[SCENE III. A lonely part of the forest.]

Enter AARON [with a bag of gold].

Aar. He that had wit would think that I had none

To bury so much gold under a tree

And never after to inherit it.

Let him that thinks of me so abjectly

Know that this gold must coin a stratagem, Б
Which, cunningly effected, will beget
A very excellent piece of villainy.
And so repose, sweet gold, for their unrest
[Hides the gold.]
That have their alms out of the Empress' chest.
Enter TAMORA.

Tam. My lovely Aaron, wherefore look'st thou sad

10

Which never hopes more heaven than rests in thee,

This is the day of doom for Bassianus.
His Philomel must lose her tongue to-day,
Thy sons make pillage of her chastity
And wash their hands in Bassianus' blood.
Seest thou this letter? Take it up, I pray thee,
And give the King this fatal-plotted scroll.
Now question me no more; we are espied.
Here comes a parcel of our hopeful booty,
Which dreads not yet their lives' destruction.
Enter BASSIANUS and LAVINIA.

Tam. Ah, my sweet Moor, sweeter to me than life!

Aar. No more, great Empress; Bassianus

comes.

Be cross with him; and I'll go fetch thy sons To back thy quarrels, whatsoe'er they be.

[Exit.] Bas. Who have we here? Rome's royal

Empress,
Unfurnish'd of her well-beseeming troop?
Or is it Dian, habited like her,

61

Who hath abandoned her holy groves
To see the general hunting in this forest?
Tam. Saucy controller of my private steps!
Had I the power that some say Dian had,
Thy temples should be planted presently
With horns, as was Acteon's; and the hounds
Should drive upon thy new-transformed limbs,
Unmannerly intruder as thou art!

Lav. Under your patience, gentle Empress, 'Tis thought you have a goodly gift in horning; And to be doubted that your Moor and you Are singled forth to try experiments. Jove shield your husband from his hounds today!

'Tis pity they should take him for a stag. Bas. Believe me, Queen, your swarth Cim

merian

Doth make your honour of his body's hue,
Spotted, detested, and abominable.
Why are you sequest'red from all your train,
Dismounted from your snow-white goodly steed,
And wand'red hither to an obscure plot,
Accompanied but with a barbarous Moor,
If foul desire had not conducted you?

Lav. And, being intercepted in your sport, "
Great reason that my noble lord be rated
For sauciness. I pray you, let us hence,
And let her joy her raven-coloured love;
This valley fits the purpose passing well.
Bas. The King, my brother, shall have note
of this.

Lav. Ay, for these slips have made him noted long,

Good king, to be so mightily abused.

Tam. Why have I patience to endure all this?

Enter CHIRON and DEMETRIUS.

Dem. How now, dear sovereign, and our gracious mother!

Why doth your Highness look so pale and wan? Tam. Have I not reason, think you, to look

pale?

O'ercome with moss and baleful mistletoe.
Here never shines the sun; here nothing breeds,
Unless the nightly owl or fatal raven;
And when they show'd me this abhorred pit,
They told me, here, at dead time of the night, 99
A thousand fiends, a thousand hissing snakes,
Ten thousand swelling toads, as many urchins,
Would make such fearful and confused cries
As any mortal body hearing it

105

Should straight fall mad, or else die suddenly.
No sooner had they told this hellish tale,
But straight they told me they would bind me
here

Unto the body of a dismal yew,

And leave me to this miserable death.
And then they call'd me foul adulteress,
Lascivious Goth, and all the bitterest terms 110
That ever ear did hear to such effect;
And, had you not by wondrous fortune come,
This vengeance on me had they executed.
Revenge it, as you love your mother's life,
Or be ye not henceforth call'd my children. 115
Dem. This is a witness that I am thy son.
[Stabs Bassianus.
Chi. And this for me, struck home to show
my strength.

Also stabs Bassianus, who dies.]
Lav. Ay, come, Semiramis, nay, barbarous
Tamora,

For no name fits thy nature but thy own! Tam. Give me thy poniard; you shall know, my boys,

120

Your mother's hand shall right your mother's wrong.

Dem. Stay, madam; here is more belongs to her.

First thrash the corn, then after burn the straw.
This minion stood upon her chastity,
Upon her nuptial vow, her loyalty,

125

And with that painted hope braves your mighti

To have his princely paws par'd all away; Some say that ravens foster forlorn children The whilst their own birds famish in their nests;

155

O, be to me, though thy hard heart say no,
Nothing so kind, but something pitiful!
Tam. I know not what it means; away with
her!

Lav. O, let me teach thee! For my father's sake,

That gave thee life when well he might have slain thee,

Be not obdurate, open thy deaf ears.

160

Tam. Hadst thou in person ne'er offended

me

Even for his sake am I pitiless.

165

Remember, boys, I pour'd forth tears in vain
To save your brother from the sacrifice;
But fierce Andronicus would not relent.
Therefore, away with her, and use her as you
will,

The worse to her, the better lov'd of me.
Lav. O Tamora, be call'd a gentle queen,
And with thine own hands kill me in this place!
For 't is not life that I have begg'd so long; 170
Poor I was slain when Bassianus died.

Tam. What begg'st thou, then? Fond woman, let me go.

Lav. "Tis present death I beg, and one thing

more

176

That womanhood denies my tongue to tell.
O, keep me from their worse than killing lust,
And tumble me into some loathsome pit
Where never man's eye may behold my body.
Do this, and be a charitable murderer.
Tam. So should I rob my sweet sons of their
fee.

180

No, let them satisfy their lust on thee. Dem. Away! for thou hast stay'd us here too long. Lav. No grace? beastly creature!

no womanhood? Ah,

The blot and enemy to our general name!
Confusion fall-

Chi. Nay, then I'll stop your mouth. Bring thou her husband;

185

This is the hole where Aaron bid us hide him. [Demetrius throws the body of Bassianus into the pit; then exeunt Demetrius and Chiron, dragging off Lavinia.]

Tam. Farewell, my sons: see that you make

her sure.

Ne'er let my heart know merry cheer indeed,

Mart. Lord Bassianus lies embrued here, All on a heap, like to a slaught'red lamb, In this detested, dark, blood-drinking pit. Quin. If it be dark, how dost thou know 't is he?

225

230

Mart. Upon his bloody finger he doth wear A precious ring, that lightens all this hole, Which, like a taper in some monument, Doth shine upon the dead man's earthy cheeks And shows the ragged entrails of this pit. So pale did shine the moon on Pyramus When he by night lay bath'd in maiden blood. O brother, help me with thy fainting hand If fear hath made thee faint, as me it hath Out of this fell devouring receptacle, As hateful as Cocytus' misty mouth. Quin. Reach me thy hand, that I may help thee out;

235

240

Or, wanting strength to do thee so much good,
I may be pluck'd into the swallowing womb
Of this deep pit, poor Bassianus' grave.
I have no strength to pluck thee to the brink.
Mart. Nor I no strength to climb without
thy help.

Quin. Thy hand once more; I will not loose again

Till thou art here aloft or I below. Thou canst not come to me; I come to thee. [Falls in.

Enter SATURNINUS with AARON.

Sat. Along with me; I'll see what hole is here,

And what he is that now is leap'd into it.
Say, who art thou that lately didst descend
Into this gaping hollow of the earth?

Mart. The unhappy son of old Andronicus,
Brought hither in a most unlucky hour
To find thy brother Bassianus dead.

251

Sat. My brother dead! I know thou dost but jest.

He and his lady both are at the lodge Upon the north side of this pleasant chase; *** 'Tis not an hour since I left them there.

Mart. We know not where you left them all

alive;

But, out, alas! here have we found him dead. Re-enter TAMORA [with Attendants]; TITUS ANDRONICUS, and LUCIUS.

Tam. Where is my lord the King? Sat. Here, Tamora, though griev'd with killing grief.

200

Tam. Where is thy brother Bassianus?
Sat. Now to the bottom dost thou search my

wound;

275

Among the nettles at the elder-tree
Which overshades the mouth of that same pit
Where we decreed to bury Bassianus.
Do this, and purchase us thy lasting friends."
O Tamora! was ever heard the like?
This is the pit, and this the elder-tree.
Look, sirs, if you can find the huntsman out
That should have murdered Bassianus here.
Aar. My gracious lord, here is the bag of
gold.

Sat. [To Titus.] Two of thy whelps, fell curs of bloody kind,

Have here bereft my brother of his life.
Sirs, drag them from the pit unto the prison.
There let them bide until we have devis'd
Some never-heard-of torturing pain for them.

Sat. Thou shalt not bail them; see thou follow me.

Some bring the murdered body, some the murderers.

Let them not speak a word; the guilt is plain; For, by my soul, were there worse end than death,

That end upon them should be executed.

Tam. Andronicus, I will entreat the King. Fear not thy sons; they shall do well enough. Tit. Come, Lucius, come; stay not to talk with them. [Exeunt. 306

[SCENE IV. Another part of the forest.] Enter DEMETRIUS and CHIRON, with LAVINIA, ravished; her hands cut off, and her tongue cut .out.

Dem. So, now go tell, an if thy tongue can speak,

Who 't was that cut thy tongue and ravish'd thee.

Chi. Write down thy mind, bewray thy meaning so,

An if thy stumps will let thee play the scribe. Dem. See, how with signs and tokens she

can scrowl.

5

Alas, a crimson river of warm blood,
Like to a bubbling fountain stirr'd with wind,
Doth rise and fall between thy rosed lips,
Coming and going with thy honey breath.
But, sure, some Tereus hath deflowered thee,
And, lest thou shouldst detect him, cut thy
tongue.

25

35

Ah, now thou turn'st away thy face for shame!
And, notwithstanding all this loss of blood
As from a conduit with three issuing spouts, 30
Yet do thy cheeks look red as Titan's face
Blushing to be encount'red with a cloud.
Shall I speak for thee? Shall I say 't is so?
O, that I knew thy heart; and knew the beast,
That I might rail at him to ease my mind!
Sorrow concealed, like an oven stopp'd,
Doth burn the heart to cinders where it is.
Fair Philomela, why, she but lost her tongue,
And in a tedious sampler sew'd her mind;
But, lovely niece, that mean is cut from thee;
A craftier Tereus, cousin, hast thou met,
And he hath cut those pretty fingers off,
That could have better sew'd than Philomel.
O, had the monster seen those lily hands
Tremble, like aspen-leaves, upon a lute,
And make the silken strings delight to kiss
them,

41

45

Do not draw back, for we will mourn with thee.

O, could our mourning ease thy misery!

ACT III

[SCENE I. Rome. A street.]

[Exeunt.

Enter Judges, Senators [and Tribunes], with Martius and Quintus, bound, passing on the stage to the place of execution; TITUS going before, pleading.

Tit. Hear me, grave fathers! noble tribunes, stay!

For pity of mine age, whose youth was spent
In dangerous wars, whilst you securely slept
For all my blood in Rome's great quarrel shed
For all the frosty nights that I have watch'd; s
And for these bitter tears, which now you see
Filling the aged wrinkles in my cheeks;
Be pitiful to my condemned sons,
Whose souls are not corrupted as 't is thought.
For two and twenty sons I never wept,
Because they died in honour's lofty bed.
Lieth down; the Judges, etc., pass
by him [and exeunt].

10

Marc. This was thy daughter. Tit.

For these, tribunes, in the dust I write
My heart's deep languor and my soul's sad

tears.

O earth, I will befriend thee more with rain,
That shall distil from these two ancient urns,
Than youthful April shall with all his showers.
In summer's drought I'll drop upon thee still;
In winter with warm tears I'll melt the snow
And keep eternal spring-time on thy face,
So thou refuse to drink my dear sons' blood.

Enter LUCIUS, with his weapon drawn.

O reverend tribunes! O gentle, aged men!
Unbind my sons, reverse the doom of death;
And let me say, that never wept before,
My tears are now prevailing orators.

Luc. O noble father, you lament in vain.
The tribunes hear you not; no man is by;
And you recount your sorrows to a stone.

21

25

Tit. Ah, Lucius, for thy brothers let me plead.

Grave tribunes, once more I entreat of you, Luc. My gracious lord, no tribune hears you speak.

Tit. Why, 't is no matter, man; if they did hear,

They would not mark me, or if they did mark, They would not pity me; yet plead I must, 35 And bootless unto them.

Therefore I tell my sorrows to the stones; Who, though they cannot answer my distress, Yet in some sort they are better than the trib

Luc. To rescue my two brothers from their death;

For which attempt the judges have pronounc'd My everlasting doom of banishment.

51

Tit. O happy man! they have befriended thee.

Why, foolish Lucius, dost thou not perceive
That Rome is but a wilderness of tigers?
Tigers must prey, and Rome affords no prey 55
But me and mine. How happy art thou, then,
From these devourers to be banished!
But who comes with our brother Marcus here?

Enter MARCUS and LAVINIA.

Marc. Titus, prepare thy aged eyes to weep; Or, if not so, thy noble heart to break. I bring consuming sorrow to thine age.

60

Tit. Will it consume me? Let me see it, then.

Why, Marcus, so she is. Luc. Ay me, this object kills me! Tit. Faint-hearted boy, arise, and look upon her.

.

Speak, Lavinia, what accursed hand
Hath made thee handless in thy father's sight?
What fool hath added water to the sea,
Or brought a faggot to bright-burning Troy?
My grief was at the height before thou cam'st,
And now, like Nilus, it disdaineth bounds.
Give me a sword, I'll chop off my hands too;
For they have fought for Rome, and all in vain;
And they have nurs'd this woe, in feeding life;
In bootless prayer have they been held up, 75
And they have serv'd me to effectless use.
Now all the service I require of them

Is that the one will help to cut the other.
'Tis well, Lavinia, that thou hast no hands;
For hands to do Rome service is but vain.
Luc. Speak, gentle sister, who hath martyr'd
thee?

Marc. O, that delightful engine of her thoughts,

That blabb'd them with such pleasing elo

quence,

85

Is torn from forth that pretty hollow cage,
Where, like a sweet melodious bird, it sung
Sweet varied notes, enchanting every ear!
Luc. O, say thou for her, who hath done this
deed?

Marc. O, thus I found her, straying in the park,

Seeking to hide herself, as doth the deer
That hath receiv'd some unrecuring wound. »
Tit. It was my deer; and he that wounded

her

Hath hurt me more than had he kill'd me dead.
For now I stand as one upon a rock
Environ'd with a wilderness of sea,

Who marks the waxing tide grow wave by

Expecting ever when some envious surge
Will in his brinish bowels swallow him.
This way to death my wretched sons are gone,
Here stands my other son, a banish'd man,
And here my brother, weeping at my woes; 100
But that which gives my soul the greatest

spurn,

105

Is dear Lavinia, dearer than my soul.
Had I but seen thy picture in this plight,
It would have madɗed me; what shall I do
Now I behold thy lively body so?
Thou hast no hands, to wipe away thy tears;
Nor tongue, to tell me who hath martyr'd thee.
Thy husband he is dead; and for his death
Thy brothers are condemn'd, and dead by this.
Look, Marcus! ah, son Lucius, look on her! us
When I did name her brothers, then fresh tears
Stood on her cheeks, as doth the honey-dew
Upon a gath'red lily almost withered.

Marc. Perchance she weeps because they kill'd her husband;

Perchance because she knows them innocent. 11 Tit. If they did kill thy husband, then be joyful,

Because the law hath ta'en revenge on them.