Let not young Mutius, then, that was thy joy, Tit. [MUTIUS is put into the tomb. Luc. There lie thy bones, sweet Mutius, with thy friends, Till we with trophies do adorn thy tomb! All. No man shed tears for noble Mutius; He lives in fame that died in virtue's cause. Mar. My lord,-to step out of these dreary dumps 10, How comes it that the subtle queen of Goths Is of a sudden thus advanc'd in Rome ? Tit. I know not, Marcus, but I know it is; That brought her for this high good turn so far? Flourish. Re-enter, at one side, SATURNINUS, attended; TAMORA, DEMETRIUS, CHIRON, and AARON at the other side, BASSIANUS, LAVINIA, and others. Sat. So, Bassianus, you have play'd your prize : God give you joy, sir, of your gallant bride. Bas. And you of your's, my lord. I say no more, Nor wish no less; and so I take my leave. Sat. Traitor, if Rome have law, or we have power, Bas. Rape, call you it, my lord, to seize my own, 10 Sat. 'Tis good, sir: you are very short with us; these DREARY dumps,] So the 4tos. of 1600 and 1611: the folio, "sudden dumps," which is evidently wrong, and, as Mr. Dyce observes, a clear misprint for sullen. On the contrary, in "King John," A. i. sc. 1 (Vol. iii. p. 126), sudden was probably misprinted "sullen," though (as a case of doubt) we have allowed the latter to remain, noting, however, the proposed emendation. "Sudden," in the play before us, was caught from the next line but one. 1 Mar. Yes, and will nobly him remunerate.] This line is only in the folios. Malone suspected, with some reason, that it was the answer of Marcus to the question of Titus, and that it ought, therefore, to have the prefix of Marcus. We have adopted his suggestion. But if we live, we'll be as sharp with you. Bas. My lord, what I have done, as best I may, With his own hand did slay his youngest son, Tit. Prince Bassianus, leave to plead my deeds: Tam. My worthy lord, if ever Tamora Tam. Not so, my lord: the gods of Rome forefend, Nor with sour looks afflict his gentle heart. [Aside to SAT.] My lord, be rul'd by me, be won at last; You are but newly planted in your throne; 2 And so supplant You for ingratitude,] So the first 4to: the second 4to. and the folio have us for "you." The difference is not material. I'll find a day to massacre them all, And make them know what 'tis to let a queen [Aloud.] Come, come, sweet emperor,-come, Andronicus,Take up this good old man, and cheer the heart That dies in tempest of thy angry frown. Sat. Rise, Titus, rise: my empress hath prevail'd. A Roman now adopted happily, And must advise the emperor for his good. Luc. We do'; and vow to heaven, and to his highness, That what we did was mildly, as we might, [Kneel. Mar. That on mine honour here I do protest. I will not be denied. Sweet heart, look back. Sat. Marcus, for thy sake, and thy brother's here, And at my lovely Tamora's entreats, I do remit these young men's heinous faults. [They stand upʻ. 3 Luc. We do ;] This speech has no prefix in the 4to, 1600: in that of 1611 it has All before it; and in the folio, Son; probably Lucius, one of the sons of Andronicus, who spoke for the rest. They stand up.] This is merely a stage-direction, but in the old copies it is obtruded into the text: the corr. fo. 1632 makes the emendation, and shows where Lucius and the rest kneel. Of course, if they knelt, their rising ought also to be marked, and this it was that was mistaken in the early editions, and made to appear as if stand up had been part of what was said by Saturninus. Lavinia, though you left me like a churl, I found a friend; and sure as death I swore, Tit. To-morrow, an it please your majesty, [Trumpets. Exeunt. ACT II. SCENE I.' The Same. Before the Palace. 6 Enter AARON. Aar. Now climbeth Tamora Olympus' top, Upon her wit doth earthly honour wait', And mount her pitch, whom thou in triumph long Act ii. Scene 1.] The folio has here the commencement of what it calls Actus Secunda; but, according to the 4tos, Aaron remained on the stage, and the first act continued: the direction in both the oldest copies is "Manet Moor." • Advanc'd ABOVE] The folio only, "Advanc'd about." 7 Upon her wiT doth earthly honour wait,] "Wit" is altered to will in the corr. fo. 1632, and although it is perhaps right, we hesitate, as in other cases, to alter what may not be wrong: we have "her sacred wit" afterwards, p. 27. Lower down "Than is Prometheus" is amended to "Than was Prometheus," which we place in our text: no doubt Aaron spoke in the past tense. Hast prisoner held, fetter'd in amorous chains, Away with slavish weeds, and servile thoughts! To wait, said I? to wanton with this queen, Enter DEMETRIUS and CHIRON, braving. Dem. Chiron, thy years want wit, thy wit wants edge Chi. Demetrius, thou dost over-ween in all, To serve, and to deserve my mistress' grace; Aar. Clubs, clubs! these lovers will not keep the peace. Are you so desperate grown, to threat your friends? Chi. Mean while, sir, with the little skill I have, [They draw. 8 Away with slavish weeds, and SERVILE thoughts!] So the 4to, 1600: the 4to, 1611, and the folio, poorly read "idle thoughts." 9 this NYMPH,] The 4to, 1611, and the folio, have queen for "nymph." Makes me less gracious, thee more fortunate:] On the authority of the corr. fo. 1632 we omit or before "thee more fortunate:" it spoils the metre, here regular, and weakens the force of what is said. 2 Clubs, clubs!] The usual exclamation when a riot occurred in the streets of London. See Vol. ii. p. 422, and Vol. iii. p. 663. 3 a DANCING-RAPIER by your side,] So, in Greene's "Quip for an Upstart Courtier," 1592: ". - one of them carrying his cutting-sword of choller, the other his dancing-rapier of delight." |