Scene I.:
Enter
the kings of Trebizon and Soria,
one bringing a
sword
and the other a sceptre; next, Orcanes king of
Natolia,
and the king of Jerusalem with the imperial
crown,
after,
Callapine; and, after him, other lords and
Almeda.
Orcanes
and the king of Jerusalem crown Callapine,
and the
others
give him the sceptre.
Orcanes. Callapinus Cyricelibes,
otherwise Cybelius, son and successive heir to
the late mighty emperor Bajazeth, by the aid of
God and his friend Mahomet, Emperor of Natolia, Jerusalem,
Trebizon, Soria, Amasia, Thracia, Ilyria,
Carmania, and all the hundred and thirty kingdoms
late contributory to his mighty father, long
live Callapinus, Emperor of Turkey!
Callapine.
Thrice-worthy kings, of Natolia and the rest,
I will requite your
royal gratitudes
With all the benefits
my empire yields;
And, were the sinews
of th’ imperial seat
So knit and strengthen’d
as when Bajazeth,
My royal lord and father,
fill’d the throne,
Whose cursed fate
hath so dismember’d it,
Then should you see
this thief of Scythia,
This proud usurping
king of Persia,
Do us such honour and
supremacy,
Bearing the vengeance
of our father’s wrongs,
As all the world should
blot his dignities
Out of the book of base-born
infamies.
And now I doubt not
but your royal cares
Have so provided for
this cursed foe,
That, since the heir
of mighty Bajazeth
(An emperor so honour’d
for his virtues)
Revives the spirits
of all true Turkish hearts,
In grievous memory of
his father’s shame,
We shall not need to
nourish any doubt,
But that proud Fortune,
who hath follow’d long
The martial sword of
mighty Tamburlaine,
Will now retain her
old inconstancy,
And raise our honours
to as high a pitch,
In this our strong and
fortunate encounter;
For so hath heaven provided
my escape
]From all the cruelty
my soul sustain’d,
By this my friendly
keeper’s happy means,
That Jove, surcharg’d
with pity of our wrongs,
Will pour it down in
showers on our heads,
Scourging the pride
of cursed Tamburlaine.
Orcanes.
I have a hundred thousand men in arms;
Some that, in conquest
of the perjur’d Christian,
Being a handful to a
mighty host,
Think them in number
yet sufficient
To drink the river Nile
or Euphrates,
And for their power
enow to win the world.
King of Jerusalem.
And I as many from Jerusalem,
Judaea, Gaza,
and Sclavonia’s bounds,
That on mount Sinai,
with their ensigns spread,
Look like the parti-colour’d
clouds of heaven
That shew fair weather
to the neighbour morn.
King of Trebizon.
And I as many bring from Trebizon,
Chio, Famastro, and
Amasia,
All bordering on the
Mare-Major-sea,
Riso, Sancina, and the
bordering towns
That touch the end of
famous Euphrates,
Whose courages
are kindled with the flames
The cursed Scythian
sets on all their towns,
And vow to burn the
villain’s cruel heart.
King of Soria.
From Soria with seventy thousand strong,
Ta’en from Aleppo,
Soldino, Tripoly,
And so unto my city
of Damascus,
I march to meet and
aid my neighbour kings;
All which will join
against this Tamburlaine,
And bring him captive
to your highness’ feet.
Orcanes.
Our battle, then, in martial manner pitch’d,
According to our ancient
use, shall bear
The figure of the semicircled
moon,
Whose horns shell sprinkle
through the tainted air
The poison’d brains
of this proud Scythian.
Callapine.
Well, then, my noble lords, for this my friend
That freed me from the
bondage of my foe,
I think it requisite
and honourable
To keep my promise and
to make him king,
That is a gentleman,
I know, at least.
Almeda. That’s
no matter, sir, for being a king;
or Tamburlaine came
up of nothing.
King of Jerusalem.
Your majesty may choose some ’pointed time,
Performing all your
promise to the full;
’Tis naught for
your majesty to give a kingdom.
Callapine.
Then will I shortly keep my promise, Almeda.
Almeda. Why,
I thank your majesty.
[Exeunt.]
Scene II.:
Enter
tamburlaine and his three sons, CALYPHAS, Amyras,
and
CELEBINUS;
Usumcasane; four attendants bearing the hearse
of
Zenocrate,
and the drums sounding a doleful march; the town
burning.
Tamburlaine.
So burn the turrets of this cursed town,
Flame to the highest
region of the air,
And kindle heaps of
exhalations,
That, being fiery meteors,
may presage
Death and destruction
to the inhabitants!
Over my zenith hang
a blazing star,
That may endure till
heaven be dissolv’d,
Fed with the fresh supply
of earthly dregs,
Threatening a dearth
and famine to this land!
Flying dragons, lightning,
fearful thunder-claps,
Singe these fair plains,
and make them seem as black
As is the island where
the Furies mask,
Compass’d with
Lethe, Styx, and Phlegethon,
Because my dear Zenocrate
is dead!
CALYPHAS. This
pillar, plac’d in memory of her,
Where in Arabian, Hebrew,
Greek, is writ,
this town,
being burnt by tamburlaine the
great,
forbids the
world to build it up again.
Amyras. And
here this mournful streamer shall be plac’d,
Wrought with the Persian
and th’ Egyptian arms,
To signify she was a
princess born,
And wife unto the monarch
of the East.
CELEBINUS. And
here this table as a register
Of all her virtues and
perfections.
Tamburlaine.
And here the picture of Zenocrate,
To shew her beauty which
the world admir’d;
Sweet picture of divine
Zenocrate,
That, hanging here,
will draw the gods from heaven,
And cause the stars
fix’d in the southern arc,
(Whose lovely faces
never any view’d
That have not pass’d
the centre’s latitude,)
As pilgrims travel to
our hemisphere,
Only to gaze upon Zenocrate.
Thou shalt not beautify
Larissa-plains,
But keep within the
circle of mine arms:
At every town and castle
I besiege,
Thou shalt be set upon
my royal tent;
And, when I meet an
army in the field,
Those looks will
shed such influence in my camp,
As if Bellona, goddess
of the war,
Threw naked swords and
sulphur-balls of fire
Upon the heads of all
our enemies.
And now, my lords, advance
your spears again;
Sorrow no more, my sweet
Casane, now:
Boys, leave to mourn;
this town shall ever mourn,
Being burnt to cinders
for your mother’s death.
CALYPHAS. If I
had wept a sea of tears for her,
would not ease the sorrows
I sustain.
Amyras. As
is that town, so is my heart consum’d
With grief and sorrow
for my mother’s death.
CELEBINUS. My
mother’s death hath mortified my mind,
And sorrow stops the
passage of my speech.
Tamburlaine.
But now, my boys, leave off, and list to me,
That mean to teach you
rudiments of war.
I’ll have you
learn to sleep upon the ground,
March in your armour
thorough watery fens,
Sustain the scorching
heat and freezing cold,
Hunger and thirst,
right adjuncts of the war;
And, after this, to
scale a castle-wall,
Besiege a fort, to undermine
a town,
And make whole cities
caper in the air:
Then next, the way to
fortify your men;
In champion grounds
what figure serves you best,
For which the
quinque-angle form is meet,
Because the corners
there may fall more flat
Whereas the fort
may fittest be assail’d,
And sharpest where th’
assault is desperate:
The ditches must be
deep; the counterscarps
Narrow and steep; the
walls made high and broad;
The bulwarks and the
rampires large and strong,
With cavalieros
and thick counterforts,
And room within to lodge
six thousand men;
It must have privy ditches,
countermines,
And secret issuings
to defend the ditch;
It must have high argins
and cover’d ways
To keep the bulwark-fronts
from battery,
And parapets to hide
the musketeers,
Casemates to place
the great artillery,
And store of ordnance,
that from every flank
May scour the outward
curtains of the fort,
Dismount the cannon
of the adverse part,
Murder the foe, and
save the walls from breach.
When this is learn’d
for service on the land,
By plain and easy demonstration
I’ll teach you
how to make the water mount,
That you may dry-foot
march through lakes and pools,
Deep rivers, havens,
creeks, and little seas,
And make a fortress
in the raging waves,
Fenc’d with the
concave of a monstrous rock,
Invincible by nature
of the place.
When this is done, then
are ye soldiers,
And worthy sons of Tamburlaine
the Great.
CALYPHAS. My lord,
but this is dangerous to be done;
We may be slain or wounded
ere we learn.
Tamburlaine.
Villain, art thou the son of Tamburlaine,
And fear’st to
die, or with a curtle-axe
To hew thy flesh, and
make a gaping wound?
Hast thou beheld a peal
of ordnance strike
A ring of pikes, mingled
with shot and horse,
Whose shatter’d
limbs, being toss’d as high as heaven,
Hang in the air as thick
as sunny motes,
And canst thou, coward,
stand in fear of death?
Hast thou not seen my
horsemen charge the foe,
Shot through the arms,
cut overthwart the hands,
Dying their lances with
their streaming blood,
And yet at night carouse
within my tent,
Filling their empty
veins with airy wine,
That, being concocted,
turns to crimson blood,
And wilt thou shun the
field for fear of wounds?
View me, thy father,
that hath conquer’d kings,
And, with his
host, march’d round about the earth,
Quite void of scars
and clear from any wound,
That by the wars lost
not a drop of blood,
And see him lance
his flesh to teach you all.
[He
cuts his arm.]
A wound is nothing,
be it ne’er so deep;
Blood is the god of
war’s rich livery.
Now look I like a soldier,
and this wound
As great a grace and
majesty to me,
As if a chair of gold
enamelled,
Enchas’d with
diamonds, sapphires, rubies,
And fairest pearl of
wealthy India,
Were mounted here under
a canopy,
And I sat down, cloth’d
with a massy robe
That late adorn’d
the Afric potentate,
Whom I brought bound
unto Damascus’ walls.
Come, boys, and with
your fingers search my wound,
And in my blood wash
all your hands at once,
While I sit smiling
to behold the sight.
Now, my boys, what think
ye of a wound?
CALYPHAS. I know
not what I should think of it;
methinks ’tis
a pitiful sight.
CELEBINUS. ’Tis
nothing. Give me a wound, father.
Amyras. And
me another, my lord.
Tamburlaine.
Come, sirrah, give me your arm.
CELEBINUS. Here,
father, cut it bravely, as you did your own.
Tamburlaine.
It shall suffice thou dar’st abide a wound;
My boy, thou shalt not
lose a drop of blood
Before we meet the army
of the Turk;
But then run desperate
through the thickest throngs,
Dreadless of blows,
of bloody wounds, and death;
And let the burning
of Larissa-walls,
My speech of war, and
this my wound you see,
Teach you, my boys,
to bear courageous minds,
Fit for the followers
of great Tamburlaine.
Usumcasane, now come,
let us march
Towards Techelles and
Theridamas,
That we have sent before
to fire the towns,
The towers and cities
of these hateful Turks,
And hunt that coward
faint-heart runaway,
With that accursed
traitor Almeda,
Till fire and sword
have found them at a bay.
Usumcasane.
I long to pierce his bowels with my sword,
That hath betray’d
my gracious sovereign,
That curs’d and
damned traitor Almeda.
Tamburlaine.
Then let us see if coward Callapine
Dare levy arms against
our puissance,
That we may tread upon
his captive neck,
And treble all his father’s
slaveries.
[Exeunt.]
Scene III.:
Enter
Techelles, Theridamas, and their train.
Theridamas.
Thus have we march’d northward from Tamburlaine,
Unto the frontier point
of Soria;
And this is Balsera,
their chiefest hold,
Wherein is all the treasure
of the land.
Techelles.
Then let us bring our light artillery,
Minions, falc’nets,
and sakers, to the trench,
Filling the ditches
with the walls’ wide breach,
And enter in to seize
upon the hold.
How say you, soldiers,
shall we not?
Soldiers. Yes, my lord,
yes; come, let’s about it.
Theridamas. But stay
a while; summon a parle, drum.
It may be they will yield it quietly,
Knowing two kings, the friends to Tamburlaine,
Stand at the walls with such a mighty power.
[A parley sounded. Captain
appears on the walls,
with Olympia his wife, and his son.]
Captain. What require
you, my masters?
Theridamas. Captain,
that thou yield up thy hold to us.
Captain. To you! why,
do you think me weary of it?
Techelles. Nay, captain,
thou art weary of thy life,
If thou withstand the friends of Tamburlaine.
Theridamas.
These pioners of Argier in Africa,
Even in the cannon’s
face, shall raise a hill
Of earth and faggots
higher than thy fort,
And, over thy argins
and cover’d ways,
Shall play upon the
bulwarks of thy hold
Volleys of ordnance,
till the breach be made
That with his ruin fills
up all the trench;
And, when we enter in,
not heaven itself
Shall ransom thee, thy
wife, and family.
Techelles.
Captain, these Moors shall cut the leaden pipes
That bring fresh water
to thy men and thee,
And lie in trench before
thy castle-walls,
That no supply of victual
shall come in,
Nor [any] issue forth
but they shall die;
And, therefore, captain,
yield it quietly.
Captain.
Were you, that are the friends of Tamburlaine,
Brothers of holy
Mahomet himself,
I would not yield it;
therefore do your worst:
Raise mounts, batter,
intrench, and undermine,
Cut off the water, all
convoys that can,
Yet I am resolute:
and so, farewell.
[Captain,
Olympia, and son, retire from the walls.]
Theridamas.
Pioners, away! and where I stuck the stake,
Intrench with those
dimensions I prescrib’d;
Cast up the earth towards
the castle-wall,
Which, till it may defend
you, labour low,
And few or none shall
perish by their shot.
Pioners.
We will, my lord.
[Exeunt
pioners.]
Techelles.
A hundred horse shall scout about the plains,
To spy what force comes
to relieve the hold.
Both we, Theridamas,
will intrench our men,
And with the Jacob’s
staff measure the height
And distance of the
castle from the trench,
That we may know if
our artillery
Will carry full point-blank
unto their walls.
Theridamas.
Then see the bringing of our ordnance
Along the trench into
the battery,
Where we will have gallions
of six foot broad,
To save our cannoneers
from musket-shot;
Betwixt which shall
our ordnance thunder forth,
And with the breach’s
fall, smoke, fire, and dust,
The crack, the echo,
and the soldiers’ cry,
Make deaf the air and
dim the crystal sky.
Techelles.
Trumpets and drums, alarum presently!
And, soldiers, play
the men; the hold is yours!
[Exeunt.]
Scene IV.:
Alarms
within. Enter the captain, with Olympia,
and his
son.
Olympia.
Come, good my lord, and let us haste from hence,
Along the cave that
leads beyond the foe:
No hope is left to save
this conquer’d hold.
Captain.
A deadly bullet, gliding through my side,
Lies heavy on my heart;
I cannot live:
I feel my liver pierc’d,
and all my veins,
That there begin and
nourish every part,
Mangled and torn, and
all my entrails bath’d
In blood that straineth
from their orifex.
Farewell, sweet wife!
sweet son, farewell! I die.
[Dies.]
Olympia.
Death, whither art thou gone, that both we live?
Come back again, sweet
Death, and strike us both!
One minute and our days,
and one sepulchre
Contain our bodies!
Death, why com’st thou not
Well, this must be the
messenger for thee:
[Drawing
a dagger.]
Now, ugly Death, stretch
out thy sable wings,
And carry both our souls
where his remains.
Tell me, sweet boy,
art thou content to die?
These barbarous Scythians,
full of cruelty,
And Moors, in whom was
never pity found,
Will hew us piecemeal,
put us to the wheel,
Or else invent some
torture worse than that;
Therefore die by thy
loving mother’s hand,
Who gently now will
lance thy ivory throat,
And quickly rid thee
both of pain and life.
Son. Mother,
despatch me, or I’ll kill myself;
For think you I can
live and see him dead?
Give me your knife,
good mother, or strike home:
The Scythians shall
not tyrannize on me:
Sweet mother, strike,
that I may meet my father.
[She
stabs him, and he dies.]
Olympia. Ah, sacred
Mahomet, if this be sin,
Entreat a pardon of the God of heaven,
And purge my soul before it come to thee!
[She burns the bodies of her husband
and son,
and then attempts to kill herself.]
Enter Theridamas, Techelles,
and all their train.
Theridamas. How now,
madam! what are you doing?
Olympia. Killing myself,
as I have done my son,
Whose body, with his father’s, I have burnt,
Lest cruel Scythians should dismember him.
Techelles. ’Twas bravely
done, and like a soldier’s wife.
Thou shalt with us to Tamburlaine the Great,
Who, when he hears how resolute thou wert,
Will match thee with a viceroy or a king.
Olympia.
My lord deceas’d was dearer unto me
Than any viceroy, king,
or emperor;
And for his sake here
will I end my days.
Theridamas.
But, lady, go with us to Tamburlaine,
And thou shalt see a
man greater than Mahomet,
In whose high looks
is much more majesty,
Than from the concave
superficies
Of Jove’s vast
palace, the empyreal orb,
Unto the shining bower
where Cynthia sits,
Like lovely Thetis,
in a crystal robe;
That treadeth Fortune
underneath his feet,
And makes the mighty
god of arms his slave;
On whom Death and the
Fatal Sisters wait
With naked swords and
scarlet liveries;
Before whom, mounted
on a lion’s back,
Rhamnusia bears a helmet
full of blood,
And strows the way with
brains of slaughter’d men;
By whose proud side
the ugly Furies run,
Hearkening when he shall
bid them plague the world;
Over whose zenith, cloth’d
in windy air,
And eagle’s wings
join’d to her feather’d breast,
Fame hovereth, sounding
of her golden trump,
That to the adverse
poles of that straight line
Which measureth the
glorious frame of heaven
The name of mighty Tamburlaine
is spread;
And him, fair lady,
shall thy eyes behold.
Come.
Olympia.
Take pity of a lady’s ruthful tears,
That humbly craves upon
her knees to stay,
And cast her body in
the burning flame
That feeds upon her
son’s and husband’s flesh.
Techelles.
Madam, sooner shall fire consume us both
Than scorch a face so
beautiful as this,
In frame of which Nature
hath shew’d more skill
Than when she gave eternal
chaos form,
Drawing from it the
shining lamps of heaven.
Theridamas.
Madam, I am so far in love with you,
That you must go with
us: no remedy.
Olympia.
Then carry me, I care not, where you will,
And let the end of this
my fatal journey
Be likewise end to my
accursed life.
Techelles.
No, madam, but the beginning of your joy:
Come willingly therefore.
Theridamas.
Soldiers, now let us meet the general,
Who by this time is
at Natolia,
Ready to charge the
army of the Turk.
The gold and silver,
and the pearl, ye got,
Rifling this fort, divide
in equal shares:
This lady shall have
twice so much again
Out of the coffers of
our treasury.
[Exeunt.]
Scene V.:
Enter
Callapine, Orcanes, the kings of
Jerusalem, Trebizon,
and
Soria, with their train, Almeda, and a messenger.
Messenger.
Renowmed emperor, mighty Callapine,
God’s great lieutenant
over all the world,
Here at Aleppo, with
an host of men,
Lies Tamburlaine, this
king of Persia,
(In number more than
are the quivering leaves
Of Ida’s forest,
where your highness’ hounds
With open cry pursue
the wounded stag,)
Who means to girt Natolia’s
walls with siege,
Fire the town, and over-run
the land.
Callapine.
My royal army is as great as his,
That, from the bounds
of Phrygia to the sea
Which washeth Cyprus
with his brinish waves,
Covers the hills, the
valleys, and the plains.
Viceroys and peers of
Turkey, play the men;
Whet all your
swords to mangle Tamburlaine,
His sons, his captains,
and his followers:
By Mahomet, not one
of them shall live!
The field wherein this
battle shall be fought
For ever term’d
the Persians’ sepulchre,
In memory of this our
victory.
Orcanes.
Now he that calls himself the scourge of Jove,
The emperor of the world,
and earthly god,
Shall end the warlike
progress he intends,
And travel headlong
to the lake of hell,
Where legions of devils
(knowing he must die
Here in Natolia by your
highness’ hands),
All brandishing their
brands of quenchless fire,
Stretching their monstrous
paws, grin with their teeth,
And guard the gates
to entertain his soul.
Callapine.
Tell me, viceroys, the number of your men,
And what our army royal
is esteem’d.
King of Jerusalem.
From Palestina and Jerusalem,
Of Hebrews three score
thousand fighting men
Are come, since last
we shew’d your majesty.
Orcanes.
So from Arabia Desert, and the bounds
Of that sweet land whose
brave metropolis
Re-edified the fair
Semiramis,
Came forty thousand
warlike foot and horse,
Since last we number’d
to your majesty.
King of Trebizon.
From Trebizon in Asia the Less,
Naturaliz’d Turks
and stout Bithynians
Came to my bands, full
fifty thousand more,
(That, fighting, know
not what retreat doth mean,
Nor e’er return
but with the victory,)
Since last we number’d
to your majesty.
King of Soria.
Of Sorians from Halla is repair’d,
And neighbour cities
of your highness’ land,
Ten thousand horse,
and thirty thousand foot,
Since last we number’d
to your majesty;
So that the army royal
is esteem’d
Six hundred thousand
valiant fighting men.
Callapine.
Then welcome, Tamburlaine, unto thy death!
Come, puissant viceroys,
let us to the field
(The Persians’
sepulchre), and sacrifice
Mountains of breathless
men to Mahomet,
Who now, with Jove,
opens the firmament
To see the slaughter
of our enemies.
Enter
tamburlaine with his three sons, CALYPHAS,
Amyras,
and
CELEBINUS; Usumcasane, and others.
Tamburlaine.
How now, Casane! see, a knot of kings,
Sitting as if they were
a-telling riddles!
Usumcasane.
My lord, your presence makes them pale and wan:
Poor souls, they look
as if their deaths were near.
Tamburlaine.
Why, so he is, Casane; I am here:
But yet I’ll save
their lives, and make them slaves.
Ye petty kings of Turkey,
I am come,
As Hector did into the
Grecian camp,
To overdare the pride
of Graecia,
And set his warlike
person to the view
Of fierce Achilles,
rival of his fame:
I do you honour in the
simile;
For, if I should, as
Hector did Achilles,
(The worthiest knight
that ever brandish’d sword,)
Challenge in combat
any of you all,
I see how fearfully
ye would refuse,
And fly my glove as
from a scorpion.
Orcanes.
Now, thou art fearful of thy army’s strength,
Thou wouldst with overmatch
of person fight:
But, shepherd’s
issue, base-born Tamburlaine,
Think of thy end; this
sword shall lance thy throat.
Tamburlaine.
Villain, the shepherd’s issue (at whose birth
Heaven did afford a
gracious aspect,
And join’d those
stars that shall be opposite
Even till the dissolution
of the world,
And never meant to make
a conqueror
So famous as is
mighty Tamburlaine)
Shall so torment thee,
and that Callapine,
That, like a roguish
runaway, suborn’d
That villain there,
that slave, that Turkish dog,
To false his service
to his sovereign,
As ye shall curse the
birth of Tamburlaine.
Callapine.
Rail not, proud Scythian: I shall now revenge
My father’s vile
abuses and mine own.
King of Jerusalem.
By Mahomet, he shall be tied in chains,
Rowing with Christians
in a brigandine
About the Grecian isles
to rob and spoil,
And turn him to his
ancient trade again:
Methinks the slave should
make a lusty thief.
Callapine.
Nay, when the battle ends, all we will meet,
And sit in council to
invent some pain
That most may vex his
body and his soul.
Tamburlaine. Sirrah Callapine,
I’ll hang a clog about your neck for running
away again: you shall not trouble me thus
to come and fetch you. But as for
you, viceroy, you shall have bits, And, harness’d
like my horses, draw my coach; And, when
ye stay, be lash’d with whips of wire:
I’ll have you learn to feed on provender,
And in a stable lie upon the planks.
Orcanes.
But, Tamburlaine, first thou shalt kneel to us,
And humbly crave a pardon
for thy life.
King of Trebizon.
The common soldiers of our mighty host
Shall bring thee bound
unto the general’s tent [.]
King of Soria.
And all have jointly sworn thy cruel death,
Or bind thee in eternal
torments’ wrath.
Tamburlaine.
Well, sirs, diet yourselves; you know I
shall have occasion
shortly to journey you.
CELEBINUS. See,
father, how Almeda the jailor looks upon us!
Tamburlaine.
Villain, traitor, damned fugitive,
I’ll make thee
wish the earth had swallow’d thee!
See’st thou not
death within my wrathful looks?
Go, villain, cast thee
headlong from a rock,
Or rip thy bowels, and
rent out thy heart,
T’ appease my
wrath; or else I’ll torture thee,
Searing thy hateful
flesh with burning irons
And drops of scalding
lead, while all thy joints
Be rack’d and
beat asunder with the wheel;
For, if thou liv’st,
not any element
Shall shroud thee from
the wrath of Tamburlaine.
Callapine.
Well, in despite of thee, he shall be king.
Come, Almeda; receive
this crown of me:
I here invest thee king
of Ariadan,
Bordering on Mare Roso,
near to Mecca.
Orcanes.
What! take it, man.
Almeda. [to Tamb.]
Good my lord, let me take it.
Callapine.
Dost thou ask him leave? here; take it.
Tamburlaine.
Go to, sirrah! take your crown, and make up
the half dozen.
So, sirrah, now you are a king, you must give
arms.
Orcanes.
So he shall, and wear thy head in his scutcheon.
Tamburlaine. No; let
him hang a bunch of keys on his standard, to
put him in remembrance he was a jailor, that, when
I take him, I may knock out his brains with them,
and lock you in the stable, when you shall come
sweating from my chariot.
King of Trebizon.
Away! let us to the field, that the villain
may be slain.
Tamburlaine.
Sirrah, prepare whips, and bring my chariot
to my tent; for, as
soon as the battle is done, I’ll ride
in triumph through the
camp.
Enter
Theridamas, Techelles, and their train.
How now, ye petty kings?
lo, here are bugs
Will make the hair stand
upright on your heads,
And cast your crowns
in slavery at their feet!
Welcome, Theridamas
and Techelles, both:
See ye this rout,
and know ye this same king?
Theridamas.
Ay, my lord; he was Callapine’s keeper.
Tamburlaine.
Well, now ye see he is a king. Look to him,
Theridamas, when we
are fighting, lest he hide his crown
as the foolish king
of Persia did.
King of Soria.
No, Tamburlaine; he shall not be put
to that exigent, I warrant
thee.
Tamburlaine.
You know not, sir.
But now, my followers
and my loving friends,
Fight as you ever did,
like conquerors,
The glory of this happy
day is yours.
My stern aspect
shall make fair Victory,
Hovering betwixt our
armies, light on me,
Loaden with laurel-wreaths
to crown us all.
Techelles.
I smile to think how, when this field is fought
And rich Natolia ours,
our men shall sweat
With carrying pearl
and treasure on their backs.
Tamburlaine.
You shall be princes all, immediately.
Come, fight, ye Turks,
or yield us victory.
Orcanes.
No; we will meet thee, slavish Tamburlaine.
[Exeunt
severally.]