To stir a mutiny in the mildest thoughts
And arm the minds of infants to exclaims.”
Marcus is for instant revenge, but Titus knows the power and cruel nature of their enemies, and counsels (l. 102),—
“You are a young huntsman, Marcus; let alone;
And, come, I will go get a leaf of brass.
And with a gad of steel will write these words,
And lay it by: the angry northern wind
Will blow these sands, like Sibyl’s leaves, abroad.
And where’s your lesson then?”
The Italian and French Emblems as pictures to be looked at would readily supply Shakespeare with thoughts respecting the record of “men’s evil manners,” and of “their virtues,” but there is a closer correspondence between him and Whitney; and allowing for the easy substitution of “brass” and of “water” for “marble” and “dust,” the parallelism of the ideas and words is so exact as to be only just short of being complete.