SCENE VI.

Enter Eneas.

Agam. What would you 'fore our tent?
ne. Is this great Agamemnon's tent, I pray you?
Agam. Even this.

Ene. May one, that is a herald and a prince,
Do a fair meffage to his kingly ears?

Agam. With furety ftronger than Achilles' arm, "Fore all the Greekifh heads, which with one voice Call Agamemnon head and general.

Ene Fair leave and large fecurity. How may
A ftranger to these most imperial looks

Know them from eyes of other mortals?
Agam. How?

Ene. I ask, that I might waken Reverence,
And bid the cheek be ready with a blush
Modeft as morning when the coldly eyes
The youthful Phoebus:

Which is that god in office, guiding men?
Which is the high and mighty Agamemnon?

Aga. 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: But when they would feem foldiers, they have galls, Good arms, ftrong joints, true fwords; and, Jove's

accord,

Nothing fo full of heart. But peace, neas;
Peace, Trojan; lay thy finger on thy lips:
The worthiness of praife diftains his worth,

If he, that's prais'd, himself bring the praife forth:
But what th' repining enemy commends,

That breath faine blows, that praise fole pure tran-
fcends.

Aga. Sir, you of Troy, call you yourfelf Æneas? ne. Ay, Greek, that is my name.

Aga. What's your affair, I pray you?

Ene. Sir, pardon; 'tis for Agamemnon's ears.
Aga. 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 fet his fenfe on the attentive bent,
And then to speak.

Aga. Speak frankly as the wind.

It is not Agamemnon's fleeping hour;

That thou shalt know, Trojan, he is awake.
He tells thee fo himself.

Ene. Trumpet, blow loud,

Send thy brass voice through all these lazy tents;
And every Greek of mettle, let him know
What Troy means fairly, fhall be spoke aloud.
[The trumpets found.
We have, great Agamemnon, here in Troy
A Prince call'd Hector, Priam is his father,
Who in this dull and long continu'd truce
Is rufty grown; he bade me take a trumpet,
And to this purpose speak: Kings, princes, lords,
If there be one amongst the fair'ft of Greece,
That holds his honour higher than his ease,
That seeks his praise more than he fears his peril,
That knows his valour and knows not his fear,
That loves his mistress more than in confeflion *,
With truant vows to her own lips he loves,
And dare avow her beauty and her worth
In other arms than hers; to him this challenge.
Hector, in view of Trojans and of Greeks,
Shall make it good, or do his best to do it,
He hath a lady, wifer, fairer, truer,
Than ever Greek did compafs in his arms;
And will to-morrow with his trumpet call
Midway between your tents and walls of Troy,
To rouze a Grecian that is true in love.
If any come, Hector fhall honour him:
If none, he'll fay in Troy when he retires,
The Grecian dames are fun-burnt, and not worth
The fplinter of a lance. Even fo much.

Ağam. This thall be told our lovers, Lord Æneas. If none of them have foul in fuch a kind,

We've left them all at home: but we are foldiers,

And may that foldier a mere recreant prove,
That means not, hath not, or is not in love!
If then one is, or hath, or means to be,
That one meets Hector; if none elfe, I'm he.

Neft. Tell him of Neftor; one that was a man When Hector's grandfire fuck'd; he is old now; But if there be not in our Grecian hoft

One noble man that hath one fpark of fire,
To answer for his love, tell him from me,
I'll hide my filver beard in a gold beaver,
And in my vauntbrace * put this wither'd brawn;
And, meeting him, will tell him, that my lady
Was fairer than his grandam, and as chafte
As may be in the world; his youth in flood,
I'll pawn this truth with my three drops of blood.
Ene. Now Heav'ns forbid fuch scarcity of youth!
Uly. Amen.

Agam. Fair Lord Eneas, let me touch your hands To our pavilion fhall I lead you firft:

Achilles fhall have word of this intent,

So fhall each Lord of Greece from tent to tent:
Yourself fhall feaft with us before you go,
And find the welcome of a noble foe.

[Exeunt.

Ulyff. Neftor.

Neft. What fays Ulyffes?

Ulyff. I have a young conception in my brain; Be you my Time, to bring it to fome fhape. Naft. What is't?

Uly. This 'tis :

Blunt wedges rive hard knots; the feeded pride,
That hath to this maturity blown up

In rank Achilles, muft or now be crop'd,
Or, fhedding, breed a nursery of like evil,
To over-bulk us all.

Neft. Well, and how?

Uly. This challenge that the gallant Hector fends,

An armour for the arm, avantbras. Pope.

However it is fpread in general name,

Relates in purpose only to Achilles.

Neft. The purpofe is perfpicuous ev'n as substance,
Whofe groffnefs little characters fum up *;
And in the publication make no strain,

But that Achilles, were his brain as barren
As banks of Lybia, though, Apollo knows,
'Tis dry enough, will with great fpeed of judgment,
Ay, with celerity, find Hector's purpose

Pointing on him.

Ulyff. And wake him to the answer, think you?
Neft. Yes, 'tis moft meet: whom may you elfe
oppofe,

That can from Hector bring his honour off,
If not Achilles? though a fportful combat,
Yet in this trial much opinion dwells.
For here the Trojans tafte our dear'st repute
With their fin' palate: and truft to me, Ulyffes,
Our imputation fhall be oddly pois'd

In this wild action. For the fuccefs,
Although particular, fhall give a scantling
Of good or bad unto the general;

And in fuch indexes, although fmall pricks t
To their fubfequent volumes, there is feen
The baby figure of the giant-mafs

Of things to come, at large. It is fuppos'd,
He that meets Hector iffues from our choice;
And choice, being mutual act of all our fouls,
Makes merit her election; and doth boil,
As 'twere from forth us all, a man diftill'd
Out of our virtues; who mifcarrying,
What heart from hence receives the conqu'ring part,
To steel a ftrong opinion to themfelves!
Which entertain'd, limbs are his inftruments,

* That is, the purpose is as plain as body or fubstance; and though I have collected this purpose from many minute particulars, as a grofs body is made up of fmalk infenfible parts, yet the refult is as clear and certain as a body thus made up is palpable and visible. This is the thought, though a little obfcured in the concifeness of the expreffion. Warburton.

† Small points compared with the volumes. Jobnf.

In no less working than are fwords and bows
Directive by the limbs.

Ulyff. Give pardon to my speech;

Therefore 'tis meet Achilles meet not Hector.
Let us, like merchants, fhew our fouleft wares,
And think, perchance they'll fell; if not,
The luftre of the better yet to fhew,

Shall fhew the better. Do not then confent,
That ever Hector and Achilles meet :

For both our honour and our fhame in this'
Are dogg'd with two ftrange followers.

Neft. I fee them not with my old eyes; what are they?

Ulyff. What glory our Achilles fhares from Hector, Were he not proud, we all'fhould fhare with him But he already is too infolent;

And we were better parch in Afric fun,
Than in the pride and falt fcorn of his eyes,
Should he 'cape Hector fair. If he were foil'd,
Why, then we did our main opinion crush
In taint of our best man No, make a lott'ry;
And by device let blockish Ajax draw

The fort to fight with Hector: 'mong ourselves
Give him allowance as the worthier man,
For that will phyfic the great Myrmidon,
Who broils in loud applaufe, and make him fall
His creft, that prouder than blue Iris bends.
If the dull brainlefs Ajax come fafe off,
We'll drefs him up in voices; if he fail,
Yet go we under our opinion ftill,

That we have better men. But, hit or miss
Our project's life this fhape of fenfe affumes,
Ajax, employ'd, plucks down Achilles' plumes.
Neft. Ulyffes, now. I relish thy advice,
And I will give a tafte of it forthwith
To Agamemnon; go we to him ftraight;
Two curs fhall tame each other; pride alone
Muft tar the maftiffs on as 'twere their bone.
[Exeunt.

Tarre is an old English word fignifying to provoke

or urge on. Pope.