And as a sure and grounded argument,
That I shall be the monarch of the East,
He sends this soldan's daughter rich and brave,
To be my queen and portly emperess.
If thou wilt stay with me, renowned man,
And lead thy thousand horse with my conduct,
Besides thy share of this Egyptian prize,
Those thousand horse shall sweat with martial spoil
Of conquer'd kingdoms and of cities sack'd;
Both we will walk upon the lofty cliffs,
And Christian merchants that with Russian stems
Plough up huge furrows in the Caspian sea,
Shall vail to us, as Lords of all the lake.
Both we will reign as consuls of the earth,
And mighty kings shall be our senators.
Jove sometimes masked in a shepherd's weed,
And by those steps that he háth scald the heavens
May we become immortal like the Gods.
Join with me now in this my mean estate,
(I call it mean because being yet obscure,
The nations far remov'd admire me not,)
And when my name and honour shall be spread
As far as Boreas claps his brazen wings,
Or fair Böötes sends his cheerful light,
Then shalt thou be competitor with me,
And sit with Tamburlaine in all his majesty.
Ther. Not Hermes, prolocutor to the Gods,
Could use persuasions more pathetical.
TAMB. Nor are Apollo's oracles more true, Than thou shalt find my vaunts substantial.
Tech. We are his friends, and if the Persian
king
Should offer present dukedoms to our state,
We think it loss to make exchange for that
We are assur'd of by our friend's success.
Usum. And kingdoms at the least we all expect,
Besides the honour in assured conquests,
When kings shall crouch unto our conq'ring swords
And hosts of soldiers stand amaz'd at us;
When with their fearful tongues they shall confess,
These are the men that all the world admires.
THER. What strong'enchantments 'tice my yield-
ing soul To these resolved, noble Scythians ? But shall I prove a traitor to my king ?
Tamb. No, but the trusty friend of Tamburlaine.
Ther, Won with thy words, and conquer'd with
thy looks,
I yield myself, my men, and horse to thee,
To be partaker of thy good or ill,
As long as life maintains Theridamas.
Tamb. Theridamas, my friend, take here my hand,
Which is as much as if I swore by Heaven,
And call’d the Gods to witness of my vow.
Thus shall my heart be still combin'd with thine
Until our bodies turn to elements,
And both our souls aspire celestial thrones.
Techelles and Casane, welcome him!
Tech. Welcome, renowned Persian to us all! Usum. Long may Theridamas remain with us!
TAMB. These are my friends, in whom I more
rejoice Than doth the King of Persia in his crown, And by the love of Pylades and Orestes, Whose statues adore in Scythia, Thyself and them shall never part from me Before I crown you kings in Asia, Make much of them, gentle Theridamas, And they will never leave thee to the death. Ther. Nor they nor theirs, thrice noble Tambur
laine, Shall want my heart to be with gladness pierc'd, To do you honour and security.
TAMB. A thousand thanks, worthy Theridamas. And now fair madam, and
my
noble lords,
If you will willingly remain with me
You shall have honours as your merits be;
Or else you shall be forc'd with slavery.
Agyd. We yield unto thee, happy Tamburlaine.
Tamb. For you then, madam, I am out of doubt.
ZENO. I must be pleas'd perforce. Wretched
Zenocrate!
[Freunt.
. The first edition reads statutes, but as the Scythians worshipped Pylades and Orestes in temples, we have adopted the reading of the quarto as being most probably the correct
ACT THE SECOND.
SCENE I.
Enter CosroE, MENAPHON, ORTYGIUS, CENEUS,
with other Soldiers.
Cos. Thus far are we towards Theridamas,
And valiant Tamburlaine, the man of fame,
The man that in the forehead of his fortune
Bears figures of renown and miracle.
But tell me, that hast seen him, Menaphon,
What stature wields he, and what personage?
Men. Of stature tall, and straightly fashioned,
Like his desire lift upward and divine,
So large of limbs, his joints so strongly knit,
Such breadth of shoulders as might mainly bear
Old Atlas' burthen ;-*twixt this manly pitch,
A pearl more worth than all the world is plac'd,
Wherein by curious sovereignty of art
Are fix'd his piercing instruments of sight,
Whose fiery circles bear encompassed
A heaven of heavenly bodies in their spheres,
That guides his steps and actions to the throne,
Where honour sits invested royally:
Pale of complexion, wrought in him with passion,
Thirsting with sovereignty and love of arms;
His lofty brows in folds do figure death,
And in their smoothness amity and life;
About them hangs a knot of amber hair,
Wrapped in curls, as fierce Achilles' was,
On which the breath of Heaven delights to play,
Making it dance with wanton majesty.-
His arms and fingers, long, and snowy-white, *
Betokening valour and excess of strength ;-
In ev'ry part proportion'd like the man
Should make the world subdued to Tamburlaine.
Cos. Well hast thou pourtrayed in thy terms of life
The face and personage of a wond'rous man;'
Nature doth strive with fortune and his stars
To make him famous in accomplish'd worth ;
And well his merits shew him to be made
His fortune's master and the king of men,
That could persuade at such a sudden pinch,
With reasons of his valour and his life,
A thousand sworn and overmatching foes.
Then, when our powers in points of swords arejoin'd
And clos'd in compass of the killing bullet,
Though straight the passage and the port be made
That leads to palace of my brother's life,
Proud is his fortune if we pierce it not.
And when the princely Persian diadem
Shall overweigh his weary witless head,
And fall like mellow'd fruit with shakes of death,
In fair Persia, noble Tamburlaine
Shall be my regent and remain as king.
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