shot. PIONERS. We will, my lord.[Exeunt PIONERS.]
TECHELLES. A hundred horse shall scout about the plains, To spy what force comes to relieve the hold. Both we, Theridamas, will intrench our men, And with the Jacob's staff measure the height And distance of the castle from the trench, That we may know if our artillery Will carry full point-blank unto their walls. THERIDAMAS. Then see the bringing of our ordnance Along the trench into 146 the battery, Where we will have gallions of six foot broad, To save our cannoneers from musket-shot; Betwixt which shall our ordnance thunder forth, And with the breach's fall, smoke, fire, and dust, The crack, the echo, and the soldiers' cry, Make deaf the air and dim the crystal sky. TECHELLES. Trumpets and drums, alarum presently! And, soldiers, play the men; the hold 147 is yours! [Exeunt.]SCENE IV
Alarms within. Enter the CAPTAIN, with OLYMPIA, and his SON.
OLYMPIA. Come, good my lord, and let us haste from hence, Along the cave that leads beyond the foe: No hope is left to save this conquer'd hold. CAPTAIN. A deadly bullet, gliding through my side, Lies heavy on my heart; I cannot live: I feel my liver pierc'd, and all my veins, That there begin and nourish every part, Mangled and torn, and all my entrails bath'd In blood that straineth 148 from their orifex. Farewell, sweet wife! sweet son, farewell! I die.[Dies.]
OLYMPIA. Death, whither art thou gone, that both we live? Come back again, sweet Death, and strike us both! One minute and our days, and one sepulchre Contain our bodies! Death, why com'st thou not Well, this must be the messenger for thee:[Drawing a dagger.]
Now, ugly Death, stretch out thy sable wings, And carry both our souls where his remains.— Tell me, sweet boy, art thou content to die? These barbarous Scythians, full of cruelty, And Moors, in whom was never pity found, Will hew us piecemeal, put us to the wheel, Or else invent some torture worse than that; Therefore die by thy loving mother's hand, Who gently now will lance thy ivory throat, And quickly rid thee both of pain and life. SON. Mother, despatch me, or I'll kill myself; For think you I can live and see him dead? Give me your knife, good mother, or strike home: 149 The Scythians shall not tyrannize on me: Sweet mother, strike, that I may meet my father.[She stabs him, and he dies.]
OLYMPIA. Ah, sacred Mahomet, if this be sin, Entreat a pardon of the God of heaven, And purge my soul before it come to thee![She burns the bodies of her HUSBAND and SON,
and then attempts to kill herself.]
Enter THERIDAMAS, TECHELLES, and all their train.
THERIDAMAS. How now, madam! what are you doing? OLYMPIA. Killing myself, as I have done my son, Whose body, with his father's, I have burnt, Lest cruel Scythians should dismember him. TECHELLES. 'Twas bravely done, and like a soldier's wife. Thou shalt with us to Tamburlaine the Great, Who, when he hears how resolute thou wert, 150 Will match thee with a viceroy or a king. OLYMPIA. My lord deceas'd was dearer unto me Than any viceroy, king, or emperor; And for his sake here will I end my days. THERIDAMAS. But, lady, go with us to Tamburlaine, And thou shalt see a man greater than Mahomet, In whose high looks is much more majesty, Than from the concave superficies Of Jove's vast palace, the empyreal orb, Unto the shining bower where Cynthia sits, Like lovely Thetis, in a crystal robe; That treadeth Fortune underneath his feet, And makes the mighty god of arms his slave; On whom Death and the Fatal Sisters wait With naked swords and scarlet liveries; Before whom, mounted on a lion's back, Rhamnusia bears a helmet full of blood, And strows the way with brains of slaughter'd men; By whose proud side the ugly Furies run, Hearkening when he shall bid them plague the world; Over whose zenith, cloth'd in windy air, And eagle's wings join'd 151 to her feather'd breast, Fame hovereth, sounding of 152 her golden trump, That to the adverse poles of that straight line Which measureth the glorious frame of heaven The name of mighty Tamburlaine is spread; And him, fair lady, shall thy eyes behold. Come. OLYMPIA. Take pity of a lady's ruthful tears, That humbly craves upon her knees to stay, And cast her body in the burning flame That feeds upon her son's and husband's flesh. TECHELLES. Madam, sooner shall fire consume us both Than scorch a face so beautiful as this, In frame of which Nature hath shew'd more skill Than when she gave eternal chaos form, Drawing from it the shining lamps of heaven. THERIDAMAS. Madam, I am so far in love with you, That you must go with us: no remedy. OLYMPIA. Then carry me, I care not, where you will, And let the end of this my fatal journey Be likewise end to my accursed life. TECHELLES. No, madam, but the 153 beginning of your joy: Come willingly therefore. THERIDAMAS. Soldiers, now let us meet the general, Who by this time is at Natolia, Ready to charge the army of the Turk. The gold and 154 silver, and the pearl, ye got, Rifling this fort, divide in equal shares: This lady shall have twice so much again Out of the coffers of our treasury. [Exeunt.]