To weaken and discredit our exposure, How rank soever rounded in with danger. Ulyss. They tax our policy, and call it cowardice, But that of hand: the still and mental parts, Nest. Let this be granted, and Achilles' horse Agam. What trumpet? look, Menelaus. Men. From Troy. Enter ENEAS. Agam. What would you 'fore our tent? Ene. Is this great Agamemnon's tent, I pray you? Ene. May one, that is a herald and a prince, Agam. With surety stronger than Achilles' arm 'Fore all the Greekish heads, which with one voice Call Agamemnon head and general. Ene. Fair leave and large security. How may Ene. Ay; I ask, that I might waken reverence, The youthful Phoebus: How ! 200 210 [A tucket 220 230 Which is that god in office, guiding men? Which is the high and mighty Agamemnon? Agam. This Trojan scorns us; or the men of Troy Are ceremonious courtiers. Ene. Courtiers as free, as debonair, unarm❜d, As bending angels; that's their fame in peace : Achilles was fabled to be the son of the Nereid Thetis by Peleus, a 212 Thetis sons. Thessalian chieftain. But when they would seem soldiers, they have galls, Good arms, strong joints, true swords; and, Jove's accord, Peace, Trojan; lay thy finger on thy lips! The worthiness of praise distains his worth, If that the prais'd himself bring the praise forth: But what the repining enemy commends, That breath fame blows; that praise, sole pure, transcends. Agam. Sir, you of Troy, call you yourself Æneas? Ene. Ay, Greek, that is my name. Agam. What's your affair, I pray you? Ene. Sir, pardon; 't is for Agamemnon's ears. Agam. He hears nought privately that comes from Troy. Ene. Nor I from Troy come not to whisper him : I bring a trumpet to awake his ear, To set his sense on the attentive bent, And then to speak. Agam. Speak frankly as the wind; It is not Agamemnon's sleeping hour: That thou shalt know, Trojan, he is awake, He tells thee so himself. Trumpet, blow loud, Ene. Midway between your tents and walls of Troy, 240 250 [Trumpet sounds. 260 270 than in confession, etc., that is, than he loves in confession with truant vows to her own lips. If any come, Hector shall honour him 280 If none, he 'll say in Troy when he retires, The Grecian dames are sunburnt and not worth The splinter of a lance. Even so much. Agam. This shall be told our lovers, Lord Æneas; If none of them have soul in such a kind, We left them all at home: but we are soldiers; And may that soldier a mere recreant prove, Nest. Tell him of Nestor, one that was a man Agam. Fair Lord Æneas, let me touch your hand; To our pavilion shall I lead you, sir. Achilles shall have word of this intent; 290 300 So shall each lord of Greece, from tent to tent: Yourself shall feast with us before you go And find the welcome of a noble foe. [Exeunt all but Ulysses and Nestor. Ulyss. Nestor! Nest. What says Ulysses? Ulyss. I have a young conception in my brain : Be you my time to bring it to some shape. Nest. What is 't? Ulyss. This 't is : Blunt wedges rive hard knots: the seeded pride That hath to this maturity blown up In rank Achilles must or now be cropp'd, Or, shedding, breed a nursery of like evil, 310 To overbulk us all. 320 Ulyss. This challenge that the gallant Hector sends, 283 The splinter of a lance. It is almost needless to say that in this challenge S. carelessly transfers the language and the usages of chivalry back to the days of Greece. 296 beaver the movable front of the helmet, frequently used for the whole helmet. Grecian helmets were without it. 207 cantbrace armor for the arm. However it is spread in general name, Relates in purpose only to Achilles. Nest. The purpose is perspicuous even as substance, But that Achilles, were his brain as barren As banks of Libya, though, Apollo knows, 'Tis dry enough,—will, with great speed of judgement, Ay, with celerity, find Hector's purpose Pointing on him. Ulyss. And wake him to the answer, think you? Nest. Why, 't is most meet: whom may you else oppose, That can from Hector bring his honour off, If not Achilles? Though 't be a sportful combat, Yet in the trial much opinion dwells; For here the Trojans taste our dear'st repute With their fin'st palate: and trust to me, Ulysses, In this wild action; for the success, And in such indexes, although small pricks Of things to come at large. It is suppos'd As 't were from forth us all, a man distill'd 330 340 350 To steel a strong opinion to themselves? What heart receives from hence the conquering part, Which entertain'd, limbs are his instruments, In no less working than are swords and bows Ulyss. Give pardon to my speech: Therefore 't is meet Achilles meet not Hector. Are dogg'd with two strange followers. 360 143 indexes in S.'s day were usually placed before the body of the book: pricks were small points or dots, such as run in a line between an index word on one side of a page and a figure on the other. Nest. I see them not with my old eyes: what are they? And we were better parch in Afric sun In taint of our best man. No, make a lott'ry; And, by device, let blockish Ajax draw The sort to fight with Hector: among ourselves Who broils in loud applause, and make him fall That we have better men. But, hit or miss, Now I begin to relish thy advice; And I will give a taste of it forthwith Must tarre the mastiffs on, as 't were their bone. 370 380 390 [Exeunt. ACT II. SCENE I. A part of the Grecian camp. Ajax. Thersites ! Enter AJAX and THERSITES. Ther. Agamemnon, how if he had boils? full, all over, generally? Ajax. Thersites ! Ther. And those boils did run? say so: did not the general run then? were not that a botchy corps? Ajax. Dog! Ther. Then would come some matter from him; I see none now. Ajax. Thou bitch-wolf's son, canst thou not hear? [Beating him.] Feel, then. 376 The sort the lot, the radical meaning of the word. II |