price Of his Wive's Lust thou barterd'st his Betraying And in the Capitol hast Pageants set In memory of thy Vanity and Shame Syll. Thy Shame Mar. sen. My Honour proud presumptuous Boy Who wouldst be gaudy in an unfit Dress And wear my cast off Glories after me Syll. I 'd rather wear some Beggar 's rotten Rags By him left dangling on a high-way Hedge Then soil my Laurels with a Leaf of thine Thou scorn'd Plebeian Mar. sen. Worst Perdition catch thee Syll. Disband that Rout of Rebells at thy heels And yield thy self to Justice and the Senate Mar. sen. Justice from Thee demanded on my Head First clear thy self quit thy usurpt Command Approach and kneel to me whom thou hast wrong'd Syll. Upon thy Neck I would Mar. sen. As soon thou'dst take A Lion by the beard thou dar'st not think on 't Syll. I dare and more Mar. sen. Then Gods I take your word If there be truth in you I shall not fall This day My Friends and Fellow-souldiers now Fight as I 've seen you for the Life of Sylla Leave it to me for much Revenge must go Along with Death when such a Victim bleeds Syll. My Lords withdraw Metell No trust the Gods I 'll see My Country's Fate and with her live or dy Mar. sen. Now Sylla Syll. Now my Veterans consider You fight for Laws for Liberty and Life Mar. sen. Rebellion never wanted that Pretence Thou Shadow of what I have bin thou Puppet Of that great State and Honours I have born If thou 'lt doe something worthy of thy place Let 's join our Battel with a Force may glut The Throat of Death and choak him with himself As fiercely as destroying Whirlwinds rise Or as Clouds dash when Thunder shakes the Skies Trumpets sound a Charge They fight Re-enter Marius senior taken by Sylla's party Mar. sen. Forsaken and a Pris'ner Is this all That 's left of Marius the old naked Trunk Of that tall Pine that was Away ye Shrubs Ye clinging Brambles do not clog me thus But let me run into the Jaws of Death And finish my ill Fate Or must I be Preserv'd a publick Spectacle expos'd To Scorn and make a Holyday for Slaves Oh! that Thought 's Hell Sure I should know thy Face Thou hast born Office under me If e're In my best Fortune I deserv'd thy Friendship Give me a Roman's Death and set me free That no Dishonour in my Age o'retake me Officer I 've serv'd and lov'd you well nor would I see Your Fall .... My Orders were to save your Life Mar. sen. Thou' rt a Time-server that canst flatter Misery Enter Marius junior Granius and Sulpitius Prisoners My Sons in Bonds too and Sulpitius Sulpit. Yes the Rat-catchers have trapt me Now must I Be food for Crows and stink upon a Tree Whilst Coxcombs strowl abroad on Holydays To take the Air and see me rot A pox On Fortune and a pox on that first Fool That taught the world Ambition Enter Quint. Pompeius four Lictors before him Q. Pomp. Draw near Ye men of Rome and hear the Law pronounc'd Thou Marius whose Ambition and whose Pride Has cost so many Lives the first that e're Wag'd Civil Wars in Rome Thee and thy Sons Thy Family and Kin with that vile Slave And Minister of all thy Outrages The curst Sulpitius Banishment's thy lot After to morrow's Dawn if found i' th' City Death be thy Doom so hath the Senate said So flourish Peace and Liberty in Rome Ex. Quint. Pompeius Lictors crying Liberty Mar. sen. I thank ye Gods upon my knees I thank ye For plaguing me above all other men Come ye young Hero's kneel and praise the Heav'ns For crowning thus your youthfull Hopes Ha ha ha What pleasant Game hath Fortune play'd to day Oh! I could burst with Laughter Why now Rome's At Peace But may it be as short and vain As Joys but dreamt of or as Sick mens Slumbers Now let 's take hands and bending to the Earth To all th' Infernall Powers let us swear All. We swear Mar. sen. That 's well By all the Destinies By all the Furies and the Fiends that wait About the Throne of Hell and by Hell's King We 'll bring Destruction to this cursed City Let not one Stone of all her Tow'rs stand safe Mar. jun. Let not her Temples nor her Gods escape Gran. Let Husbands in their Wives Embraces perish Mar. sen. Her Young men massacred Sulpit. Her Virgins ravisht Mar. jun. And let her Lovers all my Torments feel Doating like me and like me banished Thus let 'em Curse thus raving tear their Hair And fall upon the ground as I do now Mar. sen. Rise then and to Lavinia go This Night 's Thy own Mar. jun. And ever after Pain and Sorrow But go thou find Lavinia's Woman out .... To his servant Tell her I 'll come and bid her chear my Love For I 'll not fail but in this Night enjoy Whole Life and forgive Nature what 's to come Mar. sen. Thus then let 's part each take his several way As to a Task of Darkness when we meet In hated Exile we 'll compute Accompts And see what Mischief each has gather'd then For Rome I shall be yet once more thy Lord If Oracles have truth and Augurs ly not For yet a Child and in my Father's Fields Playing I seven young Eagles chanc'd to find Which gathering up I to my Parents bore The Gods were sought who promis'd me from thence As many times the Consulate in Rome Six times already I 've that Office bore And so far has the Prophecy prov'd true But if I 've manag'd ill the time that 's past And too remiss six elder Fortunes lost The youngest Darling Fate is yet to come And Thou shalt feel me then Ungratefull Rome Exeunt The end of the Third ACT. ACT IV. SCENE the Garden Enter Lavinia and Marius junior Lavin WIlt thou be gone it is not yet near Day It was the Nightingale and not the Lark That pierc'd the fearfull hollow of thy Ear. Nightly on yon Pomegranate-tree she sings Believe me Love it was the Nightingale Mar. jun. Oh! 't was the Lark the Herald of the Morn No Nightingale Look Love what envious Streaks Of Light embroider all the cloudy East Night's Candles are burnt out and jocund Day Upon the Mountain-tops sits gally drest Whilst all the Birds bring Musick to his Levy I must be gone and live or stay and dy ..... Lavin Oh! oh what wretched Fortune is my lot Sure giving Thee Heav'n grew too far in Debt To pay till Bankrupt-like it broke whilst I A poor compounding Creditor am forc'd To take a Mite for endless Summs of Joy Mar. jun. Let me be taken let me suffer Death I am content so Thou wilt have it so .... By Heav'n yon gray is not the Morning's Eye But the Reflexion of pale Cynthia's Brightness Nor is 't the Lark we hear whose Notes do beat So high and Echo in the Vault of Heav'n
Citizens 1. Cit. WHither oh whither shall we fly for Safety Already reeking Murther 's in our Streets Matrons with Infants in their Arms are butcher'd And Rome appears one noisome House of slaughter 2. Cit. Hear us ye Gods and pity our Calamities Stop stop the Fury of this cruel Tyrant Or send your Thunder forth to strike us dead E're our own Slaves are Masters of our Throats 1. Cit. Ruine draws near us Oh my Friend let 's fly To th' Altars of our Gods and by the hands Of one another dy as Romans ought Exeunt Enter Ancharius the Senatour and his Grandson Child Hide me my Grandsire the ugly men are coming That kill'd my Mother and my Sister Thesbie Will they kill you and me too Anch. Oh my Child I cannot hide thee nor know what to doe Derepit Age benums my weary Lims I can't resist nor fly .... Child Then here we 'll sit Perhaps they 'll not come yet or if they do I 'll fall upon my Knees and beg your Life I am a very little harmless Boy And when I cry and talk and hang about 'em They 'll pity sure my Tears and grant me all Enter several Old men in black with Cypress Wreaths leading Virgins in white with Myrtle who kneel before the Tribunal Then enters Marius senior as Consul Lictors Sulpitius and Guards Mar. sen. I thank ye Gods ye have restor'd me now Mounts the Tribunal What Pageantry is this Sulpitius here Remove these Slaves and bear 'em to their Fates 1. Old man We come not for our selves but in the name Of Rome to offer up our Lives for all Pity a wretched State thou raging God And let loose all thy dreadfull Fury here Mar. sen. I know ye all great Senatours ye are The Heads and Patrons of Rebellious Rome Ye can be humble when Affliction galls ye And with that Cheat at any time ye think To charm a generous Mind though ye have wrong'd it False are your Safeties when indulg'd by Pow'r For soon ye fatten and grow able Traitours False are your Foars and your Afflictions falser For they cheat you and make you hope for Mercy Which you shall never gain at Marius's hands Who trusts your Penitence is more then Fool. Rebellion will renew ye can't be honest Y' are never pleas'd but with the Knaves that cheat you And work your Follies to their private ends For your Religion like your Cloaths you wear it To change and turn just as the Fashion alters And think you by this solemn piece of Fooling To hush my Rage and melt me into Pity Advance Sulpitius old Ancharius there Who was so violent for my Destruction That his Beard brussled as his Face distorted Away with him Dispatch these Triflers too But spare the Virgins 'cause mine Eyes have seen 'em Or keep 'em for my Warriours to rejoice in Anch. Thou who wert born to be the Plague of Rome What wouldst thou doe with me Mar. sen. Dispose thee hence Amongst the other Offall for the jaws Of hungry Death till Rome be purg'd of Villains Thou dy'st for wronging Marius Child Oh my Lord For you must be a Lord you are so angry For my sake spare his Life I have no Friend But him to guard my tender years from Wrongs When he is dead what will become of me A poor and helpless Orphan naked left To all the Ills of the wide faithless world Mar. sen. Take hence this Brat too mount it on a Spear And let it sprawl to make the Grandsire sport Child Oh cruel man I 'll hang upon your Knees And with my little dying Hands implore you I may be fit to doe you some small pleasures I 'll find a thousand tender ways to please you Smile when you rage and stroak you into Mildness Play with your manly Neck and call you Father For mine alas the Gods have taken from me Mar. sen. Young Crocodile Thus from their Mothers Breasts Are they instructed bred and taught in Rome For that old Paralitick Slave dispatch him Let me not know he breaths another moment But spare this 'cause 't has learnt its Lesson well And I 've a Softness in my heart pleads for him Enter Messenger Well now Mess. Metellus Mar. sen. Hah Metellus what Mess. Is found Mar. sen. Speak where Mess. In an old Suburb Cottage Upbraiding Heav'n and cursing at your Fortune Mar. sen. Haste let him be preserv'd for my own Fury Clap clap your hands for joy ye Friends of Marius Ten thousand Talents for the news I 'll give thee The Core and Bottom of my Torment 's found And in a moment I shall be at ease Rome's Walls no more shall be besmear'd with Bloud But Peace and Gladness flourish in her Streets Le ts go Metellus we have found Metellus Let every Tongue proclaim aloud Metellus Till I have dasht him on the Rock of Fate Then be his Name forgot and heard no more Exeunt SCENE a Church-yard Enter Marius junior Mar. jun. AS I have wander'd musing to and fro Still am I brought to this unlucky place As I had business with the horrid Dead Though could I trust the flattery of Sleep My Dreams presage some joyfull news at hand My Bosome's Lord fits lightly on his Throne And all this day an unaccustom'd Spirit Lifts me above the ground with chearfull thoughts I dream'd Lavinia came and found me dead And breath'd such Life with Kisses on my Lips That I reviv'd and was an Emperour Enter Catulus Catul. My Lord already here Mar. jun. My trusty Catulus What News from my Lavinia speak and bless me Catul. She 's very well .... Mar. jun. Then nothing can be ill Something thou seem'st to know that 's terrible Out with it boldly man What canst thou say Of my Lavinia Catul. But one sad word She 's dead Here in her Kindreds Vault I 've seen her laid And have bin searching you to tell the News Mar. jun. Dead is it so then I deny you Stars Go hasten quickly get me Ink and Paper 'T is done I 'll hence to night Hast thou no Letters to me from the Priest Catul. No my good Lord. Mar. jun. No matter get thee gone ..... Ex. Catulus Lavinia yet I 'll ly with thee to night But for the means Oh Mischief thou art swift To catch the straggling Thoughts of Desp'rate men I do remember an Apothecary That dwelt about this Rendezvous of Death Meager and very rufull were his Looks Sharp Misery had worn him to the Bones And in his needy Shop a Tortoise hung An Allegator stufft and other Skins Of ill-shap'd Fishes and about his Shelves A beggarly account of empty Boxes Green earthen Pots Bladders and musty Seeds Remnants of Packthread and old Cakes of Roses Were thinly scatter'd to make up a Show Oh for a Poison now his Need will sell it Though it be present Death by Roman Law As I remember this should be the House His Shop is shut with Beggars all are Holydays Holla Apothecary hoa Enter
me and flouts my Age. Constant ill Fortune wait upon her for 't And wreck her Fate as low as first I found it When it lay trembling like a hunted Prey And hungry Ruine had it in the wind When Barb'rous Nations of a race unknown From undiscover'd Northern Regions came To lay her waste and sweep her from the Earth Till I I Marius rose the Soul of all The Hope sh' had left and with unwearied Toil Dangers each hour and never-sleeping Care A burthen for a God oppos'd my self 'Twixt her and Desolation gorg'd the maw Of Death with slaughter'd numbers of her Foes Restor'd her Peace and made her Name renown'd Mar. jun. The Glory of that War must be remember'd When Rome like her old Mother Troy shall lie In Ashes .... Full 300000 men All sons of Fortune born and bred in Fields Whose Trade was War and Camps their Habitation Hung like a Swarm of Mischiefs on the Hills Of Italy and threatned Fate to Europe Gran. They came in Tribes as if to take possession And seem'd a People whom the hand of Fate Had scourg'd by Famine from a barren Land Of Visage foul and ugly pinch'd and chapt By bitter Frosts and winter Winds yet fierce As hungry Lions of the Desart Their Wives with loads of Children at their backs Bold manly Haggs whom Shame had long forsook And vagrant living had inur'd to Ill Follow'd in Troups like Furies Mar. jun. And all was done too when that Dolt Metellus Shrank like a Worm and Sylla scarce was heard of Mar. sen. That curst Metellus still has bin my Plague And ever done me most deliberate Wrong Because like a tame Hawk I scorn'd to fly Just at his Quarries and attend his Lure Because I grew too great for him in Wars And serv'd his Country well he hates me Twice Have I already offer'd him Alliance And ask'd Lavinia Marius for thy Bed Beggary catch me when agen I court him Why sigh'st thou Boy still at th' unlucky name Of that Lavinia I 've observ'd thee thus With thy Looks fixt as if thy Fate had seiz'd thee Mar. jun. Why did you name Lavinia would sh' had ne'r Bin born or that Metellus had not got her Mar. sen. Forget her Marius she 's a dainty Bit A Delicate for none but Sylla's tast The Fav'rite Sylla th' Idol that 's set up To blast thy Hopes and cloud thy Father's Glories Consider that my Marius and forget her Mar. jun. Forget her oh sh' has Beauty might ensnare A Conquerour's Soul and make him leave his Crowns At random to be scuffled for by Slaves Forget her oh teach me great Parent teach me Reade me each day a Lecture of the Wrongs Done you by that Inglorious Patrician Till my Heart know no Longings but Revenge And quite forget Lavinia e're dwelt there Methinks 't would not be hard ev'n midst the Senate To strike this through him in his Consul's Chair Tumble him thence and mount it in his stead Mar. sen. Oh! name not him and Consulship together Sylla and Consul set 'em far apart As East from West for as they now are met It bodes Confusion Rome to thee and thine Gran. I 'd rather see Rome but one Funeral pile And all her people quitting her like Bees Driven by Sulphur from their Hives Much rather see her Senatours in Chains Dragg'd through the Streets to death and Slaves made Lords Then see that vain presumptuous Upstart's Pride Succeed to lead the Armies you have bred Mar. sen. 'T is such a Wrong as even Tortures Thought That we who 've been her Champion forty years Fought all her Battels with renown'd Success And never lost her yet a man in vain Should now her noblest Fortune is at stake And Mithridates Sword is drawn be thrown A side like some old broken batter'd Shield To see my Lawrels wither as I rust And all this manag'd by the cursed Craft Petulant Envy and malignant Spight Of that old barking Senate's-Dog Metellus Stake me just Gods with Thunder to the Earth Lay my gray Hairs low in the Cave of Death Rather then live in mem'ry of such Shame Gran. Perish Metellus first and all his Race Mar. sen. There spoke the Soul of Marius By the head Of Iove I hate him worse then Famine or Diseases Perish his Family let inveterate Hate Commence between our Houses from this moment And meeting never let 'em bloudless part Go Granius bid Sulpitius straight be ready To meet me with his Guards upon the Forum By all the Gods I 'll chase this Daemon out That rages thus in Rome or let her bloud To that degree till she grow tame enough To tremble at the Rod of my Revenge Why didst not thou applaud me for the Thought Take m'in thy Arms and cherish my old Heart 'T had bin a lucky Omen Art thou dumb Mar. jun. As dumb as solemn Sorrow ought to be Could my Griefs speak the Tale would have no end Must I resolve to hate Metellus Race Yet know Lavinia took her Being thence Lavinia Oh! there 's Musick in the Name That softning me to Infant Tenderness Makes my Heart spring like the first leaps of Life Mar. sen. Then thou art lost if thou art Man and Roman If thou hast Vertue in thee or canst prize Thy Father's Honour scorn her like a Slave Hell love her Dam her there 's Metellus in her In every Line of her bewitching Face There 's a Resemblance tells whose Brood she came of I 'd rather see thee in a Brothel trapt And basely wedded to a Ruffian's Whore Then thou shouldst think to taint my generous Bloud With the base Puddle of that o're-fed Gown-man Lavinia Mar. jun. Yes Lavinia is she not As harmless as the Turtle of the Woods Fair as the Summer-Beauty of the Fields As opening Flow'rs untainted yet with Winds The pride of Nature and the Joy of Sense Why first did you bewitch me else to Weakness When from the Sacrifice we came together And as by her's our Chariot drove along These were your words That Marius that is She That must give Happiness to Thee and Rome Confirming in thy Arms my wish'd-for Peace With old Metellus and break Sylla's heart Mar. sen. Then she was charming Mar. jun. Oh! I found her so I lookt and gaz'd and never miss'd my Heart It fled so pleasingly away But now My Soul is all Lavinia's now she 's fixt Firm in my Heart by secret Vows made there Th' indeleble Records of faithfull Love You 'd have me hate her Can my Nature change Create me o're agen ... and I may be That haughty Master of my self you 'd have me But as I am the Slave of strong Desires That keep me struggling under Though I see The hopeless state of my unhappy Love With Torment like a stubborn Slave that lies Chain'd to the Floor stretcht helpless on his back I look to Liberty and break my Heart Mar. sen. Has she yet heard your Love or granted her's Mar. jun. If Eyes may