984924Enter Priam, Hector, Troylus, Paris and Helenus. 985925Priam. After
so many houres, liues,
speeches
spent,
986926Thus once againe
saies
Nestor from the Greckes
: 987927Deliuer
Hellen, (and all domage els,
988928As honour, lo
sse of time, trauell, expence,
989929Wounds, friends and what els deere that is con
sum'd:
990930In hot dige
stion of this cormorant warre)
991931Shalbe
stroke o
ff,
Hector what
say you to't?
992932Hect: Though no man le
sser feares the Greekes then I
993933As farre as toucheth my particular: yet dread
Priam 994934There is no Lady of more
softer bowells,
995935More
spungy to
suck in the
sence of feare:
996936More ready to cry out, who knowes what followes
997937Then
Hector is: the wound of peace is
surely
998938Surely
secure, but mode
st doubt is calld
999939The beacon of the wi
se, the tent that
serches,
1000940Too'th bottome of the wor
st let
Hellen go,
1001941Since the
fir
st sword was drawne about this que
stion
1002942Euery tith
soule 'mong
st many thou
sand di
smes,
1003943Hath beene as deere as
Hellen. I meane of ours:
1004944If we haue lo
ste
so many tenthes of ours,
1005945To guard a thing not ours, nor worth to vs,
1006946(Had it our name) the valew of one ten,
1007947What merits in that rea
son which denies,
1010950Way you the worth and honour of a King
: 1011951So great as our dread fathers in a
scale
1012952Of common ounces? will you with
Compters summe,
1013953The pa
st proportion of his in
finite
And
of Troylus and Cresseida.
1014954And buckle in, a wa
ste mo
st fathomles,
1015955With
spanes and inches
so dyminutue:
1016956As feares and rea
sons: Fie for Godly
shame?
1017957Hele. No maruell though you bite
so
sharpe of rea
sons,
1018958You are
so empty of them
should not our father;
1019959Beare the great
sway of his a
ffaires with rea
son,
1020960Becau
se your
speech hath none that tell him
so?
1021961Troy. You are for dreames and
slumbers brother Prie
st,
1022962You furre your gloues with rea
son, here are your rea
sons
1023963You know an enemy intends you harme:
1024964You know a
sword imployde is perilous
1025965And rea
son
flies the obie
ct of all harme.
1026966Who maruells then when
Helenus beholds,
1027967A Gretian and his
sword, if he do
set
1028968The very wings of rea
son to his heeles,
1030969And
flie like chidden
Mercury from
Ioue 1029970Or like a
starre di
sorbd? nay if we talke of rea
son,
1031971Sets
shut our gates and
sleepe
: man-hood and honour,
1032972Should haue hare hearts, would they but fat their thoughts
1033973With this cram'd rea
son, rea
son and re
spe
ct,
1034974Make lyuers pale, and lu
stihood deie
ct.
1035975Hect. Brother,
shee is not worth, what
shee doth co
st the
1037977Troy. Whats aught but as tis valued.
1038978Hect. But valew dwells not in perticuler will,
1039979It holds his e
stimate and dignity,
1040980As well wherein tis precious of it
selfe
1041981As in the prizer, tis madde Idolatry
1042982To make the
seruice greater then the God,
1043983And the will dotes that is attributiue;
1044984To what infe
ctiou
sly it
selfe a
ffe
cts,
1045985Without
some image of th'a
ffe
cted merit,
1046986Troy. I take to day a wife, and my ele
ction
: 1047987Is led on in the condu
ct of my will,
1048988My will enkindled by mine eyes and eares,
1049989Two traded pilots twixt the dangerous
shore,
1050990Of will and Iudgement: how may I auoyde?
1051991(Although my will di
sta
st what it ele
cted)
D2 The
The history
1052992The wife I choo
se, there can be no eua
sion,
1053993To blench from this and to
stand
firme by honor,
1054994We turne not backe the
silkes vpon the marchant
1055995When we haue
soild them, nor the remainder viands,
1056996We do not throw in vnre
spe
ctue
siue,
1057997Becau
se we now are full, it was thought meete
1058998Pa is should do
some vengeance on the Greekes.
1059999Your breth with full con
sent bellied his
sailes,
10601000The
seas and winds (old wranglers) tooke a ttuce
: 10611001And did him
seruice, hee toucht the ports de
sir'd,
10621002And for an old aunt whom the Greekes held Captiue,
10631003He brought a Grecian Queene, who
se youth and fre
shne
sse,
10641004Wrincles
Apolloes, and makes pale the morning.
10651005Why keepe we her? the Grecians keepe our Aunt,
10661006Is
she worth keeping? why
shee is a pearle,
10671007Who
se price hath lan
sh't aboue a thou
sand
ships:
10681008And turn'd crown'd Kings to Marchants,
10691009If youle auouch twas wi
sdome
Paris went,
10701010As you mu
st needs, for you all cri'd go, go,
10711011If youle confe
sse be brought home worthy prize:
10721012As you mu
st needs, for you all, clapt your hands,
10731013And cry'd ine
stimable: why do you now
10741014The y
ssue of your proper wi
sdomes rate,
10751015And do a deed that neuer fortune did,
10761016Begger the e
stimation, which you priz'd
10771017Ritcher then
sea and land? O theft mo
st ba
se,
10781018That wee haue
stolne, what we do feare to keepe,
10791019But theeues vnworthy of a thing
so
stolne:
10801020That in their country did them that di
sgrace,
10811021We feare to warrant in our natiue place.
10851024Priam. What noi
se? what
shrike is this
? 10861025Troy. Tis our madde
sister I do know her voice,
10871026Cass. Cry Troyans.
Hect.It is
Crssandra!
10891027Cass. Cry Troyans cry, lend me ten thou
sand eyes,
10901028And I will
fill them with prophetick teares.
Cass.
of Troylus and Cresseida.
10921030Cass. Virgins, and boyes, mid-age, and wrinckled elders,
10931031Soft infancie, that nothing can
st but crie,
10941032Adde to my clamours: let vs pay be-times
10951033A moytie of that ma
sse of mone to come:
10961034Crie
Troyans crye, pra
cti
se your eyes with teares,
10971035Troy mu
st not bee, nor goodly I lion
stand.
10981036Our
fire-brand brother
Paris burnes vs all,
10991037Crie Troyans crie, a
Helen and a woe,
11001038Crie, crie, Troy burnes, or el
se let
Hellen goe.
Exit. 11011039Hect. Now youthfull
Troylus, do not the
se high
straines
11021040Of diuination in our Si
ster, worke
11031041Some touches of remor
se? or is your bloud
11041042So madly hott, that no di
scour
se of rea
son,
11051043Nor feare of bad
succe
sse in a bad cau
se,
11081046We may not thinke the iu
stne
sse of each a
ct 11091047Such, and no other then euent doth forme it,
11101048Nor once deie
ct the courage of our mindes,
11111049Becau
se
Cassandra'
s madde, her brain-
sick raptures
11121050Cannot di
sta
st the goodne
sse of a quarrell,
11131051Which hath our
seuerall honors all engag'd,
11141052To make it gratious. For my priuate part,
11151053I am no more toucht then all
Priams sonnes
: 11161054And
Ioue forbid there
should be done among
st vs,
11171055Such things as might o
ffend the weake
st spleene,
11191057Par. El
se might the world conuince of leuitie,
11201058As well my vnder-takings as your coun
sells,
11211059But I atte
st the gods, your full con
sent,
11221060Gaue wings to my propen
sion, and cut o
ff 11231061All feares attending on
so dire a proie
ct,
11241062For what (alas) can the
se my
single armes?
11251063What propugnation is in one mans valour
11261064To
stand the pu
sh and enmitie of tho
se
11271065This quarrell would excite? Yet I prote
st 11281066Were I alone to pa
sse the di
fficulties,
11291067And had as ample power, as I haue will,
D3 Paris
The history
11301068Paris should nere retra
ct, what he hath done,
11331071Like one be-
sotted on your
sweet delights,
11341072You haue the hony
still, but the
se the gall,
11351073So to be valiant, is no prai
se at all.
11361074Par. Sir, I propo
se not meerly to my
selfe,
11371075The plea
sures
such a beautie brings with it,
11381076But I would haue the
soile of her faire rape,
11391077Wip't of in honorable keeping her,
11401078What trea
son were it to the ran
sackt queene,
11411079Di
sgrace to your great worths, and
shame to me,
11421080Now to deliuer her po
sse
ssion vp
11431081On tearmes of ba
se compul
sion? can it be,
11441082That
so degenerate a
straine as this,
11451083Should once
set footing in your generous bo
somes?
11461084There's not the meane
st spirit on our party,
11471085Without a heart to dare, or
sword to drawe,
11481086When
Helen is defended: nor none
so noble,
11491087Who
se life were ill be
stowd, or death vnfam'd,
11501088Where
Helen is the
subie
ct. Then I
say,
11511089Well may we
fight for her, whom we know well,
11521090The worlds large
spaces cannot paralell.
11531091Hect. Paris and
Troylus, you haue both
said well,
11541092And on the cau
se and que
stion now in hand,
11551093Haue glozd, but
super
ficially, not much
11561094Vnlike young men, whom
Aristotle thought
11571095Vn
fit to heere
Morrall Philosophie;
11581096The rea
sons you alleadge, do more conduce
11591097To the hot pa
ssion of di
stempred blood,
11601098Then to make vp a free determination
11611099Twixt right and wrong: for plea
sure and reuenge,
11621100Haue eares more deafe then Adders to the voyce
11631101Of any true deci
sion. Nature craues
11641102All dues be rendred to their owners. Now
11651103What neerer debt in all humanitie,
11661104Then wife is to the husband
? if this lawe
11671105Of nature be corrupted through a
ffe
ction
And
of Troylus and Cresseida.
11681106And that great mindes of partiall indulgence,
11691107To their benummed wills re
sist the
same,
11701108There is a lawe in each well-orderd nation,
11711109To curbe tho
se raging appetites that are
11721110Mo
st di
sobedient and refra
cturie;
11731111If
Helen then be wife to
Sparta's King,
11741112As it is knowne
she is, the
se morrall lawes
11751113Of nature and of nations,
speake alowd
11761114To haue her back returnd: thus to per
sist 11771115In doing wrong, extenuates not wrong,
11781116But makes it much more heauie.
Hectors opinion
11791117Is this in way of truth: yet nere the le
sse,
11801118My
spritely brethren, I propend to you
11811119In re
solution to keepe
Helen still,
11821120For 'tis a cau
se that hath no meane dependance,
11831121Vpon our ioynt and
seuerall dignities.
11841122Tro. Why there you toucht the life of our de
signe:
11851123Were it not glory that we more a
ffe
cted,
11861124Then the performance of our heauing
spleenes,
11871125I would not wi
sh a drop of Troyan bloud,
11881126Spent more in her defence. But worthy
Hector, 11891127She is a theame of honour and renowne,
11901128A
spurre to valiant and magnanimous deeds,
11911129Who
se pre
sent courage may beate downe our foes,
11921130And fame in time to come canonize vs,
11931131For I pre
sume braue
Hector would not loo
se
11941132So rich aduantage of a promi
sd glory,
11951133As
smiles vpon the fore-head of this a
ction,
11981136You valiant o
ffspring of great
Priamus, 11991137I haue a roi
sting challenge
sent among
st 12001138The dull and fa
ctious nobles of the Greekes,
12011139VVill
shrike amazement to their drow
sie
spirits,
12021140I was aduertizd, their great generall
slept,
12031141VVhil
st emulation in the armie crept:
12041142This I pre
sume will wake him.
Exeunt. Enter
The history