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Let not young Mutius, then, that was thy joy,
Be barr'd his entrance here.

Tit.
Rise, Marcus, rise.-
The dismall'st day is this that e'er I saw,
To be dishonour'd by my sons in Rome.-
Well, bury him, and bury me the next.

[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.

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Mar. My lord,-to step out of these dreary dumps 1o,
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;
Whether by device or no, the heavens can tell.
Is she not, then, beholding to the man

That brought her for this high good turn so far?
Mar. Yes, and will nobly him remunerate'.

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,
Thou and thy faction shall repent this rape.

Bas. Rape, call you it, my lord, to seize my own,
My true-betrothed love, and now my wife?
But let the laws of Rome determine all;
Mean while I am possess'd of that is mine.

Sat. 'Tis good, sir: you are very short with us;

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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,
Answer I must, and shall do with my life:
Only thus much I give your grace to know,
By all the duties that I owe to Rome,
This noble gentleman, lord Titus here,
Is in opinion, and in honour, wrong'd;
That in the rescue of Lavinia

With his own hand did slay his youngest son,
In zeal to you, and highly mov'd to wrath,
To be controll'd in that he frankly gave.
Receive him, then, to favour, Saturnine,
That hath express'd himself, in all his deeds,
A father, and a friend, to thee, and Rome.

Tit. Prince Bassianus, leave to plead my deeds:
'Tis thou, and those, that have dishonour'd me.
Rome and the righteous heavens be my judge,
How I have lov'd and honour'd Saturnine.

Tam. My worthy lord, if ever Tamora
Were gracious in those princely eyes of thine,
Then hear me speak indifferently for all;
And at my suit, sweet, pardon what is past.
Sat. What, madam! be dishonour'd openly,
And basely put it up without revenge ?

Tam. Not so, my lord: the gods of Rome forefend,
I should be author to dishonour you!
But, on mine honour, dare I undertake
For good lord Titus' innocence in all,
Whose fury, not dissembled, speaks his griefs.
Then, at my suit look graciously on him;
Lose not so noble a friend on vain suppose,

Nor with sour looks afflict his gentle heart.

[Aside to SAT.] My lord, be rul'd by me, be won at last;
Dissemble all your griefs and discontents:

You are but newly planted in your throne;
Lest, then, the people, and patricians too,
Upon a just survey, take Titus' part,
And so supplant you for ingratitude",
Which Rome reputes to be a heinous sin,
Yield at entreats, and then let me alone.

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 raze their faction, and their family,
The cruel father, and his traitorous sons,
To whom I sued for my dear son's life;

And make them know what 'tis to let a queen
Kneel in the streets, and beg for grace in vain.—

[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.
Tit. I thank your majesty, and her, my lord.
These words, these looks, infuse new life in me.
Tam. Titus, I am incorporate in Rome,

A Roman now adopted happily,

And must advise the emperor for his good.
This day all quarrels die, Andronicus ;-
And let it be mine honour, good my lord,
That I have reconcil'd your friends and you.-
For you, prince Bassianus, I have pass'd
My word and promise to the emperor,
That you will be more mild and tractable.-
And fear not, lords, and you, Lavinia:—
By my advice, all humbled on your knees,
You shall ask pardon of his majesty.

Luc. We do'; and vow to heaven, and to his highness,

That what we did was mildly, as we might,
Tendering our sister's honour, and our own.

[Kneel.

Mar. That on mine honour here I do protest.
Sat. Away, and talk not; trouble us no more.-
Tam. Nay, nay, sweet emperor, we must all be friends.
The tribune and his nephews kneel for grace:

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,
I would not part a bachelor from the priest.
Come; if the emperor's court can feast two brides,
You are my guest, Lavinia, and your friends.-
This day shall be a love-day, Tamora.

Tit. To-morrow, an it please your majesty,
To hunt the panther and the hart with me,
With horn and hound we'll give your grace bonjour.
Sat. Be it so, Titus, and gramercy too.

[Trumpets. Exeunt.

ACT II. SCENE I.'

The Same. Before the Palace.

6

Enter AARON.

Aar. Now climbeth Tamora Olympus' top,
Safe out of fortune's shot; and sits aloft,
Secure of thunder's crack, or lightning flash,
Advanc'd above pale envy's threat'ning reach.
As when the golden sun salutes the morn,
And having gilt the ocean with his beams,
Gallops the zodiac in his glistering coach,
And overlooks the highest-peering hills;
So Tamora.-

Upon her wit doth earthly honour wait',
And virtue stoops and trembles at her frown.
Then, Aaron, arm thy heart, and fit thy thoughts
To mount aloft with thy imperial mistress;

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,
And faster bound to Aaron's charming eyes,
Than was Prometheus tied to Caucasus.

Away with slavish weeds, and servile thoughts!
I will be bright, and shine in pearl and gold,
To wait upon this new-made empress.

To wait, said I? to wanton with this queen,
This goddess, this Semiramis, this nymph",
This syren, that will charm Rome's Saturnine,
And see his shipwreck, and his commonweal's.
Holla! what storm is this?

Enter DEMETRIUS and CHIRON, braving.

Dem. Chiron, thy years want wit, thy wit wants edge
And manners, to intrude where I am grac'd,
And may, for aught thou know'st, affected be.

Chi. Demetrius, thou dost over-ween in all,
And so in this, to bear me down with braves.
"Tis not the difference of a year, or two,
Makes me less gracious, thee more fortunate':
I am as able, and as fit, as thou,

To serve, and to deserve my mistress' grace;
And that my sword upon thee shall approve,
And plead my passions for Lavinia's love.

Aar. Clubs, clubs! these lovers will not keep the peace.
Dem. Why, boy, although our mother, unadvis'd,
Gave you a dancing-rapier by your side,

Are you so desperate grown, to threat your friends?
Go to; have your lath glued within your sheath,
Till you know better how to handle it.

Chi. Mean while, sir, with the little skill I have,
Full well shalt thou perceive how much I dare.
Dem. Ay, boy; grow ye so brave?

[They draw.

8 Away with slavish weeds, and SERVILE thoughts!] So the 4to, 1600: the 4to, 1611, and the folio, poorly read "idle thoughts."

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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."

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