Yet dare I bear her hence to do thee good.
Perseda.
No; let her lie, a prey to rav'ning birds;
Nor shall her death alone suffice for his,
Rhodes now shall be no longer Soliman's:
We'll fortify our walls, and keep the town,
In spite of proud, insulting Soliman.
I know the lecher hopes to have my love;
And first Perseda shall with this hand die,
Than yield to him, and live in infamy.
[Exeunt. Manet Basilisco.
Basilisco.
I will ruminate: Death, which the poets
Feign to be pale and meagre, hath depriv'd
Erastus' trunk from breathing vitality:
A brave cavalier, but my approved foeman.
Let me see: where is that Alcides, surnam'd Hercules,
The only clubman of his time? Dead.
Where is the eldest son of Priam,
That Abraham-colour'd Trojan? Dead.
Where is the leader of the myrmidons,
That well-knit Achilles? Dead.
Where is that furious Ajax, the son of Telamon,
Or that fraudful squire of Ithaca, i-clipp'd Ulysses? Dead.
Where is tipsy Alexander, that great cup-conqueror,
Or Pompey, that brave warrior? Dead.
I am myself strong, but I confess
Death to be stronger: I am valiant, but mortal;
I am adorn'd with nature's gifts,
A giddy goddess, that now giveth, and anon taketh;
I am wise, but quiddits will not answer death:
To conclude in a word: to be captious, virtuous, ingenious,
Are[428] to be nothing, when it pleaseth Death to be envious.
The great Turk, whose seat is Constantinople,
Hath beleaguer'd Rhodes, whose chieftain is a woman.
I could take the rule upon me;
But the shrub is safe when the cedar shaketh.
I love Perseda, as one worthy;
But I love Basilisco, as one I hold more worthy—
My father's son, my mother's solace, my proper self.
'Faith, he can do little, that cannot speak;
And he can do less, that cannot run away:
Then, sith man's life is as a glass, and a filip may crack it,
Mine is no more, and a bullet may pierce it;
Therefore I will play least in sight. [Exit.
Enter Soliman and Brusor, with Janissaries.
Soliman.
The gates are shut; which proves that Rhodes revolts,
And that Perseda is not Soliman's.
Ah, Brusor! see where thy Lucina lies,
Butcher'd despitefully without the walls.
Brusor.