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;
Nature3 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.

20

30

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. I. But the form of expression is common.

Then, when our powers in points of swords are joined 40
And closed in compass of the killing bullet,

Though strait the passage and the port1 be made
That leads to palace of my brother's life,
Proud is his fortune if we pierce it not.

And when the princely Persian diadem
Shall overweigh his weary witless head,

And fall like mellowed fruit with shakes of death,
In fair Persia, noble Tamburlaine

Shall be my regent and remain as king.

Orty. In happy hour we have set the crown
Upon your kingly head that seeks our honour,
In joining with the man ordained by Heaven,
To further every action to the best.

Cen. He that with shepherds and a little spoil
Durst in disdain of wrong and tyranny,
Defend his freedom 'gainst a monarchy,
What will he do supported by a king,
Leading a troop of gentlemen and lords,

And stuffed with treasure for his highest thoughts!

50

Cos. And such shall wait on worthy Tamburlaine. 60

Our army will be forty thousand strong.

When Tamburlaine and brave Theridamas

Have met us by the river Araris ;

And all conjoined to meet the witless king,
That now is marching near to Parthia,
And with unwilling soldiers faintly armed,
To seek revenge on me and Tamburlaine,

1 Gate.

To whom, sweet Menaphon, direct me straight.

Men. I will, my lord.

SCENE II.

[Exeunt.

Enter MYCETES, MEANDER, with other Lords and
Soldiers.

Myc. Come, my Meander, let us to this gear.1
I tell you true, my heart is swoln with wrath
On this same thievish villain, Tamburlaine,
And, on that false Cosroe, my traitorous brother.
Would it not grieve a king to be so abused
And have a thousand horsemen ta'en away?
And, which is worse, to have his diadem
Sought for by such scald2 knaves as love him not?
I think it would; well then, by Heavens I swear,
Aurora shall not peep out of her doors,

But I will have Cosroe by the head,

And kill proud Tamburlaine with point of sword.
Tell
you the rest, Meander: I have said.

Meand. Then having past Armenian deserts now,
And pitched our tents under the Georgian hills,
Whose tops are covered with Tartarian thieves,
That lie in ambush, waiting for a prey,

10

1 Business. Cf. Edward II., v. 5:-" So now must I about this gear." 2 Henry VI., i. 4 :-" Well said, my masters, and welcome all to this gear; the sooner the better."

* Scurvy, low, paltry. Cf. Antony and Cleopatra, v. 2 :—

"Saucy lictors

Will catch at us like strumpets, and scald rhymes

Ballad us out of tune."