And when my name and honour shall be spread
As far as Boreas claps his brazen wings,1
Or fair Böötes 2 sends his cheerful light,
Then shalt thou be competitor3 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 assured of by our friend's success.

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

When kings shall crouch unto our conquering swords
And hosts of soldiers stand amazed at us;

When with their fearful tongues they shall confess,
These are the men that all the world admires.

210

220

Ther. What strong enchantments tice my yielding soul! These are resolvèd, noble Scythians : *

But shall I prove a traitor to my king?

Tamb. No, but the trusty friend of Tamburlaine.

1 Perhaps Marlowe remembered Ovid's "Et quamvis Boreas jactatis insonet alis."-Trist., iii. 10, l. 45.

2 8vo. "Botëes."—4to. "Boetes."

3 I.e. sharer; as in Two Gentlemen of Verona, ii, 6:-"Myself in counsel his competitor."

Old copies "Are these." The modern editors read

"What strong enchantments tice my yielding soul
To these resolvèd noble Scythians?"

Ther. Won with thy words, and conquered 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 combined 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!

230

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,

Whose statues 1 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.

240

1 So 4to.-8vo. "statutes." "As the Scythians worshipped Pylades and Orestes in temples," says the editor of 1826, "we have adopted the reading of the 4to., as being most probably the correct one." What Ovid says is

"Mirus amor juvenum, quamvis abiere tot anni,
In Scythia magnum nunc quoque nomen habet,"
-Ex Ponto, iii. 2, 95–96.

Ther. Nor thee nor them, thrice noble Tamburlaine, Shall want my heart to be with gladness pierced, To do you honour and security.

250

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 forced with slavery.

Agyd. We yield unto thee, happy Tamburlaine.
Tamb. For you then, madam, I am out of doubt.
Zeno. I must be pleased perforce. Wretched Zeno-

crate!

[Exeunt.

ACT THE SECOND.

SCENE I.

Enter COSROE, MENAPHON, ORTYGIUS, CENEUS, with other Soldiers.

Cos. Thus far are we towards Theridamas,
And valiant Tamburlaine, the man of fame,
The man that in the forehead of his fortune
Bears figures of renown and miracle.
But tell me, that hast seen him, Menaphon,
What stature wields he, and what personage?

Men. Of stature tall, and straightly fashioned,
Like his desire lift upward and divine,

So large of limbs, his joints so strongly knit,
Such breadth of shoulders as might mainly bear
Old Atlas' burthen ;-'twixt his manly pitch,1
A pearl, more worth than all the world, is placed,
Wherein by curious sovereignty of art

Are fixed his piercing instruments of sight,
Whose fiery circles bear encompassèd

10

1 Originally the height to which a falcon soared; hence for height in general. Here it means the shoulders.

A heaven of heavenly bodies in their spheres,
That guides his steps and actions to the throne,
Where honour sits invested royally:

Pale of complexion, wrought in him with passion,
Thirsting with sovereignty and1 love of arms;
His lofty brows in folds do figure death,
And in their smoothness amity and life;
About them hangs a knot of amber hair,
Wrapped in curls, as fierce Achilles' was,
On which the breath of Heaven delights to play,
Making it dance with wanton majesty.-
His arms and fingers, long, and sinewy,2
Betokening valour and excess of strength;-
In every part proportioned like the man
Should make the world subdued to Tamburlaine.

Cos. Well hast thou pourtrayed in thy terms of life
The face and personage of a wondrous man;
Nature doth strive with Fortune and his stars
To make him famous in accomplished worth;
And well his merits show him to be made
His fortune's master and the king of men,
That could persuade at such a sudden pinch,
With reasons of his valour and his life,
A thousand sworn and overmatching foes.

admires

30

20

1 So 4to.-8vo. "with."

2 This is Dyce's emendation for the 8vo.'s "snowy." The 4to. reads:-"His armes long, his fingers snowy-white."

3 Dyce suggests that Shakespeare had this line in his mind when he wrote,-"Nature and Fortune join'd to make thee great."-King John, iii, 1. But the form of expression is common.