The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe (great books to read TXT) 📕

But I will practice thy enlargement thence: O girl! O gold! O beauty! O my bliss! [Hugs the bags.]

ABIGAIL. Father, it draweth towards midnight now, And ‘bout this time the nuns begin to wake; To shun suspicion, therefore, let us part.

BARABAS. Farewell, my joy, and by my fingers take A kiss from him that sends it from his soul. [Exit ABIGAIL above.] Now, Phoebus, ope the eye-lids of the day. And, for the raven, wake the morning lark, That I may hover with her in the air, Singing o’er these, as she does o’er her young. Hermoso placer de los dineros.<59> [Exit.]

Enter FERNEZE,<60> MARTIN DEL BOSCO, KNIGHTS, and OFFICERS.

FERNEZE. Now, captain, tell us whither thou art bound? Whence is thy ship that anchors in our road? And why thou cam’st ashore without our leave?

MARTIN DEL BOSCO. Governor of Malta, hither am I bound; My ship, the Flying Dragon, is of Spain, And so am I; Del Bosco is my name, Vice-admiral unto the Catholic King.

FIRST KNIGHT. ‘Tis true, my lord; therefore entreat<61> him well.

MARTIN DEL BOSCO. Our fraught is Grecians, Turks, and Afric Moors; For late upon the coast of Corsica, Because we vail’d not<62> to the Turkish<63> fleet, Their creeping galleys had us in the chase: But suddenly the wind began to rise, And then we luff’d and tack’d,<64> and fought at ease: Some have we fir’d, and many have we sunk; But one amongst the rest became our prize: The captain’s slain; the rest remain our slaves, Of whom we would make sale in Malta here.

FERNEZE. Martin del Bosco, I have heard of thee: Welcome to Malta, and to all of us! But to admit a sale of these thy Turks, We may not, nay, we dare not give consent, By reason of a tributary league.

FIRST KNIGHT. Del Bosco, as thou lov’st and honour’st us, Persuade our governor against the Turk: This truce we have is but in hope of gold, And with that sum he craves might we wage war.

MARTIN DEL BOSCO. Will knights of Malta be in league with Turks, And buy it basely too for sums of gold? My lord, remember that, to Europe’s shame, The Christian isle of Rhodes, from whence you came, Was lately lost, and you were stated<65> here To be at deadly enmity with Turks.

FERNEZE. Captain, we know it; but our force is small.

MARTIN DEL BOSCO. What is the sum that Calymath requires?

FERNEZE. A hundred thousand crowns.

MARTIN DEL BOSCO. My lord and king hath title to this isle, And he means quickly to expel you hence; Therefore be rul’d by me, and keep the gold: I’ll write unto his majesty for aid, And not depart until I see you free.

FERNEZE. On this condition shall thy Turks be sold.— Go, officers, and set them straight in show.— [Exeunt OFFICERS.] Bosco, thou shalt be Malta’s general; We and our warlike knights will follow thee Against these barbarous misbelieving Turks.

MARTIN DEL BOSCO. So shall you imitate those you succeed; For, when their hideous force environ’d Rhodes, Small though the number was that kept the town, They fought it out, and not a man surviv’d To bring the hapless news to Christendom.

FERNEZE. So will we fight it out: come, let’s away. Proud daring Calymath, instead of gold, We’ll send thee bullets wrapt in smoke and fire: Claim tribute where thou wilt, we are resolv’d,— Honour is bought with blood, and not with gold. [Exeunt.]

Enter OFFICERS,<66> with ITHAMORE and other SLAVES.

FIRST OFFICER. This is the market-place; here let ‘em stand: Fear not their sale, for they’ll be quickly bought.

SECOND OFFICER. Every one’s price is written on his back, And so much must they yield, or not be sold.

FIRST OFFICER. Here comes the Jew: had not his goods been seiz’d, He’d give us present money for them all.

Enter BARABAS.

BARABAS. In spite of these swine-eating Christians, (Unchosen nation, never circumcis’d, Poor villains, such as were<67> ne’er thought upon Till Titus and Vespasian conquer’d us,) Am I become as wealthy as I was. They hop’d my daughter would ha’ been a nun; But she’s at home, and I have bought a house As great and fair as is the governor’s: And there, in spite of Malta, will I dwell, Having Ferneze’s hand; whose heart I’ll have, Ay, and his son’s too, or it shall go hard. I am not of the tribe of Levi, I, That can so soon forget an injury. We Jews can fawn like spaniels when we please; And when we grin we bite; yet are our looks As innocent and harmless as a lamb’s. I learn’d in Florence how to kiss my hand, Heave up my shoulders when they call me dog, And duck as low as any bare-foot friar; Hoping to see them starve upon a stall, Or else be gather’d for in our synagogue, That, when the offering-basin comes to me, Even for charity I may spit into’t.— Here comes Don Lodowick, the governor’s son, One that I love for his good father’s sake.

Enter LODOWICK.

LODOWICK. I hear the wealthy Jew walked this way: I’ll seek him out, and so insinuate, That I may have a sight of Abigail, For Don Mathias tells me she is fair.

BARABAS. Now will I shew myself to have more of the serpent than the dove; that is, more knave than fool. [Aside.]

LODOWICK. Yond’ walks the Jew: now for fair Abigail.

BARABAS. Ay, ay, no doubt but she’s at your command. [Aside.]

LODOWICK. Barabas, thou know’st I am the governor’s son.

BARABAS. I would you were his father too, sir! that’s all the harm I wish you.—The slave looks like a hog’s cheek new-singed. [Aside.]

LODOWICK. Whither walk’st thou, Barabas?

BARABAS. No further: ‘tis a custom held with us, That when we speak with Gentiles like to you, We turn into<68> the air to purge ourselves; For unto us the promise doth belong.

LODOWICK. Well, Barabas, canst help me to a diamond?

BARABAS. O, sir, your father had my diamonds: Yet I have one left that will serve your turn.— I mean my daughter; but, ere he shall have her, I’ll sacrifice her on a pile of wood: I ha’ the poison of the city<69> for him, And the white leprosy. [Aside.]

LODOWICK. What sparkle does it give without a foil?

BARABAS. The diamond that I talk of ne’er was foil’d:— But, when he touches it, it will be foil’d.—<70> [Aside.] Lord Lodowick, it sparkles bright and fair.

LODOWICK. Is it square or pointed? pray, let me know.

BARABAS. Pointed it is, good sir,—but not for you. [Aside.]

LODOWICK. I like it much the better.

BARABAS. So do I too.

LODOWICK. How shews it by night?

BARABAS. Outshines Cynthia’s rays:— You’ll like it better far o’ nights than days. [Aside.]

LODOWICK. And what’s the price?

BARABAS. Your life, an if you have it [Aside].—O my lord, We will not jar about the price: come to my house, And I will give’t your honour—with a vengeance. [Aside.]

LODOWICK. No, Barabas, I will deserve it first.

BARABAS. Good sir, Your father has deserv’d it at my hands, Who, of mere charity and Christian ruth, To bring me to religious purity, And, as it were, in catechising sort, To make me mindful of my mortal sins, Against my will, and whether I would or no, Seiz’d all I had, and thrust me out o’ doors, And made my house a place for nuns most chaste.

LODOWICK. No doubt your soul shall reap the fruit of it.

BARABAS. Ay, but, my lord, the harvest is far off: And yet I know the prayers of those nuns And holy friars, having money for their pains, Are wondrous;—and indeed do no man good;— [Aside.] And, seeing they are not idle, but still doing, ‘Tis likely they in time may reap some fruit, I mean, in fullness of perfection.

LODOWICK. Good Barabas, glance not at our holy nuns.

BARABAS. No, but I do it through a burning zeal,— Hoping ere long to set the house a-fire; For, though they do a while increase and multiply, I’ll have a saying to that nunnery.—<71> [Aside.] As for the diamond, sir, I told you of, Come home, and there’s no price shall make us part, Even for your honourable father’s sake,— It shall go hard but I will see your death.— [Aside.] But now I must be gone to buy a slave.

LODOWICK. And, Barabas, I’ll bear thee company.

BARABAS. Come, then; here’s the market-place.— What’s the price of this slave? two hundred crowns! do the Turks weigh so much?

FIRST OFFICER. Sir, that’s his price.

BARABAS. What, can he steal, that you demand so much? Belike he has some new trick for a purse; An if he has, he is worth three hundred plates,<72> So that, being bought, the town-seal might be got To keep him for his life-time from the gallows: The sessions-day is critical to thieves, And few or none scape but by being purg’d.

LODOWICK. Rat’st thou this Moor but at two hundred plates?

FIRST OFFICER. No more, my lord.

BARABAS. Why should this Turk be dearer than that Moor?

FIRST OFFICER. Because he is young, and has more qualities.

BARABAS. What, hast the philosopher’s stone? an thou hast, break my head with it, I’ll forgive thee.

SLAVE.<73> No, sir; I can cut and shave.

BARABAS. Let me see, sirrah; are you not an old shaver?

SLAVE. Alas, sir, I am a very youth!

BARABAS. A youth! I’ll buy you, and marry you to Lady Vanity,<74> if you do well.

SLAVE. I will serve you, sir.

BARABAS. Some wicked trick or other: it may be, under colour of shaving, thou’lt cut my throat for my goods. Tell me, hast thou thy health well?

SLAVE. Ay, passing well.

BARABAS. So much the worse: I must have one that’s sickly, an’t be but for sparing victuals: ‘tis not a stone of beef a-day will maintain you in these chops.—Let me see one that’s somewhat leaner.

FIRST OFFICER. Here’s a leaner; how like you him?

BARABAS. Where wast thou born?

ITHAMORE. In Thrace; brought up in Arabia.

BARABAS. So much the better; thou art for my turn. An hundred crowns? I’ll have him; there’s the coin. [Gives money.]

FIRST OFFICER. Then mark him, sir, and take him hence.

BARABAS. Ay, mark him, you were best; for this is he That by my help shall do much villany.— [Aside.] My lord, farewell.—Come, sirrah; you are mine.— As for the diamond, it shall be yours: I pray, sir, be no stranger at my house; All that I have shall be at your command.

Enter MATHIAS and KATHARINE.<75>

MATHIAS. What make the Jew and Lodowick so private? I fear me ‘tis about fair Abigail. [Aside.]

BARABAS. [to LODOWICK.] Yonder comes Don Mathias; let us stay:<76> He loves my daughter, and she holds him dear; But I have sworn to frustrate both their hopes, And be reveng’d upon the—governor. [Aside.] [Exit LODOWICK.]

KATHARINE. This Moor is comeliest, is he not? speak, son.

MATHIAS. No, this is the better, mother, view this well.

BARABAS. Seem not to know me here before your mother, Lest she mistrust the match that is in hand: When you have brought her home, come to my house; Think of me as thy father: son, farewell.

MATHIAS. But wherefore talk’d Don Lodowick with you?

BARABAS. Tush, man! we talk’d of diamonds, not of Abigail.

KATHARINE. Tell me, Mathias, is not that the Jew?

BARABAS. As for the comment on the Maccabees, I have it, sir, and ‘tis at your command.

MATHIAS. Yes, madam, and my talk with him was<77> About the borrowing of a book or two.

KATHARINE. Converse not with him; he is cast off from heaven.— Thou hast thy crowns, fellow.—Come, let’s away.

MATHIAS. Sirrah Jew, remember the book.

BARABAS. Marry, will I, sir. [Exeunt KATHARlNE and MATHIAS.]

FIRST OFFICER.