Though my right hand has thus enthralled thee,
Thy princely daughter here shall set thee free;
She that hath calm'd the fury of my sword,
Which had ere this been bath'd in streams of blood,
As vast and deep as Euphrates or Nile.
ZENO. O sight thrice welcome to my joyful soul,
To see the king, my father, issue safe
From dang'rous battle of my conq'ring love!
SOLD. Well met, my only dear Zenocrate,
Though with the loss of Egypt and my crown.
TAMB. "Twas I, my lord, that got the victory,
And therefore grieve not at your overthrow,
Since I shall render all into your hands,
And add more strength to your dominions
Than ever yet confirm'd the Egyptian crown.
The God of war resigns his room to me,
Meaning to make me gen'ral of the world:
Jove, viewing me in arms, looks pale and wan,
Fearing my pow'r should pull him from his throne.
Where'er I come the fatal sisters sweat,
And grisly Death, by running to and fro,
To do their ceaseless homage to my sword;
And here in Afric, where it seldom rains;
Since I arriv'd with my triumphant host,
Have swelling clouds, drawn from wide-gasping wounds,
Been oft resolv'd in bloody, purple show'rs,
A meteor that might terrify the earth,
And make it quake at every drop it drinks.
Millions of souls sit on the banks of Styx,
Waiting the back-return of Charon's boat;
Hell and Elysium swarm with ghosts of men,
That I have sent from sundry foughten fields,
To spread my fame through hell and up to heaven.
And see, my lord, a sight of strange import;
Emp'rors and kings lie breathless at my feet:
The Turk and his great Emp'ress, as it seems,
Left to themselves while we were at the fight,
Have desp'rately despatch'd their slavish lives:
With them Arabia, too, has left his life:
All sights of pow'r to grace my victory;
And such are objects fit for Tamburlaine ;
Wherein, as in a mirror, may be seen
His honour, that consists in shedding blood,
When men presume to manage arms with him.
SOLD. Mighty hath God and Mah'met made thy
hand,
Renowned Tamburlaine! to whom all kings
Of force must yield their crowns and emperies;
And I am pleas'd with this my overthrow,
If, as beseems a person of thy state,
Thou hast with honour us'd Zenocrate.
TAMB. Her state and person want no pomp, you
And for all blot of foul inchastity
I record Heaven her heavenly self is clear:
Then let me find no farther time to grace
Her princely temples with the Persian crown.
But here these kings that on my fortunes wait,
And have been crown'd for proved worthiness,
Even by this hand that shall establish them,
Shall now, adjoining all their hands with mine,
Invest her here the Queen of Persia.
What say
the noble Soldan and Zenocrate? SOLD. I yield with thanks and protestations Of endless honour to thee for her love.
TAMB. Then doubt I not but fair Zenocrate Will soon consent to satisfy us both.
ZENO. Else should I much forget myself, my lord.
THER. Then let us set the crown upon her head, That long has linger'd for so high a seat.
Tech. My hand is ready to perform the deed; For now her marriage-time shall work us rest.
Usum. And here's the crown, my lord; help set
TAMB. Then sit thou down, divine Zenocrate;
And here we crown thee Queen of Persia,
And all the kingdoms and dominions
That late the power of Tamburlaine subdu'd.
As Juno, when the giants were suppress'd,
That darted mountains at her brother Jove,
So looks my love, shadowing in her brows
Triumphs and trophies for my victories;
Or, as Latona's daughters, bent to arms,
Adding more courage to my conqu’ring mind.
To gratify the sweet Zenocrate,
Ægyptians, Moors, and men of Asia,
From Barbary unto the western India,
Shall pay a yearly tribute to thy sire:
And from the bounds of Afric to the banks
Of Ganges shall his mighty hand extend.
And now, my lords and loving followers,
That purchas'd kingdoms by your martial deeds,
Cast off your armour, put on scarlet robes,
Mount up your royal places of estate,
Environed with troops of noblemen:
And there make laws to rule your provinces.
Hang up your weapons on Alcides' post;
For Tamburlaine takes truce with all the world.
Thy first-betrothed love, Arabia,
Shall be with honour, as beseems, entomb'd
With this great Turk and his fair Emperess.
Then, after all these solemn exequies,
We will our rites of marriage solemnize.*
The word celebrated occurs in both the old editions before "rites," but may well be dispensed with as regards both the sense and measure.
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