Internet Shakespeare Editions

Author: William Shakespeare
Editor: William Godshalk
Peer Reviewed

Troilus and Cressida (Quarto 1, 1609)

Enter Diomed and Seruant.
Dio. Goe go, my seruant take thou Troylus horse,
Present the faire steed to my Lady Cressid,
Fellow commend my seruice to her beauty:
3375Tell her I haue chastis'd the amorous Troyan,
And am her knight by proofe. Enter Agamem.
Man. I goe my Lord:
Aga. Renew, renew, the fierce Polidamas,
Hath beate downe Menon: bastard Margarelon,
3380Hath Doreus prisoner.
And stands Colossus wise wauing his beame,
Vpon the pashed corses of the Kings:
Epistropus and Cedus, Polixines is slaine,
Amphimacus and Thous deadly hurt,
3385Patroclus tane or slaine, and Palamedes
Sore hurt and bruised, the dreadfull Sagittary,
Appalls our numbers, hast we Diomed,
To re-enforcement or we perish all.
Enter Nestor.
3390Nest: Go beare Patroclus body to Achilles,
And bid the snail-pac't Aiax arme for shame,
There is a thousand Hectors in the field:
Now here he fights on Galathe his horse,
And there lacks worke, anon he's there a foote
3395And there they flie or die, like scaling sculls,
Before the belching Whale, then is he yonder:
L3 And
The history
And there the strawy Greekes ripe for his edge
Fall downe before him like a mowers swath,
Here, there and euery where, he leaues and takes,
3400Dexterity so obaying appetite,
That what he will he do's, and do's so much:
That proofe is call'd impossibility. Enter Vlisses.
Vliss. Oh courage, courage Princes, great Achilles,
3405Is arming, weeping, cursing, vowing vengeance,
Patroclus wounds haue rouz'd his drowzy bloud,
Together with his mangled Myrmidons
That noselesse, handlesse, hackt and chipt come to him.
Crying on Hector, Aiax hath lost a friend,
3410And foames at mouth, and hee is armde and at it:
Roaring for Troylus, who hath done to day,
Madde and fantastique execution:
Engaging and redeeming of himselfe
With such a carelesse force, and forcelesse care,
3415As if that lust in very spight of cunning, bad him win all.
Enter Aiax.Troylus, thou coward Troylus. Exit.
Dio. I there, there?
Nest: So, so, we draw together. Exit.
3420Enter Achilles.
Achil. Where is this Hector?
Come, come, thou boy-queller shew thy face,
Know what it is to meete Achilles angry
Hector wher's Hector? I will none but Hector. Exit.