I therefore beg you to accept It is true commâ—n Dedicators have brought this sort of Addresses into as much contempt as common Evidences have done Swearing The true and first intent of 'em was Sacred A Dedication ought to be a little Chappel Consecrated to the Memory of some Friend of Worth and a Repository of Holy Reliques Now 't is become like the Temple Church a place where Knights of the Post ply that are ready to say any thing for any one But I have kept a better Reputation in the World you will come amongst good company There are few Names fixt before my Writings but may serve like the Phenix's on the Front of our new Buildings for marks of Insurance and might insure 'em were it possible But I come to you with no such foolish design For how ridiculous and unreasonable is it to desire another to defend my impertinence An office no wise Man will undertake and the greatest Man that is cannot perform My Writings when they are out of my hand are no longer mine the World pays for 'em and will manage 'em as they please All care of 'em is vain therefore I take none My Honesty no Man shall dispose of but myself 'T is to preserve that and not my Writings I beg your leave for this Address and I wou'd not accept your leave if it wou'd cost me any flattery You have liv'd in the last Court and this with great Reputation Have approv'd yourself to be a Man of Honour Loyalty Courage Generosity good Sense good Nature and good Morals which ought to be celebrated for the publick Good which too much wants such examples I know how ill the sick and corrupt World digests the least praise of any but themselves How tyr'd even good Men are if you lead 'em far into the commendation of any Man and the bad will not go along with you but on some ill design Therefore I shall keep where I am safe where every Man will be o' my side No Man that knows you but confesses you to be one of the worthiest Gentlemen they know I shou'd therefore shew very little worth of myself if I shou'd slight both your Favour and Desert And SIR I hope you who have forgiven Writings of mine that shew my Follies will not be displeas'd with this Dedication where I shew the few Virtues I have my Justice and Integrity which are the best claims I have to the Title of SIR Your most Humble and Obliged Servant JOHN CROWN Dramatis Personae DArius King of Persia Artabasus A Nobleman of great Quality Loyalty Years General of all the King's Armies Bessus Viceroy of Bactria Nabarzanes Viceroy of Hircania Memnon A beautiful valiant Loyal young Man Son of Bessus by an Amazon Queen Patron A valiant faithful Greek General of the Greek Auxiliaries that serve in the Persian Army Dataphernes A Bactrian Officer that serves under Bessus Barzana A beautiful Princess o' the Royal Blood Married to Bessus Oronte Her Confident SCENE The Plains and Town of Arbela in Persia THE PROLOGUE WHen a young Writer Poetry first wooes Oh! how he 's charm'd with a fond flatt'ring Muse Scorns Physick Law Divinity he climbs To Heaven by Ladders made o' Ropes o' Rhimes Finds Heaven and Gold in Verse and while he pores He pities Judges Bishops Chancellors They ne'r attain his Joys they 'r Rich and Great But he 's above 'em all for he 's a Wit A Prince in Verse and Princes Titles give His Pen at will makes Honour dye or live He dubbs this Man a Knave a Coxcomb that Gives any Brow a horny Coronet Orders some famous Beauty every hour His Letters Patents to be call'd a Whore Deserv'd or not he does it all by Power Thus like a Beau and Bully o' the Town He by debauching Beauties gets Renown That is their Names for he enjoys not one Thus was our Poet by his Muse drawn in 'T is true she always innocent has been Kept Shop like a good creditable Cit But traded in damn'd never thriving Wit. Lawyers have Fees howe'r their Causes go And Parsons with lean Sermons fat can grow Of Lawyers your undoing you must buy And Doctors will not cheaply let you dye The vilest Quack by ignorance can get More than the best of Poets by his Wit. Then you may ask Why will the Poet Write He says his Genius bids and Hours invite No lumbring business in his way is laid His Life 's a private and a vacant Shade And with design both to instruct and please He plants the Walks with various Images And humbly prays you if with Art he writes You 'l not take pains to damn your own Delights Nay do not damn him much if he writes ill For then he writes like you that is Gentile DARIUS King of PERSIA ACT I. SCENE The Field Trumpets Sound Enter Artabasus Bessus Nabarzanes Memnon Patron Dataphernes Persians Bactrians Greeks Ar. SO now my Lords the dreadful day is near That will for ever ruin or confirm The greatest Throne that ever the Sun saw To Morrow oh to Morrow thou art big With vast events time never produc'd the like At Granicus we had not half our strength But in this Army is all Persia Be. I think my Lord we are effective Men Seven hundred thousand Ar. Ay and more my Lord. Na. Yet of all these my Lord you and I lead Scarce Fifteen thousand Aside to Be. Be. Silence Ar. We have left Our Cities Towns and Fields all desolate That one wou'd think the Conqueror had been there The Valleys bend beneath us the Hills groan The Fields nay all the Heavens seem to stretch And give us room and we have room to Fight We are not here at the Cilician Streights Where we were pris'ners e're the Fight begun Penn'd in with Mountains that clipp'd both our wings And squeez'd our Bodies close till it became As weak and slender as the Enemy The King has done his Duty furnish'd all This multitude with Arms and Ground to fight And his own Glorious example too Let us do ours but dare be Conquerors We shall be so we must be so or Ghosts Or worse poor wretched Slaves our Liberties Our Fortunes Wives and Children are all here Lord Bessus is not your fair Princess here The King 's late beauteous Gift Be. She is my Lord. Ar. Wou'd you not rather see that Beauty dead Than given up to Macedonian Lust Be. She shall be rather by my Sword enioy'd Ar. And here I see your Son a Noble Youth Me. Oh! my good Lord. Ar. Lord Memnon give me leave I think Lord Bessus I have heard you say An Amazonian Queens warlike Embrace Presented you this Gift Be. 'T is true my Lord. Ar. Believe it 'T was a bounty to the World. Me. Nay now my Lord. Ar. Nay pray let me be just Who wou'd not grieve to see this worth in chains And yet now I reflect more worth than his Ay or than half our Kingdom is in chains Even half our King
is there and almost all The Royal Blood but what is in his veins His Mother Brother Daughters little Son Nay more his beauteous Queen are slaves to those To whom they once scorn'd to be Sovereigns Two Royal Virgins in their early Spring Lye like fallen Blossoms at their Mother's feet At her fair Bosom hangs her Infant Son A withering branch torn from his once great hopes He who was lately Heir of half the World Is now not Lord of his poor little Self His greatest happiness is Ignorance He does not know the Glory he has lost But hugs the Enemy that ruins him The Conqueror cannot see this without Tears And cursing his unfortunate success And then oh Can it be endur'd by us But I may spare all this to Men so brave So tryed as you have to your Glory been Lord Bessus Nabarzanes and your Troops Na. We may one day be tryed upon your selves aside Be. Silence Lord Nabarzanes have a care aside Ar. Fortune Lord Bessus seems afraid of you She 's Alexander's Mistress but you Slave She gives him Favours but you ravish ' em At our great blow at the Cilician Streights All came off safe as priviledg'd from Fate That kept within the precincts of your Sword. Be. Indeed my Lord my Bactrians did well Ar. And you Lord Patron and your valiant Greeks Must give me leave to give you your due praise These gallant Men are to our Fortune tyed By indispensable Allegiance But you are strangers loose from any bonds Pa. My Lord we are for ever bound to you By Gratitude and Honour Greece indeed Gave us our birth but you our happiest hours That our best Blood is yours Ar. Most Noble Lord Well If we fail to morrow 't will be strange We have the strength of this vast Monarchy The justice of our Cause Necessity Ay and th' inconstancy of Fortune too That mutability which ruin'd us In the last Field may be our Friend the next Now to your Tents and take a brief repose That so prepar'd you may not be surpriz'd The King suspects these Macedonian Thieves Will act like Thieves and steal on us by night They will not dare to look on us by day And therefore he has wisely given Command Great part o' th' Army be in Arms all night And all be ready at the Trumpets sound Be. 'T is wisely order'd Ar. Now my Lords Good Night Be. My Lord we wish your Excellence Good night Heaven give us all to Morrow a Good Day Ex. Ar. Pa. I 'le to my Charge my Lords Good night to you Ex. Pa. Be. Good Night Lord Patron this is a brave Greek Na. And our old General a brave Persian Be. He 's like the Sun a Largesse to the World And not to be consum'd by age or toil Na. The King and he are th' only gallant Men In this whole Nation Be. Memnon to your Tent. Mem. Good Night my Lord. Ex. Mem. Be. He 's honest but he 's young Our talk has too much weight for his green youth Na. And our Affairs I think have so much weight We shall not sleep beneath 'em much to night Be. 'T is true my Lord come let us to my Tent Come with us Dataphernes Da. Ay my Lord. Ex. All go out and re-enter immediately SCENE Bessus's Tent. Be. Our Fortune places us in a strange Post For we are bound to fight against our selves Let who will conquer we shall be subdued For say the Persian Army gets the day We know they cannot do it without us The noble fruits of our own Gallantry Will all be set in this luxurious Soil Our Swords will be as barren as our Lands These Cowards must rule the Brave by whom they rule Dat. They Govern us they ha' not power to rule Men Wine or Women or their own Silk-worms The Men are all devour'd by Luxury And Alexander only has the Orts. Na. Therefore they 'r nauseous both to Heaven and Earth And it is insolence in mortal Man To force upon the Gods what they disgust Cram Nations down the throat of Providence Which it throws up again in every field Dat. I do declare I 'd no more fight to guard The King's Dominions over heartless Cowards Than I wou'd fight for Eagles to defend Their Principality over the Birds Be. Nay I have ever thought a Persian King Was at the most but Master of a Mint Persia has Gold and Jewels but no Men It has been long depopulated all By Slavery and Vice by Women too Women shou'd fill and they unman their Towns War lays 'em not so wast War mars and makes This War has made more Men than it has kill'd The slaughter'd heaps were only loads of Clay Where there was the Image of a Man. Na. My Lord they are all Images of Whores They march into the field rather equipp'd Like Ladies for a Ball than Troops for War. like Women too with weapons weaponless They dye unwounded by the sight of Wounds And serve the Ravens up in massy Plate The Persian Crows are fed in greater pomp Than Kings of Macedon Dat. Oh! never cowards Were at more cost nobly to hide themselves The Men cannot be seen for Plumes and Gold. Nor can the Gold for Diamonds be seen The Royal Metle is opprest by Jewels Their modest Swords which abhor nakedness Though Heaven knows in State of Innocence Sleep in their Scabbards as in Velvet Beds Under rich Coverlids of cluster'd Pearl Na. And to what end is this they only prove Fine Sumpter Hoâ—ses to the Enemy To carry Baggage for 'em to the field Be. Yet they must Lord it o're brave Nations Who can subdue both Men and Elements How does our naked flesh vanquish the cold How oft is Snow our only Winter Shirt Na. Yet does our Gallantry far exceed theirs We have no Ladies Favours on our Swords But Victories the Favours of the Gods Are always there Be. No thanks to Persians Who do not only quit us in the field And so most cowardly expose our lives But stint our Troops that they may starve our Fame I have five thousand Horse and only fight To be a slave to Cowards Na. Nay to Brutes Europeans are Men for they enjoy Their Reason wisely gather'd into Laws Here they are Brutes for only strength commands Our only Law is that there is no Law. All things are lawful here to Power but Laws The only rule of Justice here is Might The strong devour the weak and no wrong done The Wolf is not unjust that eats the Lamb. The Lamb is in the wrong to be a Lamb. Be. In short the Nature of the King is mild But cruel is the Nature of his Crown Then to whose lot soever it befals If I survive they shall not keep it long Not that I mean to fix it on my Head But to Crown Nature Freedom and Sense In which all Men have equal shares with me Na. My Lord you 'l have a Crown in those great Thoughts Not what 's without but what
deceive him by seign'd Penitence Be. I do not find him easily deceiv'd Na. Let 's make a Trial if he 'll not be gain'd We 'll murder him unknown to any one Besides our selves and then give out he yields And what we do is by his own Command Be. 'T is well advis'd draw up our Troops with speed To Data And then give out the King and we are friends Ex. SCENE A Prison Enter King in Chains of Gold. Da. A King a Persian King chain'd by his Slaves The Slaves he once so favour'd and so lov'd Oh! the amazing Villanies of men And stupifying Patience o' the Gods The gracious Gods seem only infinite In suffering ill and man doing it Man therefore is most fear'd and most obey'd My Murderers come my griefs are near their end Enter Bessus and Nabarzanes Na. Now if these Chains weigh the Kings Spirit down To our desires we shall be legal Rogues Aside Be. What is it spirits me away to fear He 's in my Chains yet I am in his Power Na. I find it so with me I 've fought my way Through bravest men why am I scar'd by dreams Let 's kneel and speak to him Be. Well do you speak I am an ill Dissembler Na. Royal Sir Kneels We humbly beg you lend a gracious Ear To your poor Slaves by your hard Fortune thrown On th' only things we fear on infamy Your Anger and a seeming horrid Crime Though what we did was all in Loyalty Be. 'T is true we saw Fate quarrel with you Sir. And so we came between to part the fray Da. Oh! you poor Wretches how I pity you Cou'd you have fallen thus miserably in fight There you had been the Envy of the Brave Now y' are the scorn of all As to my self Y 'ave given me endless rest The greatest weight Hangs on these Chains is you ingratitude Oh! how have I deserv'd all this from you Be. You have deserv'd no ill and shall have none Ba. Indeed I do not know the man I 've wrong'd Bring him I 'le give him power to take my Life If I 've offended 't was against my self In all my Kingdom I was the sole Slave I toil'd the most and most observ'd the Laws The great Prerogative I most desir'd Was to be uncontroul'd in doing Good. If I gave fear it was to Potent Kings I was in danger most in Pleasure least My Luxury lay all in my Fair Queen My sole Intemperance was my Love to her My Love and Grief for her admit no bounds And oh how have I Lov'd and Favour'd you I gave you Kingdoms and with greater Joy Than you receiv'd 'em oh methoughts I gain'd What I gave you and these are my Rewards You murder me who wou'd have dy'd for you Alas It is your fault I am not dead Na. Indeed we mean you Good and do no more Than what Priests in Devotion do to Gods. Who fasten 'em from falling or flight We fear'd your flight to Mercenary Greeks Or falling into Macedonian Power And Sir to shew how much we honour you We have given shining Pomp to Misery Since 't is become a Waiter on our King. Be. And if you 'l pardon us and favour us We 'll make you greater than you ever were Da. I favour Treason I assume your Guilt I 'le rather bravely dye then basely Reign Indeed my Children are most dear to me But for that cause I will not taint their Blood And make the Children of a King become The Children of a Traytour to a King. I can and will be great without your help Yes in these Chains I 'le triumph over you I will Reign o're you when y 'ave murder'd me In my Grave punish you All Kings and Gods Will be the Ministers of my Revenge And execute what e're my Blood commands Na. We lose our time come strike Be. I will and home They wound Darius who falls Na. So this is a great work but common Spirits Ha' not reception for things great and high Let us not trust 'em with this spectacle Ho! Guard. Enter a Guard. Guard. My Lord. Na. The King has Kill'd himself We fear false Tongues will lay his Blood to us Therefore conceal his Death till the fight 's past As you regard your Lives In the mean while Cover the Body in a Waggon close That it may pass for Baggage drive it then Into some private place out of all Roads And kill the Horses lest they wander thence Guard carry out Darius Be. Now let us to the Field for there 's our Doom Our Innocence or Treason is to come It is success makes innocence a sin And there is nothing but a Sword between If th' end be glorious glorious is the way They alwaies have the Cause who have the day SCENE A Field A noise of a Battel After shouts Enter Artabazus Patron and Greeks dragging Bessus and Nabarzanes Pa. Oh! thank you for this Justice you good Gods. Ar. Go to King Alexander let him know The Gods have given the Traytors to our Swords Let us enjoy Revenge for our King's Blood And then he shall command our Swords and Lives Pa. Oh! that the King enjoy'd it where have you Conceal'd his Body you damn'd Regicides Enter Persians Per. My Lord my Lord the King Ar. What of the King Per. He 's found a Macedonian Officer By help of Persian Guides searching a Spring To quench his Thirst after the heat of fight He in the woods saw a poor Waggon stray Drawn by faint dying Horses stuck with Darts And looking in it found a dying man Gor'd in his Blood which prov'd to be our King. Ar. Horrour he lives let us away away That he may see Revenge before he dyes Pa. And we will weigh him out exact revenge Here chain and cut 'em as they did their King. Ex. The Scene is drawn a Waggon appears The Horses bloody and full of Darts some falling others fallen Polystratus and Persians support Darius who is Bloody and Faint Pol. Run run for help while we will bind his wounds Da. Ha! who art thou Pol. A Macedonian Sir. Da. My Enemy so kind Pol. A Gallant Man Fights out of Love to Duty and Renown And loves and honours a brave Enemy Da. What is thy name Pol. 'T is Polystratus Sir. Da. Brave Man more kind to me than my Friends are These were the Presents of my once dear Friends Bessus and Nabarzanes Pol. Hellish Dogs Da. 'T is no small comfort in my wretched State My grateful dying thoughts will not be lost Tell thy brave King I dye deep in his Debt I never once oblig'd him in the least And he has nobly treated all my Friends My Mother Brother Children my Fair Queen Granted their Lives and Royal Splendour too They scarce cou'd tell they were unfortunate When my near Kindred and once Bosome Friends Oh whom I Life and Kingdoms have bestow'd Have plunder'd me of all Oh! tell thy King I beg the Gods for Universal Good To make him