The dismall'st day is this that e'er I saw,
To be dishonour'd by my sons in Rome!-
Well, bury him, and bury me the next.

[Mutius is put into the tomb. Luc. There lie thy bones, sweet Mutius, with thy friends, Till we with trophies do adorn thy tomb.

All. [kneeling] No man shed tears for noble Mutius; He lives in fame that died in virtue's cause. (27)

Mare. [rising with the rest] My lord,—to step out of these dreary dumps,-(28)

How comes it that the subtle Queen of Goths
Is of a sudden thus advanc'd in Rome ?

Tit. I know not, Marcus; but I know it is,

(27) Luc. There lie thy bones, sweet Mutius, with thy friends,

He lives in fame that died in virtue's cause.]

Capell prints

"Luc. There lye thy bones, sweet Mutius, with thy friends,
'Till we with trophies do adorn thy tomb!-
No man shed tears for noble Mutius;

He lives in fame, that dy'd in virtue's cause.
all. No man, &c.

[Tomb clos'd." and he observes in his Notes, &c., vol. ii. P. iv. p. 102; "That the assistants, after laying-in Mutius, should all pronounce unpreparedly the same solemn farewell to him (as has been directed till now) is not to be conceiv'd; but a repeating it by them (after a first pronouncing) is affecting and natural," &c.—The stage-arrangements in this scene are (as already noticed) sufficiently puzzling. After the line, "He lives in fame that," &c., the quartos have "Exit all but Marcus and Titus;" while the folio has merely "Exit." The sons of Titus are on the stage towards the close of this scene: and we can hardly suppose that they go out here, to return, only eight lines after, with Bassianus and Lavinia.

(28) these dreary dumps,-] So the quartos ("these dririe dumps").— The folio has "these sudden dumps," &c.; which Mr. Collier ad l. says "is evidently wrong;" and which I formerly (in my Remarks on Mr. Collier's and Mr. Knight's eds. of Shakespeare, &c., p. 116) pronounced to be a misprint for "these sullen dumps." I have since found, however, the same expression in Spenser's 52d Sonnet;

"There let no thought of ioy, or pleasure vaine,
Dare to approch, that may my solace breed;
But sudden dumps, and drery sad disdayne

Of all worlds gladnesse, more my torment feed."—

At all events, the reading of the quartos is preferable here on account of the word "sudden" in the next line but one.

Whether by device or no, the heavens can tell :
Is she not, then, beholding to the man

That brought her for this high good turn so far?
Marc. Yes, and will nobly him remunerate.(29)

Flourish. Re-enter, from one side, SATURNINUS attended, TAMORA, DEMETRIUS, CHIRON, and AARON; from the other, BASSIANUS, LAVINIA, and others.

Sat. So, Bassianus, you have play'd your prize : God give you joy, sir, of your gallant bride!

Bas. And you of yours, my lord! I say no more, Nor wish no less; and so, I take my leave.

Sat. Traitor, if Rome have law, or we have power,
Thou and thy faction shall repent this rape.

Bas. Rape, call you it, my lord, to seize my own,
My true-betrothèd love, and now my wife?
But let the laws of Rome determine all;
Meanwhile I am possess'd of that is mine.

Sat. 'Tis good, sir: you are very short with us;
But, if we live, we'll be as sharp with you.

Bas. My lord, what I have done, as best I may
Answer I must, and shall do with my life.
Only thus much I give your grace to know,-
By all the duties that I owe to Rome,
This noble gentleman, Lord Titus here,
Is in opinion and in honour wrong'd ;
That, in the rescue of Lavinia,
With his own hand did slay his youngest son,
In zeal to you, and highly mov'd to wrath
To be controll'd in that he frankly gave:
Receive him, then, to favour, Saturnine,
That hath express'd himself in all his deeds.
A father and a friend to thee and Rome.

Tit. Prince Bassianus, leave to plead my deeds:

(29) Marc. Yes, and will nobly him remunerate.] This line, which is wanting in the quartos, forms a portion of the preceding speech in the folio: but it clearly belongs to Marcus. ("I suspect," observes Malone, "when it was added by the editor of the folio, he inadvertently omitted to prefix the name of the speaker.")

'Tis thou and those that have dishonour'd me. Rome and the righteous heavens be my judge, How I have lov'd and honour'd Saturnine!

Tam. My worthy lord, if ever Tamora
Were gracious in those princely eyes of thine,
Then hear me speak indifferently for all;
And at my suit, sweet, pardon what is past.

Sat. What, madam! be dishonour'd openly,
And basely put it up without revenge?

Tam. Not so, my lord; the gods of Rome forfend
I should be author(30) to dishonour you!
But on mine honour dare I undertake
For good Lord Titus' innocence in all;
Whose fury not dissembled speaks his griefs:
Then, at my suit, look graciously on him;
Lose not so noble a friend on vain suppose,
Nor with sour looks afflict his gentle heart.-

[Aside to Sat.] My lord, be rul'd by me, be won at last;

Dissemble all your griefs and discontents:

You are but newly planted in your throne;
Lest, then, the people, and patricians too,
Upon a just survey, take Titus' part,
And so supplant you for ingratitude,-
Which Rome reputes to be a heinous sin,-
Yield at entreats; and then let me alone:
I'll find a day to massacre them all,
And raze their faction and their family,
The cruel father and his traitorous sons,
To whom I suèd for my dear son's life;
And make them know what 'tis to let a queen
Kneel in the streets and beg for grace in vain.—
Come, come, sweet emperor,-come, Andronicus,—
Take up this good old man, and cheer the heart
That dies in tempest of thy angry frown.

Sat. Rise, Titus, rise; my empress hath prevail'd.
Tit. I thank your majesty, and her, my lord:

(30) author] "The Latin use of auctor." Walker's Crit. Exam., &c., vol. iii. p. 217.

These words, these looks, infuse new life in me.
Tam. Titus, I am incorporate in Rome,
A Roman now adopted happily,

And must advise the emperor for his good.
This day all quarrels die, Andronicus;-
And let it be mine honour, good my lord,
That I have reconcil'd your friends and you.-
For you, Prince Bassianus, I have pass'd
My word and promise to the emperor,
That you will be more mild and tractable.—
And fear not, lords, and you, Lavinia;—
By my advice, all humbled on your knees,
You shall ask pardon of his majesty.

[Marcus, Lavinia, and the sons of Titus kneel. Luc. We do; and vow to heaven, and to his highness, That what we did was mildly as we might, Tendering our sister's honour and our own.

Marc. That, on mine honour, here I do protest.

Sat. Away, and talk not; trouble us no more.

Tam. Nay, nay, sweet emperor, we must all be friends: The tribune and his nephews kneel for grace;

I will not be denied: sweet heart, look back.

Sat. Marcus, for thy sake and thy brother's here, And at my lovely Tamora's entreats,

I do remit these young men's heinous faults.

Lavinia, though you left me like a churl,(81)
I found a friend; and sure as death I swore
I would not part a bachelor from the priest.
Come, if the emperor's court can feast two brides,
You are my guest, Lavinia, and your friends.
This day shall be a love-day, Tamora.

[Marcus and the others rise.

The old eds. have

(31) I do remit these young men's heinous faults.
[Marcus and the others rise.

Lavinia, though you left me like a churl,]

"I doe remit these young mens haynous faults,

Stand vp: Lauinia, though you left me like a churle;"

where "Stand vp" is evidently a stage-direction that has crept into the text.

Tit. To-morrow, an it please your majesty
To hunt the panther and the hart with me,
With horn and hound we'll give your grace bonjour.
Sat. Be it so, Titus, and gramercy too.

[Flourish. Exeunt.

ACT II.

SCENE I. Rome. Before the palace.

Enter AARON.

Aar. Now climbeth Tamora Olympus' top,
Safe out of fortune's shot; and sits aloft,
Secure of thunder's crack or lightning-flash;
Advanc'd above pale envy's threatening reach.
As when the golden sun salutes the morn,
And, having gilt the ocean with his beams,
Gallops the zodiac in his glistering coach,
And overlooks the highest-peering hills;
So Tamora:

Upon her wit (32) doth earthly honour wait,
And virtue stoops and trembles at her frown.
Then, Aaron, arm thy heart, and fit thy thoughts,
To mount aloft with thy imperial mistress,
And mount her pitch,(33) whom thou in triumph long
Hast prisoner held, fetter'd in amorous chains,
And faster bound to Aaron's charming eyes
Than is Prometheus tied to Caucasus.

(32) wit] In my former edition I remarked; "Though Tamora (as Johnson observes) is eminent throughout this play for her 'wit,' yet in the present passage Warburton's alteration of wit' to 'will' (which is also made by Mr. Collier's Ms. Corrector) seems to suit the context better." But I now think the alteration a rash one. Tamora owed her advancement to her "wit," ie. wisdom, sense, cleverness. (Compare "our empress, with her sacred wit," &c., p. 298; "our witty empress," p. 333; “High-witted Tamora,” p. 343; "Whose wisdom hath her fortune conquered," p. 287; "the subtle Queen of Goths," p. 290.)

(33) To mount aloft with thy imperial mistress,
And mount her pitch.]

'Perhaps 'To soar aloft.'" Walker's Crit. Exam., &c., vol. i. p. 290.