Ladies. O pity us, my lord, and save our honours. Tamb. Are ye not gone, ye villains, with your spoils ? [They run away with the ladies.

Jer. O merciless, infernal cruelty!

Tamb. Save your honours! 'Twere but time indeed, Lost long before ye knew what honour meant.

Ther. It seems they meant to conquer us, my lord,

And make us jesting pageants for their trulls.

91

Tamb. And now themselves shall make our pageants, And common soldiers jest with all their trulls. Let them take pleasure soundly in their spoils, Till we prepare our march to Babylon,

Whither we next make expedition.

Tech. Let us not be idle then, my lord,

But presently be prest to conquer it.

Tamb. We will, Techelles. Forward then, ye jades. Now crouch, ye kings of greatest Asia,

And tremble when ye hear this scourge will come
That whips down cities and controuleth crowns,
Adding their wealth and treasure to my store.

The Euxine sea, north to Natolia ;

The Terrene, west; the Caspian, north-north-east ;

And on the south, Sinus Arabicus;

Shall all be loaden with the martial spoils
We will convey with us to Persia.

Then shall my native city, Samarcanda,
And crystal waves of fresh Jaertis' stream,
The pride and beauty of her princely seat,
Be famous through the furthest1 continents,

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

100

110

For there my palace-royal shall be placed,
Whose shining turrets shall dismay the heavens,
And cast the fame of Ilion's tower to hell.
Thorough the streets with troops of conquered
kings,

I'll ride in golden armour like the sun;
And in my helm a triple plume shall spring,
Spangled with diamonds, dancing in the air,
To note me emperor of the threefold world,
Like1 to an almond tree y-mounted high
Upon the lofty and celestial mount
Of ever-green 2 Selinus quaintly decked
With blooms more white than Erycina's 3 brows,4
Whose tender blossoms tremble every one,

At every little breath through heaven is blown.
Then in my coach, like Saturn's royal son,
Mounted his shining chariot gilt with fire,
And drawn with princely eagles through the path
Paved with bright crystal and enchased with stars,

120

1 Lines 120-125 are taken (as previous editors have noticed) from the Faerie Queene, i. 7 (stanza 32). Marlowe must have seen the passage of Spenser in MS.

2 8vo. "euery greene."-4to. "euerie greene."

3 Old copies "Hericinas."

4 So 4to.-8vo. "bowes."

Broughton compares Locrine, iii. 5 :—

"Now sit I like the mighty god of war,

Mounted his chariot drawn with mighty bulls."

Dyce puts a comma after mounted, and perhaps he is right. For "chariot" the old copies read "chariots." (Perhaps the author wrote "chariote." Final e is frequently mistaken for s, and final s for e.)

When all the gods stand gazing at his pomp,
So will I ride through Samarcanda streets,
Until my soul, dissevered from this flesh,

Shall mount the milk-white way, and meet him there. To Babylon, my lords; to Babylon.

130

[Exeunt.

ACT THE FIFTH.

SCENE I.

Enter the Governor of Babylon, MAXIMUS, and others upon the walls.

Gov. What saith Maximus ?

Max. My lord, the breach the enemy hath made Gives such assurance of our overthrow

That little hope is left to save our lives,

Or hold our city from the conqueror's hands.
Then hang our flags, my lord, of humble truce,
And satisfy the people's general prayers,

That Tamburlaine's intolerable wrath
May be suppressed by our submission.

Gov. Villain, respects thou1 more thy slavish life

Than honour of thy country or thy name?
Are not my life and state as dear to me,
The city, and my native country's weal,
As anything of price with thy conceit ?

Have we not hope, for all our battered walls,

10

1 So the old copies. "Respects thou" is good Elizabethan English.

To live secure and keep his forces out,
When this our famous lake of Limnasphaltis
Makes walls afresh with everything that falls
Into the liquid substance of his stream,

More strong than are the gates of death or hell?
What faintness should dismay our courages
When we are thus defenced against our foes,
And have no terror but his threatening looks.

Enter a Citizen, who kneels to the Governor.

Cit. My lord, if ever you did deed of ruth,
And now will work a refuge for our lives,
Offer submission, hang up flags of truce,

That Tamburlaine may pity our distress,
And use us like a loving conqueror.

Though this be held his last day's dreadful siege,
Wherein he spareth neither man nor child,
Yet are there Christians of Georgia here,
Whose state was ever pitied and relieved,
Would get his pardon if your grace would send.
Gov. How is my soul environèd [with cares!]
And this eternized city, Babylon,

Filled with a pack of faint-heart fugitives
That thus entreat their shame and servitude!

Enter another Citizen.

Cit. My lord, if ever you will win our hearts,
Yield up the town and1 save our wives and children;

1 So 4to.-Omitted in 8vo.

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