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That's curdied by the frost from purest snow And hangs on Dian's temple: dear Valeria! Vol. This is a poor epitome of yours,

Cor.

Vol.

Which by the interpretation of full time
May show like all yourself.

70

The god of soldiers,
With the consent of supreme Jove, inform
Thy thoughts with nobleness, that thou mayst

prove

To shame unvulnerable, and stick i' the wars
Like a great sea-mark, standing every flaw
And saving those that eye thee!

Cor. That's my brave boy!

Your knee, sirrah.

Vol. Even he, your wife, this lady and myself
Are suitors to you.

Cor.

I beseech you, peace:
Or, if you 'ld ask, remember this before:

The thing I have forsworn to grant may never was hence the goddess of chastity. The "chaste," "cold" moon belongs to classic, the "fickle" ("lunish") moon to mediæval, folklore. -C. H. H.

67. "dear Valeria"; a lady named Valeria was one of the great examples of chastity held out by the writers of the middle ages. The following lines, from Shirley's Gentleman of Venice, deserve to be cited here:

"Thou art chaste

As the white down of heaven, whose feathers play
Upon the wings of the cold winter's gale,

Trembling with fear to touch th' impurer earth.”

-H. N. H.

71. "supreme Jove"; this is inserted with great decorum. Jupiter was the tutelary god of Rome.-H. N. H.

80. "The thing I have forsworn,” etc.; i. e. in saying no, I shall not be refusing your request, as such, but merely observing my oath to refuse any.-C. H. H.

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Vol.

Be held by you denials. Do not bid me
Dismiss my soldiers, or capitulate
Again with Rome's mechanics: tell me not
Wherein I seem unnatural: desire not
To allay my rages and revenges with
Your colder reasons.

81

O, no more, no more!
You have said you will not grant us any thing;
For we have nothing else to ask, but that
Which you deny already: yet we will ask;
That, if you fail in our request, the blame
May hang upon your hardness: therefore hear

us.

90

Cor. Aufidius, and you Volsces, mark; for we 'll Hear nought from Rome in private. Your re

quest?

Vol. Should we be silent and not speak, our raiment And state of bodies would bewray what life We have led since thy exile. Think with thyself

How more unfortunate than all living women Are we come hither: since that thy sight, which should

Make our eyes flow with joy, hearts dance with comforts,

Constrains them weep and shake with fear and

sorrow;

Making the mother, wife and child, to see
The son, the husband and the father, tearing
His country's bowels out. And to poor we
Thine enmity's most capital: thou barr'st us
Our prayers to the gods, which is a comfort

100

Vir.

That all but we enjoy; for how can we,
Alas, how can we for our country pray,
Whereto we are bound, together with thy vic-
tory,

Whereto we are bound? alack, or we must lose
The country, our dear nurse, or else thy person,
Our comfort in the country. We must find 111
An evident calamity, though we had

Our wish, which side should win; for either thou
Must, as a foreign recreant, be led

With manacles thorough our streets, or else
Triumphantly tread on thy country's ruin,
And bear the palm of having bravely shed
Thy wife and children's blood. For myself,

son,

I purpose not to wait on fortune till

These wars determine: if I cannot persuade thee
Rather to show a noble grace to both parts 121
Than seek the end of one, thou shalt no sooner
March to assault thy country than to tread—
Trust to 't, thou shalt not on thy mother's
womb,

That brought thee to this world.

Aye, and mine,

That brought you forth this boy, to keep your

name

Living to time.

Boy.

A' shall not tread on me;

I'll run away till I am bigger, but then I'll

fight.

Cor. Not of a woman's tenderness to be,

Requires nor child nor woman's face to see. 130

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