Enter TAMBURLAINE, TECHELLES, USUMCASANE, THERIDAMAS,
a BASSO, ZENOCRATE, ANIPPE, with others.
TAMBURLAINE. Basso, by this thy lord and master knows
I mean to meet him in Bithynia:
See, how he comes! tush, Turks are full of brags,
And menace [155] more than they can well perform.
He meet me in the field, and fetch [156] thee hence!
Alas, poor Turk! his fortune is too weak
T' encounter with the strength of Tamburlaine:
View well my camp, and speak indifferently;
Do not my captains and my soldiers look
As if they meant to conquer Africa?
BASSO. Your men are valiant, but their number few,
And cannot terrify his mighty host:
My lord, the great commander of the world,
Besides fifteen contributory kings,
Hath now in arms ten thousand janizaries,
Mounted on lusty Mauritanian steeds,
Brought to the war by men of Tripoly;
Two hundred thousand footmen that have serv'd
In two set battles fought in Graecia;
And for the expedition of this war,
If he think good, can from his garrisons
Withdraw as many more to follow him.
TECHELLES. The more he brings, the greater is the spoil;
For, when they perish by our warlike hands,
We mean to set [157] our footmen on their steeds,
And rifle all those stately janizars.
TAMBURLAINE. But will those kings accompany your lord?
BASSO. Such as his highness please; but some must stay
To rule the provinces he late subdu'd.
TAMBURLAINE. [To his OFFICERS]
Then fight courageously: their crowns are yours;
This hand shall set them on your conquering heads,
That made me emperor of Asia.
USUMCASANE. Let him bring millions infinite of men,
Unpeopling Western Africa and Greece,
Yet we assure us of the victory.
THERIDAMAS. Even he, that in a trice vanquish'd two kings
More mighty than the Turkish emperor,
Shall rouse him out of Europe, and pursue
His scatter'd army till they yield or die.
TAMBURLAINE. Well said, Theridamas! speak in that mood;
For WILL and SHALL best fitteth Tamburlaine,
Whose smiling stars give him assured hope
Of martial triumph ere he meet his foes.
I that am term'd the scourge and wrath of God,
The only fear and terror of the world,
Will first subdue the Turk, and then enlarge
Those Christian captives which you keep as slaves,
Burdening their bodies with your heavy chains,
And feeding them with thin and slender fare;
That naked row about the Terrene [158] sea,
And, when they chance to rest or breathe [159] a space,
Are punish'd with bastones [160] so grievously
That they [161] lie panting on the galleys' side,
And strive for life at every stroke they give.
These are the cruel pirates of Argier,
That damned train, the scum of Africa,
Inhabited with straggling runagates,
That make quick havoc of the Christian blood:
But, as I live, that town shall curse the time
That Tamburlaine set foot in Africa.
Enter BAJAZETH, BASSOES, the KINGS OF FEZ, MOROCCO,
and ARGIER; ZABINA and EBEA.
BAJAZETH. Bassoes and janizaries of my guard,
Attend upon the person of your lord,
The greatest potentate of Africa.
TAMBURLAINE. Techelles and the rest, prepare your swords;
I mean t' encounter with that Bajazeth.
BAJAZETH. Kings of Fez, Morocco, [162] and Argier,
He calls me Bajazeth, whom you call lord!
Note the presumption of this Scythian slave!—
I tell thee, villain, those that lead my horse
Have to their names titles [163] of dignity;
And dar'st thou bluntly call me Bajazeth?
TAMBURLAINE. And know, thou Turk, that those which lead my horse
Shall lead thee captive thorough Africa;
And dar'st thou bluntly call me Tamburlaine?
BAJAZETH. By Mahomet my kinsman's sepulchre,
And by the holy Alcoran I swear,
He shall be made a chaste and lustless eunuch,
And in my sarell [164] tend my concubines;
And all his captains, that thus stoutly stand,
Shall draw the chariot of my emperess,
Whom I have brought to see their overthrow!
TAMBURLAINE. By this my sword that conquer'd Persia,
Thy fall shall make me famous through the world!
I will not tell thee how I'll [165] handle thee,
But every common soldier of my camp
Shall smile to see thy miserable state.
KING OF FEZ. What means the [166] mighty Turkish emperor,
To talk with one so base as Tamburlaine?
KING OF MOROCCO. Ye Moors and valiant men of Barbary.
How can ye suffer these indignities?
KING OF ARGIER. Leave words, and let them feel your lances'
points,
Which glided through the bowels of the Greeks.
BAJAZETH. Well said, my stout contributory kings!
Your threefold army and my hugy [167] host
Shall swallow up these base-born Persians.
TECHELLES. Puissant, renowm'd, [168] and mighty Tamburlaine,
Why stay we thus prolonging of [169] their lives?
THERIDAMAS. I long to see those crowns won by our swords,
That we may rule [170] as kings of Africa.
USUMCASANE. What coward would not fight for such a prize?
TAMBURLAINE. Fight all courageously, and be you kings:
I speak it, and my words are oracles.
BAJAZETH. Zabina, mother of three braver [171] boys
Than Hercules, that in his infancy
Did pash [172] the jaws of serpents venomous;
Whose hands are made to gripe a warlike lance,
Their shoulders broad for complete armour fit,
Their limbs more large and of a bigger size
Than all the brats y-sprung [173] from Typhon's loins;
Who, when they come unto their father's age,
Will batter turrets with their manly fists;—
Sit here upon this royal chair of state,
And on thy head wear my imperial crown,
Until I bring this sturdy Tamburlaine
And all his captains bound in captive chains.
ZABINA. Such good success happen to Bajazeth!
TAMBURLAINE. Zenocrate, the loveliest maid alive,
Fairer than rocks of pearl and precious stone,
The only paragon of Tamburlaine;
Whose eyes are brighter than the lamps of heaven,
And speech more pleasant than sweet harmony;
That with thy looks canst clear the darken'd sky,
And calm the rage of thundering Jupiter;
Sit down by her, adorned with my crown,
As if thou wert the empress of the world.
Stir not, Zenocrate, until thou see
Me march victoriously with all my men,
Triumphing over him and these his kings,
Which I will bring as vassals to thy feet;
Till then, take thou my crown, vaunt of my worth,
And manage words with her, as we will arms.
ZENOCRATE. And may my love, the king of Persia,
Return with victory and free from wound!
BAJAZETH. Now shalt thou feel the force of Turkish arms,
Which lately made all Europe quake for fear.
I have of Turks, Arabians, Moors, and Jews,
Enough to cover all Bithynia:
Let thousands die; their slaughter'd carcasses
Shall serve for walls and bulwarks to the rest;
And as the heads of Hydra, so my power,
Subdu'd, shall stand as mighty as before:
If they should yield their necks unto the sword,
Thy soldiers' arms could not endure to strike
So many blows as I have heads for them. [174] Thou know'st not, foolish-hardy Tamburlaine,
What 'tis to meet me in the open field,
That leave no ground for thee to march upon.
TAMBURLAINE. Our conquering swords shall marshal us the way
We use to march upon the slaughter'd foe,
Trampling their bowels with our horses' hoofs,
Brave horses bred on the [175] white Tartarian hills
My camp is like to Julius Caesar's host,
That never fought but had the victory;
Nor in Pharsalia was there such hot war
As these, my followers, willingly would have.
Legions of spirits, fleeting in the air,
Direct our bullets and our weapons' points,
And make your strokes to wound the senseless light; [176] And when she sees our bloody colours spread,
Then Victory begins to take her flight,
Resting herself upon my milk-white tent.—
But come, my lords, to weapons let us fall;
The field is ours, the Turk, his wife, and all.
[Exit with his followers.]
BAJAZETH. Come, kings and bassoes, let us glut our swords,
That thirst to drink the feeble Persians' blood.
[Exit with his followers.]
ZABINA. Base concubine, must thou be plac'd by me
That am the empress of the mighty Turk?
ZENOCRATE. Disdainful Turkess, and unreverend boss, [177] Call'st thou me concubine, that am betroth'd
Unto the great and mighty Tamburlaine?
ZABINA. To Tamburlaine, the great Tartarian thief!
ZENOCRATE. Thou wilt repent these lavish words of thine
When thy great basso-master and thyself
Must plead for mercy at his kingly feet,
And sue to me to be your advocate. [178]
ZABINA. And sue to thee! I tell thee, shameless girl,
Thou shalt be laundress to my waiting-maid.—
How lik'st thou her, Ebea? will she serve?
EBEA. Madam, she thinks perhaps she is too fine;
But I shall turn her into other weeds,
And make her dainty fingers fall to work.
ZENOCRATE. Hear'st thou, Anippe, how thy drudge doth talk?
And how my slave, her mistress, menaceth?
Both for their sauciness shall be employ'd
To dress the common soldiers' meat and drink;
For we will scorn they should come near ourselves.
ANIPPE. Yet sometimes let your highness send for them
To do the work my chambermaid disdains.
[They sound to the battle within.]
ZENOCRATE. Ye gods and powers that govern Persia,
And made my lordly love her worthy king,
Now strengthen him against the Turkish Bajazeth,
And let his foes, like flocks of fearful roes
Pursu'd by hunters, fly his angry looks,
That I may see him issue conqueror!
ZABINA. Now, Mahomet, solicit God himself,
And make him rain down murdering shot from heaven,
To dash the Scythians' brains, and strike them dead,
That dare [179] to manage arms with him
That offer'd jewels to thy sacred shrine
When first he warr'd against the Christians!
[They sound again to the battle within.]
ZENOCRATE. By this the Turks lie weltering in their blood,
And Tamburlaine is lord of Africa.
ZABINA. Thou art deceiv'd. I heard the trumpets sound
As when my emperor overthrew the Greeks,
And led them captive into Africa.
Straight will I use thee as thy pride deserves;
Prepare thyself to live and die my slave.
ZENOCRATE. If Mahomet should come from heaven and swear
My royal lord is slain or conquered,
Yet should he not persuade me otherwise
But that he lives and will be conqueror.
Re-enter BAJAZETH, pursued by TAMBURLAINE. [180]
TAMBURLAINE. Now, king of bassoes, who is conqueror?
BAJAZETH. Thou, by the fortune of this damned foil. [181]
TAMBURLAINE. Where are your stout contributory kings?
Re-enter TECHELLES, THERIDAMAS, and USUMCASANE.
TECHELLES. We have their crowns; their bodies strow the field.
TAMBURLAINE. Each man a crown! why, kingly fought, i'faith.
Deliver them into my treasury.
ZENOCRATE. Now let me offer to my gracious lord
His royal crown again so highly won.
TAMBURLAINE. Nay, take the Turkish crown from her, Zenocrate,
And crown me emperor of Africa.
ZABINA. No, Tamburlaine; though now thou gat [182] the best,
Thou shalt not yet be lord of Africa.
THERIDAMAS. Give her the crown, Turkess, you were best.
[Takes it from her.]
ZABINA. Injurious villains, thieves, runagates,
How dare you thus abuse my majesty?
THERIDAMAS. Here, madam, you are empress; she is none.
[Gives it to ZENOCRATE.]
TAMBURLAINE. Not now, Theridamas; her time is past:
The pillars, that have bolster'd up those terms,
Are faln in clusters at my conquering feet.
ZABINA. Though he be prisoner, he may be ransom'd.
TAMBURLAINE. Not all the world shall ransom Bajazeth.
BAJAZETH. Ah, fair Zabina! we have lost the field;
And never had the Turkish emperor
So great a foil by any foreign foe.
Now will the Christian miscreants be glad,
Ringing with joy their superstitious bells,
And making bonfires for my overthrow:
But, ere I die, those foul idolaters
Shall make me bonfires with their filthy bones;
For, though the glory of this day be lost,
Afric and Greece have garrisons enough
To make me sovereign of the earth again.
TAMBURLAINE. Those walled garrisons will I subdue,
And write myself great lord of Africa:
So from the East unto the furthest West
Shall Tamburlaine extend his puissant arm.
The galleys and those pilling [183] brigandines,
That yearly sail to the Venetian gulf,
And hover in the Straits for Christians' wreck,
Shall lie at anchor in the Isle Asant,
Until the Persian fleet and men-of-war,
Sailing along the oriental sea,
Have fetch'd about the Indian continent,
Even from Persepolis to Mexico,
And thence unto the Straits of Jubalter;
Where they shall meet and join their force in one.
Keeping in awe the Bay of Portingale,
And all the ocean by the British [184] shore;
And by this means I'll win the world at last.
BAJAZETH. Yet set a ransom on me, Tamburlaine.
TAMBURLAINE. What, think'st thou Tamburlaine esteems thy gold?
I'll make the kings of India, ere I die,
Offer their mines, to sue for peace, to me,
And dig for treasure to appease my wrath.—
Come, bind them both, and one lead in the Turk;
The Turkess let my love's maid lead away,
[They bind them.]
BAJAZETH. Ah, villains, dare you touch my sacred arms?—
O Mahomet! O sleepy Mahomet!
ZABINA. O cursed Mahomet, that mak'st us thus
The slaves to Scythians rude and barbarous!
TAMBURLAINE. Come, bring them in; and for this happy conquest
Triumph, and solemnize a martial [185] feast.
[Exeunt.]
ACT IV.
SCENE I.
Enter the SOLDAN OF EGYPT, CAPOLIN, LORDS, and a MESSENGER.
SOLDAN. Awake, ye men of Memphis! [186] hear the clang
Of Scythian trumpets; hear the basilisks, [187] That, roaring, shake Damascus' turrets down!
The rogue of Volga holds Zenocrate,
The Soldan's daughter, for his concubine,
And, with a troop of thieves and vagabonds,
Hath spread his colours to our high disgrace,
While you, faint-hearted base Egyptians,
Lie slumbering on the flowery banks of Nile,
As crocodiles that unaffrighted rest
While thundering cannons rattle on their skins.
MESSENGER. Nay, mighty Soldan, did your greatness see
The frowning looks of fiery Tamburlaine,
That with his terror and imperious eyes
Commands the hearts of his associates,
It might amaze your royal majesty.
SOLDAN. Villain, I tell thee, were that Tamburlaine
As monstrous [188] as Gorgon prince of hell,
The Soldan would not start a foot from him.
But speak, what power hath he?
MESSENGER. Mighty lord,
Three hundred thousand men in armour clad,
Upon their prancing steeds, disdainfully
With wanton paces trampling on the ground;
Five hundred thousand footmen threatening shot,
Shaking their swords, their spears, and iron bills,
Environing their standard round, that stood
As bristle-pointed as a thorny wood;
Their warlike engines and munition
Exceed the forces of their martial men.
SOLDAN. Nay, could their numbers countervail the stars,
Or ever-drizzling [189] drops of April showers,
Or wither'd leaves that autumn shaketh down,
Yet would the Soldan by his conquering power
So scatter and consume them in his rage,
That not a man should [190] live to rue their fall.
CAPOLIN. So might your highness, had you time to sort
Your fighting men, and raise your royal host;
But Tamburlaine by expedition
Advantage takes of your unreadiness.
SOLDAN. Let him take all th' advantages he can:
Were all the world conspir'd to fight for him,
Nay, were he devil, [191] as he is no man,
Yet in revenge of fair Zenocrate,
Whom he detaineth in despite of us,
This arm should send him down to Erebus,
To shroud his shame in darkness of the night.
MESSENGER. Pleaseth your mightiness to understand,
His resolution far exceedeth all.
The first day when he pitcheth down his tents,
White is their hue, and on his silver crest
A snowy feather spangled-white he bears,
To signify the mildness of his mind,
That, satiate with spoil, refuseth blood:
But, when Aurora mounts the second time,
As red as scarlet is his furniture;
Then must his kindled wrath be quench'd with blood,
Not sparing any that can manage arms:
But, if these threats move not submission,
Black are his colours, black pavilion;
His spear, his shield, his horse, his armour, plumes,
And jetty feathers, menace death and hell;
Without respect of sex, degree, or age,
He razeth all his foes with fire and sword.
SOLDAN. Merciless villain, peasant, ignorant
Of lawful arms or martial discipline!
Pillage and murder are his usual trades:
The slave usurps the glorious name of war.
See, Capolin, the fair Arabian king, [192] That hath been disappointed by this slave
Of my fair daughter and his princely love,
May have fresh warning to go war with us,
And be reveng'd for her disparagement.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE II.
Enter TAMBURLAINE, TECHELLES, THERIDAMAS, USUMCASANE,
ZENOCRATE, ANIPPE, two MOORS drawing BAJAZETH in a cage,
and ZABINA following him.
TAMBURLAINE. Bring out my footstool.
[They take BAJAZETH out of the cage.]
BAJAZETH. Ye holy priests of heavenly Mahomet,
That, sacrificing, slice and cut your flesh,
Staining his altars with your purple blood,
Make heaven to frown, and every fixed star
To suck up poison from the moorish fens,
And pour it [193] in this glorious tyrant's throat!
TAMBURLAINE. The chiefest god, first mover of that sphere
Enchas'd with thousands ever-shining lamps,
Will sooner burn the glorious frame of heaven
Than it should [194] so conspire my overthrow.
But, villain, thou that wishest this [195] to me,
Fall prostrate on the low disdainful earth,
And be the footstool of great Tamburlaine,
That I may rise into [196] my royal throne.
BAJAZETH. First shalt thou rip my bowels with thy sword,
And sacrifice my heart [197] to death and hell,
Before I yield to such a slavery.
TAMBURLAINE. Base villain, vassal, slave to Tamburlaine,
Unworthy to embrace or touch the ground
That bears the honour of my royal weight;
Stoop, villain, stoop! stoop; [198] for so he bids
That may command thee piecemeal to be torn,
Or scatter'd like the lofty cedar-trees
Struck with the voice of thundering Jupiter.
BAJAZETH. Then, as I look down to the damned fiends,
Fiends, look on me! and thou, dread god of hell,
With ebon sceptre strike this hateful earth,
And make it swallow both of us at once!
[TAMBURLAINE gets up on him into his chair.]
TAMBURLAINE. Now clear the triple region of the air,
And let the Majesty of Heaven behold
Their scourge and terror tread on emperors.
Smile, stars that reign'd at my nativity,
And dim the brightness of your [199] neighbour lamps;
Disdain to borrow light of Cynthia!
For I, the chiefest lamp of all the earth,
First rising in the east with mild aspect,
But fixed now in the meridian line,
Will send up fire to your turning spheres,
And cause the sun to borrow light of you.
My sword struck fire from his coat of steel,
Even in Bithynia, when I took this Turk;
As when a fiery exhalation,
Wrapt in the bowels of a freezing cloud,
Fighting for passage, make the welkin crack,
And casts a flash of lightning to [200] the earth:
But, ere I march to wealthy Persia,
Or leave Damascus and th' Egyptian fields,
As was the fame of Clymene's brain-sick son
That almost brent [201] the axle-tree of heaven,
So shall our swords, our lances, and our shot
Fill all the air with fiery meteors;
Then, when the sky shall wax as red as blood,
It shall be said I made it red myself,
To make me think of naught but blood and war.
ZABINA. Unworthy king, that by thy cruelty
Unlawfully usurp'st the Persian seat,
Dar'st thou, that never saw an emperor
Before thou met my husband in the field,
Being thy captive, thus abuse his state,
Keeping his kingly body in a cage,
That roofs of gold and sun-bright palaces
Should have prepar'd to entertain his grace?
And treading him beneath thy loathsome feet,
Whose feet the kings [202] of Africa have kiss'd?
TECHELLES. You must devise some torment worse, my lord,
To make these captives rein their lavish tongues.
TAMBURLAINE. Zenocrate, look better to your slave.
ZENOCRATE. She is my handmaid's slave, and she shall look
That these abuses flow not from [203] her tongue.—
Chide her, Anippe.
ANIPPE. Let these be warnings, then, for you, [204] my slave,
How you abuse the person of the king;
Or else I swear to have you whipt stark nak'd. [205]
BAJAZETH. Great Tamburlaine, great in my overthrow,
Ambitious pride shall make thee fall as low,
For treading on the back of Bajazeth,
That should be horsed on four mighty kings.
TAMBURLAINE. Thy names, and titles, and thy dignities [206] Are fled from Bajazeth, and remain with me,
That will maintain it 'gainst a world of kings.—
Put him in again.
[They put him into the cage.]
BAJAZETH. Is this a place for mighty Bajazeth?
Confusion light on him that helps thee thus!
TAMBURLAINE. There, whiles [207] he lives, shall Bajazeth be kept;
And, where I go, be thus in triumph drawn;
And thou, his wife, shalt [208] feed him with the scraps
My servitors shall bring thee from my board;
For he that gives him other food than this,
Shall sit by him, and starve to death himself:
This is my mind, and I will have it so.
Not all the kings and emperors of the earth,
If they would lay their crowne before my feet,
Shall ransom him, or take him from his cage:
The ages that shall talk of Tamburlaine,
Even from this day to Plato's wondrous year,
Shall talk how I have handled Bajazeth:
These Moors, that drew him from Bithynia
To fair Damascus, where we now remain,
Shall lead him with us wheresoe'er we go.—
Techelles, and my loving followers,
Now may we see Damascus' lofty towers,
Like to the shadows of Pyramides
That with their beauties grace [209] the Memphian fields.
The golden stature [210] of their feather'd bird, [211] That spreads her wings upon the city-walls,
Shall not defend it from our battering shot:
The townsmen mask in silk and cloth of gold,
And every house is as a treasury;
The men, the treasure, and the town are [212] ours.
THERIDAMAS. Your tents of white now pitch'd before the gates,
And gentle flags of amity display'd,
I doubt not but the governor will yield,
Offering Damascus to your majesty.
TAMBURLAINE. So shall he have his life, and all the rest:
But, if he stay until the bloody flag
Be once advanc'd on my vermilion tent,
He dies, and those that kept us out so long;
And, when they see me march in black array,
With mournful streamers hanging down their heads,
Were in that city all the world contain'd,
Not one should scape, but perish by our swords.
ZENOCRATE. Yet would you have some pity for my sake,
Because it is my country [213] and my father's.
TAMBURLAINE. Not for the world, Zenocrate, if I have sworn.—
Come; bring in the Turk.
[Exeunt.]