PERICLES, PRINCE OF TYRE

Contents
ACT I
Chorus. Before the palace of Antioch
Scene I. Antioch. A room in the palace
Scene II. Tyre. A room in the palace
Scene III. Tyre. An ante-chamber in the Palace
Scene IV. Tarsus. A room in the GovernorÕs house
ACT II
Chorus. Chorus
Scene I. Pentapolis. An open place by the seaside
Scene II. The same. A public way, or platform leading to the lists
Scene III. The same. A hall of state: a banquet prepared
Scene IV. Tyre. A room in the GovernorÕs house
Scene V. Pentapolis. A room in the palace
ACT III
Chorus. Chorus
Scene I. On shipboard
Scene II. Ephesus. A room in CerimonÕs house
Scene III. Tarsus. A room in CleonÕs house
Scene IV. Ephesus. A room in CerimonÕs house
ACT IV
Chorus. Chorus
Scene I. Tarsus. An open place near the seashore
Scene II. Mytilene. A room in a brothel
Scene III. Tarsus. A room in CleonÕs house
Scene IV. Before the monument of Marina at Tarsus
Scene V. Mytilene. A street before the brothel
Scene VI. The same. A room in the brothel
ACT V
Chorus. Chorus
Scene I. On board PericlesÕ ship, off Mytilene
Scene II. Before the temple of Diana at Ephesus
Scene III. The temple of Diana at Ephesus
Dramatis Person¾
ANTIOCHUS, king of Antioch.
PERICLES, prince of Tyre.
HELICANUS, ESCANES, two lords of Tyre.
SIMONIDES, king of Pentapolis.
CLEON, governor of Tarsus.
LYSIMACHUS, governor of Mytilene.
CERIMON, a lord of Ephesus.
THALIARD, a lord of Antioch.
PHILEMON, servant to Cerimon.
LEONINE, servant to Dionyza.
Marshal.
A Pandar.
BOULT, his servant.
The Daughter of Antiochus.
DIONYZA, wife to Cleon.
THAISA, daughter to Simonides.
MARINA, daughter to Pericles and Thaisa.
LYCHORIDA, nurse to Marina.
A Bawd.
Lords, Knights, Gentlemen, Sailors, Pirates, Fishermen, and Messengers.
DIANA.
GOWER, as Chorus.
SCENE: Dispersedly in various countries.
ACT I
EnterÊGower.
Before the palace of Antioch.
To sing a song that old was sung,
From ashes ancient Gower is come;
Assuming manÕs infirmities,
To glad your ear, and please your eyes.
It hath been sung at festivals,
On ember-eves and holy-ales;
And lords and ladies in their lives
Have read it for restoratives:
The purchase is to make men glorious,
Et bonum quo antiquius eo melius.
If you, born in these latter times,
When witÕs more ripe, accept my rhymes,
And that to hear an old man sing
May to your wishes pleasure bring,
I life would wish, and that I might
Waste it for you, like taper-light.
This Antioch, then, Antiochus the Great
Built up, this city, for his chiefest seat;
The fairest in all Syria.
I tell you what mine authors say:
This king unto him took a fere,
Who died and left a female heir,
So buxom, blithe, and full of face,
As heaven had lent her all his grace;
With whom the father liking took,
And her to incest did provoke.
Bad child; worse father! to entice his own
To evil should be done by none:
But custom what they did begin
Was with long use accountÕd no sin.
The beauty of this sinful dame
Made many princes thither frame,
To seek her as a bedfellow,
In marriage pleasures playfellow:
Which to prevent he made a law,
To keep her still, and men in awe,
That whoso askÕd her for his wife,
His riddle told not, lost his life:
So for her many a wight did die,
As yon grim looks do testify.
What now ensues, to the judgement your eye
I give, my cause who best can justify.
[Exit.]
SCENE I. Antioch. A room in the palace.
EnterÊAntiochus,ÊPrinceÊPericlesÊand followers.
ANTIOCHUS.
Young prince of Tyre, you have at large received
The danger of the task you undertake.
PERICLES.
I have, Antiochus, and, with a soul
Emboldened with the glory of her praise,
Think death no hazard in this enterprise.
ANTIOCHUS.
Music! Bring in our daughter, clothed like a bride,
For the embracements even of Jove himself;
At whose conception, till Lucina reigned,
Nature this dowry gave, to glad her presence,
The senate house of planets all did sit,
To knit in her their best perfections.
Music. Enter theÊDaughterÊof Antiochus.
PERICLES.
See where she comes, apparellÕd like the spring,
Graces her subjects, and her thoughts the king
Of every virtue gives renown to men!
Her face the book of praises, where is read
Nothing but curious pleasures, as from thence
Sorrow were ever razed, and testy wrath
Could never be her mild companion.
You gods that made me man, and sway in love,
That have inflamed desire in my breast
To taste the fruit of yon celestial tree,
Or die in the adventure, be my helps,
As I am son and servant to your will,
To compass such a boundless happiness!
ANTIOCHUS.
Prince Pericles,Ñ
PERICLES.
That would be son to great Antiochus.
ANTIOCHUS.
Before thee stands this fair Hesperides,
With golden fruit, but dangerous to be touchÕd;
For death-like dragons here affright thee hard:
Her face, like heaven, enticeth thee to view
Her countless glory, which desert must gain;
And which, without desert, because thine eye
Presumes to reach, all the whole heap must die.
Yon sometimes famous princes, like thyself,
Drawn by report, adventurous by desire,
Tell thee, with speechless tongues and semblance pale,
That without covering, save yon field of stars,
Here they stand Martyrs, slain in CupidÕs wars;
And with dead cheeks advise thee to desist
For going on deathÕs net, whom none resist.
PERICLES.
Antiochus, I thank thee, who hath taught
My frail mortality to know itself,
And by those fearful objects to prepare
This body, like to them, to what I must;
For death rememberÕd should be like a mirror,
Who tells us lifeÕs but breath, to trust it error.
IÕll make my will then, and, as sick men do
Who know the world, see heaven, but, feeling woe,
Gripe not at earthly joys as erst they did;
So I bequeath a happy peace to you
And all good men, as every prince should do;
My riches to the earth from whence they came;
[To the daughter of Antiochus.] But my unspotted fire of love to you.
Thus ready for the way of life or death,
I wait the sharpest blow, Antiochus.
ANTIOCHUS.
Scorning advice, read the conclusion, then:
Which read and not expounded, Õtis decreed,
As these before thee thou thyself shalt bleed.
DAUGHTER.
Of all Õssayed yet, mayst thou prove prosperous!
Of all Õssayed yet, I wish thee happiness!
PERICLES
Like a bold champion, I assume the lists,
Nor ask advice of any other thought
But faithfulness and courage.
[He reads the riddle.]
ÊÊÊÊÊI am no viper, yet I feed
ÊÊÊÊÊOn motherÕs flesh which did me breed.
ÊÊÊÊÊI sought a husband, in which labour
ÊÊÊÊÊI found that kindness in a father:
ÊÊÊÊÊHeÕs father, son, and husband mild;
ÊÊÊÊÊI mother, wife, and yet his child.
ÊÊÊÊÊHow they may be, and yet in two,
ÊÊÊÊÊAs you will live resolve it you.
Sharp physic is the last: but, O you powers
That give heaven countless eyes to view menÕs acts,
Why cloud they not their sights perpetually,
If this be true, which makes me pale to read it?
Fair glass of light, I loved you, and could still,
[Takes hold of the hand of the Princess.]
Were not this glorious casket stored with ill:
But I must tell you, now my thoughts revolt;
For heÕs no man on whom perfections wait
That, knowing sin within, will touch the gate,
You are a fair viol, and your sense the strings;
Who, fingerÕd to make man his lawful music,
Would draw heaven down, and all the gods to hearken;
But being playÕd upon before your time,
Hell only danceth at so harsh a chime.
Good sooth, I care not for you.
ANTIOCHUS.
Prince Pericles, touch not, upon thy life,
For thatÕs an article within our law,
As dangerous as the rest. Your timeÕs expired:
Either expound now, or receive your sentence.
PERICLES.
Great king,
Few love to hear the sins they love to act;
ÕTwould braid yourself too near for me to tell it.
Who has a book of all that monarchs do,
HeÕs more secure to keep it shut than shown:
For vice repeated is like the wandering wind,
Blows dust in othersÕ eyes, to spread itself;
And yet the end of all is bought thus dear,
The breath is gone, and the sore eyes see clear.
To stop the air would hurt them. The blind mole casts
CoppÕd hills towards heaven, to tell the earth is throngÕd
By manÕs oppression; and the poor worm doth die forÕt.
Kind are earthÕs gods; in vice their lawÕs their will;
And if Jove stray, who dares say Jove doth ill?
It is enough you know; and it is fit,
What being more known grows worse, to smother it.
All love the womb that their first bred,
Then give my tongue like leave to love my head.
ANTIOCHUS.
[Aside] Heaven, that I had thy head! He has found the meaning:
But I will gloze with him.ÑYoung prince of Tyre.
Though by the tenour of our strict edict,
Your exposition misinterpreting,
We might proceed to cancel of your days;
Yet hope, succeeding from so fair a tree
As your fair self, doth tune us otherwise:
Forty days longer we do respite you;
If by which time our secret be undone,
This mercy shows weÕll joy in such a son:
And until then your entertain shall be
As doth befit our honour and your worth.
[Exeunt all butÊPericles.]
PERICLES.
How courtesy would seem to cover sin,
When what is done is like an hypocrite,
The which is good in nothing but in sight!
If it be true that I interpret false,
Then were it certain you were not so bad
As with foul incest to abuse your soul;
Where now youÕre both a father and a son,
By your untimely claspings with your child,
Which pleasures fits a husband, not a father;
And she an eater of her motherÕs flesh,
By the defiling of her parentÕs bed;
And both like serpents are, who though they feed
On sweetest flowers, yet they poison breed.
Antioch, farewell! for wisdom sees, those men
Blush not in actions blacker than the night,
Will Õschew no course to keep them from the light.
One sin, I know, another doth provoke;
MurderÕs as near to lust as flame to smoke:
Poison and treason are the hands of sin,
Ay, and the targets, to put off the shame:
Then, lest my life be croppÕd to keep you clear,
By flight IÕll shun the danger which I fear.
[Exit.]
Re-enterÊAntiochus.
ANTIOCHUS.
He hath found the meaning,
For which we mean to have his head.
He must not live to trumpet forth my infamy,
Nor tell the world Antiochus doth sin
In such a loathed manner;
And therefore instantly this prince must die;
For by his fall my honour must keep high.
Who attends us there?
EnterÊThaliard.
THALIARD.
Doth your highness call?
ANTIOCHUS.
Thaliard, you are of our chamber,
And our mind partakes her private actions
To your secrecy; and for your faithfulness
We will advance you. Thaliard,
Behold, hereÕs poison, and hereÕs gold;
We hate the prince of Tyre, and thou must kill him:
It fits thee not to ask the reason why,
Because we bid it. Say, is it done?
THALIARD.
My lord, Õtis done.
ANTIOCHUS.
Enough.
Enter aÊMessenger.
Let your breath cool yourself, telling your haste.
MESSENGER.
My lord, Prince Pericles is fled.
[Exit.]
ANTIOCHUS.
As thou wilt live, fly after: and like an arrow shot
From a well-experienced archer hits the mark
His eye doth level at, so thou neÕer return
Unless thou say ÔPrince Pericles is dead.Õ
THALIARD.
My lord, if I can get him within my pistolÕs length, IÕll make him sure enough: so, farewell to your highness.
ANTIOCHUS.
Thaliard! adieu!
[ExitÊThaliard.]
Till Pericles be dead,
My heart can lend no succour to my head.
[Exit.]
SCENE II. Tyre. A room in the palace.
EnterÊPericlesÊwith hisÊLords.
PERICLES.
[To Lords without.] Let none disturb us.ÑWhy should this change of thoughts,
The sad companion, dull-eyed melancholy,
Be my so used a guest as not an hour
In the dayÕs glorious walk or peaceful night,
The tomb where grief should sleep, can breed me quiet?
Here pleasures court mine eyes, and mine eyes shun them,
And danger, which I fearÕd, is at Antioch,
Whose arm seems far too short to hit me here:
Yet neither pleasureÕs art can joy my spirits,
Nor yet the otherÕs distance comfort me.
Then it is thus: the passions of the mind,
That have their first conception by misdread,
Have after-nourishment and life by care;
And what was first but fear what might be done,
Grows elder now and cares it be not done.
And so with me: the great Antiochus,
ÕGainst whom I am too little to contend,
Since heÕs so great can make his will his act,
Will think me speaking, though I swear to silence;
Nor boots it me to say I honour him.
If he suspect I may dishonour him:
And what may make him blush in being known,
HeÕll stop the course by which it might be known;
With hostile forces heÕll oÕerspread the land,
And with the ostent of war will look so huge,
Amazement shall drive courage from the state;
Our men be vanquishÕd ere they do resist,
And subjects punishÕd that neÕer thought offence:
Which care of them, not pity of myself,
Who am no more but as the tops of trees,
Which fence the roots they grow by and defend them,
Makes both my body pine and soul to languish,
And punish that before that he would punish.
EnterÊHelicanusÊwith otherÊLords.
FIRST LORD.
Joy and all comfort in your sacred breast!
SECOND LORD.
And keep your mind, till you return to us,
Peaceful and comfortable!
HELICANUS.
Peace, peace, and give experience tongue.
They do abuse the king that flatter him:
For flattery is the bellows blows up sin;
The thing the which is flatterÕd, but a spark,
To which that spark gives heat and stronger glowing:
Whereas reproof, obedient and in order,
Fits kings, as they are men, for they may err.
When Signior Sooth here does proclaim peace,
He flatters you, makes war upon your life.
Prince, pardon me, or strike me, if you please;
I cannot be much lower than my knees.
PERICLES.
All leave us else, but let your cares oÕerlook
What shipping and what ladingÕs in our haven,
And then return to us.
[ExeuntÊLords.]
Helicanus, thou
Hast moved us: what seest thou in our looks?
HELICANUS.
An angry brow, dread lord.
PERICLES.
If there be such a dart in princesÕ frowns,
How durst thy tongue move anger to our face?
HELICANUS.
How dares the plants look up to heaven, from whence
They have their nourishment?
PERICLES.
Thou knowÕst I have power
To take thy life from thee.
HELICANUS. [Kneeling.]
I have ground the axe myself;
Do but you strike the blow.
PERICLES.
Rise, prithee, rise.
Sit down: thou art no flatterer:
I thank thee for it; and heaven forbid
That kings should let their ears hear their faults hid!
Fit counsellor and servant for a prince,
Who by thy wisdom makest a prince thy servant,
What wouldst thou have me do?
HELICANUS.
To bear with patience
Such griefs as you yourself do lay upon yourself.
PERICLES.
Thou speakÕst like a physician, Helicanus,
That ministers a potion unto me
That thou wouldst tremble to receive thyself.
Attend me, then: I went to Antioch,
Where, as thou knowÕst, against the face of death,
I sought the purchase of a glorious beauty,
From whence an issue I might propagate,
Are arms to princes, and bring joys to subjects.
Her face was to mine eye beyond all wonder;
The restÑhark in thine earÑas black as incest,
Which by my knowledge found, the sinful father
SeemÕd not to strike, but smooth: but thou knowÕst this,
ÕTis time to fear when tyrants seems to kiss.
Which fear so grew in me I hither fled,
Under the covering of a careful night,
Who seemÕd my good protector; and, being here,
Bethought me what was past, what might succeed.
I knew him tyrannous; and tyrantsÕ fears
Decrease not, but grow faster than the years:
And should he doubt, as no doubt he doth,
That I should open to the listening air
How many worthy princesÕ bloods were shed,
To keep his bed of blackness unlaid ope,
To lop that doubt, heÕll fill this land with arms,
And make pretence of wrong that I have done him;
When all, for mine, if I may call offence,
Must feel warÕs blow, who spares not innocence:
Which love to all, of which thyself art one,
Who now reprovest me for it,Ñ
HELICANUS.
Alas, sir!
PERICLES.
Drew sleep out of mine eyes, blood from my cheeks,
Musings into my mind, with thousand doubts
How I might stop this tempest ere it came;
And finding little comfort to relieve them,
I thought it princely charity to grieve them.
HELICANUS.
Well, my lord, since you have given me leave to speak,
Freely will I speak. Antiochus you fear,
And justly too, I think, you fear the tyrant,
Who either by public war or private treason
Will take away your life.
Therefore, my lord, go travel for a while,
Till that his rage and anger be forgot,
Or till the Destinies do cut his thread of life.
Your rule direct to any; if to me,
Day serves not light more faithful than IÕll be.
PERICLES.
I do not doubt thy faith;
But should he wrong my liberties in my absence?
HELCANUS.
WeÕll mingle our bloods together in the earth,
From whence we had our being and our birth.
PERICLES.
Tyre, I now look from thee then, and to Tarsus
Intend my travel, where IÕll hear from thee;
And by whose letters IÕll dispose myself.
The care I had and have of subjectsÕ good
On thee I lay, whose wisdomÕs strength can bear it.
IÕll take thy word for faith, not ask thine oath:
Who shuns not to break one will sure crack both:
But in our orbs weÕll live so round and safe,
That time of both this truth shall neÕer convince,
Thou showÕdst a subjectÕs shine, I a true prince.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE III. Tyre. An ante-chamber in the Palace.
EnterÊThaliard.
THALIARD.
So, this is Tyre, and this the court. Here must I kill King Pericles; and if I do it not, I am sure to be hanged at home: Õtis dangerous. Well, I perceive he was a wise fellow, and had good discretion, that, being bid to ask what he would of the king, desired he might know none of his secrets: now do I see he had some reason forÕt; for if a king bid a man be a villain, heÕs bound by the indenture of his oath to be one. Husht, here come the lords of Tyre.
EnterÊHelicanusÊandÊEscanesÊwith other Lords of Tyre.
HELICANUS.
You shall not need, my fellow peers of Tyre,
Further to question me of your kingÕs departure:
His sealÕd commission, left in trust with me,
Doth speak sufficiently heÕs gone to travel.
THALIARD.
[Aside.] How? the king gone?
HELICANUS.
If further yet you will be satisfied,
Why, as it were unlicensed of your loves,
He would depart, IÕll give some light unto you.
Being at AntiochÑ
THALIARD.
[Aside.] What from Antioch?
HELICANUS.
Royal AntiochusÑon what cause I know not
Took some displeasure at him; at least he judged so:
And doubting lest that he had errÕd or sinnÕd,
To show his sorrow, heÕd correct himself;
So puts himself unto the shipmanÕs toil,
With whom each minute threatens life or death.
THALIARD.
[Aside.] Well, I perceive
I shall not be hangÕd now, although I would;
But since heÕs gone, the kingÕs seas must please
He Õscaped the land, to perish at the sea.
IÕll present myself. Peace to the lords of Tyre!
HELICANUS.
Lord Thaliard from Antiochus is welcome.
THALIARD.
From him I come
With message unto princely Pericles;
But since my landing I have understood
Your lord has betook himself to unknown travels,
My message must return from whence it came.
HELICANUS.
We have no reason to desire it,
Commended to our master, not to us:
Yet, ere you shall depart, this we desire,
As friends to Antioch, we may feast in Tyre.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE IV. Tarsus. A room in the GovernorÕs house.
EnterÊCleon,Êthe governor of Tarsus, withÊDionyzaÊand others.
CLEON.
My Dionyza, shall we rest us here,
And by relating tales of othersÕ griefs,
See if Õtwill teach us to forget our own?
DIONYZA.
That were to blow at fire in hope to quench it;
For who digs hills because they do aspire
Throws down one mountain to cast up a higher.
O my distressed lord, even such our griefs are;
Here theyÕre but felt, and seen with mischiefÕs eyes,
But like to groves, being toppÕd, they higher rise.
CLEON.
O Dionyza,
Who wanteth food, and will not say he wants it,
Or can conceal his hunger till he famish?
Our tongues and sorrows do sound deep
Our woes into the air; our eyes do weep,
Till tongues fetch breath that may proclaim them louder;
That, if heaven slumber while their creatures want,
They may awake their helps to comfort them.
IÕll then discourse our woes, felt several years,
And wanting breath to speak, help me with tears.
DIONYZA.
IÕll do my best, sir.
CLEON.
This Tarsus, oÕer which I have the government,
A city on whom plenty held full hand,
For riches strewÕd herself even in the streets;
Whose towers bore heads so high they kissÕd the clouds,
And strangers neÕer beheld but wonderÕd at;
Whose men and dames so jetted and adornÕd,
Like one anotherÕs glass to trim them by:
Their tables were stored full to glad the sight,
And not so much to feed on as delight;
All poverty was scornÕd, and pride so great,
The name of help grew odious to repeat.
DIONYZA.
O, Õtis too true.
CLEON.
But see what heaven can do! By this our change,
These mouths, who but of late, earth, sea, and air,
Were all too little to content and please,
Although they gave their creatures in abundance,
As houses are defiled for want of use,
They are now starved for want of exercise:
Those palates who, not yet two summers younger,
Must have inventions to delight the taste,
Would now be glad of bread and beg for it:
Those mothers who, to nousle up their babes,
Thought nought too curious, are ready now
To eat those little darlings whom they loved.
So sharp are hungerÕs teeth, that man and wife
Draw lots who first shall die to lengthen life:
Here stands a lord, and there a lady weeping;
Here many sink, yet those which see them fall
Have scarce strength left to give them burial.
Is not this true?
DIONYZA.
Our cheeks and hollow eyes do witness it.
CLEON.
O, let those cities that of plentyÕs cup
And her prosperities so largely taste,
With their superflous riots, hear these tears!
The misery of Tarsus may be theirs.
Enter aÊLord.
LORD.
WhereÕs the lord governor?
CLEON.
Here.
Speak out thy sorrows which thou bringÕst in haste,
For comfort is too far for us to expect.
LORD.
We have descried, upon our neighbouring shore,
A portly sail of ships make hitherward.
CLEON.
I thought as much.
One sorrow never comes but brings an heir,
That may succeed as his inheritor;
And so in ours: some neighbouring nation,
Taking advantage of our misery,
That stuffÕd the hollow vessels with their power,
To beat us down, the which are down already;
And make a conquest of unhappy me,
Whereas no gloryÕs got to overcome.
LORD.
ThatÕs the least fear; for, by the semblance
Of their white flags displayÕd, they bring us peace,
And come to us as favourers, not as foes.
CLEON.
Thou speakÕst like himÕs untutorÕd to repeat:
Who makes the fairest show means most deceit.
But bring they what they will and what they can,
What need we fear?
The groundÕs the lowest, and we are half way there.
Go tell their general we attend him here,
To know for what he comes, and whence he comes,
And what he craves.
LORD.
I go, my lord.
[Exit.]
CLEON.
Welcome is peace, if he on peace consist;
If wars, we are unable to resist.
EnterÊPericlesÊwith Attendants.
PERICLES.
Lord governor, for so we hear you are,
Let not our ships and number of our men
Be like a beacon fired to amaze your eyes.
We have heard your miseries as far as Tyre,
And seen the desolation of your streets:
Nor come we to add sorrow to your tears,
But to relieve them of their heavy load;
And these our ships, you happily may think
Are like the Trojan horse was stuffÕd within
With bloody veins, expecting overthrow,
Are stored with corn to make your needy bread,
And give them life whom hunger starved half dead.
ALL.
The gods of Greece protect you!
And weÕll pray for you.
PERICLES.
Arise, I pray you, rise:
We do not look for reverence, but for love,
And harbourage for ourself, our ships and men.
CLEON.
The which when any shall not gratify,
Or pay you with unthankfulness in thought,
Be it our wives, our children, or ourselves,
The curse of heaven and men succeed their evils!
Till when,Ñthe which I hope shall neÕer be seen,Ñ
Your grace is welcome to our town and us.
PERICLES.
Which welcome weÕll accept; feast here awhile,
Until our stars that frown lend us a smile.
[Exeunt.]
ACT II
EnterÊGower.
GOWER.
Here have you seen a mighty king
His child, iwis, to incest bring;
A better prince and benign lord,
That will prove awful both in deed and word.
Be quiet then as men should be,
Till he hath passÕd necessity.
IÕll show you those in troubles reign,
Losing a mite, a mountain gain.
The good in conversation,
To whom I give my benison,
Is still at Tarsus, where each man
Thinks all is writ he speken can;
And to remember what he does,
Build his statue to make him glorious:
But tidings to the contrary
Are brought your eyes; what need speak I?
Dumb-show. Enter at one doorÊPericlesÊtalking withÊCleon; all the train with them. Enter at another door a Gentleman with a letter to Pericles; Pericles shows the letter to Cleon; gives the Messenger a reward, and knights him. Exit Pericles at one door, and Cleon at another.
Good Helicane, that stayÕd at home.
Not to eat honey like a drone
From othersÕ labours; for though he strive
To killen bad, keep good alive;
And to fulfil his princeÕ desire,
Sends word of all that haps in Tyre:
How Thaliard came full bent with sin
And had intent to murder him;
And that in Tarsus was not best
Longer for him to make his rest.
He, doing so, put forth to seas,
Where when men been, thereÕs seldom ease;
For now the wind begins to blow;
Thunder above and deeps below
Make such unquiet, that the ship
Should house him safe is wreckÕd and split;
And he, good prince, having all lost,
By waves from coast to coast is tost:
All perishen of man, of pelf,
Ne aught escapen but himself;
Till Fortune, tired with doing bad,
Threw him ashore, to give him glad:
And here he comes. What shall be next,
Pardon old Gower,Ñthis longs the text.
[Exit.]
SCENE I. Pentapolis. An open place by the seaside.
EnterÊPericles, wet.
PERICLES.
Yet cease your ire, you angry stars of heaven!
Wind, rain, and thunder, remember earthly man
Is but a substance that must yield to you;
And I, as fits my nature, do obey you:
Alas, the sea hath cast me on the rocks,
WashÕd me from shore to shore, and left me breath
Nothing to think on but ensuing death:
Let it suffice the greatness of your powers
To have bereft a prince of all his fortunes;
And having thrown him from your watery grave,
Here to have death in peace is all heÕll crave.
Enter threeÊFishermen.
FIRST FISHERMAN.
What, ho, Pilch!
SECOND FISHERMAN.
Ha, come and bring away the nets!
FIRST FISHERMAN.
What, Patch-breech, I say!
THIRD FISHERMAN.
What say you, master?
FIRST FISHERMAN.
Look how thou stirrest now! Come away, or IÕll fetch thee with a wanion.
THIRD FISHERMAN.
Faith, master, I am thinking of the poor men that were cast away before us even now.
FIRST FISHERMAN.
Alas, poor souls, it grieved my heart to hear what pitiful cries they made to us to help them, when, well-a-day, we could scarce help ourselves.
THIRD FISHERMAN.
Nay, master, said not I as much when I saw the porpus how he bounced and tumbled? They say theyÕre half fish, half flesh: a plague on them, they neÕer come but I look to be washed. Master, I marvel how the fishes live in the sea.
FIRST FISHERMAN.
Why, as men do a-land; the great ones eat up the little ones: I can compare our rich misers to nothing so fitly as to a whale; aÕ plays and tumbles, driving the poor fry before him, and at last devours them all at a mouthful. Such whales have I heard on oÕ the land, who never leave gaping till they swallowed the whole parish, church, steeple, bells and all.
PERICLES.
[Aside.] A pretty moral.
THIRD FISHERMAN.
But, master, if I had been the sexton, I would have been that day in the belfry.
SECOND FISHERMAN.
Why, man?
THIRD FISHERMAN.
Because he should have swallowed me too; and when I had been in his belly, I would have kept such a jangling of the bells, that he should never have left, till he cast bells, steeple, church and parish up again. But if the good King Simonides were of my mind,Ñ
PERICLES.
[Aside.] Simonides?
THIRD FISHERMAN.
We would purge the land of these drones, that rob the bee of her honey.
PERICLES.
[Aside.] How from the finny subject of the sea
These fishers tell the infirmities of men;
And from their watery empire recollect
All that may men approve or men detect!
Peace be at your labour, honest fishermen.
SECOND FISHERMAN.
Honest! good fellow, whatÕs that? If it be a day fits you, search out of the calendar, and nobody look after it.
PERICLES.
May see the sea hath cast upon your coast.
SECOND FISHERMAN.
What a drunken knave was the sea to cast thee in our way!
PERICLES.
A man whom both the waters and the wind,
In that vast tennis-court, have made the ball
For them to play upon, entreats you pity him;
He asks of you, that never used to beg.
FIRST FISHERMAN.
No, friend, cannot you beg? HereÕs them in our country of Greece gets more with begging than we can do with working.
SECOND FISHERMAN.
Canst thou catch any fishes, then?
PERICLES.
I never practised it.
SECOND FISHERMAN.
Nay, then thou wilt starve, sure; for hereÕs nothing to be got now-a-days, unless thou canst fish forÕt.
PERICLES.
What I have been I have forgot to know;
But what I am, want teaches me to think on:
A man throngÕd up with cold: my veins are chill,
And have no more of life than may suffice
To give my tongue that heat to ask your help;
Which if you shall refuse, when I am dead,
For that I am a man, pray see me buried.
FIRST FISHERMAN.
Die quoth-a? Now gods forbidÕt, and I have a gown here; come, put it on; keep thee warm. Now, afore me, a handsome fellow! Come, thou shalt go home, and weÕll have flesh for holidays, fish for fasting-days, and moreoÕer puddings and flap-jacks, and thou shalt be welcome.
PERICLES.
I thank you, sir.
SECOND FISHERMAN.
Hark you, my friend; you said you could not beg?
PERICLES.
I did but crave.
SECOND FISHERMAN.
But crave! Then IÕll turn craver too, and so I shall Õscape whipping.
PERICLES.
Why, are your beggars whipped, then?
SECOND FISHERMAN.
O, not all, my friend, not all; for if all your beggars were whipped, I would wish no better office than to be beadle. But, master, IÕll go draw up the net.
[Exit with ThirdÊFisherman.]
PERICLES.
[Aside.] How well this honest mirth becomes their labour!
FIRST FISHERMAN.
Hark you, sir, do you know where ye are?
PERICLES.
Not well.
FIRST FISHERMAN.
Why, IÕll tell you: this is called Pentapolis, and our King, the good Simonides.
PERICLES.
The good Simonides, do you call him?
FIRST FISHERMAN.
Ay, sir; and he deserves so to be called for his peaceable reign and good government.
PERICLES.
He is a happy king, since he gains from his subjects the name of good government. How far is his court distant from this shore?
FIRST FISHERMAN.
Marry sir, half a dayÕs journey: and IÕll tell you, he hath a fair daughter, and tomorrow is her birth-day; and there are princes and knights come from all parts of the world to joust and tourney for her love.
PERICLES.
Were my fortunes equal to my desires, I could wish to make one there.
FIRST FISHERMAN.
O, sir, things must be as they may; and what a man cannot get, he may lawfully deal forÑhis wifeÕs soul.
Re-enter Second and ThirdÊFishermen, drawing up a net.
SECOND FISHERMAN.
Help, master, help! hereÕs a fish hangs in the net, like a poor manÕs right in the law; Õtwill hardly come out. Ha! bots onÕt, Õtis come at last, and Õtis turned to a rusty armour.
PERICLES.
An armour, friends! I pray you, let me see it.
Thanks, Fortune, yet, that, after all my crosses,
Thou givest me somewhat to repair myself,
And though it was mine own, part of my heritage,
Which my dead father did bequeath to me,
With this strict charge, even as he left his life.
ÔKeep it, my Pericles; it hath been a shield
ÕTwixt me and death;ÕÑand pointed to this brace;Ñ
ÔFor that it saved me, keep it; in like necessityÑ
The which the gods protect thee from!Ñmay defend thee.Õ
It kept where I kept, I so dearly loved it;
Till the rough seas, that spares not any man,
Took it in rage, though calmÕd have givenÕt again:
I thank thee forÕt: my shipwreck nowÕs no ill,
Since I have here my father gave in his will.
FIRST FISHERMAN.
What mean you sir?
PERICLES.
To beg of you, kind friends, this coat of worth,
For it was sometime target to a king;
I know it by this mark. He loved me dearly,
And for his sake I wish the having of it;
And that youÕd guide me to your sovereign court,
Where with it I may appear a gentleman;
And if that ever my low fortuneÕs better,
IÕll pay your bounties; till then rest your debtor.
FIRST FISHERMAN.
Why, wilt thou tourney for the lady?
PERICLES.
IÕll show the virtue I have borne in arms.
FIRST FISHERMAN.
Why, dÕye take it, and the gods give thee good onÕt!
SECOND FISHERMAN.
Ay, but hark you, my friend; Õtwas we that made up this garment through the rough seams of the waters: there are certain condolements, certain vails. I hope, sir, if you thrive, youÕll remember from whence you had them.
PERICLES.
BelieveÕt I will.
By your furtherance I am clothed in steel;
And spite of all the rapture of the sea,
This jewel holds his building on my arm:
Unto thy value I will mount myself
Upon a courser, whose delightful steps
Shall make the gazer joy to see him tread.
Only, my friend, I yet am unprovided
Of a pair of bases.
SECOND FISHERMAN.
WeÕll sure provide: thou shalt have my best gown to make thee a pair; and IÕll bring thee to the court myself.
PERICLES.
Then honour be but a goal to my will,
This day IÕll rise, or else add ill to ill.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE II. The same. A public way, or platform leading to the lists. A pavilion by the side of it for the reception of the King, Princess, Lords, etc.
EnterÊSimonides, Thaisa, LordsÊand Attendants.
SIMONIDES.
Are the knights ready to begin the triumph?
FIRST LORD.
They are, my liege;
And stay your coming to present themselves.
SIMONIDES.
Return them, we are ready; and our daughter,
In honour of whose birth these triumphs are,
Sits here, like beautyÕs child, whom Nature gat
For men to see, and seeing wonder at.
[Exit aÊLord.]
THAISA.
It pleaseth you, my royal father, to express
My commendations great, whose meritÕs less.
SIMONIDES.
ItÕs fit it should be so; for princes are
A model, which heaven makes like to itself:
As jewels lose their glory if neglected,
So princes their renowns if not respected.
ÕTis now your honour, daughter, to entertain
The labour of each knight in his device.
THAISA.
Which, to preserve mine honour, IÕll perform.
The first Knight passes by, and his Squire presents his shield to Thaisa.
SIMONIDES.
Who is the first that doth prefer himself?
THAISA.
A knight of Sparta, my renowned father;
And the device he bears upon his shield
Is a black Ethiope reaching at the sun:
The word,ÊLux tua vita mihi.
SIMONIDES.
He loves you well that holds his life of you.
The second Knight passes by, and his Squire presents his shield to Thaisa.
Who is the second that presents himself?
THAISA.
A prince of Macedon, my royal father;
And the device he bears upon his shield
Is an armÕd knight thatÕs conquerÕd by a lady;
The motto thus, in Spanish,ÊPiu por dulzura que por forza.
The third Knight passes by, and his Squire presents his shield to Thaisa.
SIMONIDES.
And whatÕs the third?
THAISA.
The third of Antioch;
And his device, a wreath of chivalry;
The word,ÊMe pompae provexit apex.
The fourth Knight passes by, and his Squire presents his shield to Thaisa.
SIMONIDES.
What is the fourth?
THAISA.
A burning torch thatÕs turned upside down;
The word,ÊQuod me alit me extinguit.
SIMONIDES.
Which shows that beauty hath his power and will,
Which can as well inflame as it can kill.
The fifth Knight passes by, and his Squire presents his shield to Thaisa.
THAISA.
The fifth, an hand environed with clouds,
Holding out gold thatÕs by the touchstone tried;
The motto thus,ÊSic spectanda fides.
The sixth Knight,ÊPericles,Êpasses in rusty armour with bases, and unaccompanied. He presents his device directly to Thaisa.
SIMONIDES.
And whatÕs the sixth and last, the which the knight himself
With such a graceful courtesy deliverÕd?
THAISA.
He seems to be a stranger; but his present is
A witherÕd branch, thatÕs only green at top;
The motto,ÊIn hac spe vivo.
SIMONIDES.
A pretty moral;
From the dejected state wherein he is,
He hopes by you his fortunes yet may flourish.
FIRST LORD.
He had need mean better than his outward show
Can any way speak in his just commend;
For by his rusty outside he appears
To have practised more the whipstock than the lance.
SECOND LORD.
He well may be a stranger, for he comes
To an honourÕd triumph strangely furnished.
THIRD LORD.
And on set purpose let his armour rust
Until this day, to scour it in the dust.
SIMONIDES.
OpinionÕs but a fool, that makes us scan
The outward habit by the inward man.
But stay, the knights are coming.
We will withdraw into the gallery.
[Exeunt. Great shouts within, and all cryÊÔThe mean Knight!Õ]
SCENE III. The same. A hall of state: a banquet prepared.
EnterÊSimonides, Thaisa, Lords, AttendantsÊandÊKnights, from tilting.
SIMONIDES.
Knights,
To say youÕre welcome were superfluous.
To place upon the volume of your deeds,
As in a title-page, your worth in arms,
Were more than you expect, or more thanÕs fit,
Since every worth in show commends itself.
Prepare for mirth, for mirth becomes a feast:
You are princes and my guests.
THAISA.
But you, my knight and guest;
To whom this wreath of victory I give,
And crown you king of this dayÕs happiness.
PERICLES.
ÕTis more by fortune, lady, than by merit.
SIMONIDES.
Call it by what you will, the day is yours;
And here, I hope, is none that envies it.
In framing an artist, art hath thus decreed,
To make some good, but others to exceed;
And you are her labourÕd scholar. Come queen of the feast,Ñ
For, daughter, so you are,Ñhere take your place:
Marshal the rest, as they deserve their grace.
KNIGHTS.
We are honourÕd much by good Simonides.
SIMONIDES.
Your presence glads our days; honour we love;
For who hates honour hates the gods above.
MARSHALL.
Sir, yonder is your place.
PERICLES.
Some other is more fit.
FIRST KNIGHT.
Contend not, sir; for we are gentlemen
Have neither in our hearts nor outward eyes
Envied the great, nor shall the low despise.
PERICLES.
You are right courteous knights.
SIMONIDES.
Sit, sir, sit.
By Jove, I wonder, that is king of thoughts,
These cates resist me, he but thought upon.
THAISA.
By Juno, that is queen of marriage,
All viands that I eat do seem unsavoury,
Wishing him my meat. Sure, heÕs a gallant gentleman.
SIMONIDES.
HeÕs but a country gentleman;
Has done no more than other knights have done;
Has broken a staff or so; so let it pass.
THAISA.
To me he seems like diamond to glass.
PERICLES.
Yon kingÕs to me like to my fatherÕs picture,
Which tells me in that glory once he was;
Had princes sit, like stars, about his throne,
And he the sun, for them to reverence;
None that beheld him, but, like lesser lights,
Did vail their crowns to his supremacy:
Where now his sonÕs like a glow-worm in the night,
The which hath fire in darkness, none in light:
Whereby I see that timeÕs the king of men,
HeÕs both their parent, and he is their grave,
And gives them what he will, not what they crave.
SIMONIDES.
What, are you merry, knights?
KNIGHTS.
Who can be other in this royal presence?
SIMONIDES.
Here, with a cup thatÕs stored unto the brim,Ñ
As you do love, fill to your mistressÕ lips,Ñ
We drink this health to you.
KNIGHTS.
We thank your grace.
SIMONIDES.
Yet pause awhile. Yon knight doth sit too melancholy,
As if the entertainment in our court
Had not a show might countervail his worth.
Note it not you, Thaisa?
THAISA.
What isÕt to me, my father?
SIMONIDES.
O attend, my daughter:
Princes in this should live like gods above,
Who freely give to everyone that comes to honour them:
And princes not doing so are like to gnats,
Which make a sound, but killÕd are wonderÕd at.
Therefore to make his entrance more sweet,
Here, say we drink this standing-bowl of wine to him.
THAISA.
Alas, my father, it befits not me
Unto a stranger knight to be so bold:
He may my proffer take for an offence,
Since men take womenÕs gifts for impudence.
SIMONIDES.
How? Do as I bid you, or youÕll move me else.
THAISA.
[Aside.] Now, by the gods, he could not please me better.
SIMONIDES.
And furthermore tell him, we desire to know of him,
Of whence he is, his name and parentage.
THAISA.
The king my father, sir, has drunk to you.
PERICLES.
I thank him.
THAISA.
Wishing it so much blood unto your life.
PERICLES.
I thank both him and you, and pledge him freely.
THAISA.
And further he desires to know of you,
Of whence you are, your name and parentage.
PERICLES.
A gentleman of Tyre; my name, Pericles;
My education been in arts and arms;
Who, looking for adventures in the world,
Was by the rough seas reft of ships and men,
And after shipwreck driven upon this shore.
THAISA.
He thanks your grace; names himself Pericles,
A gentleman of Tyre,
Who only by misfortune of the seas
Bereft of ships and men, cast on this shore.
SIMONIDES.
Now, by the gods, I pity his misfortune,
And will awake him from his melancholy.
Come, gentlemen, we sit too long on trifles,
And waste the time, which looks for other revels.
Even in your armours, as you are addressÕd,
Will well become a soldierÕs dance.
I will not have excuse, with saying this,
ÔLoud music is too harsh for ladiesÕ headsÕ
Since they love men in arms as well as beds.
[The Knights dance.]
So, this was well askÕd, Õtwas so well performÕd.
Come, sir; here is a lady which wants breathing too:
And I have heard you knights of Tyre
Are excellent in making ladies trip;
And that their measures are as excellent.
PERICLES.
In those that practise them they are, my lord.
SIMONIDES.
O, thatÕs as much as you would be denied
Of your fair courtesy.
[The Knights and Ladies dance.]
Unclasp, unclasp:
Thanks gentlemen, to all; all have done well.
[To Pericles.] But you the best. Pages and lights to conduct
These knights unto their several lodgings.
[To Pericles.] Yours, sir, we have given order to be next our own.
PERICLES.
I am at your graceÕs pleasure.
SIMONIDES.
Princes, it is too late to talk of love;
And thatÕs the mark I know you level at:
Therefore each one betake him to his rest;
Tomorrow all for speeding do their best.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE IV. Tyre. A room in the GovernorÕs house.
EnterÊHelicanusÊandÊEscanes.
HELICANUS.
No, Escanes, know this of me,
Antiochus from incest lived not free:
For which the most high gods not minding longer
To withhold the vengeance that they had in store
Due to this heinous capital offence,
Even in the height and pride of all his glory,
When he was seated in a chariot
Of an inestimable value, and his daughter with him,
A fire from heaven came and shrivellÕd up
Their bodies, even to loathing, for they so stunk,
That all those eyes adored them ere their fall
Scorn now their hand should give them burial.
ESCANES.
ÕTwas very strange
HELICANUS.
And yet but justice; for though this king were great;
His greatness was no guard to bar heavenÕs shaft,
But sin had his reward.
ESCANES.
ÕTis very true.
Enter two or threeÊLords.
FIRST LORD.
See, not a man in private conference
Or council has respect with him but he.
SECOND LORD.
It shall no longer grieve without reproof.
THIRD LORD.
And cursed be he that will not second it.
FIRST LORD.
Follow me, then. Lord Helicane, a word.
HELICANUS.
With me? and welcome: happy day, my lords.
FIRST LORD.
Know that our griefs are risen to the top,
And now at length they overflow their banks.
HELICANUS.
Your griefs! for what? Wrong not your prince you love.
FIRST LORD.
Wrong not yourself, then, noble Helicane;
But if the prince do live, let us salute him.
Or know what groundÕs made happy by his breath.
If in the world he live, weÕll seek him out;
If in his grave he rest, weÕll find him there.
WeÕll be resolved he lives to govern us,
Or dead, giveÕs cause to mourn his funeral,
And leave us to our free election.
SECOND LORD.
Whose deathÕs indeed the strongest in our censure:
And knowing this kingdom is without a head,Ñ
Like goodly buildings left without a roof
Soon fall to ruin,Ñyour noble self,
That best know how to rule and how to reign,
We thus submit unto,Ñour sovereign.
ALL.
Live, noble Helicane!
HELICANUS.
For honourÕs cause, forbear your suffrages:
If that you love Prince Pericles, forbear.
Take I your wish, I leap into the seas,
WhereÕs hourly trouble for a minuteÕs ease.
A twelvemonth longer, let me entreat you
To forbear the absence of your king;
If in which time expired, he not return,
I shall with aged patience bear your yoke.
But if I cannot win you to this love,
Go search like nobles, like noble subjects,
And in your search spend your adventurous worth;
Whom if you find, and win unto return,
You shall like diamonds sit about his crown.
FIRST LORD.
To wisdom heÕs a fool that will not yield;
And since Lord Helicane enjoineth us,
We with our travels will endeavour us.
HELICANUS.
Then you love us, we you, and weÕll clasp hands:
When peers thus knit, a kingdom ever stands.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE V. Pentapolis. A room in the palace.
EnterÊSimonidesÊreading a letter at one door; theÊKnightsÊmeet him.
FIRST KNIGHT.
Good morrow to the good Simonides.
SIMONIDES.
Knights, from my daughter this I let you know,
That for this twelvemonth sheÕll not undertake
A married life.
Her reason to herself is only known,
Which yet from her by no means can I get.
SECOND KNIGHT.
May we not get access to her, my lord?
SIMONIDES.
Faith, by no means; she hath so strictly tied
Her to her chamber, that Õtis impossible.
One twelve moons more sheÕll wear DianaÕs livery;
This by the eye of Cynthia hath she vowÕd,
And on her virgin honour will not break it.
THIRD KNIGHT.
Loath to bid farewell, we take our leaves.
[ExeuntÊKnights.]
SIMONIDES.
So, they are well dispatchÕd; now to my daughterÕs letter:
She tells me here, sheÕll wed the stranger knight,
Or never more to view nor day nor light.
ÕTis well, mistress; your choice agrees with mine;
I like that well: nay, how absolute sheÕs inÕt,
Not minding whether I dislike or no!
Well, I do commend her choice;
And will no longer have it be delayÕd.
Soft! here he comes: I must dissemble it.
EnterÊPericles.
PERICLES.
All fortune to the good Simonides!
SIMONIDES.
To you as much. Sir, I am beholding to you
For your sweet music this last night: I do
Protest my ears were never better fed
With such delightful pleasing harmony.
PERICLES.
It is your graceÕs pleasure to commend;
Not my desert.
SIMONIDES.
Sir, you are musicÕs master.
PERICLES.
The worst of all her scholars, my good lord.
SIMONIDES.
Let me ask you one thing:
What do you think of my daughter, sir?
PERICLES.
A most virtuous princess.
SIMONIDES.
And she is fair too, is she not?
PERICLES.
As a fair day in summer, wondrous fair.
SIMONIDES.
Sir, my daughter thinks very well of you;
Ay, so well, that you must be her master,
And she will be your scholar: therefore look to it.
PERICLES.
I am unworthy for her schoolmaster.
SIMONIDES.
She thinks not so; peruse this writing else.
PERICLES.
[Aside.] WhatÕs here? A letter, that she loves the knight of Tyre!
ÕTis the kingÕs subtlety to have my life.
O, seek not to entrap me, gracious lord,
A stranger and distressed gentleman,
That never aimÕd so high to love your daughter,
But bent all offices to honour her.
SIMONIDES.
Thou hast bewitchÕd my daughter,
And thou art a villain.
PERICLES.
By the gods, I have not:
Never did thought of mine levy offence;
Nor never did my actions yet commence
A deed might gain her love or your displeasure.
SIMONIDES.
Traitor, thou liest.
PERICLES.
Traitor?
SIMONIDES.
Ay, traitor.
PERICLES.
Even in his throatÑunless it be the kingÑ
That calls me traitor, I return the lie.
SIMONIDES.
[Aside.] Now, by the gods, I do applaud his courage.
PERICLES.
My actions are as noble as my thoughts,
That never relishÕd of a base descent.
I came unto your court for honourÕs cause,
And not to be a rebel to her state;
And he that otherwise accounts of me,
This sword shall prove heÕs honourÕs enemy.
SIMONIDES.
No?
Here comes my daughter, she can witness it.
EnterÊThaisa.
PERICLES.
Then, as you are as virtuous as fair,
Resolve your angry father, if my tongue
Did eÕer solicit, or my hand subscribe
To any syllable that made love to you.
THAISA.
Why, sir, say if you had,
Who takes offence at that would make me glad?
SIMONIDES.
Yea, mistress, are you so peremptory?
[Aside.] I am glad onÕt with all my heart.Ñ
IÕll tame you; IÕll bring you in subjection.
Will you, not having my consent,
Bestow your love and your affections
Upon a stranger? [Aside.] Who, for aught I know
May be, nor can I think the contrary,
As great in blood as I myself.Ñ
Therefore hear you, mistress; either frame
Your will to mine, and you, sir, hear you,
Either be ruled by me, or I will make youÑ
Man and wife. Nay, come, your hands,
And lips must seal it too: and being joinÕd,
IÕll thus your hopes destroy; and for further grief,
God give you joy! What, are you both pleased?
THAISA.
Yes, if you love me, sir.
PERICLES.
Even as my life my blood that fosters it.
SIMONIDES.
What, are you both agreed?
BOTH.
Yes, ifÕt please your majesty.
SIMONIDES.
It pleaseth me so well, that I will see you wed;
And then with what haste you can, get you to bed.
[Exeunt.]
ACT III
EnterÊGower.
GOWER.
Now sleep yslaked hath the rouse;
No din but snores about the house,
Made louder by the oÕerfed breast
Of this most pompous marriage feast.
The cat, with eyne of burning coal,
Now couches fore the mouseÕs hole;
And crickets sing at the ovenÕs mouth,
Are the blither for their drouth.
Hymen hath brought the bride to bed,
Where, by the loss of maidenhead,
A babe is moulded. Be attent,
And time that is so briefly spent
With your fine fancies quaintly eche:
WhatÕs dumb in show IÕll plain with speech.
Dumb-show. Enter,ÊPericlesÊandÊSimonidesÊat one door with Attendants; a Messenger meets them, kneels, and gives Pericles a letter: Pericles shows it Simonides; the Lords kneel to him. Then enterÊThaisaÊwith child, withÊLychorida,Êa nurse. The King shows her the letter; she rejoices: she and Pericles take leave of her father, and depart, with Lychorida and their Attendants. Then exeunt Simonides and the rest.
By many a dern and painful perch
Of Pericles the careful search,
By the four opposing coigns
Which the world together joins,
Is made with all due diligence
That horse and sail and high expense
Can stead the quest. At last from Tyre,
Fame answering the most strange enquire,
To thÕ court of King Simonides
Are letters brought, the tenour these:
Antiochus and his daughter dead;
The men of Tyrus on the head
Of Helicanus would set on
The crown of Tyre, but he will none:
The mutiny he there hastes tÕoppress;
Says to Õem, if King Pericles
Come not home in twice six moons,
He, obedient to their dooms,
Will take the crown. The sum of this,
Brought hither to Pentapolis
Y-ravished the regions round,
And everyone with claps can sound,
ÔOur heir apparent is a king!
Who dreamt, who thought of such a thing?Õ
Brief, he must hence depart to Tyre:
His queen with child makes her desireÑ
Which who shall cross?Ñalong to go:
Omit we all their dole and woe:
Lychorida, her nurse, she takes,
And so to sea. Their vessel shakes
On NeptuneÕs billow; half the flood
Hath their keel cut: but fortuneÕs mood
Varies again; the grisled north
Disgorges such a tempest forth,
That, as a duck for life that dives,
So up and down the poor ship drives:
The lady shrieks, and well-a-near
Does fall in travail with her fear:
And what ensues in this fell storm
Shall for itself itself perform.
I nill relate, action may
Conveniently the rest convey;
Which might not what by me is told.
In your imagination hold
This stage the ship, upon whose deck
The sea-tost Pericles appears to speak.
[Exit.]
SCENE I.
EnterÊPericles,Êon shipboard.
PERICLES.
Thou god of this great vast, rebuke these surges,
Which wash both heaven and hell; and thou that hast
Upon the winds command, bind them in brass,
Having callÕd them from the deep! O, still
Thy deafening, dreadful thunders; gently quench
Thy nimble, sulphurous flashes! O, how, Lychorida,
How does my queen? Thou stormest venomously;
Wilt thou spit all thyself? The seamanÕs whistle
Is as a whisper in the ears of death,
Unheard. Lychorida! - Lucina, O!
Divinest patroness, and midwife gentle
To those that cry by night, convey thy deity
Aboard our dancing boat; make swift the pangs
Of my queenÕs travails! Now, Lychorida!
EnterÊLychoridaÊwith an infant.
LYCHORIDA.
Here is a thing too young for such a place,
Who, if it had conceit, would die, as I
Am like to do: take in your arms this piece
Of your dead queen.
PERICLES.
How? how, Lychorida?
LYCHORIDA.
Patience, good sir; do not assist the storm.
HereÕs all that is left living of your queen,
A little daughter: for the sake of it,
Be manly, and take comfort.
PERICLES.
O you gods!
Why do you make us love your goodly gifts,
And snatch them straight away? We here below
Recall not what we give, and therein may
Vie honour with you.
LYCHORIDA.
Patience, good sir.
Even for this charge.
PERICLES.
Now, mild may be thy life!
For a more blustrous birth had never babe:
Quiet and gentle thy conditions! for
Thou art the rudeliest welcome to this world
That ever was princeÕs child. Happy what follows!
Thou hast as chiding a nativity
As fire, air, water, earth, and heaven can make,
To herald thee from the womb.
Even at the first thy loss is more than can
Thy portage quit, with all thou canst find here,
Now, the good gods throw their best eyes uponÕt!
Enter twoÊSailors
FIRST SAILOR.
What courage, sir? God save you!
PERICLES.
Courage enough: I do not fear the flaw;
It hath done to me the worst. Yet, for the love
Of this poor infant, this fresh new sea-farer,
I would it would be quiet.
FIRST SAILOR.
Slack the bolins there! Thou wilt not, wilt thou? Blow, and split thyself.
SECOND SAILOR.
But sea-room, and the brine and cloudy billow kiss the moon, I care not.
FIRST SAILOR.
Sir, your queen must overboard: the sea works high, the wind is loud and will not lie till the ship be cleared of the dead.
PERICLES.
ThatÕs your superstition.
FIRST SAILOR.
Pardon us, sir; with us at sea it has been still observed; and we are strong in custom. Therefore briefly yield her; for she must overboard straight.
PERICLES.
As you think meet. Most wretched queen!
LYCHORIDA.
Here she lies, sir.
PERICLES.
A terrible childbed hast thou had, my dear;
No light, no fire: thÕunfriendly elements
Forgot thee utterly; nor have I time
To give thee hallowÕd to thy grave, but straight
Must cast thee, scarcely coffinÕd, in the ooze;
Where, for a monument upon thy bones,
And eÕer-remaining lamps, the belching whale
And humming water must oÕerwhelm thy corpse,
Lying with simple shells. O Lychorida.
Bid Nestor bring me spices, ink and paper,
My casket and my jewels; and bid Nicander
Bring me the satin coffer: lay the babe
Upon the pillow: hie thee, whiles I say
A priestly farewell to her: suddenly, woman.
[ExitÊLychorida.]
SECOND SAILOR.
Sir, we have a chest beneath the hatches, caulked and bitumed ready.
PERICLES.
I thank thee. Mariner, say what coast is this?
SECOND SAILOR.
We are near Tarsus.
PERICLES.
Thither, gentle mariner,
Alter thy course for Tyre. When canst thou reach it?
SECOND SAILOR.
By break of day, if the wind cease.
PERICLES.
O, make for Tarsus!
There will I visit Cleon, for the babe
Cannot hold out to Tyrus. There IÕll leave it
At careful nursing. Go thy ways, good mariner:
IÕll bring the body presently.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE II. Ephesus. A room in CerimonÕs house.
EnterÊCerimon,Êwith aÊServant,Êand some Persons who have been shipwrecked.
CERIMON.
Philemon, ho!
EnterÊPhilemon.
PHILEMON.
Doth my lord call?
CERIMON.
Get fire and meat for these poor men:
ÕT has been a turbulent and stormy night.
SERVANT.
I have been in many; but such a night as this,
Till now, I neÕer endured.
CERIMON.
Your master will be dead ere you return;
ThereÕs nothing can be ministerÕd to nature
That can recover him. [To Philemon.] Give this to the Õpothecary,
And tell me how it works.
[Exeunt all butÊCerimon.]
Enter twoÊGentlemen.
FIRST GENTLEMAN.
Good morrow.
SECOND GENTLEMAN.
Good morrow to your lordship.
CERIMON.
Gentlemen, why do you stir so early?
FIRST GENTLEMAN.
Sir, our lodgings, standing bleak upon the sea,
Shook as the earth did quake;
The very principals did seem to rend,
And all to topple: pure surprise and fear
Made me to quit the house.
SECOND GENTLEMAN.
That is the cause we trouble you so early;
ÕTis not our husbandry.
CERIMON.
O, you say well.
FIRST GENTLEMAN.
But I much marvel that your lordship, having
Rich tire about you, should at these early hours
Shake off the golden slumber of repose.
ÕTis most strange,
Nature should be so conversant with pain.
Being thereto not compellÕd.
CERIMON.
I hold it ever,
Virtue and cunning were endowments greater
Than nobleness and riches: careless heirs
May the two latter darken and expend;
But immortality attends the former,
Making a man a god. ÕTis known, I ever
Have studied physic, through which secret art,
By turning oÕer authorities, I have,
Together with my practice, made familiar
To me and to my aid the blest infusions
That dwell in vegetives, in metals, stones;
And I can speak of the disturbances
That nature works, and of her cures; which doth give me
A more content in course of true delight
Than to be thirsty after tottering honour,
Or tie my pleasure up in silken bags,
To please the fool and death.
SECOND GENTLEMAN.
Your honour has through Ephesus pourÕd forth
Your charity, and hundreds call themselves
Your creatures, who by you have been restored:
And not your knowledge, your personal pain, but even
Your purse, still open, hath built Lord Cerimon
Such strong renown as time shall neverÑ
Enter two or threeÊServantsÊwith a chest.
FIRST SERVANT.
So, lift there.
CERIMON.
WhatÕs that?
FIRST SERVANT.
Sir, even now
Did the sea toss upon our shore this chest:
ÕTis of some wreck.
CERIMON.
SetÕt down, letÕs look uponÕt.
SECOND GENTLEMAN.
ÕTis like a coffin, sir.
CERIMON.
WhateÕer it be,
ÕTis wondrous heavy. Wrench it open straight:
If the seaÕs stomach be oÕercharged with gold,
ÕTis a good constraint of fortune it belches upon us.
SECOND GENTLEMAN.
ÕTis so, my lord.
CERIMON.
How close Õtis caulkÕd and bitumed!
Did the sea cast it up?
FIRST SERVANT.
I never saw so huge a billow, sir,
As tossÕd it upon shore.
CERIMON.
Wrench it open;
Soft! it smells most sweetly in my sense.
SECOND GENTLEMAN.
A delicate odour.
CERIMON.
As ever hit my nostril. So up with it.
O you most potent gods! whatÕs here? a corpse!
FIRST GENTLEMAN.
Most strange!
CERIMON.
Shrouded in cloth of state; balmÕd and entreasured
With full bags of spices! A passport too!
Apollo, perfect me in the characters!
[Reads from a scroll.]
ÊÊÊHere I give to understand,
ÊÊÊÊÊIf eÕer this coffin drives a-land,
ÊÊÊÊÊI, King Pericles, have lost
ÊÊÊÊÊThis queen, worth all our mundane cost.
ÊÊÊÊÊWho finds her, give her burying;
ÊÊÊÊÊShe was the daughter of a king:
ÊÊÊÊÊBesides this treasure for a fee,
ÊÊÊÊÊThe gods requite his charity.
If thou livest, Pericles, thou hast a heart
That even cracks for woe! This chanced tonight.
SECOND GENTLEMAN.
Most likely, sir.
CERIMON.
Nay, certainly tonight;
For look how fresh she looks! They were too rough
That threw her in the sea. Make a fire within
Fetch hither all my boxes in my closet.
[Exit aÊServant.]
Death may usurp on nature many hours,
And yet the fire of life kindle again
The oÕerpressÕd spirits. I heard of an Egyptian
That had nine hours lain dead,
Who was by good appliance recovered.
Re-enter aÊServantÊwith napkins and fire.
Well said, well said; the fire and cloths.
The rough and woeful music that we have,
Cause it to sound, beseech you
The viol once more: how thou stirrÕst, thou block!
The music there!ÑI pray you, give her air.
Gentlemen, this queen will live.
Nature awakes; a warmth breathes out of her.
She hath not been entranced above five hours.
See how she Õgins to blow into lifeÕs flower again!
FIRST GENTLEMAN.
The heavens, through you, increase our wonder
And sets up your fame for ever.
CERIMON.
She is alive; behold, her eyelids,
Cases to those heavenly jewels which Pericles hath lost,
Begin to part their fringes of bright gold;
The diamonds of a most praised water doth appear,
To make the world twice rich. Live, and make us weep
To hear your fate, fair creature, rare as you seem to be.
[She moves.]
THAISA.
O dear Diana,
Where am I? WhereÕs my lord? What world is this?
SECOND GENTLEMAN.
Is not this strange?
FIRST GENTLEMAN.
Most rare.
CERIMON.
Hush, my gentle neighbours!
Lend me your hands; to the next chamber bear her.
Get linen: now this matter must be lookÕd to,
For her relapse is mortal. Come, come;
And Aesculapius guide us!
[Exeunt, carrying her away.]
SCENE III. Tarsus. A room in CleonÕs house.
EnterÊPericles, Cleon, DionyzaÊandÊLychoridaÊwithÊMarinaÊin her arms.
PERICLES.
Most honourÕd Cleon, I must needs be gone;
My twelve months are expired, and Tyrus stands
In a litigious peace. You and your lady,
Take from my heart all thankfulness! The gods
Make up the rest upon you!
CLEON.
Your shafts of fortune, though they hurt you mortally,
Yet glance full wanderingly on us.
DIONYZA.
O, your sweet queen!
That the strict fates had pleased you had brought her hither,
To have blessÕd mine eyes with her!
PERICLES.
We cannot but obey
The powers above us. Could I rage and roar
As doth the sea she lies in, yet the end
Must be as Õtis. My gentle babe Marina,
Whom, for she was born at sea, I have named so,
Here I charge your charity withal,
Leaving her the infant of your care;
Beseeching you to give her princely training,
That she may be mannerÕd as she is born.
CLEON.
Fear not, my lord, but think
Your grace, that fed my country with your corn,
For which the peopleÕs prayers still fall upon you,
Must in your child be thought on. If neglection
Should therein make me vile, the common body,
By you relieved, would force me to my duty:
But if to that my nature need a spur,
The gods revenge it upon me and mine,
To the end of generation!
PERICLES.
I believe you;
Your honour and your goodness teach me toÕt,
Without your vows. Till she be married, madam,
By bright Diana, whom we honour, all
Unscissored shall this hair of mine remain,
Though I show ill inÕt. So I take my leave.
Good madam, make me blessed in your care
In bringing up my child.
DIONYZA.
I have one myself,
Who shall not be more dear to my respect
Than yours, my lord.
PERICLES.
Madam, my thanks and prayers.
CLEON.
WeÕll bring your grace eÕen to the edge oÕthe shore,
Then give you up to the maskÕd Neptune and
The gentlest winds of heaven.
PERICLES.
I will embrace your offer. Come, dearest madam.
O, no tears, Lychorida, no tears.
Look to your little mistress, on whose grace
You may depend hereafter. Come, my lord.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE IV. Ephesus. A room in CerimonÕs house.
EnterÊCerimonÊandÊThaisa.
CERIMON.
Madam, this letter, and some certain jewels,
Lay with you in your coffer, which are
At your command. Know you the character?
THAISA.
It is my lordÕs.
That I was shippÕd at sea, I well remember,
Even on my groaning time; but whether there
DeliverÕd, by the holy gods,
I cannot rightly say. But since King Pericles,
My wedded lord, I neÕer shall see again,
A vestal livery will I take me to,
And never more have joy.
CERIMON.
Madam, if this you purpose as ye speak,
DianaÕs temple is not distant far,
Where you may abide till your date expire.
Moreover, if you please, a niece of mine
Shall there attend you.
THAISA.
My recompense is thanks, thatÕs all;
Yet my good will is great, though the gift small.
[Exeunt.]
ACT IV
EnterÊGower.
GOWER.
Imagine Pericles arrived at Tyre,
Welcomed and settled to his own desire.
His woeful queen we leave at Ephesus,
Unto Diana there a votaress.
Now to Marina bend your mind,
Whom our fast-growing scene must find
At Tarsus, and by Cleon trainÕd
In musicÕs letters; who hath gainÕd
Of education all the grace,
Which makes her both the heart and place
Of general wonder. But, alack,
That monster envy, oft the wrack
Of earned praise, MarinaÕs life
Seeks to take off by treasonÕs knife,
And in this kind our Cleon hath
One daughter, and a full grown wench
Even ripe for marriage-rite; this maid
Hight Philoten: and it is said
For certain in our story, she
Would ever with Marina be.
BeÕt when she weaved the sleided silk
With fingers long, small, white as milk;
Or when she would with sharp needle wound,
The cambric, which she made more sound
By hurting it; or when to thÕ lute
She sung, and made the night-bird mute
That still records with moan; or when
She would with rich and constant pen
Vail to her mistress Dian; still
This Philoten contends in skill
With absolute Marina: so
The dove of Paphos might with the crow
Vie feathers white. Marina gets
All praises, which are paid as debts,
And not as given. This so darks
In Philoten all graceful marks,
That CleonÕs wife, with envy rare,
A present murderer does prepare
For good Marina, that her daughter
Might stand peerless by this slaughter.
The sooner her vile thoughts to stead,
Lychorida, our nurse, is dead:
And cursed Dionyza hath
The pregnant instrument of wrath
Prest for this blow. The unborn event
I do commend to your content:
Only I carry winged time
Post on the lame feet of my rhyme;
Which never could I so convey,
Unless your thoughts went on my way.
Dionyza does appear,
With Leonine, a murderer.
[Exit.]
Scene I. Tarsus. An open place near the seashore.
EnterÊDionyzaÊwithÊLeonine.
DIONYZA.
Thy oath remember; thou hast sworn to doÕt:
ÕTis but a blow, which never shall be known.
Thou canst not do a thing in the world so soon,
To yield thee so much profit. Let not conscience,
Which is but cold, inflaming love iÕ thy bosom,
Inflame too nicely; nor let pity, which
Even women have cast off, melt thee, but be
A soldier to thy purpose.
LEONINE.
I will doÕt; but yet she is a goodly creature.
DIONYZA.
The fitter, then, the gods should have her. Here she comes weeping for her only mistressÕ death. Thou art resolved?
LEONINE.
I am resolved.
EnterÊMarinaÊwith a basket of flowers.
MARINA.
No, I will rob Tellus of her weed
To strew thy green with flowers: the yellows, blues,
The purple violets, and marigolds,
Shall as a carpet hang upon thy grave,
While summer days do last. Ay me! poor maid,
Born in a tempest, when my mother died,
This world to me is like a lasting storm,
Whirring me from my friends.
DIONYZA.
How now, Marina! why do you keep alone?
How chance my daughter is not with you?
Do not consume your blood with sorrowing;
Have you a nurse of me? Lord, how your favourÕs
Changed with this unprofitable woe!
Come, give me your flowers, ere the sea mar it.
Walk with Leonine; the air is quick there,
And it pierces and sharpens the stomach.
Come, Leonine, take her by the arm, walk with her.
MARINA.
No, I pray you;
IÕll not bereave you of your servant.
DIONYZA.
Come, come;
I love the king your father, and yourself,
With more than foreign heart. We every day
Expect him here: when he shall come and find
Our paragon to all reports thus blasted,
He will repent the breadth of his great voyage;
Blame both my lord and me, that we have taken
No care to your best courses. Go, I pray you,
Walk, and be cheerful once again; reserve
That excellent complexion, which did steal
The eyes of young and old. Care not for me;
I can go home alone.
MARINA.
Well, I will go;
But yet I have no desire to it.
DIONYZA.
Come, come, I know Õtis good for you.
Walk half an hour, Leonine, at the least:
Remember what I have said.
LEONINE.
I warrant you, madam.
DIONYZA.
IÕll leave you, my sweet lady, for a while:
Pray, walk softly, do not heat your blood:
What! I must have a care of you.
MARINA.
My thanks, sweet madam.
[ExitÊDionyza.]
Is this wind westerly that blows?
LEONINE.
South-west.
MARINA.
When I was born the wind was north.
LEONINE.
WasÕt so?
MARINA.
My father, as nurse said, did never fear,
But cried ÔGood seamen!Õ to the sailors,
Galling his kingly hands, haling ropes;
And clasping to the mast, endured a sea
That almost burst the deck.
LEONINE.
When was this?
MARINA.
When I was born:
Never was waves nor wind more violent;
And from the ladder tackle washes off
A canvas-climber. ÔHa!Õ says one, Ôwolt out?Õ
And with a dropping industry they skip
From stem to stern: the boatswain whistles, and
The master calls and trebles their confusion.
LEONINE.
Come, say your prayers.
MARINA.
What mean you?
LEONINE.
If you require a little space for prayer,
I grant it: pray; but be not tedious,
For the gods are quick of ear, and I am sworn
To do my work with haste.
MARINA.
Why will you kill me?
LEONINE.
To satisfy my lady.
MARINA.
Why would she have me killÕd now?
As I can remember, by my troth,
I never did her hurt in all my life:
I never spake bad word, nor did ill turn
To any living creature: believe me, la,
I never killÕd a mouse, nor hurt a fly:
I trod upon a worm against my will,
But I wept for it. How have I offended,
Wherein my death might yield her any profit,
Or my life imply her any danger?
LEONINE.
My commission
Is not to reason of the deed, but do it.
MARINA.
You will not doÕt for all the world, I hope.
You are well favourÕd, and your looks foreshow
You have a gentle heart. I saw you lately,
When you caught hurt in parting two that fought:
Good sooth, it showÕd well in you: do so now:
Your lady seeks my life; come you between,
And save poor me, the weaker.
LEONINE.
I am sworn,
And will dispatch.
[He seizes her.]
EnterÊPirates.
FIRST PIRATE.
Hold, villain!
[LeonineÊruns away.]
SECOND PIRATE.
A prize! a prize!
THIRD PIRATE.
Half part, mates, half part,
Come, letÕs have her aboard suddenly.
[ExeuntÊPiratesÊwithÊMarina.]
Re-enterÊLeonine.
LEONINE.
These roguing thieves serve the great pirate Valdes;
And they have seized Marina. Let her go:
ThereÕs no hope she will return. IÕll swear sheÕs dead
And thrown into the sea. But IÕll see further:
Perhaps they will but please themselves upon her,
Not carry her aboard. If she remain,
Whom they have ravishÕd must by me be slain.
[Exit.]
Scene II. Mytilene. A room in a brothel.
EnterÊPandar, BawdÊandÊBoult.
PANDAR.
Boult!
BOULT.
Sir?
PANDAR.
Search the market narrowly; Mytilene is full of gallants. We lost too much money this mart by being too wenchless.
BAWD.
We were never so much out of creatures. We have but poor three, and they can do no more than they can do; and they with continual action are even as good as rotten.
PANDAR.
Therefore letÕs have fresh ones, whateÕer we pay for them. If there be not a conscience to be used in every trade, we shall never prosper.
BAWD.
Thou sayest true: Õtis not our bringing up of poor bastards,Ñas, I think, I have brought up some elevenÑ
BOULT.
Ay, to eleven; and brought them down again. But shall I search the market?
BAWD.
What else, man? The stuff we have, a strong wind will blow it to pieces, they are so pitifully sodden.
PANDAR.
Thou sayest true; theyÕre too unwholesome, oÕ conscience. The poor Transylvanian is dead, that lay with the little baggage.
BOULT.
Ay, she quickly pooped him; she made him roast-meat for worms. But IÕll go search the market.
[Exit.]
PANDAR.
Three or four thousand chequins were as pretty a proportion to live quietly, and so give over.
BAWD.
Why to give over, I pray you? Is it a shame to get when we are old?
PANDAR.
O, our credit comes not in like the commodity, nor the commodity wages not with the danger: therefore, if in our youths we could pick up some pretty estate, Õtwere not amiss to keep our door hatched. Besides, the sore terms we stand upon with the gods will be strong with us for giving over.
BAWD.
Come, others sorts offend as well as we.
PANDAR.
As well as we! ay, and better too; we offend worse. Neither is our profession any trade; itÕs no calling. But here comes Boult.
Re-enterÊBoult,Êwith theÊPiratesÊandÊMarina.
BOULT
[To Pirates.] Come your ways. My masters, you say sheÕs a virgin?
FIRST PIRATE.
O sir, we doubt it not.
BOULT.
Master, I have gone through for this piece, you see: if you like her, so; if not, I have lost my earnest.
BAWD.
Boult, has she any qualities?
BOULT.
She has a good face, speaks well and has excellent good clothes: thereÕs no farther necessity of qualities can make her be refused.
BAWD.
What is her price, Boult?
BOULT.
I cannot be baited one doit of a thousand pieces.
PANDAR.
Well, follow me, my masters, you shall have your money presently. Wife, take her in; instruct her what she has to do, that she may not be raw in her entertainment.
[ExeuntÊPandarÊandÊPirates.]
BAWD.
Boult, take you the marks of her, the colour of her hair, complexion, height, her age, with warrant of her virginity; and cry ÔHe that will give most shall have her first.Õ Such a maidenhead were no cheap thing, if men were as they have been. Get this done as I command you.
BOULT.
Performance shall follow.
[Exit.]
MARINA.
Alack that Leonine was so slack, so slow!
He should have struck, not spoke; or that these pirates,
Not enough barbarous, had not oÕerboard thrown me
For to seek my mother!
BAWD.
Why lament you, pretty one?
MARINA.
That I am pretty.
BAWD.
Come, the gods have done their part in you.
MARINA.
I accuse them not.
BAWD.
You are light into my hands, where you are like to live.
MARINA.
The more my fault
To scape his hands where I was like to die.
BAWD.
Ay, and you shall live in pleasure.
MARINA.
No.
BAWD.
Yes, indeed shall you, and taste gentlemen of all fashions: you shall fare well; you shall have the difference of all complexions. What! do you stop your ears?
MARINA.
Are you a woman?
BAWD.
What would you have me be, an I be not a woman?
MARINA.
An honest woman, or not a woman.
BAWD.
Marry, whip the gosling: I think I shall have something to do with you. Come, youÕre a young foolish sapling, and must be bowed as I would have you.
MARINA.
The gods defend me!
BAWD.
If it please the gods to defend you by men, then men must comfort you, men must feed you, men stir you up. BoultÕs returned.
Re-enterÊBoult.
Now, sir, hast thou cried her through the market?
BOULT.
I have cried her almost to the number of her hairs; I have drawn her picture with my voice.
BAWD.
And I prithee tell me, how dost thou find the inclination of the people, especially of the younger sort?
BOULT.
Faith, they listened to me as they would have hearkened to their fatherÕs testament. There was a SpaniardÕs mouth so watered, that he went to bed to her very description.
BAWD.
We shall have him here tomorrow with his best ruff on.
BOULT.
Tonight, tonight. But, mistress, do you know the French knight that cowers iÕ the hams?
BAWD.
Who, Monsieur Veroles?
BOULT.
Ay, he: he offered to cut a caper at the proclamation; but he made a groan at it, and swore he would see her tomorrow.
BAWD.
Well, well, as for him, he brought his disease hither: here he does but repair it. I know he will come in our shadow, to scatter his crowns in the sun.
BOULT.
Well, if we had of every nation a traveller, we should lodge them with this sign.
[To Marina.] Pray you, come hither awhile. You have fortunes coming upon you. Mark me: you must seem to do that fearfully which you commit willingly, despise profit where you have most gain. To weep that you live as ye do makes pity in your lovers: seldom but that pity begets you a good opinion, and that opinion a mere profit.
MARINA.
I understand you not.
BOULT.
O, take her home, mistress, take her home: these blushes of hers must be quenched with some present practice.
BAWD.
Thou sayest true, iÕfaith so they must; for your bride goes to that with shame which is her way to go with warrant.
BOULT.
Faith, some do and some do not. But, mistress, if I have bargained for the joint,Ñ
BAWD.
Thou mayst cut a morsel off the spit.
BOULT.
I may so.
BAWD.
Who should deny it? Come young one, I like the manner of your garments well.
BOULT.
Ay, by my faith, they shall not be changed yet.
BAWD.
Boult, spend thou that in the town: report what a sojourner we have; youÕll lose nothing by custom. When nature framed this piece, she meant thee a good turn; therefore say what a paragon she is, and thou hast the harvest out of thine own report.
BOULT.
I warrant you, mistress, thunder shall not so awake the beds of eels as my giving out her beauty stirs up the lewdly inclined. IÕll bring home some tonight.
BAWD.
Come your ways; follow me.
MARINA.
If fires be hot, knives sharp, or waters deep,
Untied I still my virgin knot will keep.
Diana, aid my purpose!
BAWD.
What have we to do with Diana? Pray you, will you go with us?
[Exeunt.]
SCENE III. Tarsus. A room in CleonÕs house.
EnterÊCleonÊandÊDionyza.
DIONYZA.
Why, are you foolish? Can it be undone?
CLEON.
O, Dionyza, such a piece of slaughter
The sun and moon neÕer lookÕd upon!
DIONYZA.
I think youÕll turn a child again.
CLEON.
Were I chief lord of all this spacious world,
IÕd give it to undo the deed. A lady,
Much less in blood than virtue, yet a princess
To equal any single crown oÕ the earth
IÕ the justice of compare! O villain Leonine!
Whom thou hast poisonÕd too:
If thou hadst drunk to him, Õt had been a kindness
Becoming well thy face. What canst thou say
When noble Pericles shall demand his child?
DIONYZA.
That she is dead. Nurses are not the fates,
To foster it, nor ever to preserve.
She died at night; IÕll say so. Who can cross it?
Unless you play the pious innocent,
And for an honest attribute cry out
ÔShe died by foul play.Õ
CLEON.
O, go to. Well, well,
Of all the faults beneath the heavens, the gods
Do like this worst.
DIONYZA.
Be one of those that thinks
The petty wrens of Tarsus will fly hence,
And open this to Pericles. I do shame
To think of what a noble strain you are,
And of how coward a spirit.
CLEON.
To such proceeding
Whoever but his approbation added,
Though not his prime consent, he did not flow
From honourable courses.
DIONYZA.
Be it so, then:
Yet none does know, but you, how she came dead,
Nor none can know, Leonine being gone.
She did distain my child, and stood between
Her and her fortunes: none would look on her,
But cast their gazes on MarinaÕs face;
Whilst ours was blurted at and held a malkin
Not worth the time of day. It pierced me through;
And though you call my course unnatural,
You not your child well loving, yet I find
It greets me as an enterprise of kindness
PerformÕd to your sole daughter.
CLEON.
Heavens forgive it!
DIONYZA.
And as for Pericles, what should he say?
We wept after her hearse, and yet we mourn.
Her monument is almost finishÕd, and her epitaphs
In glittering golden characters express
A general praise to her, and care in us
At whose expense Õtis done.
CLEON.
Thou art like the harpy,
Which, to betray, dost, with thine angelÕs face,
Seize with thine eagleÕs talons.
DIONYZA.
You are like one that superstitiously
Doth swear to the gods that winter kills the flies:
But yet I know youÕll do as I advise.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE IV.
EnterÊGower,Êbefore the monument of Marina at Tarsus.
GOWER.
Thus time we waste, and long leagues make short;
Sail seas in cockles, have and wish but forÕt;
Making, to take your imagination,
From bourn to bourn, region to region.
By you being pardonÕd, we commit no crime
To use one language in each several clime
Where our scenes seem to live. I do beseech you
To learn of me, who stand iÕthe gaps to teach you,
The stages of our story. Pericles
Is now again thwarting the wayward seas
Attended on by many a lord and knight,
To see his daughter, all his lifeÕs delight.
Old Helicanus goes along. Behind
Is left to govern, if you bear in mind,
Old Escanes, whom Helicanus late
Advanced in time to great and high estate.
Well-sailing ships and bounteous winds have brought
This king to Tarsus,Ñthink his pilot thought;
So with his steerage shall your thoughts go on,Ñ
To fetch his daughter home, who first is gone.
Like motes and shadows see them move awhile;
Your ears unto your eyes IÕll reconcile.
Dumb-show. EnterÊPericlesÊat one door with all his train;ÊCleonÊandÊDionyzaÊat the other. Cleon shows Pericles the tomb; whereat Pericles makes lamentation, puts on sackcloth and in a mighty passion departs. Then exeunt Cleon and Dionyza.
See how belief may suffer by foul show;
This borrowÕd passion stands for true old woe;
And Pericles, in sorrow all devourÕd,
With sighs shot through; and biggest tears oÕershowerÕd,
Leaves Tarsus and again embarks. He swears
Never to wash his face, nor cut his hairs:
He puts on sackcloth, and to sea he bears
A tempest, which his mortal vessel tears,
And yet he rides it out. Now please you wit
The epitaph is for Marina writ
By wicked Dionyza.
[Reads the inscription on MarinaÕs monument.]
ÊÊÊÊÊThe fairest, sweetÕst, and best lies here,
ÊÊÊÊÊWho witherÕd in her spring of year.
ÊÊÊÊÊShe was of Tyrus the KingÕs daughter,
ÊÊÊÊÊOn whom foul death hath made this slaughter;
ÊÊÊÊÊMarina was she callÕd; and at her birth,
ÊÊÊÊÊThetis, being proud, swallowÕd some part oÕ the earth:
ÊÊÊÊÊTherefore the earth, fearing to be oÕerflowÕd,
ÊÊÊÊÊHath ThetisÕ birth-child on the heavens bestowÕd:
ÊÊÊÊÊWherefore she does, and swears sheÕll never stint,
ÊÊÊÊÊMake raging battery upon shores of flint.
No visor does become black villany
So well as soft and tender flattery.
Let Pericles believe his daughterÕs dead,
And bear his courses to be ordered
By Lady Fortune; while our scene must play
His daughterÕs woe and heavy well-a-day
In her unholy service. Patience, then,
And think you now are all in Mytilene.
[Exit.]
SCENE V. Mytilene. A street before the brothel.
Enter, from the brothel, twoÊGentlemen.
FIRST GENTLEMAN.
Did you ever hear the like?
SECOND GENTLEMAN.
No, nor never shall do in such a place as this, she being once gone.
FIRST GENTLEMAN.
But to have divinity preached there! did you ever dream of such a thing?
SECOND GENTLEMAN.
No, no. Come, I am for no more bawdy houses: shallÕs go hear the vestals sing?
FIRST GENTLEMAN.
IÕll do anything now that is virtuous; but I am out of the road of rutting for ever.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE VI. The same. A room in the brothel.
EnterÊPandar, BawdÊandÊBoult.
PANDAR.
Well, I had rather than twice the worth of her she had neÕer come here.
BAWD.
Fie, fie upon her! SheÕs able to freeze the god Priapus, and undo a whole generation. We must either get her ravished, or be rid of her. When she should do for clients her fitment, and do me the kindness of our profession, she has me her quirks, her reasons, her master reasons, her prayers, her knees; that she would make a puritan of the devil, if he should cheapen a kiss of her.
BOULT.
Faith, I must ravish her, or sheÕll disfurnish us of all our cavaliers, and make our swearers priests.
PANDAR.
Now, the pox upon her green sickness for me!
BAWD.
Faith, thereÕs no way to be rid onÕt but by the way to the pox.
Here comes the Lord Lysimachus disguised.
BOULT.
We should have both lord and lown, if the peevish baggage would but give way to customers.
EnterÊLysimachus.
LYSIMACHUS.
How now! How a dozen of virginities?
BAWD.
Now, the gods to bless your honour!
BOULT.
I am glad to see your honour in good health.
LYSIMACHUS.
You may so; Õtis the better for you that your resorters stand upon sound legs. How now? Wholesome iniquity have you that a man may deal withal, and defy the surgeon?
BAWD.
We have here one, sir, if she wouldÑbut there never came her like in Mytilene.
LYSIMACHUS.
If sheÕd do the deed of darkness, thou wouldst say.
BAWD.
Your honour knows what Õtis to say well enough.
LYSIMACHUS.
Well, call forth, call forth.
BOULT.
For flesh and blood, sir, white and red, you shall see a rose; and she were a rose indeed, if she had butÑ
LYSIMACHUS.
What, prithee?
BOULT.
O, sir, I can be modest.
LYSIMACHUS.
That dignifies the renown of a bawd no less than it gives a good report to a number to be chaste.
[ExitÊBoult.]
BAWD.
Here comes that which grows to the stalk; never plucked yet, I can assure you.
Re-enterÊBoultÊwithÊMarina.
Is she not a fair creature?
LYSIMACHUS.
Faith, she would serve after a long voyage at sea. Well, thereÕs for you: leave us.
BAWD.
I beseech your honour, give me leave: a word, and IÕll have done presently.
LYSIMACHUS.
I beseech you, do.
BAWD.
[To Marina.] First, I would have you note, this is an honourable man.
MARINA.
I desire to find him so, that I may worthily note him.
BAWD.
Next, heÕs the governor of this country, and a man whom I am bound to.
MARINA.
If he govern the country, you are bound to him indeed; but how honourable he is in that, I know not.
BAWD.
Pray you, without any more virginal fencing, will you use him kindly? He will line your apron with gold.
MARINA.
What he will do graciously, I will thankfully receive.
LYSIMACHUS.
HaÕ you done?
BAWD.
My lord, sheÕs not paced yet: you must take some pains to work her to your manage. Come, we will leave his honour and her together. Go thy ways.
[ExeuntÊBawd, PandarÊandÊBoult.]
LYSIMACHUS.
Now, pretty one, how long have you been at this trade?
MARINA.
What trade, sir?
LYSIMACHUS.
Why, I cannot nameÕt but I shall offend.
MARINA.
I cannot be offended with my trade. Please you to name it.
LYSIMACHUS.
How long have you been of this profession?
MARINA.
EÕer since I can remember.
LYSIMACHUS. Did you go toÕt so young? Were you a gamester at five or at seven?
MARINA.
Earlier, too, sir, if now I be one.
LYSIMACHUS.
Why, the house you dwell in proclaims you to be a creature of sale.
MARINA.
Do you know this house to be a place of such resort, and will come intoÕt? I hear say you are of honourable parts, and are the governor of this place.
LYSIMACHUS.
Why, hath your principal made known unto you who I am?
MARINA.
Who is my principal?
LYSIMACHUS.
Why, your herb-woman; she that sets seeds and roots of shame and iniquity. O, you have heard something of my power, and so stand aloof for more serious wooing. But I protest to thee, pretty one, my authority shall not see thee, or else look friendly upon thee. Come, bring me to some private place: come, come.
MARINA.
If you were born to honour, show it now;
If put upon you, make the judgement good
That thought you worthy of it.
LYSIMACHUS.
HowÕs this? howÕs this? Some more; be sage.
MARINA.
For me,
That am a maid, though most ungentle Fortune
Have placed me in this sty, where, since I came,
Diseases have been sold dearer than physic,
O, that the gods
Would set me free from this unhallowÕd place,
Though they did change me to the meanest bird
That flies iÕ the purer air!
LYSIMACHUS.
I did not think
Thou couldst have spoke so well; neÕer dreamÕd thou couldst.
Had I brought hither a corrupted mind,
Thy speech had alterÕd it. Hold, hereÕs gold for thee:
Persever in that clear way thou goest,
And the gods strengthen thee!
MARINA.
The good gods preserve you!
LYSIMACHUS.
For me, be you thoughten
That I came with no ill intent; for to me
The very doors and windows savour vilely.
Fare thee well. Thou art a piece of virtue, and
I doubt not but thy training hath been noble.
Hold, hereÕs more gold for thee.
A curse upon him, die he like a thief,
That robs thee of thy goodness! If thou dost
Hear from me, it shall be for thy good.
Re-enterÊBoult.
BOULT.
I beseech your honour, one piece for me.
LYSIMACHUS.
Avaunt, thou damned door-keeper!
Your house but for this virgin that doth prop it,
Would sink and overwhelm you. Away!
[Exit.]
BOULT.
HowÕs this? We must take another course with you. If your peevish chastity, which is not worth a breakfast in the cheapest country under the cope, shall undo a whole household, let me be gelded like a spaniel. Come your ways.
MARINA.
Whither would you have me?
BOULT.
I must have your maidenhead taken off, or the common hangman shall execute it. Come your ways. WeÕll have no more gentlemen driven away. Come your ways, I say.
Re-enterÊBawd.
BAWD.
How now! whatÕs the matter?
BOULT.
Worse and worse, mistress; she has here spoken holy words to the Lord Lysimachus.
BAWD.
O, abominable!
BOULT.
She makes our profession as it were to stink afore the face of the gods.
BAWD.
Marry, hang her up for ever!
BOULT.
The nobleman would have dealt with her like a nobleman, and she sent him away as cold as a snowball; saying his prayers too.
BAWD.
Boult, take her away; use her at thy pleasure: crack the glass of her virginity, and make the rest malleable.
BOULT.
An if she were a thornier piece of ground than she is, she shall be ploughed.
MARINA.
Hark, hark, you gods!
BAWD.
She conjures: away with her! Would she had never come within my doors! Marry, hang you! SheÕs born to undo us. Will you not go the way of womankind? Marry, come up, my dish of chastity with rosemary and bays!
[Exit.]
BOULT.
Come, mistress; come your way with me.
MARINA.
Whither wilt thou have me?
BOULT.
To take from you the jewel you hold so dear.
MARINA.
Prithee, tell me one thing first.
BOULT.
Come now, your one thing?
MARINA.
What canst thou wish thine enemy to be?
BOULT.
Why, I could wish him to be my master, or rather, my mistress.
MARINA.
Neither of these are so bad as thou art,
Since they do better thee in their command.
Thou holdÕst a place, for which the painedÕst fiend
Of hell would not in reputation change:
Thou art the damned doorkeeper to every
Coistrel that comes inquiring for his Tib.
To the choleric fisting of every rogue
Thy ear is liable, thy food is such
As hath been belchÕd on by infected lungs.
BOULT.
What would you have me do? Go to the wars, would you? where a man may serve seven years for the loss of a leg, and have not money enough in the end to buy him a wooden one?
MARINA.
Do anything but this thou doest. Empty
Old receptacles, or common shores, of filth;
Serve by indenture to the common hangman:
Any of these ways are yet better than this;
For what thou professest, a baboon, could he speak,
Would own a name too dear. O, that the gods
Would safely deliver me from this place!
Here, hereÕs gold for thee.
If that thy master would gain by me,
Proclaim that I can sing, weave, sew, and dance,
With other virtues, which IÕll keep from boast;
And I will undertake all these to teach.
I doubt not but this populous city will
Yield many scholars.
BOULT.
But can you teach all this you speak of?
MARINA.
Prove that I cannot, take me home again,
And prostitute me to the basest groom
That doth frequent your house.
BOULT.
Well, I will see what I can do for thee: if I can place thee, I will.
MARINA.
But amongst honest women.
BOULT.
Faith, my acquaintance lies little amongst them. But since my master and mistress have bought you, thereÕs no going but by their consent: therefore I will make them acquainted with your purpose, and I doubt not but I shall find them tractable enough. Come, IÕll do for thee what I can; come your ways.
[Exeunt.]
ACT V
EnterÊGower.
GOWER.
Marina thus the brothel Õscapes, and chances
Into an honest house, our story says.
She sings like one immortal, and she dances
As goddess-like to her admired lays;
Deep clerks she dumbs; and with her neeÕle composes
NatureÕs own shape, of bud, bird, branch, or berry,
That even her art sisters the natural roses;
Her inkle, silk, twin with the rubied cherry:
That pupils lacks she none of noble race,
Who pour their bounty on her; and her gain
She gives the cursed bawd. Here we her place;
And to her father turn our thoughts again,
Where we left him, on the sea. We there him lost;
Whence, driven before the winds, he is arrived
Here where his daughter dwells; and on this coast
Suppose him now at anchor. The city strived
God NeptuneÕs annual feast to keep: from whence
Lysimachus our Tyrian ship espies,
His banners sable, trimmÕd with rich expense;
And to him in his barge with fervour hies.
In your supposing once more put your sight
Of heavy Pericles; think this his bark:
Where what is done in action, more, if might,
Shall be discoverÕd; please you, sit and hark.
[Exit.]
SCENE I. On board PericlesÕ ship, off Mytilene. A close pavilion on deck, with a curtain before it; Pericles within it, reclined on a couch. A barge lying beside the Tyrian vessel.
Enter twoÊSailors,Êone belonging to the Tyrian vessel, the other to the barge; to themÊHelicanus.
TYRIAN SAILOR.
[To the Sailor of Mytilene.]
Where is lord Helicanus? He can resolve you.
O, here he is.
Sir, thereÕs a barge put off from Mytilene,
And in it is Lysimachus the governor,
Who craves to come aboard. What is your will?
HELICANUS.
That he have his. Call up some gentlemen.
TYRIAN SAILOR.
Ho, gentlemen! my lord calls.
Enter two or threeÊGentlemen.
FIRST GENTLEMAN.
Doth your lordship call?
HELICANUS.
Gentlemen, there is some of worth would come aboard;
I pray ye, greet them fairly.
[TheÊGentlemenÊand the twoÊSailorsÊdescend and go on board the barge.]
Enter, from thence,ÊLysimachusÊandÊLords;Êwith theÊGentlemenÊand the twoÊSailors.
TYRIAN SAILOR.
Sir,
This is the man that can, in aught you would,
Resolve you.
LYSIMACHUS.
Hail, reverend sir! the gods preserve you!
HELICANUS.
And you, sir, to outlive the age I am,
And die as I would do.
LYSIMACHUS.
You wish me well.
Being on shore, honouring of NeptuneÕs triumphs,
Seeing this goodly vessel ride before us,
I made to it, to know of whence you are.
HELICANUS.
First, what is your place?
LYSIMACHUS.
I am the governor of this place you lie before.
HELICANUS.
Sir, our vessel is of Tyre, in it the king;
A man who for this three months hath not spoken
To anyone, nor taken sustenance
But to prorogue his grief.
LYSIMACHUS.
Upon what ground is his distemperature?
HELICANUS.
ÕTwould be too tedious to repeat;
But the main grief springs from the loss
Of a beloved daughter and a wife.
LYSIMACHUS.
May we not see him?
HELICANUS.
You may;
But bootless is your sight: he will not speak
To any.
LYSIMACHUS.
Yet let me obtain my wish.
HELICANUS.
Behold him.
[Pericles discovered.]
This was a goodly person.
Till the disaster that, one mortal night,
Drove him to this.
LYSIMACHUS.
Sir king, all hail! The gods preserve you!
Hail, royal sir!
HELICANUS.
It is in vain; he will not speak to you.
FIRST LORD.
Sir, we have a maid in Mytilene, I durst wager,
Would win some words of him.
LYSIMACHUS.
ÕTis well bethought.
She questionless with her sweet harmony
And other chosen attractions, would allure,
And make a battery through his deafenÕd parts,
Which now are midway stoppÕd:
She is all happy as the fairest of all,
And, with her fellow maids, is now upon
The leafy shelter that abuts against
The islandÕs side.
[Whispers aÊLordÊwho goes off in the barge of Lysimachus.]
HELICANUS.
Sure, allÕs effectless; yet nothing weÕll omit
That bears recoveryÕs name. But, since your kindness
We have stretchÕd thus far, let us beseech you
That for our gold we may provision have,
Wherein we are not destitute for want,
But weary for the staleness.
LYSIMACHUS.
O, sir, a courtesy
Which if we should deny, the most just gods
For every graff would send a caterpillar,
And so inflict our province. Yet once more
Let me entreat to know at large the cause
Of your kingÕs sorrow.
HELICANUS.
Sit, sir, I will recount it to you:
But, see, I am prevented.
Re-enter from the barge,ÊLordÊwithÊMarinaÊand a young Lady.
LYSIMACHUS.
O, here is the lady that I sent for. Welcome, fair one!
IsÕt not a goodly presence?
HELICANUS.
SheÕs a gallant lady.
LYSIMACHUS.
SheÕs such a one, that, were I well assured
Came of a gentle kind and noble stock,
IÕd wish no better choice, and think me rarely wed.
Fair one, all goodness that consists in bounty
Expect even here, where is a kingly patient:
If that thy prosperous and artificial feat
Can draw him but to answer thee in aught,
Thy sacred physic shall receive such pay
As thy desires can wish.
MARINA.
Sir, I will use
My utmost skill in his recovery, provided
That none but I and my companion maid
Be sufferÕd to come near him.
LYSIMACHUS.
Come, let us leave her,
And the gods make her prosperous!
[MarinaÊsings.]
LYSIMACHUS.
MarkÕd he your music?
MARINA.
No, nor lookÕd on us.
LYSIMACHUS.
See, she will speak to him.
MARINA.
Hail, sir! My lord, lend ear.
PERICLES.
Hum, ha!
MARINA.
I am a maid,
My lord, that neÕer before invited eyes,
But have been gazed on like a comet: she speaks,
My lord, that, may be, hath endured a grief
Might equal yours, if both were justly weighÕd.
Though wayward Fortune did malign my state,
My derivation was from ancestors
Who stood equivalent with mighty kings:
But time hath rooted out my parentage,
And to the world and awkward casualties
Bound me in servitude.
[Aside.] I will desist;
But there is something glows upon my cheek,
And whispers in mine ear ÔGo not till he speak.Õ
PERICLES.
My fortunesÑparentageÑgood parentageÑ
To equal mine!Ñwas it not thus? what say you?
MARINA.
I said, my lord, if you did know my parentage,
You would not do me violence.
PERICLES.
I do think so. Pray you, turn your eyes upon me.
You are like something thatÑwhat country-woman?
Here of these shores?
MARINA.
No, nor of any shores:
Yet I was mortally brought forth, and am
No other than I appear.
PERICLES.
I am great with woe, and shall deliver weeping.
My dearest wife was like this maid, and such a one
My daughter might have been: my queenÕs square brows;
Her stature to an inch; as wand-like straight;
As silver-voiced; her eyes as jewel-like
And cased as richly; in pace another Juno;
Who starves the ears she feeds, and makes them hungry,
The more she gives them speech. Where do you live?
MARINA.
Where I am but a stranger: from the deck
You may discern the place.
PERICLES.
Where were you bred?
And how achieved you these endowments, which
You make more rich to owe?
MARINA.
If I should tell my history, it would seem
Like lies disdainÕd in the reporting.
PERICLES.
Prithee, speak:
Falseness cannot come from thee; for thou lookÕst
Modest as Justice, and thou seemÕst a palace
For the crownÕd Truth to dwell in: I will believe thee,
And make my senses credit thy relation
To points that seem impossible; for thou lookÕst
Like one I loved indeed. What were thy friends?
Didst thou not say, when I did push thee backÑ
Which was when I perceived theeÑthat thou camÕst
From good descending?
MARINA.
So indeed I did.
PERICLES.
Report thy parentage. I think thou saidÕst
Thou hadst been tossÕd from wrong to injury,
And that thou thoughtÕst thy griefs might equal mine,
If both were openÕd.
MARINA.
Some such thing,
I said, and said no more but what my thoughts
Did warrant me was likely.
PERICLES.
Tell thy story;
If thine considerÕd prove the thousand part
Of my endurance, thou art a man, and I
Have sufferÕd like a girl: yet thou dost look
Like Patience gazing on kingsÕ graves, and smiling
Extremity out of act. What were thy friends?
How lost thou them? Thy name, my most kind virgin?
Recount, I do beseech thee: come, sit by me.
MARINA.
My name is Marina.
PERICLES.
O, I am mockÕd,
And thou by some incensed god sent hither
To make the world to laugh at me.
MARINA.
Patience, good sir,
Or here IÕll cease.
PERICLES.
Nay, IÕll be patient.
Thou little knowÕst how thou dost startle me,
To call thyself Marina.
MARINA.
The name
Was given me by one that had some power,
My father, and a king.
PERICLES.
How! a kingÕs daughter?
And callÕd Marina?
MARINA.
You said you would believe me;
But, not to be a troubler of your peace,
I will end here.
PERICLES.
But are you flesh and blood?
Have you a working pulse? and are no fairy?
Motion! Well; speak on. Where were you born?
And wherefore callÕd Marina?
MARINA.
CallÕd Marina
For I was born at sea.
PERICLES.
At sea! What mother?
MARINA.
My mother was the daughter of a king;
Who died the minute I was born,
As my good nurse Lychorida hath oft
DeliverÕd weeping.
PERICLES.
O, stop there a little! [Aside.] This is the rarest dream that eÕer dull sleep
Did mock sad fools withal: this cannot be:
My daughter, buried. Well, where were you bred?
IÕll hear you more, to the bottom of your story,
And never interrupt you.
MARINA.
You scorn: believe me, Õtwere best I did give oÕer.
PERICLES.
I will believe you by the syllable
Of what you shall deliver. Yet, give me leave:
How came you in these parts? Where were you bred?
MARINA.
The king my father did in Tarsus leave me;
Till cruel Cleon, with his wicked wife,
Did seek to murder me: and having wooÕd
A villain to attempt it, who having drawn to doÕt,
A crew of pirates came and rescued me;
Brought me to Mytilene. But, good sir.
Whither will you have me? Why do you weep? It may be,
You think me an impostor: no, good faith;
I am the daughter to King Pericles,
If good King Pericles be.
PERICLES.
Ho, Helicanus!
EnterÊHelicanusÊandÊLysimachus.
HELICANUS.
Calls my lord?
PERICLES.
Thou art a grave and noble counsellor,
Most wise in general: tell me, if thou canst,
What this maid is, or what is like to be,
That thus hath made me weep.
HELICANUS.
I know not,
But here is the regent, sir, of Mytilene
Speaks nobly of her.
LYSIMACHUS.
She would never tell
Her parentage; being demanded that,
She would sit still and weep.
PERICLES.
O Helicanus, strike me, honourÕd sir;
Give me a gash, put me to present pain;
Lest this great sea of joys rushing upon me
OÕerbear the shores of my mortality,
And drown me with their sweetness.
[To Marina] O, come hither,
Thou that begetÕst him that did thee beget;
Thou that wast born at sea, buried at Tarsus,
And found at sea again! O Helicanus,
Down on thy knees, thank the holy gods as loud
As thunder threatens us: this is Marina.
What was thy motherÕs name? tell me but that,
For truth can never be confirmÕd enough,
Though doubts did ever sleep.
MARINA.
First, sir, I pray, what is your title?
PERICLES.
I am Pericles of Tyre: but tell me now
My drownÕd queenÕs name, as in the rest you said
Thou hast been godlike perfect,
The heir of kingdoms and another life
To Pericles thy father.
MARINA.
Is it no more to be your daughter than
To say my motherÕs name was Thaisa?
Thaisa was my mother, who did end
The minute I began.
PERICLES.
Now, blessing on thee! rise; thou art my child.
Give me fresh garments. Mine own, Helicanus;
She is not dead at Tarsus, as she should have been,
By savage Cleon: she shall tell thee all;
When thou shalt kneel, and justify in knowledge
She is thy very princess. Who is this?
HELICANUS.
Sir, Õtis the governor of Mytilene,
Who, hearing of your melancholy state,
Did come to see you.
PERICLES.
I embrace you.
Give me my robes. I am wild in my beholding.
O heavens bless my girl! But, hark, what music?
Tell Helicanus, my Marina, tell him
OÕer, point by point, for yet he seems to doubt,
How sure you are my daughter. But, what music?
HELICANUS.
My lord, I hear none.
PERICLES.
None!
The music of the spheres! List, my Marina.
LYSIMACHUS.
It is not good to cross him; give him way.
PERICLES.
Rarest sounds! Do ye not hear?
LYSIMACHUS.
Music, my lord? I hear.
[Music.]
PERICLES.
Most heavenly music!
It nips me unto listening, and thick slumber
Hangs upon mine eyes: let me rest.
[Sleeps.]
LYSIMACHUS.
A pillow for his head:
So, leave him all. Well, my companion friends,
If this but answer to my just belief,
IÕll well remember you.
[Exeunt all butÊPericles.]
DianaÊappears to Pericles as in a vision.
DIANA.
My temple stands in Ephesus: hie thee thither,
And do upon mine altar sacrifice.
There, when my maiden priests are met together,
Before the people all,
Reveal how thou at sea didst lose thy wife:
To mourn thy crosses, with thy daughterÕs, call
And give them repetition to the life.
Or perform my bidding, or thou livest in woe:
Do it, and happy; by my silver bow!
Awake and tell thy dream.
[Disappears.]
PERICLES.
Celestial Dian, goddess argentine,
I will obey thee. Helicanus!
Re-enterÊHelicanus, LysimachusÊandÊMarina.
HELICANUS.
Sir?
PERICLES.
My purpose was for Tarsus, there to strike
The inhospitable Cleon; but I am
For other service first: toward Ephesus
Turn our blown sails; eftsoons IÕll tell thee why.
[To Lysimachus.] Shall we refresh us, sir, upon your shore,
And give you gold for such provision
As our intents will need?
LYSIMACHUS.
Sir, with all my heart,
And when you come ashore I have another suit.
PERICLES.
You shall prevail, were it to woo my daughter;
For it seems you have been noble towards her.
LYSIMACHUS.
Sir, lend me your arm.
PERICLES.
Come, my Marina.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE II.
EnterÊGowerÊbefore the temple of Diana at Ephesus.
GOWER.
Now our sands are almost run;
More a little, and then dumb.
This, my last boon, give me,
For such kindness must relieve me,
That you aptly will suppose
What pageantry, what feats, what shows,
What minstrelsy, and pretty din,
The regent made in Mytilene
To greet the king. So he thrived,
That he is promised to be wived
To fair Marina; but in no wise
Till he had done his sacrifice,
As Dian bade: whereto being bound,
The interim, pray you, all confound.
In featherÕd briefness sails are fillÕd,
And wishes fall out as theyÕre willÕd.
At Ephesus, the temple see,
Our king and all his company.
That he can hither come so soon,
Is by your fancyÕs thankful doom.
[Exit.]
SCENE III. The temple of Diana at Ephesus; Thaisa standing near the altar, as high priestess; a number of Virgins on each side; Cerimon and other inhabitants of Ephesus attending.
EnterÊPericlesÊwith his train;ÊLysimachus, Helicanus, MarinaÊand aÊLady.
PERICLES.
Hail, Dian! to perform thy just command,
I here confess myself the King of Tyre;
Who, frighted from my country, did wed
At Pentapolis the fair Thaisa.
At sea in childbed died she, but brought forth
A maid child callÕd Marina; whom, O goddess,
Wears yet thy silver livery. She at Tarsus
Was nursed with Cleon; who at fourteen years
He sought to murder: but her better stars
Brought her to Mytilene; Õgainst whose shore
Riding, her fortunes brought the maid aboard us,
Where by her own most clear remembrance, she
Made known herself my daughter.
THAISA.
Voice and favour!
You are, you areÑO royal Pericles!
[Faints.]
PERICLES.
What means the nun? She dies! help, gentlemen!
CERIMON.
Noble sir,
If you have told DianaÕs altar true,
This is your wife.
PERICLES.
Reverend appearer, no;
I threw her overboard with these very arms.
CERIMON.
Upon this coast, I warrant you.
PERICLES.
ÕTis most certain.
CERIMON.
Look to the lady; O, sheÕs but oÕer-joyÕd.
Early in blustering morn this lady was
Thrown upon this shore. I oped the coffin,
Found there rich jewels; recoverÕd her, and placed her
Here in DianaÕs temple.
PERICLES.
May we see them?
CERIMON.
Great sir, they shall be brought you to my house,
Whither I invite you. Look, Thaisa is
Recovered.
THAISA.
O, let me look!
If he be none of mine, my sanctity
Will to my sense bend no licentious ear,
But curb it, spite of seeing. O, my lord,
Are you not Pericles? Like him you spake,
Like him you are: did you not name a tempest,
A birth, and death?
PERICLES.
The voice of dead Thaisa!
THAISA.
That Thaisa am I, supposed dead
And drownÕd.
PERICLES.
Immortal Dian!
THAISA.
Now I know you better,
When we with tears parted Pentapolis,
The king my father gave you such a ring.
[Shows a ring.]
PERICLES.
This, this: no more, you gods! your present kindness
Makes my past miseries sports: you shall do well,
That on the touching of her lips I may
Melt and no more be seen. O, come, be buried
A second time within these arms.
MARINA.
My heart
Leaps to be gone into my motherÕs bosom.
[Kneels to Thaisa.]
PERICLES.
Look, who kneels here! Flesh of thy flesh, Thaisa;
Thy burden at the sea, and callÕd Marina
For she was yielded there.
THAISA.
Blest, and mine own!
HELICANUS.
Hail, madam, and my queen!
THAISA.
I know you not.
PERICLES.
You have heard me say, when I did fly from Tyre,
I left behind an ancient substitute:
Can you remember what I callÕd the man?
I have named him oft.
THAISA.
ÕTwas Helicanus then.
PERICLES.
Still confirmation:
Embrace him, dear Thaisa; this is he.
Now do I long to hear how you were found:
How possibly preserved; and who to thank,
Besides the gods, for this great miracle.
THAISA.
Lord Cerimon, my lord; this man,
Through whom the gods have shown their power; that can
From first to last resolve you.
PERICLES.
Reverend sir,
The gods can have no mortal officer
More like a god than you. Will you deliver
How this dead queen relives?
CERIMON.
I will, my lord.
Beseech you, first go with me to my house,
Where shall be shown you all was found with her;
How she came placed here in the temple;
No needful thing omitted.
PERICLES.
Pure Dian, bless thee for thy vision! I
Will offer night-oblations to thee. Thaisa,
This prince, the fair betrothed of your daughter,
Shall marry her at Pentapolis.
And now this ornament
Makes me look dismal will I clip to form;
And what this fourteen years no razor touchÕd
To grace thy marriage-day, IÕll beautify.
THAISA.
Lord Cerimon hath letters of good credit, sir,
My fatherÕs dead.
PERICLES.
Heavens make a star of him! Yet there, my queen,
WeÕll celebrate their nuptials, and ourselves
Will in that kingdom spend our following days:
Our son and daughter shall in Tyrus reign.
Lord Cerimon, we do our longing stay
To hear the rest untold. Sir, leadÕs the way.
[Exeunt.]
EnterÊGower.
GOWER.
In Antiochus and his daughter you have heard
Of monstrous lust the due and just reward:
In Pericles, his queen and daughter seen,
Although assailÕd with Fortune fierce and keen,
Virtue preserved from fell destructionÕs blast,
Led on by heaven, and crownÕd with joy at last.
In Helicanus may you well descry
A figure of truth, of faith, of loyalty:
In reverend Cerimon there well appears
The worth that learned charity aye wears:
For wicked Cleon and his wife, when fame
Had spread their cursed deed, the honourÕd name
Of Pericles, to rage the city turn,
That him and his they in his palace burn.
The gods for murder seemed so content
To punish, although not done, but meant.
So on your patience evermore attending,
New joy wait on you! Here our play has ending.
[Exit.]