One sin, I know, another doth provoke ;
Murder's as near to lust, as flame to smoke.
Poison and treason are the hands of sin,
Ay, and the targets, to put off the shame:
Then, lest my life be cropp'd to keep you clear,
By flight I'll shun the danger which I fear.

Re-enter ANTIOCHUS.

[Exit.

Ant. He hath found the meaning, for the which we

mean

To have his head.

He must not live to trumpet forth my infamy,

Nor tell the world, Antiochus doth sin

In such a loathed manner:

And therefore instantly this prince must die;
For by his fall my honour must keep high.
Who attends us there?

Thal.

Ant. Thaliard,

Enter THALIARD.

Doth your highness call?

You're of our chamber, and our mind partakes
Her private actions to your secrecy;

And for your faithfulness we will advance you.
Thaliard, behold, here's poison, and here's gold;

We hate the prince of Tyre, and thou must kill him:
It fits thee not to ask the reason why,

Because we bid it.

Say, is it done?

You're of our chamber,] The quarto, 1609, alone, repeats Thaliard after chamber. The measure, here unattended to by ancient and modern editors, detects the error.

Mess. My lord, prince Pericles is fled.

Ant.

[Exit Messenger.

Wilt live, fly after: and, as an arrow, shot
From a well-experienc'd archer, hits the mark
His eye doth level at, so ne'er return,
Unless thou say Prince Pericles is dead.

Thal. My lord, if I

As thou

Can get him once within my pistol's length,

I'll make him sure: so, farewell to your highness.

[Exit

Ant. Thaliard, adieu.-Till Pericles be dead, My heart can lend no succour to my head.

[Exit.

SCENE II.

Tyre. A Room in the Palace.

Enter PERICLES, HELICANUS, and other Lords.

Per. Let none disturb us: why should this change of thoughts1o?

The sad companion, dull-ey'd melancholy,

By me so us'd a guest is, not an hour,

In the day's glorious walk, or peaceful night,

The tomb where grief should sleep, can breed me

quiet.

Here pleasures court mine eyes, and mine eyes shun them,

- and, as an arrow,] The quartos, "and like an arrow:" altered in the folio, 1664.

10-why should this CHANGE of thoughts?] So every old copy: every modern one, without necessity, alters "change" to charge. It must be admitted, however, that change for charge, and vice versa, was a very common misprint. See this Vol. p. 8. Two lines lower, as of the old copies was necessarily altered to "is" by Malone, for the sake of the sense, which is somewhat obscure. We might read, "By me's so us'd a guest, as not an hour," &c.

And danger, which I feared, is at Antioch,
Whose arm seems far too short to hit me here;
Yet neither pleasure's art can joy my spirits,
Nor yet the other's distance comfort me.
Then, it is thus: that passions of the mind,
That have their first conception by mis-dread,
Have after-nourishment and life by care;

And what was first but fear what might be done,
Grows elder now, and cares it be not done:
And so with me:-the great Antiochus
('Gainst whom I am too little to contend,
Since he's so great, can make his will his act)
Will think me speaking, though I swear to silence;
Nor boots it me to say, I honour,

If he suspect I may dishonour him:

And what may make him blush in being known,
He'll stop the course by which it might be known.
With hostile forces he'll o'erspread the land,
And with the ostent of war' will look so huge,
Amazement shall drive courage from the state;
Our men be vanquish'd ere they do resist,
And subjects punish'd that ne'er thought offence:
Which care of them, not pity of myself,

(Who am no more2 but as the tops of trees,
Which fence the roots they grow by, and defend them)
Makes both my body pine, and soul to languish,

And punish that before, that he would punish.

1 Lord. Joy and all comfort in your sacred breast. 2 Lord. And keep your mind, till you return to us, Peaceful and comfortable.

Hel. Peace, peace! and give experience tongue. They do abuse the king, that flatter him:

1 And with the OSTENT of war-] So amended by Tyrwhitt, from stint of the old copies, and not stent, as Steevens misprinted it: he quoted several instances of the use of the expression "ostent of war" in writers of the time, and such were probably the author's words in this play.

2 (Who AM no more-] The old copies read, "Who once no more." Steevens followed Farmer in the reading of our text.

For flattery is the bellows blows up sin;

The thing the which is flatter'd, but a spark,

To which that blast gives heat and stronger glowing3;
Whereas reproof, obedient and in order,

Fits kings, as they are men, for they may err:
When signior Sooth, here, does proclaim a peace,
He flatters you, makes war upon your life.
Prince, pardon me, or strike me, if you please;

I cannot be much lower than my knees.

Per. All leave us else; but let your cares o'er-look What shipping, and what lading's in our haven, And then return to us. [Exeunt Lords.] Helicanus,

thou

Hast moved us: what seest thou in our looks?
Hel. An angry brow, dread lord.

Per. If there be such a dart in prince's frowns,
How durst thy tongue move anger to our face?

Hel. How dare the plants look up to heaven, from

whence

They have their nourishment?

Per.

Thou know'st I have

power

To take thy life from thee.

Hel. I have ground the axe myself;

Do you but strike the blow.

Per.

Rise, pr'ythee rise;

Sit down; thou art no flatterer :

I thank thee for it; and heaven forbid,

That kings should let their ears hear their faults hid. Fit counsellor, and servant for a prince,

Who by thy wisdom mak'st a prince thy servant,

3 To which that BLAST gives HEAT and stronger glowing ;] The old copies read, “To which that spark gives heart and stronger glowing :" modern editors notice one corruption, but do not mention the other. Monck Mason proposed "blast" for spark, and all agree that either that word or some equivalent, breath or wind, is necessary. Malone adopted breath, and Steevens wind. Heart for "heat" was an easy corruption.

How dare the PLANTS look up to heaven,] Malone tells us that the quarto, 1609, has "plants:" no other copy of that edition we have seen, reads "plants:" nevertheless the mistake is evident.

What would'st thou have me do?

Hel.
To bear with patience
Such griefs as you yourself do lay upon yourself.
Per. Thou speak'st like a physician, Helicanus,
That ministers a potion unto me,

That thou would'st tremble to receive thyself.
Attend me, then: I went to Antioch,

Where, as thou know'st, against the face of death
I sought the purchase of a glorious beauty,
From whence an issue I might propagate,
Are arms to princes, and bring joys to subjects.
Her face was to mine eye beyond all wonder;
The rest (hark in thine ear) as black as incest:
Which by my knowledge found, the sinful father
Seem'd not to strike, but smooth; but thou know'st
this,

'Tis time to fear, when tyrants seem to kiss.
Which fear so grew in me, I hither fled
Under the covering of a careful night,

Who seem'd my good protector; and being here,
Bethought me what was past, what might succeed.
I knew him tyrannous; and tyrants' fears
Decrease not, but grow faster than the years.
And should he doubt it3, (as no doubt he doth)
That I should open to the listening air,
How many worthy princes' bloods were shed,
To keep his bed of blackness unlaid ope,
To lop that doubt he'll fill this land with arms,
And make pretence of wrong that I have done him;
When all, for mine, if I may call❜t, offence,
Must feel war's blow, who spares not innocence :
Which love to all, of which thyself art one,

And should he DOUBT it,] Malone's judicious emendation of the quarto, 1609, which reads, " And should he doo't:" the folio, 1664, following the later quartos, prints "And should he think it." Seven lines lower, Malone's copy of the quarto, 1609, differs, by having "spares" for fears of other copies of the same impression. This important correction must have been made while the edition was going through the press.