Tamburlaine the Great, Part 1 by Christopher Marlowe (free ebook reader for iphone TXT) 📕

PHILEMUS. Madam, your father, and the Arabian king, The first affecter of your excellence, Come<296> now, as Turnus ‘gainst Aeneas did, Armed<297> with lance into the Aegyptian fields, Ready for battle ‘gainst my lord the king.

ZENOCRATE. Now shame and duty, love and fear present A thousand sorrows to my martyr’d soul. Whom should I wish the fatal victory, When my poor pleasures are divided thus, And rack’d by duty from my cursed heart? My father and my first-betrothed love Must fight against my life and present love; Wherein the change I use condemns my faith, And makes my deeds infamous through the world: But, as the gods, to end the Trojans’ toil, Prevented Turnus of Lavinia, And fatally enrich’d Aeneas’ love, So, for a final<298> issue to my griefs, To pacify my country and my love, Must Tamburlaine by their resistless powers, With virtue of a gentle victory, Conclude a league of honour to my hope; Then, as the powers divine have pre-ordain’d, With happy safety of my father’s life Send like defence of fair Arabia [They sound to the battle within; and TAMBURLAINE enjoys the victory: after which, the KING OF ARABIA<299> enters wounded.]

KING OF ARABIA. What cursed power guides the murdering hands Of this infamous tyrant’s soldiers, That no escape may save their enemies, Nor fortune keep themselves from victory? Lie down, Arabia, wounded to the death, And let Zenocrate’s fair eyes behold, That, as for her thou bear’st these wretched arms, Even so for her thou diest in these arms, Leaving thy<300> blood for witness of thy love.

ZENOCRATE. Too dear a witness for such love, my lord! Behold Zenocrate, the cursed object Whose fortunes never mastered her griefs; Behold her wounded in conceit<301> for thee, As much as thy fair body is for me!

KING OF ARABIA. Then shall I die with full contented heart, Having beheld divine Zenocrate, Whose sight with joy would take away my life As now it bringeth sweetness to my wound, If I had not been wounded as I am. Ah, that the deadly pangs I suffer now Would lend an hour’s licence to my tongue, To make discourse of some sweet accidents Have chanc’d thy merits in this worthless bondage, And that I might be privy to the state Of thy deserv’d contentment and thy love! But, making now a virtue of thy sight, To drive all sorrow from my fainting soul, Since death denies me further cause of joy, Depriv’d of care, my heart with comfort dies, Since thy desired hand shall close mine eyes. [Dies.]

Re-enter TAMBURLAINE, leading the SOLDAN; TECHELLES, THERIDAMAS, USUMCASANE, with others.

TAMBURLAINE. Come, happy father of Zenocrate, A title higher than thy Soldan’s name. Though my right hand have<302> 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<303> or Nile.

ZENOCRATE. O sight thrice-welcome to my joyful soul, To see the king, my father, issue safe From dangerous battle of my conquering love!

SOLDAN. Well met, my only dear Zenocrate, Though with the loss of Egypt and my crown!

TAMBURLAINE. ‘Twas I, my lord, that gat 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 th’ Egyptian crown. The god of war resigns his room to me, Meaning to make me general of the world: Jove, viewing me in arms, looks pale and wan, Fearing my power should<304> pull him from his throne: Where’er I come the Fatal Sisters sweat,<305> 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-gaping<306> wounds, Been oft resolv’d<307> in bloody purple showers, A meteor that might terrify the earth, And make it quake at every drop it drinks: Millions<308> of souls sit on the banks of Styx, Waiting the back-return of Charon’s boat; Hell and Elysium<309> 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,— Emperors and kings lie breathless at my feet; The Turk and his great empress, as it seems, Left to themselves while we were at the fight, Have desperately despatch’d their slavish lives: With them Arabia, too, hath left his life: All sights of power 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.

SOLDAN. Mighty hath God and Mahomet made thy hand, Renowmed<310> 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.

TAMBURLAINE. Her state and person want no pomp, you see; And for all blot of foul inchastity, I record<311> heaven, her heavenly self is clear: Then let me find no further time<312> 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<313> Queen of Persia What saith the noble Soldan, and Zenocrate?

SOLDAN. I yield with thanks and protestations Of endless honour to thee for her love.

TAMBURLAINE. Then doubt I not<314> but fair Zenocrate Will soon consent to satisfy us both.

ZENOCRATE. Else<315> should I much forget myself, my lord.

THERIDAMAS. Then let us set the crown upon her head, That long hath linger’d for so high a seat.

TECHELLES. My hand is ready to perform the deed; For now her marriage-time shall work us rest.

USUMCASANE. And here’s the crown, my lord; help set it on.<316>

TAMBURLAINE. 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 daughter, bent to arms, Adding more courage to my conquering mind. To gratify the[e], sweet Zenocrate, Egyptians, 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 arm 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[s]; For Tamburlaine takes truce with all the world.— Thy first-betrothed love, Arabia, Shall we with honour, as beseems,<317> entomb With this great Turk and his fair emperess. Then, after all these solemn exequies, We will our rites<318> of marriage solemnize. [Exeunt.]

<1> To the Gentlemen-readers, &c.] From the 8vo of 1592: in the 4tos this address is worded here and there differently. I have not thought it necessary to mark the varioe lectiones of the worthy printer’s composition.

<2> histories] i.e. dramas so called,—plays founded on history.

<3> fond] i.e. foolish.—Concerning the omissions here alluded to, some remarks will be found in the ACCOUNT OF MARLOWE AND HIS WRITINGS.

<The “Account of Marlowe and His Writings,” is the introduction to this book of ‘The Works of Christopher Marlowe.’ That is, the book from which this play has been transcribed. The following is from pages xvi and xvii of that introduction.>

<“This tragedy, which was entered in the Stationers’ Books, 14th August, 1590,<a> and printed during the same year, has not come down to us in its original fulness; and probably we have no cause to lament the curtailments which it suffered from the publisher of the first edition. “I have purposely,” he says, “omitted and left out some fond and frivolous gestures, digressing, and, in my poor opinion, far unmeet for the matter, which I thought might seem more tedious unto the wise than any way else to be regarded, though haply they have been of some vain-conceited fondlings greatly gaped at, what time they were shewed upon the stage in their graced deformities: nevertheless now to be mixtured in print with such matter of worth, it would prove a great disgrace to so honourable and stately a history.”<b> By the words, “fond and frivolous gestures,” we are to understand those of the “clown;” who very frequently figured, with more or less prominence, even in the most serious dramas of the time. The introduction of such buffooneries into tragedy<c> is censured by Hall towards the conclusion of a passage which, as it mentions “the Turkish Tamberlaine,” would seem to be partly levelled at Marlowe:<d>

“One higher-pitch’d doth set his soaring thought On crowned kings that Fortune hath low brought, Or some vpreared high-aspiring swaine, As it might be THE TURKISH TAMBERLAINE. Then weeneth he his base drink-drowned spright Rapt to the threefold loft of heauen hight, When he conceiues vpon his fained stage The stalking steps of his greate personage, Graced with huf-cap termes and thundring threats, That his poore hearers’ hayre quite vpright sets.

*

NOW, LEAST SUCH FRIGHTFULL SHOWES OF FORTUNE’S FALL AND BLOUDY TYRANTS’ RAGE SHOULD CHANCE APALL THE DEAD-STROKE AUDIENCE, MIDST THE SILENT ROUT COMES LEAPING IN A SELFE-MISFORMED LOUT, AND LAUGHES, AND GRINS, AND FRAMES HIS MIMIK FACE, AND IUSTLES STRAIGHT INTO THE PRINCE’S PLACE: THEN DOTH THE THEATRE ECCHO ALL ALOUD WITH GLADSOME NOYSE OF THAT APPLAUDING CROWD: A GOODLY HOCH-POCH, WHEN VILE RUSSETTINGS ARE MATCH[‘D] WITH MONARCHS AND WITH MIGHTIE KINGS!”<e>

But Hall’s taste was more refined and classical than that of his age; and the success of TAMBURLAINE, in which the celebrated Alleyn represented the hero,<f> was adequate to the most sanguine expectations which its author could have formed.

<a> “A ballad entituled the storye of Tamburlayne the greate,” &c. (founded, I suppose, on Marlowe’s play) was entered in the Stationers’ Books, 5th Nov. 1594.

<b> P. 4 of the present volume.

<c> In Italy, at the commencement of the 18th century (and probably much later), it was not unusual to introduce “the Doctor,” “Harlequin,” “Pantalone,” and “Coviello,” into deep tragedies. “I have seen,” says Addison, “a translation of THE CID acted at Bolonia, which would never have taken, had they not found a place in it for these buffoons.” REMARKS ON SEVERAL PARTS OF ITALY, &C. IN THE YEARS 1701, 1702, 1703, p. 68, ed. 1745.

<d> Perhaps I ought to add, that Marlowe was dead when (in 1597) the satire, from which these lines are quoted, was first given to the press.

<e> Hall’s VIRGID. Lib. I. Sat. iii., ed. 1602.

<f> See Heywood’s Prol. to our author’s JEW OF MALTA, p. 142 of the present volume. <See the Project Gutenberg E-Text of ‘The Jew of Malta.’> “>

<4> censures] i.e. judgments, opinions.

<5> Afric] So the 8vo.—The 4to “Affrica.”

<6> their] Old eds. “his.”

<7> through] So the 4to.—The 8vo “thorough.”

<8> incivil] i.e. barbarous.—So the 8vo.—The 4to “vnciuill.”

<9> incontinent] i.e. forthwith, immediately.

<10> chiefest] So the 8vo.—The 4to “chiefe.”

<11> rout] i.e. crew.

<12> press] So the 8vo.—The 4to “prease.”

<13> you] So the 8vo.—0mitted in the 4to.

<14> all] So the 4to.—0mitted in the 8vo.

<15> mated] i.e. confounded.

<16> pass not] i.e. care not.

<17> regiment] i.e. rule, government.

<18>