The which the gods protect thee from! 't may defend thee." a

It kept where I kept, I so dearly lov'd it;

Till the rough seas, that spare not any man,

Took it in rage, though calm'd they 've given it again:

I thank thee for it; my shipwrack now 's no ill,

Since I have here my father's gift in his will.

1 FISH. What mean you, sir?

PER. To beg of you, kind friends, this coat of worth,
For it was some time target to a king;

I know it by this mark; he lov'd me dearly,
And, for his sake, I wish the having of it;
And that you'd guide me to your sovereign's court,
Where with it I may appear a gentleman;

And if that ever my low fortune 's better,
I'll pay your bounties; till then,

rest your

debtor.

1 FISH. Why, wilt thou tourney for the lady? PER. I'll show the virtue I have borne in arms.

1 FISH. Why, d' ye take it, and the gods give thee good on 't.

2 FISH. Ay, but hark you, my friend; 't was we that made up this garment through the rough seams of the water: there are certain condolements, certain vails. I hope, sir, if you thrive, you 'll remember from whence you had it.

PER. Believe it, I will.

By your furtherance I am cloth'd in steel;

And spite of all the rupture of the sea,
This jewel holds his biding on my arm;
Unto thy value I will mount myself

Upon a courser, whose delightful steps

Shall make the gazer joy to see him tread.

Only, my friend, I yet am unprovided

Of a pair of bases".

2 FISH. We'll sure provide: thou shalt have my best gown to make thee a

pair; and I'll bring thee to the court myself.

PER. Then honour be but a goal to my will,

This day I'll rise, or else add ill to ill.

SCENE II-A public Way or Platform, leading to the Lists.

[Exeunt.

A Pavilion by

the side of it, for the reception of the King and Princess d.

Enter SIMONIDES, THAISA, Lords, and Attendants.

SIM. Are the knights ready to begin the triumph?

a The old copies read

"The which the gods protect thee, fame may defend thee."

b Biding. The old copies, buylding.
This description of the scene is modern.

• Armour for the legs.

1 LORD. They are, my liege;

And stay your coming, to present themselves.
SIM. Return them, we are ready; and our daughter,

In honour of whose birth these triumphs are,
Sits here, like beauty's child, whom Nature gat
For men to see, and seeing wonder at.
THAI. It pleaseth you, my royal father, to express

My commendations great, whose merit 's less.
SIM. "T is fit it should be so; for princes are
A model which heaven makes like to itself:
As jewels lose their glory, if neglected,
So princes their renown, if not respected.
'T is now your honour, daughter, to explaina

The labour of each knight, in his device.

THAI. Which, to preserve mine honour, I'll perform.

[Exit a Lord.

[Enter a Knight; he passes over the stage, and his Squire presents his

shield to the Princess.

SIM. Who is the first that doth prefer himself?

THAI. A knight of Sparta, my renowned father;
And the device he bears upon his shield

Is a black Æthiop reaching at the sun;
The word, Lux tua vita mihi.

SIM. He loves you well, that holds his life of you.
Who is the second that presents himself?

THAI. A prince of Macedon, my royal father;
And the device he bears upon his shield

Is an arm'd knight, that 's conquer'd by a lady :

[The second Knight passes.

The motto thus, in. Spanish, Piu per dulcura que per fuerça.

SIM. And what 's the third?

[The third Knight passes.

THAI. The third of Antioch; and his device,

A wreath of chivalry: the word, Me pompa proverit apex.

SIM. What is the fourth?

THAI. A burning torch that 's turned upside down ;

The word, Quod me alit, me extinguit.

[The fourth Knight passes.

SIM. Which shows that beauty hath his power and will,
Which can as well inflame, as it can kill.

THAI. The fifth, an hand environed with clouds,
Holding out gold, that 's by the touchstone tried:
The motto thus, Sic spectanda fides.

[The fifth Knight passes.

[The sixth Knight passes.

SIM. And what's the sixth and last, the which the knight himself

With such a graceful courtesy deliver'd?

THAI. He seems to be a stranger; but his present

a Explain. The old copies read entertain.

Is a wither'd branch, that 's only green at top:
The motto, In hac spe vivo.

SIM. A pretty moral;

From the dejected state wherein he is,

He hopes by you his fortunes yet may flourish.

1 LORD. He had need mean better than his outward show Can any way speak in his just commend:

For, by his rusty outside, he appears

To have practis'd more the whipstock than the lance. 2 LORD. He well may be a stranger, for he comes

To an honour'd triumph, strangely furnished. 3 LORD. And on set purpose let his armour rust Until this day, to scour it in the dust.

SIM. Opinion 's but a fool, that makes us scan
The outward habit by the inward man.

But stay, the knights are coming; we 'll withdraw
Into the gallery.

[Exeunt.

[Great shouts, and all cry, The mean Knight!

SCENE III-A Hall of State. A Banquet prepared.

Enter SIMONIDES, THAISA, Lords, Attendants, and the Knights from tilting.

SIM. Knights,

To say you are welcome, were superfluous.

To place upon the volume of your deeds,

As in a title-page, your worth in arms,

Were more than you expect, or more than 's fit,

Since every worth in show commends itself.

Prepare for mirth, for mirth becomes a feast:
You are princes, and my guests.

THAI. But you, my knight and guest;

To whom this wreath of victory I give,

And crown you king of this day's happiness.
PER. "T is more by fortune, lady, than by merit.
SIM. Call it by what you will, the day is yours;

And here, I hope, is none that envies it.
In framing an artist, art hath thus decreed,
To make some good, but others to exceed;

And you 're her labour'd scholar. Come, queen o' the feast,
(For, daughter, so you are,) here take your place :
Marshal the rest, as they deserve their grace.
KNIGHTS. We are honour'd much by good Simonides.
SIM. Your presence glads our days; honour we love,
For who hates honour, hates the gods above.

By Jove, I wonder, that is king of thoughts, These cates resist me, he not thought upon 2. THAI. By Juno, that is queen of marriage,

All viands that I eat do seem unsavoury,

Wishing him my meat: sure he's a gallant gentleman.
SIM. He's but a country gentleman; has done no more
Than other knights have done; has broken a staff,
Or so; so let it pass.

THAI. To me he seems like diamond to glass.
PER. Yon king 's to me, like to my father's picture,
Which tells me, in that glory once he was;
Had princes sit like stars about his throne,
And he the sun, for them to reverence.

None that beheld him, but, like lesser lights,
Did vail their crowns to his supremacy;

Where now his son 's like a glow-worm in the night,
The which hath fire in darkness, none in light;
Whereby I see that Time 's the king of men,
For he 's their parent, and he is their grave,
And gives them what he will, not what they crave.
SIM. What, are you merry, knights?

1 KNIGHT. Who can be other in this royal presence?
SIM. Here, with a cup that 's stor'd unto the brim,
(As you do love, fill to your mistress' lips,)

We drink this health to you.

KNIGHTS.

We thank your grace.

SIM. Yet pause a while; yon knight doth sit too melancholy,

As if the entertainment in our court

This speech is usually assigned to Pericles; and in the second line under this arrangement, we read, "she not thought upon." But throughout the remainder of the scene Pericles gives no intimation of a sudden attachment to the Princess. The King, on the contrary, is evidently moved to treat him with marked attention, and to bestow his thoughts upon him almost as exclusively as his daughter. If we leave the old reading, and the old indication of the speaker, Simonides wonders that he cannot eat-" these cates resist me "-although he (Pericles) is "not thought upon." This is an attempt to disguise the cause of his solicitude even to himself. It must be observed that the succeeding speeches of Simonides, Thaisa, and Pericles, are all to be received as soliloquies. In the second speech Simonides continues the idea of "he not thought upon," by attempting to depreciate Pericles-" He's but a country gentleman."

b Where-whereas.

Stor'd. The first quarto has sturd; the subsequent copies stirr'd-each the same word.

Had not a show might countervail his worth.
Note it not you, Thaisa?

THAI. What is 't to me, my father?
SIM. O, attend, my daughter;

Princes, in this, should live like gods above,
Who freely give to every one that comes

To honour them:

And princes, not doing so, are like to gnats,

Which make a sound, but kill'd are wonder'd at.

Therefore to make his entrance more sweet,

Here say, we drink this standing bowl of wine to him.
THAI. Alas, my father, it befits not me

Unto a stranger knight to be so bold;
He may my proffer take for an offence,

Since men take women's gifts for impudence.

SIM. How! do as I bid you, or you 'll move me else.
THAI. Now, by the gods, he could not please me better.
SIM. And further tell him, we desire to know of him,
Of whence he is, his name and parentage.
THAI. The king my father, sir, hath drunk to you.
PER. I thank him.

THAI. Wishing it so much blood unto your life.

PER. I thank both him and you, and pledge him freely.
THAI. And further he desires to know of you,

Of whence you are, your name and parentage.
PER. A gentleman of Tyre-(my name Pericles;
My education has been in arts and arms;)
Who, looking for adventures in the world,
Was by the rough seas reft of ships and men,
And, after shipwrack, driven upon this shore.
THAI. He thanks your grace; names himself Pericles,
A gentleman of Tyre, who only by

Misfortune of the sea has been bereft

Of ships and men, and cast upon this shore.
SIM. Now, by the gods, I pity his misfortune,
And will awake him from his melancholy.
Come, gentlemen, we sit too long on trifles,
And waste the time, which looks for other revels.
Even in your armours, as you are address'd,

Will very well become a soldier's dance":

[Aside.

a Malone says, "The dance here introduced is thus described in an ancient 'Dialogue against the Abuse of Dancing' (black letter, no date):

"There is a dance call'd Choria,

Which joy doth testify;

Another called Pyrricke,

Which warlike feats doth try.

For