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Ur. Fill me my glass.

And fill their circle with his conquer'd foes,

For wanton bosom of a flattering wife.

Dav. Urias hath a beauteous sober wife,

Thén go, Urias, solace in her love;

Whom God hath knit to thee, tremble to loose.

Ur. The king is much too tender of my ease: The ark, and Israel, and Judah dwell

In palaces and rich pavilions;

But Joab and his brother in the fields,
Suffering the wrath of winter and the sun:
And shall Urias (of more shame than they)
Banquet, and loiter in the work of heaven?
As sure as thy soul doth live, my lord,
Mine ears shall never lean to such delight,
When holy labour calls me forth to fight.
Dav. Then be it with Urias' manly heart
As best his fame may shine in Israel.

Ur. Thus shall Urias' heart be best content,
Till thou dismiss me back to Joab's bands:
This ground before the king my master's doors
Shall be my couch, and this unwearied arm
The proper pillow of a soldier's head;

[Lies down.

For never will I lodge within my house,
Till Joab triumph in my secret vows.

Dav. Then fetch some flagons of our purest wine,

That we may welcome home our hardy friend
With full carouses to his fortunes past,
And to the honours of his future arms;

Then will I send him back to Rabbah siege,
And follow with the strength of Israel.

Enter one with flagons of wine.
Arise, Urias; come and pledge the king.
Ur. If David think me worthy such a grace,
I will be bold and pledge my lord the king.

[Rises.

Dav. Absalon and Cusay both shall drink

To good Urias and his happiness.

Abs. We will, my lord, to please Urias' soul.

Dav. I will begin, Urias, to thyself,

And all the treasure of the Ammonites,
Which here I promise to impart to thee,
And bind that promise with a full carouse.

[Drinks.

Ur. What seemeth pleasant in my sovereign's eyes,

That shall Urias do till he be dead.

Dav. Fill him the cup. [URIAS drinks.]

Follow, ye lords that love
Your sovereign's health, and do as he hath done.
Abs. Ill may he thrive, or live in Israel,

That loves not David, or denies his charge.-
Urias, here is to Abisai's health,

Lord Joab's brother and thy loving friend.

[Drinks.

Ur. I pledge Lord Absalon and Abisai's health. [Drinks.

[Drinks.

Cu. Here now, Urias, to the health of Joab, And to the pleasant journey we shall have When we return to mighty Rabbah siege. Ur. Cusay, I pledge thee with all my heart. Give me some drink, ye servants of the king; Give me my drink. [Drinks. Dav. Well done, my good Urias! drink thy fill, That in thy fulness David may rejoice. Ur. I will, my Lord. Abs. Now, Lord Urias, one carouse to me. Ur. No, sir, I'll drink to the king; Your father is a better man than you.

Dav. Fill him his glass,

Dav. Quickly, I say.

Ur. Quickly, I say. Here, my lord, by your

favour now I drink to you.

[Drinks.

[Drinks.

Dav. I pledge thee, good Urias, presently.

Abs. Here, then, Urias, once again for me. And to the health of David's children. [Drinks. Ur. David's children!

Abs. Ay, David's children: wilt thou pledge me, man?

Ur. Pledge me, man?

Abs. Pledge me, I say, or else thou lov'st us not. Ur. What, do you talk? do you talk? I'll no

more; I'll lie down here.

Dav. Rather, Urias, go thou home and sleep. Ur. O, ho, sir! would you make me break my sentence? [Lies down.] Home, sir! no, indeed, sir: I'll sleep upon mine arm, like a soldier; sleep like a man as long as I live in Israel.

Dav. [aside.] If naught will serve to save his wife's renown,

I'll send him with a letter unto Joab

To put him in the forefront of the wars,
That so my purposes may take effect.-
Help him in, sirs.

[Exeunt DAVID and ABSALON.

Cu. Come rise, Urias; get thee in and sleep.
Ur. I will not go home, sir; that's flat.
Cu. Then come and rest thee upon David's bed.
Ur. On afore, my lords, on afore.
[Exeunt.

Enter CHORUS.

Chorus. O proud revolt of a presumptuous man,

Laying his bridle in the neck of sin,
Ready to bear him past his grave to hell!
Like as the fatal raven, that in his voice
Carries the dreadful summons of our deaths,
Flies by the fair Arabian spiceries,
Her pleasant gardens and delightsome parks,
Seeming to curse them with his hoarse exclaims,
And yet doth stoop with hungry violence
Upon a piece of hateful carrion ;

So wretched man, displeas'd with those delights
Would yield a quickening savour to his soul,
Pursues with eager and unstanchèd thirst
The greedy longings of his loathsome flesh.
If holy David so shook hands with sin,
What shall our baser spirits glory in?
This kingly giving lust her rein
Pursues the sequel with a greater ill.
Urias in the forefront of the wars

Is murdered by the hateful heathens' sword,
And David joys his too dear Bethsabe.
Suppose this past, and that the child is born,
Whose death the prophet solemnly doth mourn.
[Exit.

Enter BETHSABE with her Maid.

Beth. Mourn, Bethsabe, bewail thy foolishness,
Thy sin, thy shame, the sorrow of thy soul:
Sin, shame, and sorrow swarm about thy soul;
And, in the gates and entrance of my heart,
Sadness, with wreathed arms, hangs her complaint.
No comfort from the ten-string'd instrument,

The tinkling cymbal, or the ivory lute;
Nor doth the sound of David's kingly harp
Make glad the broken heart of Bethsabe:
Jerusalem is fill'd with thy complaint,
And in the streets of Sion sits thy grief.
The babe is sick, sick to the death, I fear,
The fruit that sprung from thee to David's house;
Nor may the pot of honey and of oil

Glad David or his handmaid's countenance. Urias-wo is me to think hereon!

For who is it among the sons of men

In thine own house stir evil up to thee; Yea, I before thy face will take thy wives, And give them to thy neighbour to possess:

That saith not to my soul, The king hath sinn'd; This shall be done to David in the day,

That Israel openly may see thy shame.

David hath done amiss, and Bethsabe Laid snares of death unto Urias' life?'

Dav. Nathan, I have against the Lord, I have,

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Sinnèd; Oh, sinnèd grievously! and, lo,
From heaven's throne doth David throw himself,
And groan and grovel to the gates of hell!

[Falls down.

How lion-like they rage when we resist!

But, Bethsabe, in humbleness attend

The grace that God will to his handmaid send.

[Exeunt.

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Dav. [aside.] The babe is sick, and sadis David's heart,

To see the guiltless bear the guilty's pain.
David, hang up thy harp; hang down thy head;
And dash thy ivory lute against the stones.
The dew, that on the hill of Hermon falls,
Rains not on Sion's tops and lofty towers;
The plains of Gath and Askaron rejoice,
And David's thoughts are spent in pensiveness:
The babe is sick, sweet babe, that Bethsabe
With woman's pain brought forth to Israel.

Enter NATHAN,

But what saith Nathan to his lord the king?

Na. Thus Nathan saith unto his lord the king. There were two men both dwellers in one town: The one was mighty, and exceeding rich In oxen, sheep, and cattle of the field; The other poor, having nor ox, nor calf, Nor other cattle, save one little lamb Which he had bought and nourish'd by the hand; And it grew up, and fed with him and his, And eat and drank as he and his were wont, And in his bosom slept, and was to him As was his daughter or his dearest child. There came a stranger to this wealthy man; And he refus'd and spar'd to take his own, Or of his store to dress or make him meat, But took the poor man's sheep, partly, poor man's

store,1

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His wives into thy bosom did I give,

And Judah and Jerusalem withal;

Na. [raising him.] David, stand up: thus saith the Lord by me:

David the king shall live, for he hath seen
The true repentant sorrow of thy heart;
But, for thou hast in this misdeed of thine
Stirr'd up the enemies of Israel

To triumph, and blaspheme the God of Hosts,
And say, he set a wicked man to reign
Over his lovèd people and his tribes,-
The child shall surely die, that erst was born,
His mother's sin, his kingly father's scorn.1

[Exit.

Dav. How just is Jacob's God in all his works! But must it die that David loveth so? Oh, that the Mighty One of Israel

Nill change his doom, and says the babe must

die!

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How shall he speed that brings this tidings first, When, while the child was yet alive, we spake, And David's heart would not be comforted?

Dav. Yea, David's heart will not be comforted! What murmur ye, the servants of the king? What tidings telleth Cusay to the king? Say, Cusay, lives the child, or is he dead? Cu. The child is dead, that of Urias' wife David begat.

Dav. Urias' wife, say'st thou? The child is dead, then ceaseth David's shame: Fetch me to eat, and give me wine to drink; Water to wash, and oil to clear my looks;

Bring down your shalms, your cymbals, and

your pipes;

And might, thou know'st, if this had been too Let David's harp and lute, his hand and voice,

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Enter ABSALON with several others.

Abs. Set up your mules, and give them well to
eat,

And let us meet our brothers at the feast.
Accursed is the master of this feast,
Dishonour of the house of Israel,

His sister's slander, and his mother's shame:
Shame be his share that could such ill contrive,
But may his wickedness find just reward!
Therefore doth Absalon conspire with you,
That Amnon die what time he sits to eat;
For in the holy temple have I sworn
Wreak1 of his villany in Thamar's rape.
And here he comes: bespeak him gently all,
Whose death is deeply gravèd in my heart.

Enter AMNON, ADONIA, and JONADAB.

Bury thy body 'mong the dead men's bones;
And we will make complaint to Israel
Of Amnon's death, and pride of Absalon.

[Exeunt.
Enter DAVID, JOAB, ABISAI, CUSAY, and others,
with drum and ensign against RABBAH.
Dav. This is the town of the uncircumcis'd,
The city of the kingdom, this is it,
Rabbah, where wicked Hanon sitteth king.
Despoil this king, this Hanon, of his crown;
Unpeople Rabbah and the streets thereof;
For in their blood, and slaughter of the slain,
Lieth the honour of King David's line.
Joab, Abisai, and the rest of you,
Fight ye this day for great Jerusalem.

Enter HANON and others on the walls.
Joab. And see where Hanon shows him on the
walls;

Why, then, do we forbear to give assault,
That Israel may, as it is promisèd,
Subdue the daughters of the Gentiles' tribes ?
All this must be perform'd by David's hand.

Dav. Hark to me, Hanon, and remember well:
As sure as He doth live that kept my host,
What time our young men, by the pool of Gibeon,
Went forth against the strength of Isboseth,
And twelve to twelve did with their weapons

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And gor'd his sides upon the mountain-tops,
And Jonathan, Abinadab, and Melchisua,
Water'd the dales and deeps of Askaron

Am. Our shearers are not far from hence, I With bloody streams, that from Gilboa ran
wot;

And Amnon to you all his brethren
| Giveth such welcome as our fathers erst
Were wont in Judah and Jerusalem ;-
But, specially, Lord Absalon, to thee,
The honour of thy house and progeny:
Sit down and dine with me, King David's son,
Thou fair young man, whose hairs shine in mine

eye

Like golden wires of David's ivory lute.

In channels through the wilderness of Ziph,
What time the sword of the uncircumcis'd
Was drunken with the blood of Israel;
So sure shall David perish with his men
Under the walls of Rabbah, Hanon's town.

Joab. Hanon, the God of Israel hath said,
David the king shall wear that crown of thine,
That weighs a talent of the finest gold,
And triumph in the spoil of Hanon's town,
When Israel shall hale thy people hence,

Abs. Amnon, where be thy shearers and thy And turn them to the tile-kiln, man and child, men,

That we may pour in plenty of thy wines,
And eat thy goats'-milk, and rejoice with thee?

Am. Here cometh Amnon's shearers and his

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And put them under harrows made of iron,
And hew their bones with axes, and their limbs
With iron swords divide and tear in twain.
Hanon, this shall be done to thee and thine,
Because thou hast defièd Israel.-

To arms, to arms, that Rabbah feel revenge,
And Hanon's town become King David's spoil!

Alarum, excursions, assault; exeunt. Then the
trumpets sound, and re-enter DAVID with
HANON'S crown, Joab, etc.

Dav. Now clattering arms and wrathful storms
of war

Have thunder'd over Rabbah's razèd towers;
The wreakful' ire of great Jehovah's arm,
That for his people made the gates to rend,
And cloth'd the cherubims in fiery coats
To fight against the wicked Hanon's town.
Pay thanks, ye men of Judah, to the King,
The God of Sion and Jerusalem,
That hath exalted Israel to this,

And crownèd David with this diadem.

1 wreakful-vengeful.

E

Joab. Beauteous and bright is he among the Or songs that David tuneth to his harp; tribes;

As when the sun,1 attir'd in glistering robe,
Comes dancing from his oriental gate,

And bridegroom-like hurls through the gloomy

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Jonad. Why doth the king of Israel rejoice? Why sitteth David crown'd with Rabbah's rule? Behold, there hath great heaviness befall'n In Amnon's fields by Absalon's misdeed; And Amnon's shearers and their feast of mirth, Absalon hath o'erturned with his sword; Nor liveth any of King David's sons

To bring this bitter tidings to the king.

Dav. Ay me, how soon are David's triumphs dash'd!

How suddenly declineth David's pride!
As doth the daylight settle in the west,
So dim is David's glory and his gite."
Die, David; for to thee is left no seed
That may revive thy name in Israel.

Jonad. In Israel is left of David's seed. Comfort your lord, you servants of the king.Behold, thy sons return in mourning weeds, And only Amnon Absalon hath slain.

Enter ADONIA with other SONS of DAVID. Dav. Welcome, my sons; dearer to me you are Than is this golden crown or Hanon's spoil. Oh, tell me, then, tell me, my sons, I say, How cometh it to pass that Absalon

Hath slain his brother Amnon with the sword? Ad. Thy sons, O king, went up to Amnon's fields,

To feast with him and eat his bread and oil;
And Absalon upon his mule doth come,
And to his men he saith, When Amnon's heart
Is merry and secure, then strike him dead,
Because he forced Thamar shamefully,

And hated her, and threw her forth his doors.'
And this did he; and they with him conspire,
And kill thy son in wreak of Thamar's wrong.

Dav. How long shall Judah and Jerusalem
Complain, and water Sion with their tears?
How long shall Israel lament in vain,
And not a man among the mighty ones
Will hear the sorrows of King David's heart!
Amnon, thy life was pleasing to thy lord,
As to mine ears the music of my lute,

1 As when the sun, &c. Hawkins, who (Preface to The Origin of the English Drama, vol. i. p. 11) justly praises this simile, had forgotten the following lines of Spenser:

'At last, the golden orientall gate,
Of greatest heaven 'gan to open fayre;

And Phœbus, fresh as brydegrol'e to his mate,
Came dauncing forth, shaking his deawie hayre;
And hurl'd his glist'ring beams through gloomy ayre.'
The Faerie Queene, B. 1, c. 5, st. 2.

-DYCE.

2 gite-a gown; used here metaphorically for splenHour, brightness.

And Absalon hath ta'en from me away
The gladness of my sad distressèd soul.

[Exeunt JOAB and some others.

Enter Woman of Thecoa.

Wo. of T. [kneeling.] God save King David, king of Israel,

And bless the gates of Sion for his sake! Dav. Woman, why mournest thou? rise from the earth;

Tell me what sorrow hath befall'n thy soul.

Wo. of T. [rising.] Thy servant's soul, O king, is troubled sore,

And grievous is the anguish of her heart;
And from Thecoa doth thy handmaid come.
Dav. Tell me, and say, thou woman of Thecoa,
What aileth thee, or what is come to pass.

Wo. of T. Thy servant is a widow in Thecoa.
Two sons thy handmaid had; and they, my lord,
Fought in the field, where no man went betwixt,
And so the one did smite and slay the other.
And, lo! behold, the kindred doth arise,
And cry on him that smote his brother,
That he therefore may be the child of death;
'For we will follow and destroy the heir.'
So will they quench that sparkle that is left,
And leave nor name nor issue on the earth
To me or to thy handmaid's husband dead.
Dav. Woman, return; go home unto thy
house:

I will take order that thy son be safe.
If any man say otherwise than well,
Bring him to me, and I shall chástise him;
For, as the Lord doth live, shall not a hair
Shed from thy son or fall upon the earth.
Woman, to God alone belongs revenge:
Shall, then, the kindred slay him for his sin?
Wo. of T. Well hath King David to his hand-
maid spoke:

But wherefore, then, hast thou determinèd
So hard a part against the righteous tribes,
To follow and pursue the banishèd,
Whenas1 to God alone belongs revenge?
Assuredly thou saist against thyself:
Therefore call home again the banished,
Call home the banished, that he may live,
And raise to thee some fruit in Israel.

Dav. Thou woman of Thecoa, answer me,
Answer me one thing I shall ask of theo
Is not the hand of Joab in this work?
Tell me, is not his finger in this fact?

Wo. of T. It is, my lord; his hand is in this

work:

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1 Whenas-when.

That twines about his bright and ivory neck;
In Israel is not such a goodly man:
And here I bring him to entreat for grace.

Joab brings in ABSALON.

Dav. Hast thou slain [Amnon] in the fields of
Hazor?

Ah, Absalon, my son! ah, my son, Absalon!
But wherefore do I vex thy spirit so?
Live, and return from Gesur to thy house;
Return from Gesur to Jerusalem:

What boots it to be bitter to thy soul?
Amnon is dead, and Absalon survives.
Abs. Father, I have offended Israel,
I have offended David and his house;
For Thamar's wrong hath Absalon misdone:
But David's heart is free from sharp revenge,
And Joab hath got grace for Absalon.

Dav. Depart with me, you men of Israel,
You that have follow'd Rabbah with the sword,
And ransack Amnon's richest treasuries.-
Live, Absalon, my son, live once in peace:
Peace [be] with thee, and with Jerusalem!

[Exeunt all except ABSALON.

Abs. David is gone, and Absalon remains, Flowering in pleasant springtime of his youth: Why liveth Absalon, and is not honour'd Of tribes and elders and the mightiest ones, That round about his temples he may wear Garlands and wreaths set on with reverence; That every one that hath a cause to plead Might come to Absalon and call for right? Then in the gates of Sion would I sit, And publish laws in great Jerusalem; And not a man should live in all the land But Absalon would do him reason's due: Therefore I shall address me, as I may, To love the men and tribes of Israel.

[Exit.

Enter DAVID, ITHAY, SADOC, AHIMAAS, JONATHAN, and others; DAVID barefoot, with some loose covering over his head; and all mourning.

Dav. Proud lust, the bloodiest traitor to our souls,

Whose greedy throat nor earth, air, sea, or heaven,

Can glut or satisfy with any store,
Thou art the cause these torments suck my blood,
Piercing with venom of thy poison'd eyes
The strength and marrow of my tainted bones.
To punish Pharaoh and his cursèd host,
The waters shrunk at great Adonai's voice,
And sandy bottom of the sea appear'd,
Offering his service at his servant's feet;
And, to inflict a plague on David's sin,
He makes his bowels traitors to his breast,
Winding about his heart with mortal gripes.
Ah, Absalon, the wrath of Heaven inflames
Thy scorched bosom with ambitious heat!
And Satan sets thee on a lofty1 tower,
Showing thy thoughts the pride of Israel,
Of choice to cast thee on her ruthless stones!-
Weep with me, then, ye sons of Israel;
Lie down with David, and with David mourn
Before the Holy One that sees our hearts;

[Lies down, and all the rest after him.
Season this heavy soil with showers of tears,
And fill the face of every flower with dew;
Weep, Israel, for David's soul dissolves,
Lading the fountains of his drowned eyes,
And pours her substance on the senseless earth!
Sa. Weep, Israel; oh, weep for David's soul,

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Then weep, you heavens, and, all you clouds, dissolve,

That piteous stars may see our miseries,
And drop their golden tears upon the ground,
For witness how they weep for David's woes!
Sa. Now let my sovereign raise his prostrate
bones,

And mourn not as a faithless man would do;
But be assur'd that Jacob's righteous God,
That promis'd never to forsake your throne,
Will still be just and pure in his vows.

Dav. Sadoc, high priest, preserver of the ark,
Whose sacred virtue keeps the chosen crown,
I know my God is spotless in his vows,

And that these hairs shall greet my grave in

peace:

But that my son should wrong his tender'd1 soul,
And fight against his father's happiness,
Turns all my hopes into despair of him,
And that despair feeds all my veins with grief.

Ith. Think of it, David, as a fatal plague
Which grief preserveth, but preventeth not;
And turn thy drooping eyes upon the troops
That, of affection to thy worthiness,
Do swarm about the person of the king:
Cherish their valours and their zealous loves
With pleasant looks and sweet encouragements.

Dav. Methinks the voice of Ithay fills mine ears. Ith. Let not the voice of Ithay loathe thine ears,

Whose heart would balm thy bosom with his

tears.

Dav. But wherefore go'st thou to the wars with us?

Thou art a stranger here in Israel,
And son to Achis, mighty king of Gath;
Therefore return, and with thy father stay.
Thou cam'st but yesterday; and should I now
Let thee partake these troubles here with us?
Keep both thyself and all thy soldiers safe:
Let me abide the hazards of these arms,
And God requite the friendship thou hast show'd.

Ith. As sure as Israel's God gives David life, What place or peril shall contain the king, The same will Ithay share in life and death.

Dav. Then, gentle Ithay, be thou still with us, A joy to David, and a grace to Israel.Go, Sadoc, now, and bear the ark of God Into the great Jerusalem again: If I find favour in his gracious eyes, Then will He lay his hand upon my heart Yet once again before I visit death; Giving it strength, and virtue to mine eyes, To taste the comforts and behold the form Of his fair ark and holy tabernacle: But if He say, 'My wonted love is worn, And I have no delight in David now,' Here lie I armed with an humble heart

1 lofty-'lustie' is another reading.

1 tender'd-loved.

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