Nestor. Ha!

By this white beard, I'd fight with thee to-morrow. Well, welcome, welcome! I have seen the time— Ulysses. I wonder now how yonder city stands, When we have here her base and pillar by us.

Hector. I know your favour, lord Ulysses, well. Ah, sir, there's many a Greek and Trojan dead, Since first I saw yourself and Diomed

In Ilion, on your Greekish embassy.

Ulysses. Sir, I foretold you then what would ensue: My prophecy is but half his journey yet;

For yonder walls, that pertly front your town,

Yon towers, whose wanton tops do buss the clouds,
Must kiss their own feet.

Hector.
I must not believe you:
There they stand yet; and modestly I think,
The fall of every Phrygian stone will cost
A drop of Grecian blood: The end crowns all;
And that old common arbitrator, Time,

Will one day end it.

Ulysses.

So to him we leave it.

Most gentle, and most valiant Hector, welcome:
After the general, I beseech you next

To feast with me, and see me at my tent.

Achilles. I shall forestall thee, lord Ulysses, thou!— Now, Hector, I have fed mine eyes on thee;

I have with exact view perus'd thee, Hector,
And quoted' joint by joint.

Hector.

Achilles. I am Achilles.
Hector. Stand fair, I pray

Achilles. Behold thy fill.
Hector.

Is this Achilles?

Nay, I have done already. Achilles. Thou art too brief; I will the second time, As I would buy thee, view thee limb by limb.

Hector. O, like a book of sport thou'lt read me o'er ; But there's more in me than thou understand'st. Why dost thou so oppress me with thine eye?

1 Observed.

Achilles. Tell me, you heavens, in which part of his body

Shall I destroy him? whether there, there, or there?
That I may give the local wound a name;

And make distinct the very breach whereout
Hector's great spirit flew: Answer me, heavens!
Hector. It would discredit the bless'd gods, proud

man,

To answer such a question: Stand again:
Think'st thou to catch my life so pleasantly,
As to prenominate2 in nice conjecture,
Where thou wilt hit me dead?

Achilles.

I tell thee, yea.

Hector. Wert thou an oracle to tell me so,
I'd not believe thee. Henceforth guard thee well;
For I'll not kill thee there, nor there, nor there;
But, by the forge that stithied3 Mars his helm,
I'll kill thee every where, yea, o'er and o'er.-
You wisest Grecians, pardon me this brag,
His insolence draws folly from my lips;

But I'll endeavour deeds to match these words,
Or may I never-

Ajax.
Do not chafe thee, cousin ;-
And you, Achilles, let these threats alone,
Till accident, or purpose, bring you to't:
You may have every day enough of Hector,
If you have stomach; the general state, I fear,
Can scarce entreat you to be odd with him.

Hector. I pray you, let us see you in the field;
We have had pelting wars; since you refus'd
The Grecians' cause.

Achilles.

Dost thou entreat me, Hector?

To-morrow, do I meet thee, fell as death:

To-night, all friends.

Hector.

Thy hand upon that match.

Agamemnon. First, all you peers of Greece, go to my

tent;

There in the full convive1 we: afterwards,

2 Forename,

3 Stithy, is a smith's shop.

4 Feast.

As Hector's leisure and your bounties shall
Concur together, severally entreat him.-
Beat loud the tabourines, let the trumpets blow,
That this great soldier may his welcome know.

[Exeunt all but TROILUS and ULYSSES.
Troilus. My lord Ulysses, tell me, I beseech you.
In what place of the field doth Calchas keep?
Ulysses. At Menelaus' tent, most princely Troilus:
There Diomed doth feast with him, to-night;
Who neither looks upon the heaven, nor earth,
But gives all gaze and bent of amorous view

On the fair Cressid.

Troilus. Shall I, sweet lord, be bound to you so much, After we part from Agamemnon's tent,

To bring me thither?

Ulysses.

You shall command me, sir.

As gentle tell me, of what honour was

This Cressida in Troy? Had she no lover there

That wails her absence?

Troilus. O, sir, to such as boasting show their scars. A mock is due. Will you walk on, my lord? She was belov'd, she lov'd; she is, and doth: But, still, sweet love is food for fortune's tooth.

ACT V.

[Exeunt.

SCENE I.-The GRECIAN Camp. Before ACHILLES' Tent. Enter ACHILLES and PATROCLUS.

Achilles. I'll heat his blood with Greekish wine to

night,

Which with my scimitar I'll cool to-morrow.

Patroclus, let us feast him to the height.

Patroclus. Here comes Thersites.

Enter THERSITES.

Achilles.

How now,

thou core of envy!

Thou crusty batch of nature, what's the news?

5 Small drums.

Thersites. Why, thou picture of what thou seemest, and idol of idiot-worshippers, here's a letter for thee. Achilles. From whence, fragment?

Thersites. Why, thou full dish of fool, from Troy.
Patroclus. Who keeps the tent now?

Thersites. The surgeon's box, or the patient's wound. Patroclus. Well said, Adversity!' and what need these tricks?

Thersites Pr'ythee be silent, boy; I profit not by thy talk.

Patroclus. Why, you ruinous butt; you indistinguishable cur.

Thersites. Why art thou exasperate. thou idle immaterial skein of sleives silk, thou green sarcenet flap for a sore eye, thou tassel of a prodigal's purse, thou? Ah, how the poor world is pestered with such water flies; diminutives of nature!

Achilles. My sweet Patroclus, I am thwarted quite
From my great purpose in to-morrow's battle.
Here is a letter from queen Hecuba;

A token from her daughter, my fair love;
Both taxing me, and gaging me to keep

An oath that I have sworn. I will not break it:
Fall, Greeks; fail, fame; honour, or go, or stay,
My major vow lies here, this I'll obey.-
Come, come, Thersites, help to trim my tent;
This night in banqueting must all be spent.

Away, Patroclus. [Exeunt ACHILLES and PATROCLUS.

Thersites. With too much blood, and too little brain, these two may run mad; but if with too much brain, and too little blood, they do, I'll be a curer of madmen. Here's Agamemnon,- -an honest fellow enough, but he has not so much brain as ear-wax: And the goodly transformation of Jupiter there, his brother, the bull,the primitive statue, and oblique memorial of cuckolds; a thrifty shoeing-horn in a chain, hanging at his brother's leg, to what form, but that he is, should wit larded with malice, and malice forced' with wit, turn him to? 7 Contrariety. 8 Coarse, unwrought. 9 Menelaus.

VOL. V.

1 Stuffed. G

9

To an ass, were nothing: he is both ass and ox: to an ox, were nothing, he is both ox and ass. To be a dog, a mule, a cat, a fitchew,2 a toad, a lizard, an owl, a puttock, or a herring without a roe, I would not care: but to be Menelaus, I would conspire against destiny. Ask me not what I would be, if I were not Thersites; for I care not to be the louse of a lazar,3 so I were not Menelaus.-Hey-day! spirits and fires!

Enter HECTOR, TROILUS, AJAX, AGAMEMNON, ULYSSES, NESTOR, MENELAUS, and DIOMEDES, with lights. Agamemnon. We go wrong, we go wrong.

Ajax.

No, yonder 'tis;

I trouble you.

Here comes himself to guide you.

Enter ACHILLES.

Achilles. Welcome, brave Hector: welcome, princes all! Agamemnon. So now, fair prince of Troy, I bid good night.

Ajax commands the guard to tend on you.

Hector. Thanks, and good night to the Greeks' general. Menelaus. Good night, my lord.

Hector.

Achilles. Good night,

Good night, sweet Menelaus.

And welcome, both to those that go or tarry.

Agamemnon. Good night,

[Exeunt AGAMEMNON and MENELAUS. Achilles. Old Nestor tarries; and you too, Diomed, Keep Hector company an hour or two.

Diomedes. I cannot, lord; I have important business, The tide whereof is now.-Good night, great Hector. Hector. Give me your hand.

Ulysses.

Follow his torch, he

To Calchas' tent; I'll keep you company.

2 Polecat.

goes

[Aside to TROILUS.

3 A diseased beggar.