Titus Andronicus (1926) Yale/Text/Act IV
ACT FOURTH
Scene One
[Rome. Titus's Garden]
Boy. Help, grandsire, help! my aunt Lavinia
Follows me everywhere, I know not why.
Good uncle Marcus, see how swift she comes:
Alas, sweet aunt! I know not what you mean. 4
Mar. Stand by me, Lucius; do not fear thine aunt.
Tit. She loves thee, boy, too well to do thee harm.
Boy. Ay, when my father was in Rome, she did.
Mar. What means my niece Lavinia by these signs? 8
Tit. Fear her not, Lucius: somewhat doth she mean.
See, Lucius, see how much she makes of thee;
Somewhither would she have thee ⟨go⟩ with her.
Ah, boy! Cornelia never with more care 12
Read to her sons, than she hath read to thee
Sweet poetry and Tully's Orator.
[Mar.] Canst thou not guess wherefore she plies thee thus?
Boy. My lord, I know not, I, nor can I guess,16
Unless some fit or frenzy do possess her;
For I have heard my grandsire say full oft,
Extremity of griefs would make men mad;
And I have read that Hecuba of Troy 20
Ran mad through sorrow; that made me to fear,
Although, my lord, I know my noble aunt
Loves me as dear as e'er my mother did,
And would not, but in fury, fright my youth; 24
Which made me down to throw my books and fly,
Causeless, perhaps. But pardon me, sweet aunt;
And madam, if my uncle Marcus go,
I will most willingly attend your ladyship. 28
Mar. Lucius, I will.
[Lavinia turns over with her stumps the
books which Lucius has let fall.]
Tit. How now, Lavinia! Marcus, what means this?
Some bock there is that she desires to see.
Which is it, girl, of these? Open them, boy. 32
But thou art deeper read, and better skill'd;
Come, and take choice of all my library,
And so beguile thy sorrow, till the heavens
Reveal the damn'd contriver of this deed. 36
Why lifts she up her arms in sequence thus?
Mar. I think she means that there was more than one
Confederate in the fact: ay, more there was;
Or else to heaven she heaves them for revenge. 40
Tit. Lucius, what book is that she tosseth so?
Boy. Grandsire, 'tis Ovid's Metamorphoses;
My mother gave it me.
Mar. For love of her that's gone,
Perhaps, she cull'd it from among the rest. 44
Tit. Soft! so busily she turns the leaves! Help her.
What would she find? Lavinia, shall I read?
This is the tragic tale of Philomel,
And treats of Tereus' treason and his rape; 48
And rape, I fear, was root of thine annoy.
Mar. See, brother, see! note how she quotes the leaves.
Tit. Lavinia, wert thou thus surpris'd, sweet girl,
Ravish'd and wrong'd, as Philomela was, 52
Forc'd in the ruthless, vast, and gloomy woods?
See, see!
Ay, such a place there is, where we did hunt,—
O had we never, never hunted there!— 56
Pattern'd by that the poet here describes,
By nature made for murthers and for rapes.
Mar. O! why should nature build so foul a den,
Unless the gods delight in tragedies? 60
Tit. Give signs, sweet girl, for here are none but friends,
What Roman lord it was durst do the deed:
Or slunk not Saturnine, as Tarquin erst,
That left the camp to sin in Lucrece' bed? 64
Mar. Sit down, sweet niece: brother, sit down by me
Apollo, Pallas, Jove, or Mercury,
Inspire me, that I may this treason find!
My lord, look here; look here, Lavinia: 68
This sandy plot is plain; guide, if thou canst,
This after me.
He writes his name with his staff, and
guides it with feet and mouth.
I have writ my name
Without the help of any hand at all.
Curs'd be that heart that forc'd us to this shift! 72
Write thou, good niece, and here display at last
What God will have discover'd for revenge.
Heaven guide thy pen to print thy sorrows plain,
That we may know the traitors and the truth! 76
She takes the staff in her mouth, and
guides it with her stumps, and writes.
Tit. O! do ye read, my lord, what she hath writ?
'Stuprum, Chiron, Demetrius.'
Mar. What, what! the lustful sons of Tamora
Performers of this heinous, bloody deed? 80
Tit. Magni dominator poli,
Tam lentus audis scelera? tam lentus vides?
Mar. O calm thee, gentle lord! although I know
There is enough written upon this earth 84
To stir a mutiny in the mildest thoughts
And arm the minds of infants to exclaims.
My lord, kneel down with me; Lavinia, kneel;
And kneel, sweet boy, the Roman Hector's hope; 88
And swear with me, as, with the woeful fere
And father of that chaste dishonour'd dame,
Lord Junius Brutus sware for Lucrece' rape,
That we will prosecute by good advice 92
Mortal revenge upon these traitorous Goths,
And see their blood, or die with this reproach.
Tit. 'Tis sure enough, an you knew how;
But if you hunt these bear-whelps, then beware: 96
The dam will wake, an if she wind you once:
She's with the lion deeply still in league,
And lulls him whilst she playeth on her back,
And when he sleeps will she do what she list. 100
You're a young huntsman, Marcus; let it alone;
And, come, I will go get a leaf of brass,
And with a gad of steel will write these words,
And lay it by: the angry northern wind 104
Will blow these sands like Sibyl's leaves abroad,
And where's your lesson then? Boy, what say you?
Boy. I say, my lord, that if I were a man,
Their mother's bed-chamber should not be safe 108
For these bad bondmen to the yoke of Rome.
Mar. Ay, that's my boy! thy father hath full oft
For his ungrateful country done the like.
Boy. And, uncle, so will I, an if I live. 112
Tit. Come, go with me into mine armoury:
Lucius, I'll fit thee; and withal my boy
Shall carry from me to the empress' sons
Presents that I intend to send them both: 116
Come, come! thou'lt do thy message, wilt thou not?
Boy. Ay, with my dagger in their bosoms, grandsire.
Tit. No, boy, not so; I'll teach thee another course.
Lavinia, come. Marcus, look to my house; 120
Lucius and Ill go brave it at the court:
Ay, marry, will we, sir; and we'll be waited on.
Exeunt [Titus, Lavinia, and young Lucius].
Mar. O heavens! can you hear a good man groan,
And not relent or not compassion him? 124
Marcus, attend him in his ecstasy,
That hath more scars of sorrow in his heart
Than foemen's marks upon his batter'd shield;
But yet so just that he will not revenge. 128
Revenge the heavens for old Andronicus! Exit.
Scene Two
[The same. A Room in the Palace]
Chi. Demetrius, here's the son of Lucius;
He hath some message to deliver us.
Aar. Ay, some mad message from his mad grandfather.
Boy. My lords, with all the humbleness I may, 4
I greet your honours from Andronicus;
[Aside.] And pray the Roman gods, confound you both!
Dem. Gramercy, lovely Lucius: what's the news?
Boy. [Aside.] That you are both decipher'd, that's the news, 8
For villains mark'd with rape. [Aloud.] May it please you,
My grandsire, well advis'd, hath sent by me
The goodliest weapons of his armoury,
To gratify your honourable youth, 12
The hope of Rome, for so he bade me say;
And so I do, and with his gifts present
Your lordships, that whenever you have need,
You may be armed and appointed well. 16
And so I leave you both: [Aside.] like bloody villains.
Exit [with Attendant].
Dem. What's here? A scroll, and written round about?
Let's see:—
[Reads.] 'Integer vitæ, scelerisque purus, 20
Non eget Mauri jaculis, nec arcu.'
Chi. O! 'tis a verse in Horace; I know it well:
I read it in the grammar long ago
Aar. Ay, just, a verse in Horace; right, you have it. 24
[Aside.] Now, what a thing it is to be an ass!
Here's no sound jest! the old man hath found their guilt
And sends them weapons wrapp'd about with lines,
That wound, beyond their feeling, to the quick: 28
But were our witty empress well afoot,
She would applaud Andronicus' conceit:
But let her rest in her unrest awhile.
[To them.] And now, young lords, was 't not a happy star 32
Led us to Rome, strangers and more than so,
Captives, to be advanced to this height?
It did me good before the palace gate
To brave the tribune in his brother's hearing. 36
Dem. But me more good, to see so great a lord
Basely insinuate and send us gifts.
Aar. Had he not reason, Lord Demetrius?
Did you not use his daughter very friendly? 40
Dem. I would we had a thousand Roman dames
At such a bay, by turn to serve our lust.
Chi. A charitable wish and full of love.
Aar. Here lacks but your mother for to say amen. 44
Chi. And that would she for twenty thousand more.
Dem. Come, let us go and pray to all the gods
For our beloved mother in her pains.
Aar. [Aside.] Pray to the devils; the gods have given us over. 48
Flourish [within].
Dem. Why do the emperor's trumpets flourish thus?
Chi. Belike, for joy the emperor hath a son.
Dem. Soft! who comes here?
Enter Nurse with a blackamoor Child.
Nur. Good morrow, lords. O! tell me, did you see 52
Aaron the Moor?
Aar. Well, more or less, or ne'er a whit at all,
Here Aaron is; and what with Aaron now?
Nur. O gentle Aaron! we are all undone. 56
Now help, or woe betide thee evermore!
Aar. Why, what a caterwauling dost thou keep!
What dost thou wrap and fumble in thine arms?
Nur. O! that which I would hide from heaven's eye, 60
Our empress' shame, and stately Rome's disgrace!
She is deliver'd, lords, she is deliver'd.
Aar. To whom?
Nur. I mean, she is brought a-bed.
Aar. Well, God give her good rest! What hath he sent her? 64
Nur. A devil.
Aar. Why, then she's the devil's dam: a joyful issue.
Nur. A joyless, dismal, black, and sorrowful issue.
Here is the babe, as loathsome as a toad 68
Amongst the fairest breeders of our clime.
The empress sends it thee, thy stamp, thy seal,
And bids thee christen it with thy dagger's point.
Aar. 'Zounds, ye whore! is black so base a hue? 72
Sweet blowse, you are a beauteous blossom, sure.
Dem. Villain, what hast thou done?
Aar. That which thou canst not undo.
Chi. Thou hast undone our mother. 76
[Aar. Villain, I have done thy mother.]
Dem. And therein, hellish dog, thou hast undone.
Woe to her chance, and damn'd her loathed choice!
Accurs'd the offspring of so foul a fiend! 80
Chi. It shall not live.
Aar. It shall not die.
Nur. Aaron, it must; the mother wills it so.
Aar. What! must it, nurse? then let no man but I 84
Do execution on my flesh and blood.
Dem. I'll broach the tadpole on my rapier's point:
Nurse, give it me; my sword shall soon dispatch it.
Aar. Sooner this sword shall plough thy bowels up. 88
[Takes the Child from the Nurse, and draws.]
Stay, murtherous villains! will you kill your brother?
Now, by the burning tapers of the sky,
That shone so brightly when this boy was got,
He dies upon my scimitar's sharp point 92
That touches this my first-born son and heir.
I tell you, younglings, not Enceladus,
With all his threat'ning band of Typhon's brood,
Nor great Alcides, nor the god of war, 96
Shall seize this prey out of his father's hands.
What, what, ye sanguine, shallow-hearted boys!
Ye white-lim'd walls! ye alehouse painted signs!
Coal-black is better than another hue, 100
In that it scorns to bear another hue;
For all the water in the ocean
Can never turn the swan's black legs to white,
Although she lave them hourly in the flood. 104
Tell the empress from me, I am of age
To keep mine own, excuse it how she can.
Dem. Wilt thou betray thy noble mistress thus?
Aar. My mistress is my mistress; this myself; 108
The vigour, and the picture of my youth:
This before all the world do I prefer;
This maugre all the world will I keep safe,
Or some of you shall smoke for it in Rome. 112
Dem. By this our mother is for ever sham'd.
Chi. Rome will despise her for this foul escape.
Nur. The emperor in his rage will doom her death.
Chi. I blush to think upon this ignomy. 116
Aar. Why, there's the privilege your beauty bears.
Fie, treacherous hue! that will betray with blushing
The close enacts and counsels of the heart.
Here's a young lad fram'd of another leer: 120
Look how the black slave smiles upon the father,
As who should say, 'Old lad, I am thine own.'
He is your brother, lords, sensibly fed
Of that self blood that first gave life to you; 124
And from that womb where you imprison'd were
He is enfranchised and come to light:
Nay, he is your brother by the surer side,
Although my seal be stamped in his face. 128
Nur. Aaron, what shall I say unto the empress?
Dem. Advise thee, Aaron, what is to be done,
And we will all subscribe to thy advice:
Save thou the child, so we may all be safe. 132
Aar. Then sit we down, and let us all consult.
My son and I will have the wind of you:
Keep there; now talk at pleasure of your safety.
[They sit.]
Dem. How many women saw this child of his? 136
Aar. Why, so, brave lords! when we join in league,
I am a lamb; but if you brave the Moor,
The chafed boar, the mountain lioness,
The ocean swells not so as Aaron storms. 140
But say, again, how many saw the child?
Nur. Cornelia the midwife, and myself,
And no one else but the deliver'd empress.
Aar. The empress, the midwife, and yourself: 144
Two may keep counsel when the third's away.
Go to the empress; tell her this I said:
He kills her.
'Weke, weke!'
So cries a pig prepared to the spit. 148
Dem. What mean'st thou, Aaron? Wherefore didst thou this?
Aar. O Lord, sir, 'tis a deed of policy:
Shall she live to betray this guilt of ours,
A long-tongu'd babbling gossip? no, lords, no. 152
And now be it known to you my full intent.
Not far, one Muli lives, my countryman;
His wife but yesternight was brought to bed.
His child is like to her, fair as you are: 156
Go pack with him, and give the mother gold,
And tell them both the circumstance of all,
And how by this their child shall be advanc'd,
And be received for the emperor's heir, 160
And substituted in the place of mine,
To calm this tempest whirling in the court;
And let the emperor dandle him for his own.
Hark ye, lords; ye see, I have given her physic, 164
[Pointing to the Nurse.]
And you must needs bestow her funeral;
The fields are near, and you are gallant grooms.
This done, see that you take no longer days,
But send the midwife presently to me. 168
The midwife and the nurse well made away,
Then let the ladies tattle what they please.
Chi. Aaron, I see thou wilt not trust the air
With secrets.
Dem. For this care of Tamora, 172
Herself and hers are highly bound to thee.
Exeunt [Demetrius and Chiron, bearing
off the Nurse's body].
Aar. Now to the Goths, as swift as swallow flies:
There to dispose this treasure in mine arms,
And secretly to greet the empress' friends. 176
Come on, you thick-lipp'd slave, I'll bear you hence;
For it is you that puts us to our shifts:
I'll make you feed on berries and on roots,
And feed on curds and whey, and suck the goat, 180
And cabin in a cave, and bring you up
To be a warrior, and command a camp. Exit.
Scene Three
[The same. A Public Place]
Tit. Come, Marcus, come; kinsmen, this is the way.
Sir boy, let me see your archery:
Look ye draw home enough, and 'tis there straight.
Terras Astræa reliquit: 4
Be you remember'd, Marcus, she's gone, she's fled.
Sirs, take you to your tools. You, cousins, shall
Go sound the ocean, and cast your nets;
Haply you may find her in the sea; 8
Yet there's as little justice as at land,
No; Publius and Sempronius, you must do it;
'Tis you must dig with mattock and with spade,
And pierce the inmost centre of the earth: 12
Then, when you come to Pluto's region,
I pray you, deliver him this petition;
Tell him, it is for justice and for aid,
And that it comes from old Andronicus, 16
Shaken with sorrows in ungrateful Rome.
Ah, Rome! Well, well; I made thee miserable
What time I threw the people's suffrages
On him that thus doth tyrannize o'er me. 20
Go, get you gone; and pray be careful all,
And leave you not a man-of-war unsearch'd:
This wicked emperor may have shipp'd her hence;
And, kinsmen, then we may go pipe for justice. 24
Mar. O Publius! is not this a heavy case,
To see thy noble uncle thus distract?
Pub. Therefore, my lord, it highly us concerns
By day and night to attend him carefully, 28
And feed his humour kindly as we may,
Till time beget some careful remedy.
Mar. Kinsmen, his sorrows are past remedy.
Join with the Goths, and with revengeful war 32
Take wreak on Rome for this ingratitude,
And vengeance on the traitor Saturnine.
Tit. Publius, how now! how now, my masters!
What! have you met with her? 36
Pub. No, my good lord; but Pluto sends you word,
If you will have Revenge from hell, you shall:
Marry, for Justice, she is so employ'd,
He thinks, with Jove in heaven, or somewhere else, 40
So that perforce you must needs stay a time.
Tit. He doth me wrong to feed me with delays.
I'll dive into the burning lake below,
And pull her out of Acheron by the heels. 44
Marcus, we are but shrubs, no cedars we;
No big-bon'd men fram'd of the Cyclops' size;
But metal, Marcus, steel to the very back,
Yet wrung with wrongs more than our backs can bear: 48
And sith there's no justice in earth nor hell,
We will solicit heaven and move the gods
To send down Justice for to wreak our wrongs.
Come, to this gear. You are a good archer, Marcus. 52
He gives them the arrows.
Ad Jovem, that's for you: here, ad Apollinem:
Ad Martem, that's for myself:
Here, boy, to Pallas: here, to Mercury:
To Saturn, Caius, not to. Saturnine; 56
You were as good to shoot against the wind.
To it, boy! Marcus, loose when I bid.
Of my word, I have written to effect;
There's not a god left unsolicited. 60
Mar. Kinsmen, shoot all your shafts into the court:
We will afflict the emperor in his pride.
Tit. Now, masters, draw. [They shoot.] O! well said, Lucius!
Good boy, in Virgo's lap: give it Pallas. 64
Mar. My lord, I aim a mile beyond the moon;
Your letter is with Jupiter by this.
Tit. Ha, ha! Publius, Publius, what hast thou done?
See, see! thou hast shot off one of Taurus' horns. 68
Mar. This was the sport, my lord: when Publius shot,
The Bull, being gall'd, gave Aries such a knock
That down fell both the Ram's horns in the court;
And who should find them but the empress' villain? 72
She laugh'd, and told the Moor, he should not choose
But give them to his master for a present.
Tit. Why, there it goes: God give his lordship joy!
Enter the Clown, with a basket, and two pigeons in it.
News! news from heaven! Marcus, the post is come. 76
Sirrah, what tidings? have you any letters?
Shall I have justice? what says Jupiter?
Clo. O! the gibbet-maker? He says that he
hath taken them down again, for the man must 80
not be hanged till the next week.
Tit. But what says Jupiter, I ask thee?
Clo. Alas! sir, I know not Jupiter; I never
drank with him in all my life. 84
Tit. Why, villain, art not thou the carrier?
Clo. Ay, of my pigeons, sir; nothing else.
Tit. Why, didst thou not come from heaven?
Clo. From heaven! alas! sir, I never came 88
there. God forbid I should be so bold to press
to heaven in my young days. Why, I am going
with my pigeons to the tribunal plebs, to take
up a matter of brawl betwixt my uncle and one 92
of the emperial's men.
Mar. Why, sir, that is as fit as can be to
serve for your oration; and let him deliver the
pigeons to the emperor from you. 96
Tit. Tell me, can you deliver an oration to
the emperor with a grace?
Clo. Nay, truly, sir, I could never say grace
in all my life. 100
Tit. Sirrah, come hither: make no more ado,
But give your pigeons to the emperor:
By me thou shalt have justice at his hands.
Hold, hold; meanwhile, here's money for thy charges. 104
Give me pen and ink.
Sirrah, can you with a grace deliver a supplication?
Clo. Ay, sir.
Tit. Then here is a supplication for you. 108
And when you come to him, at the first ap-
proach you must kneel; then kiss his foot; then
deliver up your pigeons; and then look for your
reward. I'll be at hand, sir; see you do it bravely. 112
Clo. I warrant you, sir; let me alone.
Tit. Sirrah, hast thou a knife? Come, let me see it.
Here, Marcus, fold it in the oration;
For thou hast made it like an humble suppliant: 116
And when thou hast given it the emperor,
Knock at my door, and tell me what he says.
Clo. God be with you, sir; I will. Exit.
Tit. Come, Marcus, let us go. Publius, follow me. 120
Exeunt.
Scene Four
[The Same. Before the Palace]
Sat. Why, lords, what wrongs are these! Was ever seen
An emperor in Rome thus overborne,
Troubled, confronted thus; and, for the extent
Of egal justice, us'd in such contempt? 4
My lords, you know, [as do] the mightful gods,—
However these disturbers of our peace
Buzz in the people's ears,—there nought hath pass'd,
But even with law, against the wilful sons 8
Of old Andronicus. And what an if
His sorrows have so overwhelm'd his wits,
Shall we be thus afflicted in his wreaks,
His fits, his frenzy, and his bitterness? 12
And now he writes to heaven for his redress:
See, here's to Jove, and this to Mercury;
This to Apollo; this to the god of war;
Sweet scrolls to fly about the streets of Rome! 16
What's this but libelling against the senate,
And blazoning our injustice everywhere?
A goodly humour, is it not, my lords?
As who would say, in Rome no justice were. 20
But if I live, his feigned ecstasies
Shall be no shelter to these outrages;
But he and his shall know that justice lives
In Saturninus' health; whom, if she sleep, 24
He'll so awake, as she in fury shall
Cut off the proud'st conspirator that lives.
Tam. My gracious lord, my lovely Saturnine,
Lord of my life, commander of my thoughts, 28
Calm thee, and bear the faults of Titus' age,
Th' effects of sorrow for his valiant sons,
Whose loss hath pierc'd him deep and scarr'd his heart;
And rather comfort his distressed plight 32
Than prosecute the meanest or the best
For these contempts.—[Aside.] Why, thus it shall become
High-witted Tamora to gloze with all:
But, Titus, I have touch'd thee to the quick, 36
Thy life-blood out: if Aaron now be wise,
Then is all safe, the anchor's in the port.
Enter Clown.
How now, good fellow! wouldst thou speak with us?
Clo. Yea, forsooth, an your mistership be emperial. 40
Tam. Empress I am, but yonder sits the emperor.
Clo. 'Tis he. God and Saint Stephen give you good den.
I have brought you a letter and a couple of pigeons here.
He [Saturninus] reads the letter.
Sat. Go, take him away, and hang him presently. 44
Clo. How much money must I have?
Tam. Come, sirrah, you must be hanged.
Clo. Hanged! By'r lady, then I have brought
up a neck to a fair end. Exit [guarded]. 48
Sat. Despiteful and intolerable wrongs!
Shall I endure this monstrous villainy?
I know from whence this same device proceeds:
May this be borne? As if his trait'rous sons, 52
That died by law for murther of our brother,
Have by my means been butcher'd wrongfully!
Go, drag the villain hither by the hair;
Nor age nor honour shall shape privilege. 56
For this proud mock I'll be thy slaughterman,
Sly frantic wretch, that holp'st to make me great,
In hope thyself should govern Rome and me.
Enter Nuntius Æmilius.
What news with thee, Æmilius? 60
Æmil. Arm, my lords! Rome never had more cause.
The Goths have gather'd head, and with a power
Of high-resolved men, bent to the spoil,
They hither march amain, under conduct 64
Of Lucius, son to old Andronicus;
Who threats, in course of this revenge, to do
As much as ever Coriolanus did.
Sat. Is warlike Lucius general of the Goths? 68
These tidings nip me, and I hang the head
As flowers with frost or grass beat down with storms.
Ay, now begins our sorrows to approach:
'Tis he the common people love so much. 72
Myself hath often heard them say,
When I have walked like a private man,
That Lucius' banishment was wrongfully,
And they have wish'd that Lucius were their emperor. 76
Tam. Why should you fear? is not your city strong?
Sat. Ay, but the citizens favour Lucius,
And will revolt from me to succour him.
Tam. King, be thy thoughts imperious, like thy name. 80
Is the sun dimm'd, that gnats do fly in it?
The eagle suffers little birds to sing,
And is not careful what they mean thereby,
Knowing that with the shadow of his wings 84
He can at pleasure stint their melody;
Even so mayst thou the giddy men of Rome.
Then cheer thy spirit; for know, thou emperor,
I will enchant the old Andronicus 88
With words more sweet, and yet more dangerous,
Than baits to fish, or honey-stalks to sheep,
Whenas the one is wounded with the bait,
The other rotted with delicious food. 92
Sat. But he will not entreat his son for us.
Tam. If Tamora entreat him, then he will:
For I can smooth and fill his aged ear
With golden promises, that, were his heart 96
Almost impregnable, his old ears deaf,
Yet should both ear and heart obey my tongue.
[To Æmilius.] Go thou before, be our ambassador:
Say that the emperor requests a parley 100
Of warlike Lucius, and appoint the meeting,
Even at his father's house, the old Andronicus.
Sat. Æmilius, do this message honourably:
And if he stand on hostage for his safety, 104
Bid him demand what pledge will please him best.
Æmil. Your bidding shall I do effectually. Exit.
Tam. Now will I to that old Andronicus,
And temper him with all the art I have, 108
To pluck proud Lucius from the warlike Goths.
And now, sweet emperor, be blithe again,
And bury all thy fear in my devices.
Sat. Then go successantly, and plead to him. 112
Exeunt.
Footnotes to Act IV
Scene One
12 Cornelia: the mother of the Gracchi
14 Tully's Orator: Cicero's De Oratore
15 plies: importunes
20, 21 Hecuba . . . sorrow; cf. n.
24 fury: madness
37 in sequence: one after the other; cf. n.
39 fact: deed
47 Philomel; cf. n. on II. iii. 43
49 annoy: suffering
50 quotes: examines
57 Pattern'd by: fashioned after
63 erst: formerly
78 Stuprum: rape
86 exclaims: exclamations
87–91 My lord, kneel down, etc.; cf. n.
89 fere: mate
97 wind: scent
103 gad: point
105 Sibyl's leaves; cf. n.
124 compassion: have compassion on
125 ecstasy: frenzy
Scene Two
10 well-advis'd: in his right mind
16 appointed: equipped
20 Integer vitæ, etc.; cf. n.
24 just: just so
26 sound jest; cf. n.
42 At such a bay: under such circumstances
50 Belike: probably
72 'Zounds; cf. n.
73 blowse; cf. n.
86 broach: spit
94 Enceladus: one of the Titans confined under Mt. Ætna
95 Typhon's brood; cf. n.
96 Alcides: Hercules
98 sanguine: blood-colored
99 white-lim'd: whitewashed
104 lave: wash
111 maugre: in spite of
114 escape: escapade
116 ignomy: ignominy
119 enacts: workings
120 leer: complexion
123 sensibly: manifestly
124 self; selfsame
130 Advise thee: consider
134 have the wind of you: keep an eye upon you
154 one Muli lives: cf. n.
157 pack: plot
158 circumstance of all: all the details
165 bestow her funeral: give her burial
167 no longer days: no more time
168 presently: instantly
175 dispose: dispose of
Scene Three
4 Terras Astræa reliquit: Astræa has left the earth; cf. n.
5 Be you remember'd: be mindful
13 Pluto's region: the infernal regions
24 pipe: whistle
30 careful remedy: remedy obtained through the exercise of care (?)
33 wreak: revenge
39 for: as for
43, 44 burning lake . . . Acheron; cf. n.
46 Cyclops: giants, servants of Vulcan
51 wreak: revenge
52 gear: business
53, 54 Ad Jovem, etc.: to Jupiter, to Apollo, to Mars
58 loose: shoot
59 Of my word: upon my word
to effect: to the purpose
63 well said: well done
64–70 Virgo . . . Taurus . . . Aries: constellations; cf. n.
91 tribunal plebs: tribune of the people (properly, tribunus plebis)
91, 92 take up: make up
93 emperial's: emperor's
112 bravely: in good style
Scene Four
3, 4 extent Of egal justice: maintenance of equal justice
7 Buzz: whisper
8 even with: in accord with
11 wreaks: revenges
21 ecstasies: insanity
25 as: that
35 High-witted: cunning
gloze: beguile
40 mistership: the clown's attempt at 'mistress-ship'
42 good den: good evening
56 shape privilege: constitute exemption from punishment
66 in course of: in carrying out
67 Coriolanus; cf. n.
71 begins: begin
85 stint: stop
90 honey-stalks; cf. n.
91 Whenas: when
95 smooth: flatter
104 stand on hostage: demand hostages
108 temper: influence
112 successantly: in succession (?)