THER. Tamburlaine! a Scythian shepherd so em

bellish'd

With nature's pride and richest furniture!

His looks do menace Heaven and dare the gods;
His fiery eyes are fix'd upon the earth,
As if he now devis'd some stratagem,
Or meant to pierce Avernus' darksome vaults*
To pull the triple-headed dog from hell.

TAMB. Noble and mild this Persian seems to be, If outward habit judge the inward man.

TECH. His deep affections make him passionate. TAMB. With what a majesty he rears his looks!— In thee, thou valiant man of Persia,

I see the folly of thy+ emperor.

Art thou but captain of a thousand horse,
That by characters graven in thy brows,
And by thy martial face and stout aspèct,
Deserv'st to have the leading of an host?
Forsake thy king, and do but join with me,
And we will triumph over all the world:
I hold the Fates bound fast in iron chains,
And with my hand turn Fortune's wheel about;
And sooner shall the sun fall from his sphere
Than Tamburlaine be slain or overcome.

vaults] Here the 8vo has "vauts,"—" which," says one of the modern editors, "was common in Marlowe's time:" and so it was; but in the Sec. Part of this play, act ii. sc. 4, the same 8vo gives,—

"As we descend into the infernal vaults."

thy] So the 8vo.-The 4to" the."

Draw forth thy sword, thou mighty man at arms, Intending but to raze my charmèd skin,

And Jove himself will stretch his hand from heaven
To ward the blow, and shield me safe from harm.
See, how he rains down heaps of gold in showers,
As if he meant to give my soldiers pay!
And, as a sure and grounded argument
That I shall be the monarch of the East,
He sends this Soldan's daughter rich and brave,*
To be my queen and portly emperess.

If thou wilt stay with me, renowmèd† man,
And lead thy thousand horse with my conduct,
Besides thy share of this Egyptian prize,

Those thousand horse shall sweat with martial spoil
Of conquer'd kingdoms and of cities sack'd:
Both we will walk upon the lofty cliffst,

And Christian merchants §, that with Russian stems
Plough up huge furrows in the Caspian Sea,
Shall vail || to us, as lords of all the lake;

* brave] i. e. splendidly clad.

† renowmèd] i. e. renowned. So the 8vo.-The 4to " renowned."-The form "renowmed” (Fr. renommé) occurs repeatedly afterwards in this play, according to the 8vo. It is occasionally found in writers posterior to Marlowe's time. e. g.

"Of Constantines great towne renoum'd in vaine."

Verses to King James, prefixed to Lord Stirling's
Monarchicke Tragedies, ed. 1607.

cliffs] So the 8vo.-The 4to "cliftes."

§ merchants] i. e. merchant-men, ships of trade. || vail] i. e. lower their flags.

Both we will reign as consuls of the earth,
And mighty kings shall be our senators.
Jove sometime maskèd in a shepherd's weed;
And by those steps that he hath scal'd the heavens
May we become immortal like the gods.
Join with me now in this my mean estate,
(I call it mean, because, being yet obscure,
The nations far remov'd admire me not,)

And when my name and honour shall be spread

As far as Boreas claps his brazen wings,

Or fair Böotes* sends his cheerful light,
Then shalt thou be competitor with me,
And sit with Tamburlaine in all his majesty.
THER. Not Hermes, prolocutor to the gods,
Could use persuasions more pathetical.

TAMB. Nor are Apollo's oracles more true
Than thou shalt find my vaunts substantial.

TECH. We are his friends; and, if the Persian

king

Should offer present dukedoms to our state,

We think it loss to make exchange for that

We are assur'd of by our friend's success.

USUM. And kingdoms at the least we all expect, Besides the honour in assurèd conquests,

Where kings shall crouch unto our conquering swords, And hosts of soldiers stand amaz'd at us,

When with their fearful tongues they shall confess,

These are the men that all the world admires.

*

Bootes] The 8vo" Botees."--The 4to Boetes."

THER. What strong enchantments 'tice my yield- ✔

ing soul!

Are these resolvèd*, noble Scythians?

But shall I prove a traitor to my king?

TAMB. No; but the trusty friend of Tamburlaine.
THER. Won with thy words, and conquer'd with
thy looks,

I yield myself, my men, and horse to thee,
To be partaker of thy good or ill,

As long as life maintains Theridamas.

TAMB. Theridamas, my friend, take here my hand,
Which is as much as if I swore by Heaven,
And call'd the gods to witness of my vow.
Thus shall my heart be still combin'd with thine
Until our bodies turn to elements,

And both our souls aspire celestial thrones.—
Techelles and Casane, welcome him.

TECH. Welcome, renowmèd+ Persian, to us all!
USUM. Long may Theridamas remain with us!
TAMB. These are my friends, in whom I more rejoice
Than doth the king of Persia in his crown;

And, by the love of Pylades and Orestes,

* Are these resolved] If the right reading, seems to be equivalent to-Are these things certain?--The modern editors print,

"'tice my yielding soul

To these resolved," &c.

+ renowmèd] See note, p. 27. So the 8vo.-The 4to "renowned."

Whose statues we adore in Scythia,

Thyself and them shall never part from me
Before I crown you kings + in Asia.
Make much of them, gentle Theridamas,

And they will never leave thee till the death.

THER. Nor thee nor them, thrice noble Tambur

laine,

Shall want my heart to be with gladness pierc'd,
To do you honour and security.

TAMB. A thousand thanks, worthy Theridamas.—
And now, fair madam, and my noble lords,
If you will willingly remain with me,
You shall have honours as your merits be;
Or else you shall be forc'd with slavery.

AGYD. We yield unto thee, happy Tamburlaine.
TAMB. For you, then, madam, I am out of doubt.
ZENO. I must be pleas'd perforce. Wretched
Zenocrate!
[Exeunt.

statues] So the 4to.-" The first edition reads 'statutes,' but, as the Scythians worshipped Pylades and Orestes in temples, we have adopted the reading of the quarto as being most probably the correct one." Ed. 1826.

+ kings] So the 8vo.-The 4to "king."

Nor thee nor

they nor theirs.'

them] The modern editors silently print " Nor Compare the second line of this page.

§ will] So the 8vo.-Omitted in the 4to.