Selected quad for the lemma: book_n
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A01840
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The tragedy of Orestes, vvritten by Thomas Goffe Master of Arts, and student of Christs Church in Oxford: and acted by the students of the same house
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Goffe, Thomas, 1591-1629.
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1633
(1633)
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STC 11982; ESTC S103295
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40,227
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68
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your Image stampt vpon the face This we must talke of now not what griefs past But of the ioy to come Aegyst. My Queen not well Now good Electra looke vnto your mother Clyt. riseth from the table Lucina be propitious to the birth Why will not now a young Aegystheus be As gratefull as an old Orestes was Thou times good lengthener age posterity Spread thy selfe still vpon Aegistheus line Helpe me to treasure vp antiquity And from Thyestes loyns let spring an heire Shall euer sit in great Thyestes chaire Exeunt SCEN. IV. Enter Pylades Orestes with his arme full of a dead mans bones and a Scull Pylad. Neare to this shady groue where neuer light Appeares but when 't is forced with som charm Canidia dwells in such a dusky place That the night goblins feare to come too neare it Here let vs knocke Orest. Nay Pylady see here O giue me leaue to descant on these bones This was my Fathers scull but who can know Whether it were some subiects scull or no Where be these Princely eyes commanding face The braue Maiesticke looke the Kingly grace Wher 's the imperious frowne the Godlike smile The gracefull tongue that spoke a souldiers stile Ha ha worms eate them could no princely looke No line of eloquence writ in this booke Command nor yet perswade the worms away Rebellious worms could a King beare no sway Iniurious worms what could no flesh serue But Kings for you By heauen you all shall sterue Had I but known 't what must my father make A feast for you O ye deuouring creatures Pyla. Now some Archilocus to helpe him make Vengefull Iambiques that would make these worms To burst themselues Passion must please It selfe by words griefe told it selfe doth ease Orest. You cowardly bones would you be thus vncloth'd By little crawling wormes by Ioue I neuer thought My Fathers bones could e're haue beene such cowards O you vngratefull wormes how haue you vs'd him See their ingratitude O ambitious creatures How they still domineere or'e a Kings carcasse Pyla. How could they thinke Orestes when thou cam'st to the crown That thou shouldst beare that these should eate thy father Orest. True Pylades should not I rend their maws Deuise some new tortures O most horrible treason That worms should come vnto a great Kings face And eate his eyes why I would vndertake But at one stampe to kill a thousand of 'em And I will kill these Stamps upon them Goe you Kings-eating creatures I will marre All your digestion Pylad. Alas where be his wits He stands declaming against senselesse worms And turnes more senslesse then the worms themselues Wher 's now the oracle you should consult The great Magician now the Centaurs thought Shall be example to all future yeers And now transcend Proserpina's inuention Ha hast thou found them out ha were they worms Orest O prethe laugh not at me me call her call her Pyl. knocks Whilst I stand gathering vp my Fathers bones His deare disiected bones O I remember here Ran the strong sinews twixt his knitting ioynts Here to this bone was ioyn'd his Princely arme Here stood the hand that bare this warlike shield And on this little ioynt was place't the head That Atlas-like bare vp the weight of Greece Here here betwixt these hollow yawning iaws Stood once a tongue which with one little word Could haue commanded thousand souls to death Good hands indure this your weighty taske And good eyes striue not to make moyst his bones With weeping teares What sin 's our Procustes euer could Haue hackt a King into such things as these Alas her 's euery part now so deform'd I know not which was his yet all was his Sound infernall Musique SCEN. V. Enter Canidia like an Enchauntresse Orest. PRotect vs O ye Ministers of Heauen Stand neare me my good Genius my soule hath lost His humane function at this hellish sight Can. Who is 't disturbs our caue what messenger Hath Pluto sent that would know ought from vs What are you speake Canidia cannot stay Pylad. Prompt vs some Ghost Great feare of earth and gouernesse of nature In whose deepe closet of that sacred heart Are written the characters of future Fate And what is done or what must be thou knowst Whose words make burning Acheron grow cold And Ioue leaue thundring when he heares thy name To thee we come O turne thy secret booke And looke whose names thou there shalt see inscrib'd For murderers reade or'e all the catalogue Vntill thou findest there engrauen those Which kild the King of Greece great Agamemnon Orest. Yes he that did owe these bones which worms haue eate It is not now one of the meaner sort That craues this boone but 't is the heire of Greece Heire onely now but to my Fathers graue I not command but my astonisht soule Entreats to know If in thy booke it be not yet put downe Command the Gods to vnlocke the gates of Heauen And fetch forth death command him to relate Who 't was put Agamemnon in his hands This is our businesse this great prophetesse Made vs approach to thy most hallowed cell Can. Ho ho ho I tell thee fond young Prince A lesser power thou mightst haue implor'd Which might haue vrg'd th' vnwilling fiends to this Our dire enchantments carry such a force That when the stars and influence of heauen Haue suckt the liuely bloud from out mens veyns I at my pleasure bring it backe againe I knew each houre in the Troian fight What Grecian or what Phrygian should die And fierce Achilles had no sooner pierc't Great Hectors side but fate did send me word Earth Sea deepe Chaos all the stony hills Will ope themselues to shew me prodigies Night will vnmaske her brow to let me see What blacke conceptions teeme within her wombe Orest. O then relate great Mistresse of thy Art The things we craue Can. What time of night is 't Pyl. Vpon the stroke of twelue Can. Straite when a cloudy Euen clappeth the Ayre And all light 's drench't in misty Acheron When the blacke palpherys of the full cheekt moone Haue got behinde this part a' th Hemispheare And darke Aldebor and is mounted high Into the fable Cassiopeias chaire And night ful mounted in her seat of iet Sits wrapt within a cabinet of clouds When serpents leaue to hisse no dragons yell No birds doe sing no harsh tun'd toads doe croake The Armenian Tyger and the rauenous woolfe Shall yeeld vp all their tyranny to sleepe And then none walke but hells disturbed spirits Children of night such as belong to me I 'll shew thee thy desire giue me these bones Orest. Here take them Mother vse them gently They were a Kings bones once O not so hard Can. Why senslesse boy dost thinke that I respect A Kings dead bones more then an other mans O they smell rankly I this sent doth please Smels to them But I must now to worke why Sagana Pylad. Looke here thou King of
loue thou knowst I neuer looke too sterne Vpon a fault that could aske lenity But this is so transcendant and so great It must not be slipt without impunity To doe a haynous murder and i' th court I' th place of Iustice where the King might heare Vpon a chiefe attendant of the Kings Murder it selfe is past all expiation The greatest crime that Nature doth abhorre Not being is abominable to her And when we be make others not to be 'T is worse then bestiall and we did not so When onely we by natures ayd did liue A Heterogenious kinde as semibeasts When reason challeng'd scarce a part in vs But now doth manhood and ciuility Stand at the bar of iustice and there plead How much the 'r wronged and how much defac't When man doth die his hands in blood of man Iudgement it selfe would scarce a law enact Against the murderer thinking it a fact That man 'gainst man would neuer dare commit Since the worst things of nature doe not it Orest. O how his words now raile against a sinne Which beat vpon his conscious thoughts within His tongue speakes faire his inparts looke on them And they like Iury-men himselfe condemne Pyl. But O great King if iustice must haue right Let me stand only guilty in thy sight Orest. No 't is not King 't was I that did the deed And for my action let no other bleed Aegyst. In troth this make my doome it cannot fall Will none of you confesse Strophius weeps Orest. Yes I confesse Pylad. No King 't is I confesse Aegyst. How now Lord Strophius what affect you so That makes your teares be wrayers of some passion Stroph. My gracious soueraigns this strange spectacle Renues the memory of my once great losse And my deare Queens we once were blest with two Which so had link'd themselues in bands of Loue As these men now doe seeme to me they haue One streame of loue did in two hearts so glide One with the other liu'd with other dide And would my Queene be my competitor For our sons sake my suits should ioyne with her Since Iustice craues but one and both will goe Euen saue them both and right wrong iustice so Clytem. I good my loue let iustice come and looke If she can finde in all her statute booke Two men for the same crime should rightly die She will not say so iustice cannot lie And since they both will die let ones loue saue The others life and so both life shall haue Agam. In troth my Queen and my old Lord haue mou'd Well since your loues are both so strongly tide And friendship like an old acquaintance sends To her friend Iustice that she should be milde And looks with eyes of mercy on your fault Considering our immunity proclaim'd And such petitioners as you both haue got Death in our sentence now shall haue no part Whilst who should haue done worst confession striues Too much confession thus saues two mens liues But now we must demand what you made here What busines or condition you professe Pylad. Great King our duty owes to thee our liues And were we men that striu'd to set a cloud Before these gifts Art hath instructed vs Or we haue purchac't at a most deare rate Of cost and labour yet thy clemency Commands vs to lay open all to thee Yet for my selfe I rather count my state Blest that I lighted on this happy man Whose accurate and watchfull indagation Hath taught him for to heale the wounds of Nature By his exceeding skill in wholesome hearbs One that when I did thinke my thred of life Had beene quite cut did tie it vp againe And make it last recald my youthfull dayes And made me Aeson-like becom thus yong For which great practises I did owe my life And thence proceeded our late pious strife Aeg. Nay then I 'me glad our mercy did extend On men whom such rare vertues doe commend Or loue shall then grow greater and our court Shall entertaine you and 't may chance we will My queene and I make triall of your skill Orest. My gracious soueraigne words must not haue wings To passe and out-flye the bounds of truth Onely to win the Elixar of opinion But for my friend doth here professe so much And for my life doe stand so deeply bound That all my Art can ne're make recompence Please but your graces selfe and your deare queen Appoint the secrets of the safest roome To let me shew my selfe to none but you Though Nature dried vp with too much time Deny to spring in fruite from forth your loynes Or any other strange impediment Or Art preserues from sicknesse ruining And 't will be blest to shew it to a King Aegyst. Ha prethee let me speake with thee apart Thou strik'st on tunes now make me glad to heare We will commit our secresie to thee Cans't water barren wombs with such a dew Shall make 'em florish and wax green with fruit Although we cannot altogether blame That Nature hath been too vnkind to vs Yet we would plant each corner of our Realme With springing branches of our royall selfe To compasse in our selues and we stand in the midst Kings in their children doe great blessing finde And great men loue to propagate their kind Orest. Great Soueraigne boasting words shall ne're outweigh The things I will performe I speake not fame But what I first haue said I 'll doe the same Aegyst. We like thy temper well and we will trust Therefore this night we will appoint it so Thou shalt be guided to our secretst roome And there shalt vse thy skill which if it take Or loue shall honour thee for Physicks sake Exeunt Aegyst Clyt. Tind Orest. Good heauens I thanke you your effectuall power Hath shewed your iustice in this blessed houre They take Str. and Elect. back Now is occasion put thus murder layes The trap wherein it selfe it selfe betrayes Pyl. Old Lord a word with you Orest. and with you Lady Pyl. Had not you once a Son lou'd the young Prince Stop Yes Sir but Fates enuied my happines And holds both Prince and Son away too long Orest. And had not you a brother Lady once When heard you of him last he went trauell Elect. In truth I had but I can heare no news They discouer themselues Stro. O see my son welcome my dearest boy Elect. Our brother our Orestes is come home Stroph. 'T is they indeed O how my blood reuiues Let me embrace them O ye 'r welcome home Now is the Autumne of our sorrow done Elect. What silent place hath smothered you so long Of what great power haue you counsaile ta'ne Concerning the great plot you had in hand Orest. Vncle and sister we must not stand now Embracing much and bidding welcome home You see before I come how things doe stand My busines hastens and my friend and I Haue yet a greater proiect to performe Onely Electra we must haue your ayde To helpe with