Enter Titus, old Marcus, ⌜his son Publius,⌝ young
Lucius, and other gentlemen (⌜Caius and Sempronius⌝)
with bows, and Titus bears the arrows with letters on
the ends of them.TITUS Come, Marcus, come. Kinsmen, this is the way.— Sir boy, let me see your archery. Look you draw home enough and ’tis there straight.— Terras Astraea reliquit.5 Be you remembered, Marcus, she’s gone, she’s fled.— Sirs, take you to your tools. You, cousins, shall Go sound the ocean and cast your nets; Happily you may catch her in the sea; Yet there’s as little justice as at land.10 No; Publius and Sempronius, you must do it. ’Tis you must dig with mattock and with spade, And pierce the inmost center of the Earth. Then, when you come to Pluto’s region, I pray you, deliver him this petition.15 Tell him it is for justice and for aid, And that it comes from old Andronicus, Shaken with sorrows in ungrateful Rome. Ah, Rome! Well, well, I made thee miserable What time I threw the people’s suffrages20 On him that thus doth tyrannize o’er me.
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Go, get you gone, and pray be careful all, And leave you not a man-of-war unsearched. This wicked emperor may have shipped her hence, And, kinsmen, then we may go pipe for justice.MARCUS 25 O Publius, is not this a heavy case To see thy noble uncle thus distract?PUBLIUS Therefore, my lords, it highly us concerns By day and night t’ attend him carefully, And feed his humor kindly as we may,30 Till time beget some careful remedy.MARCUS Kinsmen, his sorrows are past remedy ⌜But …⌝ Join with the Goths, and with revengeful war Take wreak on Rome for this ingratitude,35 And vengeance on the traitor Saturnine.TITUS Publius, how now? How now, my masters? What, have you met with her?PUBLIUS No, my good lord, but Pluto sends you word, If you will have Revenge from hell, you shall.40 Marry, for Justice, she is so employed, He thinks, with Jove in heaven, or somewhere else, So that perforce you must needs stay a time.TITUS He doth me wrong to feed me with delays. I’ll dive into the burning lake below45 And pull her out of Acheron by the heels. Marcus, we are but shrubs, no cedars we, No big-boned men framed of the Cyclops’ size, But metal, Marcus, steel to the very back, Yet wrung with wrongs more than our backs can50 bear;
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And sith there’s no justice in Earth nor hell, We will solicit heaven and move the gods To send down Justice for to wreak our wrongs. Come, to this gear. You are a good archer, Marcus.He gives them the arrows.55 “Ad Jovem,” that’s for you;—here, “Ad Apollinem”;— “Ad Martem,” that’s for myself;— Here, boy, “to Pallas”;—here, “to Mercury”;— “To ⌜Saturn,⌝” Caius—not to Saturnine! You were as good to shoot against the wind.60 To it, boy!—Marcus, loose when I bid. Of my word, I have written to effect; There’s not a god left unsolicited.MARCUS Kinsmen, shoot all your shafts into the court. We will afflict the Emperor in his pride.TITUS 65 Now, masters, draw. (⌜They shoot.⌝) O, well said, Lucius! Good boy, in Virgo’s lap! Give it Pallas.MARCUS My lord, I aim a mile beyond the moon. Your letter is with Jupiter by this.TITUS 70 Ha, ha! Publius, Publius, what hast thou done? See, see, thou hast shot off one of Taurus’ horns!MARCUS This was the sport, my lord; when Publius shot, The Bull, being galled, gave Aries such a knock That down fell both the Ram’s horns in the court,75 And who should find them but the Empress’ villain? She laughed and told the Moor he should not choose But give them to his master for a present.TITUS Why, there it goes. God give his Lordship joy!
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Enter ⌜a country fellow⌝ with a basket and two
pigeons in it. News, news from heaven! Marcus, the post is80 come.— Sirrah, what tidings? Have you any letters? Shall I have Justice? What says Jupiter?⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ Ho, the gibbet-maker? He says that he hath taken them down again, for the man must85 not be hanged till the next week.TITUS But what says Jupiter, I ask thee?⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ Alas, sir, I know not Jubiter; I never drank with him in all my life.TITUS Why, villain, art not thou the carrier?⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ 90Ay, of my pigeons, sir; nothing else.TITUS Why, didst thou not come from heaven?⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ From heaven? Alas, sir, I never came there. God forbid I should be so bold to press to heaven in my young days. Why, I am going with95 my pigeons to the tribunal plebs, to take up a matter of brawl betwixt my uncle and one of the Emperal’s men.MARCUS, ⌜to Titus⌝ Why, sir, that is as fit as can be to serve for your oration; and let him deliver the pigeons100 to the Emperor from you.TITUS Tell me, can you deliver an oration to the Emperor with a grace?⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ Nay, truly, sir, I could never say grace in all my life.TITUS 105 Sirrah, come hither. Make no more ado, But give your pigeons to the Emperor. By me thou shalt have justice at his hands. Hold, hold; meanwhile here’s money for thy
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charges.—Give me pen and ink.—Sirrah, can you110 with a grace deliver up a supplication?⌜He writes.⌝⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ Ay, sir.TITUS Then here is a supplication for you, and when you come to him, at the first approach you must kneel, then kiss his foot, then deliver up your pigeons,115 and then look for your reward. I’ll be at hand, sir. See you do it bravely.⌜He hands him a paper.⌝⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ I warrant you, sir. Let me alone.TITUS Sirrah, hast thou a knife? Come, let me see it.—⌜He takes the knife and gives it to Marcus.⌝ Here, Marcus, fold it in the oration,120 For thou hast made it like an humble suppliant.— And when thou hast given it to the Emperor, Knock at my door and tell me what he says.⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ God be with you, sir. I will.He exits.TITUS Come, Marcus, let us go.—Publius, follow me.They exit.
Titus Andronicus
