with scowling eyes doth leare See see Oh Ioue how fast he throwes his Darts Not one he spares But al coÌ„fownds His thretning force with stand no Creature dares No doubt the lothesom Feryman the synful soules that traines Through stincking fluds his labour loths that he for vs sustaynes Such presse by plumps to him is made which still renews his paynes But harke yet moÌ„sters more theÌ„ these the fame abroade dothe flie That hellishe dogges w t Bawling sound were herd to howle cry And y t the ground w t treÌ„bling shooke and vnder fete dyd moue And dredfull blasing Comets bright were seen in Skies aboue And gastly shapes of men besydes to wander on the grounde And wood and trees on euery syde Dyd fearfully resounde Besids all this strauÌ„ge ghosts were seen in places wher they stode And ryuers more then one or two that ran all blacke goord blud O cruell plage O vile disease far worse then spedy death O we vnhappye thrise and more who do prolonge our breath In thease accursed dayes and tymes But harke to me a while When first this lothsom plage begins these mysers to defyle It takes them thus A fearfull Cold through al their bones doth run And Cold and Heate together mixt their sences all benome Than litel lothesom markes appeare and all their bodies spotte And al the members flaming glows and burning fast do rot The Lights the Lungs the hart the Gutts and all that in ward liâ—s And all the secret partes Iscorcht with dedly fier fries The bloud al clotterd in their cheks in cluster lies by lumps And it and heat together makes great straunge and ruddy bumps And blud and flesh congeled stands in face as stiffe as stake And â—yes in hed fast fixed set and often tricklyng make And down apace whole fluds they steame and clots drops do tril And al the skin from of their face by flakes and scales doth pill A thousand fearful sounds at once into their eares do rush And lothsom blud out of their nose by stilling streames doth gush The very anguish of their hart doth cause them for to shake And what w t Payn Heat Feare their weried lyms do quake Then som the roÌ„ning Riuers haunt and some on ground do wallow And some agayn their thirst to sâ—ake cold water gulping swallow Thus all our country tost w t Plage in Grief it waltering lies And stil desiring for to dy A thousand deathes iâ— dyes But God them then to hear is prest And death to none denies Besides all this the churche som do frequent but not to pray But only for to glut the Gods with that that they do saye But who is this y t comes from Court in hast with posting pace What is it Creon that Noble bloud comended for his grace Of all that lyue Or doth my crased minde opprest thinges false for true conceyue Tis Creon long desired for His sight doth me releyue ¶ The second Acte The first Sceane Oedipus Creon Oedipus FOr feare my body chilles alas and tremblinge all I stande Inquaking dred I seke toile these mischiefes to with stande But all in vayn I labour I it wil not bee I see As longe as meare repugnaunts thus together mâ—xed bee My mynd desirous still Oh god the truth for so vnfold With doutfull Dred is daunted so that it can scante vp hold It self O brother deare if eny meanes or waye of health thou knowe Declare it out and sticke not nowe the truth to me to showe Creon Syr if it pleas your noble grace the aunswers hidden lies Oedipus Who doutful helth to sick meÌ„ brings all health to them denies Creon Appolloes vse it is the trueth with darksom shades to duske Oedipus And Oedipus of gods it hath things doutfull to discus Creon Speke out and spare not man The mightie God comaundes To purge the Princes seat forthâ—ith and that strayght out of hande That villayn vile requited be with plages and vengeance due Who firce with blody handes of late my brother LaÃus slue Before that this performed be no hope of mylder ayer Wherfore do this O king or els of hope and healthe dispaier Oedipus Durst eny man on yearth attempt that noble prince to slaye Shewe me y e slaue that I may him dispatche out of the way Creon God graunte the sight be good Alasâ— the heringe is to terrible My sences all amased stand it is a thinge so horrible That I abhore to speke my mynde Oh god for feare I quake And euen at the very thought my lyms begin to shake Assoone as I Appollos Churche had entred in afrayde Upon my face flat down I faul And thus to him I prayd Oh God if euer thou didest rue on wretched misers state Yf euer men opprest thou easd or didst theyr cares abate If euer thou in present Nede didst present Helpe declare If euer thou afflicted Harts with Cares consumd didst spare Now shew thy dredful force O God shew now thy mighty pore Scant had I sayd Resownding all the mountayns thundring rore And filthy Feends spoute out their flames out of their darksom caues And woods do quake Hils do moue and vp the surging waues Do mount vnto the skies aloft And I amased stand Stil lokyng for an awnswere at Appollos sacred hand When out with ruffled hear disguisd the Prophet coms at last And when that she had felt the heat of mighty Phebus blast All puffyng out she swels in rage and pattring still she raues And scante she entred had into Appollos shinyng caues WheÌ„ out a thuÌ„dâ—ing voice doth brust Thats far aboue mans reache So dredful semed then to me the mighty Phâ—buâ— speach Than thus he spake thus at length into myne ears he rusht While sprawling still y e Prophet lay before the doores in dust The Thebane Citiâ— neuer shall be free from Plagues quoth he Except from thence the Kyng queller forthwith expulsed be Vnto Apollo knowen he was or euer he was borne Do this or els no hope of hâ—alth to this the Gâ—ds haue sworne Aud as for hym he shall not long in quiâ—t â—â—atâ— endure But with hymselfe wage Warre he shall and Warre he shall procure Vnto his Children deare And creâ—pe agayne he shall into his Mothers wombâ— Oâ—dâ—pus Loke what y e gods comauÌ„ded hauâ— accomplished shalbe Nor neuer shal these eyes of mine abide the daye to see A kinge of kingdom spoild by force by guile and craft supprest A kinge to kinges the prop ought be and chiefest cause of rest No man regardes his death at all whom lyuinge he doth feare Creon Gret cause maks me my princes death concele and closely beare Oâ—pipus In mynde Creon Ought enye cause of feare or griefe thy dutie for to let The thretening of the Prophesies do still my brest beset Oedâ—pus As gods haue wild vs for this mischiefe mends now let vs make If eny waye or meanes there be their suries for to slake Thou God
oâ— y e wysest lytle esteaming the preiudiciall mouthes of suche carping Marchauntes whiche suffre no mennes doynges almoste to scape vndefyled In fyne I beseche all togyther yf so it myght be to beare with my rudenes and consydre the grosenes of oure owne CouÌ„trey language whiche can by no means aspire to the hyghe lofty Latinists Stile Myne onely entent was to exhorte men to embrace Uertue and shun Uice Accordynge to that of the ryght famous and excellent Poet Virgyl Discite iusticiam moniti non temnere diuos This obtayned I holde my selfe throughlye contented In the meane season I ende wyshyng all men to flie Sin the present Path waye to perfect Infelycitie Farewell ¶ The names of the Speakers of this Tragedie Oedipus Chorus Tiresias Senex Iocasta Creon Manto Pâ—orbas Nuntius ¶ The fyrste Acte Oedipus Iocasta Oedipus THe night is gon dredful day begins at length to appeare And Lucifer beset w t Clowds hymself aloft doth reare And gliding forth with heauy hewe A dolful blase doth beare in Skyes Now shal the houses voide be sene with Plagues deuoured quight And slaughter y t the night hath made shall daye brynge forth to lyght Doth any man in Princely throâ—e reioyce O bryttle Ioye How many ills how faire a face and yet how muche annoye In the doth lurke and hidden lies what heapes of endles stryfe They iudge amys y t deame y e Prince to haue the happy lyfe For as the mountayns houge and hie the blustryng windes withstand And craggy Rocks the bâ—lâ—hing fluds do dash and beate fro land Though that the seas in quiâ—t are and nought at all do fome So kingdoms great submytted lye to Fortunes doulfull Dome How well shund I my father deare Pâ—lybus scepters late Exildeâ— bereft of carfull feare in Pilgrims happy state I call the Gods to witnes heare and â—â—ars that glyde in skies A kingdom is befauln to me I feare lest hereof rise A mischiefe mighty Ioue to great I feare alas I feare Lest these my handes haue spoyld the lyfe of the my father deare Appollo byds me this beware and yet a mischiefe more Foretelles Can eny greater be then this I told before Of father slayn by sonnes owne hand My shyuering lyms do shake And all amased quaking stand at this vnhappie Fate I am asshamed my desâ—nies fowle at large to thunder out And openly to blase my feare my dredfull minde doth doubt Yet out it goes Phebuâ— me bids my mothers beds to fly As though that I hyr sonne w t hyr incestuouslie shuld ly This feare and only this my dryues from fathers kingdoms great Not lyke a wanderyng Uacabounde the wayes vnknowen I beate But all mystrustâ—ull of my selfe thy lawes O Nature for to keape I sought the meanes Yet feare I stil and fear into my mynde doth creape Though cause of Dread not one I sâ— yet feare and dread I all And scante in credit with my self I seke my fatal fall By Dome of doulful Destinies For what shuld I suppose the cause A Plage that is so generall And Cadmus countrie wholy spoiles and spreds it self thorough all Shuld vs amongest so houge a heap of plaged Bodyes spare And we alone amongst the rest reserued to myschiefes are O heuy hap And byde we still alone the spoyle to see Of Cites great of men of beasts by plage that wasted be And thou amongst so many yls a happy lyfe to lead Couldste once perâ—wade thy selfe O wretch without al fear or dread Of Phebus secret Iudgements to and that in kynges estate Thou thou infected hast the ayre in suche a fylthye rate Thou art the onely cause of woe by the these euils ryse By the to graue on suche a sorte this wretched people plies The fyry flaming frieng heate afflicted harts that wastes Is not relyued as wont it was by cold and pleasaunt blastes The gentle westerne windes haue left with helthful puffes to blow And now the fyery Dog with blase of boylynge heate doth glow The Sonne in Leo burns so hote and so the earth doth broyle That fluds and herbes are dried vp and nought remaynes but soyle So throughly schorcht and stued with heate that moisture all is gon And now amongst so may fluds remaynes alas not one The places drye are only sene the streames are dronken vp And water that doth yet abyde the sokyng Earth doth sup The Moone with clowds quight ouer cast all sadly forth she glides And dolfull darksom shades of night the whole worlde ouerhides No Star on hygh at all doth shyne but all the Skies are couered With blacke and hellyke hewe mistie stenche quight ouershadowed The corne that wonted was to growe and frutefully to spring Nowe to the voided Barnes nought els but emptie stalkes doth bring No part of all our kingdome is fre from Destruction But all together ronne and rush to vtter confusion The olde men with the yong alas the father with the childe The plage consumes both man wife all beastes both â—ame and wylde Are spoyled by the Pestylence No pompe at all remaynes That wonted was in Funeralles to ease the mourners paynes Alas this spoile of people made by Plage hath dryed myn eyes And secretly within my brest the griâ—fit boyling fryes And that that wonted is to hap in most exâ—remâ—st ylls My teares are dry and glutting grief my wretched brest it fills The crased father bears the sonns vnto theyr dampish graues And after him with burden lyke the mother comes and raues And euen lamentyng as they stand starcke ded downe both they fall And mourners new in like estate for them and theirs they call Who likwyse in the mydst of all their toyle and paynfull payne Do drop into the graue they digd and so the place do gayn That was prepared for others erst A tombe is made for Noble men fast on the people hyes And in their burdeÌ„s â—ling Nobility all vnregarded lyes For lacke of graues theyr bodyes all to ashes they do wast And so half burnt they leue theÌ„ ther. and home away for hast They runâ— more they fetcheâ— theÌ„ fier wood graue and all Doth want And down for very griefe the wretched misâ—rs fall No prayers auailâ— No Arte can help this raging Plâ—ge tappease For none almost is left alyue eche others grief to ease Before thine aulters here O God my feble hands I hould Requiring all my destinies at once with corage bold And that by death I may preuent my Country prest to fall For this and only this O God Upon thy name I call Let me not be the last that dies The last that goes to Graue GrauÌ„t this then O mighty loue My full request I â—aue O cruell Gods vnkynd O more than thrise vnhappy â—ates That only me denied is that lightes on all estates I meane a spedy death alas these euyls to preuent Leaue of thy blubberyng teares flye these kingdoms foyld O foole With rotten plages and botches vyle and graues eche where
Ghosts are herd to cry And whyther long of Acheron that lothsom Flud that flowes All stynkyng streames or of y â— earth that out her Bowels throwes Dead Corpses to receyue Or of that fyerce infernall Hownd That at suche tymes doth bustlyng make w t chayns ratlyng sownd The Earth all wide it open gapes And I did se on grownd The Gods with colour pale and wan that those darke kingdoms keepe And very night I saw in dede And thousand shapes to creepe From out those fylthy stynkyng lakes and lothsom pits of Hell Where all the eâ—yls vnder Son in darksom shades do dwell So quaking all for feare I stoode with mynd ryght sore apalde Whilst on those Gods w t tremblyng mouth the Priest full often calde Who all at once out of theyr dennes did skip with griesly face And MoÌ„sters grim stinging snakes seemd wander in that place And all the fowlest Feends of Hell and Furies all were there And al traÌ„sformed Ghosts sprights that euer Hell did beare With Cares and all Diseases vyle that mortall mynds do crush All those and more I sawe out of those Dongeons deepe to rush And Age I sawe with ryfled face and Nede and Feare and Death And Fyre and flames thousand yls out fro those Pyts to breath Then I was gon and quight amazd The wenche in worser cas And yet of old acquaynted with her Fathers Artes she was The Priest hymself vnmoued stood and boldly cited owt Whole Armies of kyng Ditis men who clustryng in a Rowt Al flittring thin like Clowds disperst abrode in Ayre do flye And breathing oft w t dyuers formes do scud aboue in Skie A thousand woods I thinke haue not so many leaues on trees Ten thousaÌ„d medowes fresh haue not so many swarmyng Bees Ten hundred thousand Hils haue not so many flakes of Snow Nor all the drops streames gulffs that in the Seas do flow Yf that they myght be wayd can once so great a number make As could those shapes forms y t flew from out of Limbo lake Both Tanâ—alus and Zetus to and pale Amphions Ghost And Aâ—â—uâ— and after her ten thousand Sprights do post Than Pentiâ—eus and more and more in lyke estate ensue Tyll out at length coms Laâ—us with fowle and griesly hue All perst w t wounds I loth to speake with blud quight ouergrown Uncomly drest in wretched plight with head styll hangyng down A Miser ryght as seemd to me and most of Misers all Thus in this case at length he spake and thus began to call O Cadmus cruell Cytie vile that styll delighâ—st in blood O Cadmus thou which kinsmens deth acowntst as chiefest good Teare out the bluddy Bowels of your Chyldren Learne of me Do that rathâ—r more than you wold byde the daye to se. Like yls as late on me are lyght Loe Mothers loue Alas Is now the ryfest fault outryght that ere in Theba was The CouÌ„trye with the wrath of gods at this tyme is not tost Nor Earth nor Ayre infect is not the cause that all ben lost No. No. A bluddy kyng is cause of all these mischifes greate A bluddy wretche A wretched Child that sits in Fathers Seate And Mothers bed defyles O wretch and entreth in agayn In places whence he came froÌ„ once and doubleth so her payne And that that very Beasts almost do all abhorre to do Euen of his Mothers body he hath brothers gotten too O myschief great O dredful dede than Sphinx O Monster more Example vnto Ages all of Gods foretolde before But I thee thee y e Scepter holdst thy Father wyll pursue And wreke my selfe on the and thyne with fearefull vengeaunce due All raging Plagues all Botches vile I wyll vpon the blowe And all the fowlest Feends of Hell vpon the I wyll throwe I wyll subuert thy Houses cleane for this thy lothsom lust I wyll do this thou wretche And the and thyne consume to dust Wherfore dispatche at once I saye into exyle dryue your Kyng That grouÌ„d that fyrst of all he leaues with fresh greene grasse shal spryng And sweâ—e and pleasaunt Ayre and healthfull blasts shall blow And all the euyls vnder the Son that beastly slaue shall folow The Poks y e Piles y e Botch y e blane and Death with hym shall flye And with hym mischiefs all shall pas and Monsters vnder Skye And as for hym I know he wold depart with wyllyng mynd But I wyll clog his feete and hands his way he shall not fynd But groping with his aged staffe shall passe from place to place This shall he do And none shall rue vpon his wretched case Ryd you hym from the yearth in timâ— for Heauen let me alone No sooner sayd buâ— strayght away his dreadfull Ghost was gone And fast by thousands after hym thother Sprights in hyde Than Cold tremblyng feare began through all my bones to glyde Oedipus That that I alwayes feard alas vpon me now is layde But slender props thei are God wot wherby your Treason is stayde Merâ—pa my Mother deare shall me from this defende And Polibus shall purge me quight from Actions all that tend To muder or to incest vile they both shall me excuse In suche a case no meanes at all of tryall I refuse Laye what you can vnto my charge No fault in me remayns The Thebanes long or I cam here of Laâ—us death complayns My mother yet alyue my Father styll in lyke estate No no this is som doâ—â—ysh dryfâ— of you false Prophets pate Or els som mighty God aboue doth beare vs no good wyll And sekes by Plages on vs to wreke his wrathfull vengeaunce styll A syr I am glad at length I smell your dryfts and fetches fyne I know the whole confedrats well your sleyghts I can vntwyne That beastly Priest That blearcyed wretch be lyes the Gods and me And thee thou Traytour in my place hath promyst kyng to be Crâ—on Alas wold I my syster of her lawfull kyngdom spoyle Thinke you suche Treason may haue place in brothers brest to boyle Yf that myne Oth could me not kepe content with my degree But that contemnyng meane estate I wold clime aloft to be Yet should yll Fortune me deterre from suche attempts I trowe Whose guyse it is on Princes heads houge heapes of Cares to throwe I wold aduyse you syr betymesâ— this charge from you to threst Least lyngryng long w t it at length vnwares ye be opprest Assure your selfe in baser state more safer you may lyue And shun a thousand Cares Griefs whiche Princes Harts do ryâ—e Oâ—d And dost thou me exhorte thou slaue my kyngdoms for to leaue Darst thoâ— attempt thou vyllayn vile this thyng to me to breake And fearst thou not in suche a case so boldly for to speake Creon Thynk you I wold them so perswade whiche freely myght posses Theyr Realmes Or those y t nede not fear least cares should theÌ„ oppres But as for you of force you must