Renowned general, mighty Callapine,
Though God himself and holy Mahomet
Should come in person to resist your pow'r,
Yet might your mighty host encounter all,
And pull proud Tamburlaine upon his knees
To sue for mercy at your highness' feet.
CALL. Captain, the force of Tamburlaine is great, His fortune greater, and the victories
Wherewith he hath so sore dismay'd the world
Are greatest to discourage all our drifts;
Yet when the pride of Cynthia is at full,
She wanes again, and so shall his, I hope;
For we have here the chief selected men
Of twenty several kingdoms at the least;
Nor ploughman, priest, nor merchant, stays at home;
All Turkey is in arms with Callapine;
And never will we sunder camps and arms
Before himself or his be conquer'd.
This is the time that must eternize me
For conquering the tyrant of the world.
Come, soldiers, let us lie in wait for him,
And if we find him absent from his camp,
Or that it be rejoin'd again at full,
Assail it and be sure of victory.
Enter THERIDAMAS, TECHELLES, and USUM
THER. Weep, heavens, and vanish into liquid
Fall stars that govern his nativity,
And summon all the shining lamps of heaven
To cast their bootless fires to the earth,
And shed their feeble influence in the air.
Muffle your beauties with eternal clouds,
For hell and darkness pitch their pitchy tents,
And death with armies of Cimmerian spirits
Gives battle 'gainst the heart of Tamburlaine.
Now in defiance of that wonted love
Your sacred virtues pour'd upon his throne
And made his state an honour to the heavens,
These cowards invisible assail his soul,
And threaten conquest on our sovereign;
But if he die your glories are disgrac'd;
Earth droops and says that hell in heaven is plac'd. TECH. O then, ye pow'rs that sway eternal seats And guide this massy substance of the earth,
you retain desert of holiness
As your supreme estates instruct our thoughts,
Be not inconstant, careless of your fame,—
Bear not the burthen of your en'mies joys
Triumphing in his fall you most advanc'd,
But as his birth, life, health and majesty
Were strangely blest and governed by heaven,
So honour heaven (till heaven dissolved be)
His birth, his life, his health, and majesty!
USUM. Blush, heaven, to lose the honour of thy
To see thy footstool set upon thy head!
And let no baseness in thy haughty breast
Sustain a shame of such inexcellence,
To see the devils mount in angels' thrones,
And angels dive into the pools of hell.
And though they think their painful date is out,
And that their power is puissant as Jove's,
Which makes them manage arms against thy state,
Yet make them feel the strength of Tamburlaine,
(Thy instrument and note of majesty,)
Is greater far than they can thus subdue:
For if he die thy glory is disgrac'd;
Earth droops and says that hell in heaven is plac'd.
Enter TAMBURLAINE, AMYRAS, and PHYSICIAN.
TAMB. What daring god torments my body thus,
And seeks to conquer mighty Tam burlaine ?
Shall sickness prove me now to be a man,
That have been term'd the terror of the world?
Techelles and the rest, come, take your swords,
And threaten him whose hand afflicts my soul.
Come, let us march against the pow'rs of Heaven,
And set black streamers in the firmament,
To signify the slaughter of the gods.
Ah, friends, what shall I do? I cannot stand.
Come carry me to war against the gods
That envy thus the health of Tamburlaine.
THER. Ah, good my lord, leave these impatient words,
Which add much danger to your malady.
TAMB. Why, shall I sit and languish in this pain? No, strike the drums, and in revenge of this,
Come, let us charge our spears, and pierce his breast,
Whose shoulders bear the axis of the world,
That, if I perish, heav'n and earth may fade.
Theridamas, haste to the court of Jove,
Will him to send Apollo hither straight,
To cure me, or I'll fetch him down myself.
TECH. Sit still, my gracious lord; this grief will
And can not last, it is so violent.
TAMB. Not last, Techelles?-No! for I shall die.
See, where my slave, the ugly monster, death,
Shaking and quiv'ring, pale and wan for fear,
Stands aiming at me with his murd'ring dart,
Who flies away at ev'ry glance I give,
And, when I look away, comes stealing on.
Villain, away, and hie thee to the field!
I and mine army come to load thy back
With souls of thousand mangled carcases.
Look, where he goes; but see, he comes again,
Because I stay: Techelles, let us march
death with bearing souls to hell.
PHY. Pleaseth yonr majesty to drink this potion, Which will abate the fury of your fit,
And cause some milder spirits govern you.
TAMB. Tell me what think you of my sickness now?
PHY. I view'd your urine, and the hypostasis Thick and obscure, doth make your danger great; Your veins are full of accidental heat,
Whereby the moisture of your blood is dried.
The humidum and calor, which some hold
Are not a parcel of the elements,
But of a substance more divine and pure,
Are almost clean extinguished and spent;
Which, being the cause of life, imports your death.
Besides, my lord, this day is critical,
Dangerous to those whose crisis is as yours;
Your artiers, which along the veins convey
The lively spirits which thy heart engenders,
Are parch'd and void of spirit, that the soul,
Wanting these organisms by which it moves,
Can not endure, by argument of art.
Yet, if your majesty may 'scape this day,
No doubt but you shall soon recover all.
TAMB. Then will I comfort all
vital parts,
And live, in spite of death, above a day.
MES. My lord, young Callapine, that lately fled from your majesty, hath now gathered a fresh army, and hearing your absence in the field, offers to set upon us presently.
TAMB. See, my physicians now, how Jove hath
A present medicine to recure my pain,
My looks shall make them fly, and might I follow, There should not one of all the villain's power
Live to give offer of another fight.
USUM. I joy, my lord, your highness is so strong, That can endure so well your royal presence, Which only will dismay the enemy.
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