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The Works of Christopher Marlowe

Tamburlaine Part 2

Act: 1 Scene: 3- -

[Enter]Tamburlaine with Zenocrate, and his three sonnes, Calyphas, Amyras, and Celebinus, with drummes and trumpets.

Tamburlaine

Now, bright Zenocrate, the worlds faire eie,

Whose beames illuminate the lamps of heaven,

Whose cheerful looks do cleare the clowdy aire

And cloath it in a christall liverie,

Now rest thee here on faire Larissa Plaines,

Where Egypt and the Turkish Empire parts,

Betweene thy sons that shall be Emperours,

And every one Commander of a world.

Zenoocrate

Sweet Tamburlain, when wilt thou leave these armes

And save thy sacred person free from scathe:

And dangerous chances of the wrathfull war?

Tamburlaine

When heaven shal cease to moove on both the poles

And when the ground wheron my souldiers march

Shal rise aloft and touch the horned Moon,

And not before, my sweet Zenocrate:

Sit up and rest thee like a lovely Queene.

So, now she sits in pompe and majestie:

When these my sonnes, more precious in mine eies

Than all the wealthy kingdomes I subdewed:

Plac'd by her side, looke on their mothers face.

But yet me thks irinthe looks are amorous,

Not martiall as the sons of Tamburlaine .

Water and ayre being simbolisde in one,

Argue their want of courage and of wit:

Their haire as white as milke and soft as Downe,

Which should be like the quilles of Porcupines,

As blacke as Jeat, and hard as Iron or steel,

Bewraies they are too dainty for the wars.

Their fingers made to quaver on a Lute,

Their armes to hang about a Ladies necke:

Their legs to dance and caper in the aire:

Would make me thinke them Bastards, not my sons,

But that I know they issued from thy wombe,

That never look'd on man but Tamburlaine.

Zenocrate

My gratious Lord, they have their mothers looks,

But when they list, their conquering fathers hart:

This lovely boy the yongest of the three,

Not long agoe bestrid a Scythian Steed:

Trotting the ring, and tilting at a glove:

Which when he tainted with his slender rod,

He raign'd him straight and made him so curves,

As I cried out for feare he should have falne.

Tamburlaine

Wel done my boy, thou shalt have shield and lance,

Armour of proofe, horse, helme, and Curtle-axe,

And I will teach thee how to charge thy foe,

And harmelesse run among the deadly pikes.

If thou wilt love the warres and follow me,

Thou shalt be made a King and raigne with me,

Keeping in yron cages Emperours.

If thou exceed thy elder Brothers worth,

And shine in compleat vertue more than they,

Thou shalt be king before them, and thy seed

Shall issue crowned from their mothers wombe.

Celebinus

Yes father, you shal see me if I live,

Have under me as many kings as you,

And martch with such a multitude of men,

As all the world shall tremble at their view.

Tamburlaine

These words assure me boy, thou art my sonne,

When I am old and cannot mannage armes,

Be thou the scourge and terrour of the world.

Amyras

Why may not I my Lord, as wel as he,

Be tearm'd the scourge and terrour of the world?

Tamburlaine

Be al a scourge and terror to the world,

Or els you are not sons of Tamburlaine.

Calyphas

But while my brothers follow armes my lord,

Let me accompany my gratious mother,

They are enough to conquer all the world

And you have won enough for me to keep.

Tamburlaine

Bastardly boy, sprong from some cowards loins,

And not the issue of great Tamburlaine :

Of all the provinces I have subdued

Thou shalt not have a foot, unlesse thou beare

A mind corragious and invincible:

For he shall weare the crowne of Persea,

Whose head hath deepest scarres, whose breast most woundes,

Which being wroth, sends lightning from his eies,

And in the furrowes of his frowning browes,

Harbors revenge, war, death and cruelty:

For in a field whose superficies

Is covered with a liquid purple veile,

And sprinkled with the braines of slaughtered men,

My royal chaire of state shall be advanc'd:

And he that meanes to place himselfe therein

Must armed wade up to the chin in blood.

Zenocrate

My Lord, such speeches to our princely sonnes,

Dismaies their minces before they come to proove

The wounding troubles angry war affoords.

Celebinus

No Madam, these are speeches fit for us,

For if his chaire were in a sea of blood,

I would prepare a ship and saile to it,

Ere I would loose the tytle of a king.

Amyras

And I would strive to swim through pooles of blood,

Or make a bridge of murthered Carcases,

Whose arches should be fram'd with bones of Turks,

Ere I would loose the tytle of a king.

Tamburlaine

Wel lovely boies, you shal be Emperours both,

Stretching your conquering armes from east to west:

And sirha, if you meane to weare a crowne,

When we shall meet the Turkish Deputie

And all his Viceroies, snatch it from his head,

And cleave his Pericranion with thy sword.

Calyphas

If any man will hold him, I will strike,

And cleave him to the channell with my sword.

Tamburlaine

Hold him, and cleave him too, or Ile cleave thee,

For we will martch against them presently.

Theridamas, Techelles, and Casane

Promist to meet me on Larissa plaines

With hostes apeece against this Turkish crue,

For I have sworne by sacred Mahomet,

To make it parcel of my Empery.

The trumpets sound, Zenocrate, they come.

EnterTheridamas, and his traine with Drums and Trumpets.

Tamburlaine

Welcome Theridamas, king of Argier.

Theridamas

My Lord the great and mighty Tamburlain,

Arch-Monarke of the world, I offer here,

My crowne, my selfe, and all the power I have,

In all affection at thy kingly feet.

Tamburlaine

Thanks good Theridamas.

Theridamas

Under my collors march ten thousand Greeks,

And of Argier and Affriks frontier townes

Twise twenty thousand valiant men at armes,

All which have sworne to sacke Natolia:

Five hundred Briggandines are under saile,

Meet for your service on the sea, my Lord,

That ranching from Argier to Tripoly,

Will quickly ride before Natolia:

And batter downe the castles on the shore.

Tamburlaine

Wel said Argier, receive thy crowne againe.

Enter Techelles and Usumcasane together.

Tamburlaine

Kings of Morocus and of Fesse, welcome.

Usumcasane

Magnificent and peerlesse Tamburlaine,

I and my neighbor King of Fesse have brought

To aide thee in this Turkish expedition,

A hundred thousand expert souldiers:

From Azamor to Tunys neare the sea,

Is Barbary unpeopled for thy sake,

And all the men in armour under me,

Which with my crowne I gladly offer thee.

Tamburlaine

Thanks king of Morocus, take your crown again.

Techelles

And mighty Tamburlaine, our earthly God,

Whose lookes make this inferiour world to quake,

I here present thee with the crowne of Fesse,

And with an hoste of Moores trainde to the war,

Whose coleblacke faces make their foes retire,

And quake for feare, as if infernall Jove

Meaning to aid thee in this Turkish armes,

Should pierce the blacke circumference of hell,

With ugly Furies bearing fiery flags,

And millions of his strong tormenting spirits:

From strong Tesella unto Biledull,

All Barbary is unpeopled for thy sake.

Tamburlaine

Thanks king of Fesse, take here thy crowne again.

Your presence (loving friends and fellow kings)

Makes me to surfet in conceiving joy.

If all the christall gates of Joves high court

Were opened wide, and I might enter in

To see the state and majesty of heaven,

It could not more delight me than your sight.

Now will we banquet on these plaines a while,

And after martch to Turky with our Campe,

In number more than are the drops that fall

When Boreas rents a thousand swelling cloudes,

And proud Orcanes of Natolia,

With all his viceroies shall be so affraide,

That though the stones, as at Deucalions flood,

Were turnde to men, he should be overcome:

Such lavish will I make of Turkish blood,

That Jove shall send his winged Messenger

To bid me sheath my sword, and leave the field:

The Sun unable to sustaine the sight,

Shall hide his head in Thetis watery lap,

And leave his steeds to faire Boetes charge:

For halfe the world shall perish in this fight:

But now my friends, let me examine ye,

How have ye spent your absent time from me?

Usumcasane

My Lord, our men of Barbary have martcht

Foure hundred miles with armour on their backes,

And laine in leagre fifteene moneths and more,

For since we left you at the Souldans court,

We have subdude the Southerne Guallatia,

And all the land unto the coast of Spaine .

We kept the narrow straight of Gibralter,

And made Canarea cal us kings and Lords,

Yet never did they recreate themselves,

Or cease one day from war and hot alarms,

And therefore let them rest a while my Lord.

Tamburlaine

They shal Casane, and tis time yfaith.

Techelles

And I have martch'd along the river Nile ,

To Machda, where the mighty Christian Priest

Caltd John the great, sits in a milk-white robe,

Whose triple Myter I did take by force,

And made him sweare obedience to my crowne.

From thence unto Cazates did I martch,

Wher Amazonians met me in the field:

With whom (being women) I vouchsaft a league,

And with my power did march to Zansibar ,

The Westerne part of Affrike, where I view'd

The Ethiopian sea, rivers and lakes:

But neither man nor child in al the land:

Therfore I tooke my course to Manico :

Where unresisted I remoov'd my campe.

And by the coast of Byather at last,

I came to Cubar, where the Negros dwell,

And conquering that, made haste to Nubia,

There having sacks Borno the Kingly seat,

I took the king, and lead him bound in chaines

Unto Damasco, where I staid before.

Tamburlaine

Well done Techelles: what saith Theridamas?

Theridamas

I left the confines and the bounds of Affrike

And made a voyage into Europe ,

Where by the river Tyros I subdew'd

Stoka, Padalia, and Codemia.

Then cross the sea and came to Oblia ,

And Nigra Silva, where the Devils dance,

Which in despight of them I set on fire:

From thence I cross the Gulfe, call'd by the name

Mare magiore, of th'inhabitantes:

Yet shall my souldiers make no period

Untill Natolia kneele before your feet.

Tamburlaine

Then wil we triumph, banquet and carouse,

Cookes shall have pensions to provide us cates,

And glut us with the dainties of the world,

Lachrima Christi and Calabrian wines

Shall common Souldiers drink in quafling boules,

I, liquid golde when we have conquer'd him,

Mingled with corrall and with orient pearle:

Come let us banquet and carrouse the whiles.

Exeunt.

Nav.