Damon and Pithias.
Richard Edwards.
Note: this Renascence
Editions text was transcribed by Risa S. Bear, March 2002, from the
1908 facsimile of the British Museum copy
of the 1571 edition. There may have been an earlier edition (licensed
1568),
but no copies are known. Any errors that have crept into the
transcription
are the fault of the present publisher. The text is in the public
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Content unique to this presentation is copyright © 2002 The
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The excellent
Comedie of
two the
moste faithfullest
Freendes,
Damon
and Pithias.
Newly Imprinted, as
the same was shewed be-
fore the Queenes Maiestie,
by the Children of her Graces
Chappell, except the
Prologue that
is somewhat al-
tered for the proper vse
of them
that hereafter
shall haue occasion to
plaie it,
either in
Priuate, or open
Audience. Made
by
Maister Edvvards,
then beynge
Maister
of the Children.
1 5 7 1.
Imprinted
at London
in
Fleetelane by
Richarde Iohnes,
and are to be
solde at his shop,
ioyning to the
Southwest
doore of Paules Churche.
T H
E
P R O L O G V E.
 N
euerie syde, whereas I glaunce my rouyng eye,
Silence in all eares bent I
playnly
do espie:
Bvt if your egre lookes doo
longe
suche toyes to see,
As heretofore in commycall
wise,
were wont abroade to bee,
Your lust is lost, and all the
pleasures
that you sought,
Is frustrate quite of toying
Playes.
A soden change is wrought,
For loe, our Aucthors Muse,
that masked in delight,
Hath forst his Penne agaynst
his
kinde, no more such sportes to write.
Muse he that lust, (right
worshipfull)
for chaunce hath made this change,
For that to some he seemed too
muche,
in yonge desires to range:
In which, right glad to
please:
seyng that he did offende,
Of all he humble pardon
craues:
his Pen that shall amende:
And yet (worshipfull
Audience,)
thus much I dare aduouche.
In Commedies, the greatest
Skyll
is this, rightly to touche
All thynges to the quicke: and
eke
to frame eche person so,
That by his common talke, you
may
his nature rightly know:
A Royster ought not preache,
that
were to straunge to heare,
But as from vertue he doth
swerue,
so ought his woordes appeare:
The olde man is sober, the
yonge
man rashe, the Louer triumphyng in ioyes,
The Matron graue, the Harlot
wilde
and full of wanton toyes.
Whiche all in one course they
no
wise doo agree:
So correspondent to their
kinde
their speeches ought to bee.
Which speeches well
pronounste,
with action liuely- framed,
If this offende the lookers
on,
let Horace then be blamed,
Which hath our Author taught
at
Schole, from whom he doth not swarue,
In all such kinde of exercise decorum
to obserue,
Thus much for his defence (he
sayth)
as Poetes earst haue donne.
Which heretofore in Commodies
the
selfe same rase did ronne:
But now for to be briefe, the
matter
to expresse,
Which here wee shall present:
is
this Damon and Pithias,
A rare ensample of Frendship
true,
it is no Legend lie,
But a thinge once donne in
deede
as Histories doo discrie,
Whiche doone of yore in longe
tme
past, yet present shalbe here,
Euen a[s] it were in dooynge
now,
so liuely it shall appeare:
Lo here in Siracusæ
thauncient Towne, which once the Romaines wonne,
Here Dionisius
Pallace, within
whose Courte this thing most strange was donne,
Which matter mixt with myrth
and
care, a iust name to applie,
As seemes most fit wee haue it
termed,
a Tragicall Commedie,
Wherein talkyng of Courtly
toyes,
wee doo protest this flat,
Wee talke of Dionisius
Courte,
wee meane no Court but that,
And that wee doo so meane, who
wysely
calleth to minde,
The time, the place, the
Authours
here most plainely shall it finde,
Loe this I speake for our
defence,
lest of others wee should be shent:
But worthy Audience, wee you
pray,
take things as they be ment,
Whose vpright Iudgement wee
doo
craue, with heedefull eare and Eye,
To here the cause, and see
theffect
of this newe Tragicall Commedie.
E X I T.
The Speakers
names.
Aristippus, a
pleasant
Gentilman.
Carisophus,
a Parasite.
Damon.}
two
Gentlemen of Greece.
Pithias,}
Stephano,
seruant
to Damon and Pithias.
VVill,
Aristippus
lackey.
Iacke,
Carisophus
lackey.
Snap,
the Porter.
Dionisius,
the Kynge.
Eubulus,
the
Kynges counselour.
Gronno,
the
Hangman.
Grimme,
the
Colyer.
 Here Entreth A R I S T I
P P V S.
 OO
strange (perhaps) it seemes to some,
That I Aristippus, a Courtier
am
become:
A Philosopher of late, not of
the
meanist name,
But now to the Courtly
behauiour
my lyfe I frame,
Muse he that lyst, to you of
good
skyll,
I say that I am a Philosopher
styll:
Louers of Wisdom, are termed
Philosophie,
Then who is a Philosopher so
rightly
as I?
For in louyng of Wisdom,
proofe
doth this trie,
That Frustra sapit, qui
non sapit
sibi:
I am wyse for my selfe, then
tell
me of troth,
Is that not great Wisdom as
the
world goth?
Some Philosophers in the
streete
go ragged and torne,
And feedes on vyle Rootes,
whom
Boyes laugh to scorne:
But I in fine Silkes haunt
Dionysius
Pallace,
Wherein with dayntie fare my
selfe
I do solace:
I can talke of Philosophie as
well
as the best,
But the strayte kynde of lyfe
I
leaue to the rest:
And I professe now the Courtly
Philosophie,
To crouche, to speake fayre,
my
selfe I applie,
To feede the Kinges humour
with
pleasant deuises,
For whiche I am called Regius
Canis:
But wot ye who named me first
the
Kinges Dogge?
It was the Roage Diogenes that
vile
grunting Hogge:
Let him rolle in his Tubbe to
winne
a vayne prayse,
In the Courte pleasantly I
wyll
spende all my dayes:
Wherin what to doo, I am not
to
learne,
What wyll serue myne owne
turne
I can quickly discearne:
All my tyme at Schoole I haue
not
spent vay[n]ly,
I can helpe one, is not that a
good
poinct of Philosophy?
Here Entreth C A R I S O P H V S.
I beshrew your fine eares, since you came
from Schoole,
In the Court you haue made
many
a wiseman a foole:
And though you paint out your
fayned
Philosophie,
So God helpe me, it is but a
playne
kinde of flattery:
Whiche you vse so finely in so
pleasant
a sorte,
That none but Aristippus, now
makes
the Kinge sporte,
Ere you came hyther, poore I
was
sombody,
The Kinge delighted in mee,
now
I am but a noddy.
A R I S T I P P V S.
In faith Carisophus, you know your selfe
best,
But I will not call you
noddie,
but only in iest,
And thus I assure you, though
I
came from schoole,
To serue in this Court, I came
not
yet to be the Kinges foole,
Or to fill his eares with
seruile
squirilitie,
That office is yours, you know
it
right perfectlie,
Of Parasites and Scicophants
you
are a graue bencher,
The Kinge feedes you often
from
his owne trencher,
I enuye not your state, nor
yet
your great fauour,
Then grudge not at all, if in
my
behauior:
I make the Kinge mery, with
pleasant
urbanitie,
Whom I neuer abused to any man
iniurie.
C A R I S O P H V S.
Be cocke sir, yet in the Courte you doo
best thriue,
For you get more in on day
then
I doo in fiue.
A R I S T I P P V S.
Why man in the Courte, doo you not see,
Rewardes geuen for vertue, to
euery
degree?
To rewarde the vnworthy that
worlde
is done,
The Courte is changed, a good
thread
hath bin sponne
Of Dogges woll heretofore, and
why?
be cause it was liked,
And not for that it was best
trimmed
and picked:
But now mens eares are finer,
such
grosse toyes are not set by,
Therefore to a trimmer kynde
of
myrth my selfe I applye,
Wherin though I please, it
commeth
not of my desert,
But of the Kinges fauour.
C A R I S O P H V S.
It may so be, yet in your prosperitie,
Dispise not an olde courtier,
Carisophus
is he,
Which hath longe time fed
Dionisius
humor:
Diligently to please styll at
hand,
there was neuer rumor,
Spread in this towne of any
smale
thinge, but I
Brought it to the Kinge in
post
by and by,
Yet now I craue your
friendship,
which if I may attayne,
Most sure and vnfained
frindship
I promyse you againe:
So we two linckt in
frindshippe
brother and brother,
Full well in the Courte may
helpe
one another.
A R I S T I P P V S.
Bir Lady Carisphus, though you know not
Philosophie,
Yet surely you are a better
Courtier
then I,
And yet I not so euyll a
courtier
that will seeme to dispise,
Such an old courtier as you so
expect
and so wyse,
But where as you craue myne
&
offer your friendship so willingly,
With hart I geaue you thankes
for
this your great curtesie;
Assuring of friendship both
with
tooth and nayle,
Whiles life lasteth neuer to
fayle.
C A R I S O P H V S.
A thousand thankes I geue you, oh friend
Aristippus[.]
A R I S T I P P V S.
Oh
friend Carisophus.
C A R I S O P H V S.
How ioyfull am I sith I
haue
to friend Aistippus now?
A R I S T I P P V S.
None so glad of Carisophus friendship as
I, I make God a vowe,
I speake as I thinke, beleue
me.
C A R I S O P H V S.
Sith we are now so friendly ioyned, it
seemeth to mee,
That one of vs helpe eche
other
in euery degree,
Prefer you my cause when you
are
in presence,
To further your matters to the
Kinge
let me alone in your absence.
A R I S T I P P V S.
Friend Carisophus, this shall be done as
you would wish,
But I pray you tell mee, thus
much
by the way,
Whither now from this place
will
you take your iournay?
C A R I S O P H V S.
I wyll not dissemble, that were against
Friendship,
I go into the Citie some
knaues
to nip:
For talke with their goodes,
to
encrease the kynges Treasure,
In such kinde of seruice, I
set
my cheefe pleasure,
Farewell friend Aristippus now
for
a time[.] EXIT.
A R I S T I P P V S.
A dewe friend Carisophus: In good faith
now,
Of force I must laugh at this
solempne
vow,
Is Aristippus linct in
Friendship
with Carisophus?
Quid cum tanto Asino, talis
Philosophus?
They say, Morum similtudo
consultat
amicitias.
Then, how can this Friendship
betwene
vs two come to passe?
We are as like in condicions,
as
Jacke Fletcher and his Bowlt,
I brought vp in learning, but
he
is a very dolt
As touching good Letters: but
otherwise
suche a craftie knaue,
If you seeke a whole Region,
his
lyke you can not haue:
A Villaine for his life, a
Varlet
died in Graine,
You lose Money by him if you
set
him for one knaue, for he serues for twaine:
A flattering Parasite, a
Sicophant
also,
A commen accuser of men: to
the
good, an open Foe,
Of halfe a worde, he can make
a
Legend of lies,
Which he wyll aduouch with
such
tragicall cryes,
As though all were true that
comes
out of his mouth,
Where in dede to be hanged by
and
by,
He cannot tell one tale but
twyse
he must lie,
He spareth no mans life to get
the
kynges fauour,
In which kind of seruis he
hath
got such a sauour,
That he wyll neuer leaue, me
thinke
then that I,
Haue done very wisely to ioyne
in
friendship with him, lest perhaps I
Comming in his way might be
nipt,
for such knaues in presence,
We see oft times put honest
men
to silence:
Yet I haue played with his
beard
in knitting this knot,
I promist frendship, but you
loue
few words: I spake it, but I meant it not.
Who markes this friendship
betwene
vs two,
Shal iudge of the worldly
friendship
without any more a doo,
It may be a ryght Patron
therof,
but true friendship in deede,
Of nought but of vertue, doth
thuly
proseede,
But why doo I now enter into
Philosophie,
Which doo professe the fine
kind
of curtesie?
I wyll hence to the Courte
with
all haste I may,
I thinke the King be stirring,
it
is now bright day,
To waite at a pinche still in
sight
I meane,
For wot ye what? a new Broome
sweepes
cleane,
As to hie honour I mynde not
to
clime,
So I meane in the courte to
lose
no time:
Wherein happy man be his dole,
I
trust that I,
Shall not speede worst, and
that
very quickly[.]
EXIT.
Here entreth D A M O N and P I T H I A S
lyke Mariners.
O
N E
P T V N E, immortall be thy prayse,
For that so safe from Grace we
haue
past the seas,
To this noble citie S I R A C
V
S A E, where we
The auncient raygne of the
Romaines
may see,
Whose force, Greece also here
tofore
hath knowne,
Whose vertue, the shrill trump
of
fame so farre hath blowne.
P I T H I A S.
My Damon, of
right
high prayse we ought to geue,
To Neptune and all the Gods,
that
we safely did arryue,
The Seas I thinke with
contrary
winds, neuer raged so,
I am euen yet so Seasicke,
that
I faynt as I go:
Therefore let vs get some
lodgyng
quickely:
But where is Stephano?
Here entreth S T E P H A N O.
Not farre hence: a Pockes take these
Maryner knaues,
Not one would healpe me to
carry
this stuffe, such dronken slaues
I think be accursed of the
Goddes
owne mouthes.
D A M O N.
Stephano, leaue thy ragyng, and let vs
enter S I R A C V S A E
We will prouide lodgying, and
thou
shalt be eased of thy burden by & by[.]
S T E P H A N O.
Good mayster make haste, for I tell you
playne,
This heauy burden puts poore
Stephano
to much payne.
P I T H I A S.
Come on thy wayes, thou shalt be eased,
and that
anon.
EXIT.
*Here entreth C A R I S O P H V S.
It
is a true saying that oft hath bin spoken,
The pitcher goeth so longe to
the
water, that he commeth home broken.
My owne proofe this hath
taught
me, for truly sith I,
In the Citie haue vsed to
walke
very slyly,
Not with one can I meete, that
will
in talke ioyne with mee,
And to creepe into mens
bosomes
some talke for to snatche,
By which into one trip or
other,
I might trimly them catche
And so accuse them: Now not
with
one can I meete,
That will ioyne in talke wt
mee, I am shund lyke a Deuill in ye streete.
My credite is crackte where I
am
knowne, but yet I heare say,
Certayne straingers are
arriued,
they were a good praye,
If happely I might meete with
them,
I feare not I,
But in talke I should trippe
them,
and that very finely,
Which thinge, I assure you, I
doo
for myne owne gayne,
Or els I would not plodde thus
vp
and downe, I tell you playne:
Well, I wyll for a whyle to
the
Court to see
What Aristippus doth, I would
be
loth in fauer he shuld ouerrun mee,
He is a subtile chyld, he
flattreth
so finely, that I feare mee,
He will licke all the fatte
from
my lippes, and so outwery mee:
Therefore I wyll not be longe
absent,
but at hand,
That al his fine driftes I may
vnderstande.
EXIT.
*Here
entreth V V Y L L and I A C K E.
I wonder
what
my Master Aristippus meanes now a daies,
That he leaueth Philosophie,
and
seekes to please
Kyng Dionisius, with such mery
toyes,
In Dionisius Court now he only
ioyes,
As trim a Courtier as the best,
Ready to aunswer, quicke in
tauntes,
pleasant to ieste,
A lusty companion to deuise
with
fine Dames,
Whose humour to feede, his
wylie
witte he frames.
I A C K E.
Be cocke as you say, your Maister is a
Minion,
A foule coyle he keepes in
this
Courte. Aristippus alone
Now rules the roasts with his
pleasant
deuises,
That I feare he wyll put out
of
conceit my Maister Carisophus.
V V Y L L.
Feare not that Iacke, for like brother
and brother
They are knit in true
friendship
one with the other,
They are fellowes you knowe,
and
honest men both,
Therefore the one to hinder
the
other, they wyll be lothe.
I A C K E.
Yea, but I haue heard say, there is
falshood in felowshippe,
In the Court somtimes, on
geues
another finely the slippe:
Which when it is spied, it is
laught
out with a scoffe,
And with sporting and playing,
quietly
shaken of:
In which kinde of toying, thy
master
hath such a grace,
That he wyll neuer blush, he
hath
a wodden face:
But Wyll, my maister hath
B[ee]s
in his head,
If he finde me heare pratinge,
I
am but dead:
He is styll trotting in the
Citie,
there is sumwhat in the winde:
His lookes bewrayes his
inwarde
troubled mynde:
Therefore I wyll be packing to
the
Courte by and by
If he be once angry, Iacke
shall
cry wo the pye.
V V Y L L.
Byr Lady, if I tary longe here, of the
same sauce shall I tast,
For my master sent me on an
errand,
and bad mee make haste,
Therefore we wyll departe
together.
EXEVNT.
Here entreth S T E P H A N O.
Oftetimes I haue heard, before I came
hether,
That no man can serue two
maisters
together:
A sentence so true, as moste
men
doo take it,
At any time false, that no man
can
make it:
And yet by their leaue, that
first
haue it spoken,
How that may proue false, euen
here
I wyll open:
For I Stephano, loe, so named
by
my father,
At this time serue two masters
together:
And loue them alike, the one
and
the other,
I duely obey, I can doo no
other,
A bondman I am so nature hath
wrought
me,
One Damon of Greece, a
gentleman
bought me:
To him I stand bond, yet serue
I
another,
Whom Damon my Master loues, as
his
owne brother:
A Gentleman too, and Pithias
he
is named,
Fraught with Vertue, whom vice
neuer
defamed:
These twoo, since at Schoole
they
fell acquainted,
In mutuall friendship, at no
time
haue fainted:
But loued so kindly, and
friendly
eche other,
As thoughe they were Brothers
by
Father and Mother:
Pithagoras learnynge, these
two
haue embrased,
Whiche bothe are in vertue so
narrowly
laced:
That all their whole dooynges
do
fall to this issue,
To haue no respect, but only
to
vertue:
All one in effecte: all one in
their
goynge,
All one in their study, all
one
in their doyng:
These Gentlemen both, beyng of
one
condicion,
Both alike of my seruice haue
all
the fruition:
Pithias is ioyfull, if Damon
be
pleased:
Yf Pithias be serued, then
Damon
is eased:
Serue one, serue both: so
neare,
who would win them?
I thinke they haue but one
hart
betwene them:
In trauelyng Countreyes, we
three
haue contriued,
Full many a yeare: and this
day
arriued
At SIRACVSAE in Sicillia that
auncient
Towne,
Where my Masters are lodged:
and
I vp and downe,
Go seekyng to learne what
Newes
here are walkyng,
To harke of what thynges the
people
are talkynge.
I lyke not this Soyle: for as
I
go ploddynge,
I marke there two, there three
their
heads alwayes noddinge.
In close secret wise, styll
whisperyng
together:
If I aske any question, no man
doth
answer:
But shakyng their heads, they
go
their wayes speakynge,
I marke how with teares, their
wet
eyes are leakynge:
Some strangenesse there is,
that
breedeth this musinge.
Well: I wyll to my Masters,
and
tell of their vsing,
That they may learne, and
walke
wisely together,
I feare, we shall curse the
time
we came hether.
EXIT.
* Here entreth A R I S T I P P V S and V V Y L L.
Wyll, didst thou heare the Ladies so
talke of mee,
What ayleth them? from their
nippes
shall I ne[u]er be free?
V V Y L L.
Good faith sir, all the Ladies in the
Courte, do plainly report,
That without mencion of them,
you
can make no sporte:
They are your Playne songe to
singe
Descant vpon,
If they weare not, your mirth
were
gone,
Therefore master, iest no more
with
women in any wise,
If you doo, by cocke [you] are
lyke
to know the price.
A R I S T I P P V S.
Byr lady Wyll, this is
good
counsell, playnly to iest
Of women, proofe hard hath
taught
mee it is not best,
I wyll change my coppy, how be
it,
I care not a quinche,
I know the galde horse will
soonest
winche:
But learne thou secretly what
priuely
they talke
Of me in the Courte, amonge
them
slyly walke,
And bringe me true newes
thereof.
V V Y L L.
I wyll syr, maister
therof
haue no doubt, for I
Wheare they talke of you, wyll
enforme
you perfectly.
ARISTIPPVS.
Doo so my boy: if thou bringe
it
finely to passe,
For thy good seruice, thou
shalt
go in thine olde coate at Christmas. EXEVNT[.]
Enter Damon, Pithias, Stephano.
Stephano, is all this true that thou hast
tolde me.
S T E P H A N O.
Sir, for lies, hetherto
ye
neuer controlde mee,
Oh that we had neuer set foote
on
this land,
Where Dionisius raygnes, with
so
bloody a hande,
Euery day he sheweth some
token
of crueltie,
With blood he hath filled all
the
streetes in the Citie:
I tremble to heare the peoples
murmuring,
I lament, to see his most
cruell
dealyng:
I thinke there is no suche
tyraunt
vnder the Sunne,
O my deare masters, this
mornyng
what hath he done?
D A M O N.
What is that? tell vs
quickly.
S T E P H A N O.
As I this morning past
in
the streete,
With a wofull man (going to
his
death) did I meete,
Many people folowed, and I of
one
secretly
Asked the cause, why he was
condemned
to die?
Whispered in mine eare, nought
hath
he done but thus,
In his sleepe he dreamed he
had
killed Dionisius,
Which dreame tolde abrode was
brought
to the kinge in poste,
By whome condemned for
suspicion,
his lyfe he hath lost:
Marcia was his name as the
people
sayde.
P I T H I A S.
My deare friende Damon, I blame not
Stephano,
For wishyng we had not come
hether,
seeynge it is so:
That for so small cause, suche
cruell
death doth insue.
D A M O N.
My Pithias, where Tirantes raigne, suche
cases are not new,
Whiche fearynge their owne
state
for great crueltie,
To sit fast as they thinke,
doo
execute speedely,
All suche as any light
suspition
haue tainted.
S T E P H A N O.
With such quicke Karvers, I lyst not be
acquainted.
D A M O N.
So are they neuer in quiet, but in
suspicion styll,
When one is made away, they
take
occasion another to kyll:
Euer in feare, hauyng no
trustie
friende, voyde of all peoples loue,
And in their owne conscience,
a
continuall Hell they prooue.
P I T H I A S.
As thynges by their contraryes are
alwayes best prooued,
How happie are then mercifull
Princes
of their people beloued?
Hauyng sure friendes euerie
wheare,
no feare doth touch them,
They may safely spende the day
pleasantly,
at night
Secure dormiunt in vtranque
aurem
Oh my Damon, if choyce were
offred
me, I would choose to be Pithias
As I am, (Damons friende:)
rather
then to be kyng Dionisius.
S T E P H A N O.
And good cause why: for you are entierly
beloued of one,
And as farre as I heare,
Dionisius
is beloued of none.
D A M O N.
That state is moste miserable, thrise
happy are we,
Whom true loue hath ioyned in
perfect
Amytie:
Which amytie first sprong,
without
vaunting be it spoken, that is true
Of likelines of maners, take
roote
by company, & now is conserued by vertue
Which vertue alwaies through
worldly
things do not frame
Yet doth she atchiue to her
followers
immortall fame:
Wherof if men were carefull,
for
Vertues sake onely
They would honour friendship,
and
not for commoditie:
But suche as for profite, in
friendship
do lincke,
When stormes come, they slide
away
sooner then a man wyll thinke:
My Pithias, the somme of my
talke
falles to this issue,
To prooue no friendship is
sure,
but that which is grounded on vertue.
P I T H I A S.
My Damon, of this thyng, there needes no
proofe to mee,
The Gods forbyd, but that
Pithias
wt Damon in al things shuld agree
For why it is said: Amicus
alter
ipse,
But that true friendes should
be
two in body: but one in minde,
As it were one transformed
into
another, which against kynde
Though it seeme: yet in good
faith,
when I am alone,
I forget I am [Pithias], me
thinke
I am Damon.
S T E P H A N O.
That could I neuer doo, to forget my
selfe, full well I know,
Wheresoeuer I go, that I am P
A
V P E R S T E P H A N O:
But I pray you sir, for all
your
Phylosophie,
Soe that in this Courte you
walke
very wisely:
You are but newly come hether,
beyng
straungers ye know,
Many eyes are bent on you in
the
streetes as you go:
Many spies are abroad, you can
not
be too circumspect.
D A M O N.
Stephano, because thou
art
carefull of mee thy maister, I do thee praise,
Yet thinke this for a suertie,
no
state to displease:
By talke or otherwise, my
friende
and I entende, we wyll here
As men that coms to see the
soyle
& maners of al men of euery degree,
Pithagoras said, that this
world
was like a Stage,
Wheron many play their partes:
the
lookers on the sage
Phylosophers are saith he,
whose
part is to learne
The maners of all Nations, and
the
good from the bad to discerne.
S T E P H A N O.
Good faith sir, concernynge the people
they are not gay,
And as far as I see, they be
Mummers,
for nought they say,
For the most parte what soeuer
you
aske them.
The soyle is suche, that to
liue
heare I can not lyke.
D A M O N.
Thou speakest
accordynge
to thy learnynge, but I say,
Omnis solum fortis patria,
A wise man may lyue euery wheare:
Therefore my deare friende
Pithias,
Let vs view this Towne in
euerie
place,
And then consider the Peoples
maners
also.
P I T H I A S.
As you wyll my Damon, but how say you
Stephano?
Is it not best ere we go
further,
to take some repast?
S T E P H A N O.
*In faith, I
lyke
well this question, Sir: for all your haste,
To eate somwhat I pray you,
thinke
it no folly,
It is hie dinner time, I know
by
my belly.
D A M O N.
The let vs to our
lodging
departe, when dinner is done,
We wyll view this Citie as we
haue
begonne.
[EXEVNT].
Here entreth C A R I S O P H V S.
Once agayne in hope of
good
wynd, I hoyse my sayle,
I goe into the citie to finde
som
pray for mine auayle:
I hunger while I may see these
straungers,
that lately
Arriued, I were safe if once I
might
meete them happily,
Let them barke that lust, at
this
kinde of gaine,
He is a foole that for his
profit
will not take payne:
Though it be ioyned with other
mens
hurt, I care not at all,
For profit I wyll accuse any
man,
hap what shall:
But soft syrs, I pray you
huysh,
what are they that comes here,
By their apparell, and
continuance
some strangers they appeare,
I wyll shrowde my selfe
secretly,
euen here for a while,
To heare all their talke that
I
may them beguyle.
*Here entreth D A M O N and S T E P H A N O.
A shorte horse soone curried, my belly
waxeth thinner,
I am as hungry now as when I
went
to dinner:
Your philosophicall diet, is
so
fine and small,
That you may eate your dinner
&
supper at once, & not surfaite at all.
D A M O N.
Stephano, much meat breedes heauynes,
thinne diet maks thee light[.]
S T E P H A N O.
I may be lighter thereby, but I shall
neuer rune the faster.
D A M O N.
I haue had sufficiently discourse of
amitie,
Which I had at dinner with
Pithias
and his pleasaunt companie
Hath fully satisfied me, it
doth
me good to feede myne eyes on him.
S T E P H A N O.
Course or discourse, your course is very
course for all your talke,
You had but one bare course,
and
that was Pike, rise and walke,
And surely for all your talke
of
Philosophie,
I neuer heard that a man with
wordes
could fill his belly,
Feede your eyes (quod you) the
reason
from my wisdom swarueth,
I stared on you both, and yet
my
belly starueth.
D A M O N.
Ah Stephano, small diet maketh a fine
memorie.
S T E P H A N O.
I care not for your craftie Sophistrie,
You two are fine, let mee be
fed
lyke a grose knaue styll,
I pray you license mee for a
whyle
to haue my will:
At home to tary whiles you
take
vew of this citie,
To finde some odd victualles
in
a corner, I am very wittie.
D A M O N.
At your pleasure sir, I wyll wayte on my
selfe this daye,
Yet attend vpon Pithias,
whiche
for a purpose tarieth at home,
So dooyng, you wayte vpon mee
also.
S T E P H A N O.
With winges on my feete I go. [EXIT.]
D A M O N.
Not in vain the Poet
saith Natura
furca expellas, tamen vsque recurrit.
For trayne vp a bondman neuer
to
so good a behauiour,
Yet in some poinct of
seruilitie,
he wyll sauour:
As this Stephano, trustie to
mee
his Mayster, louyng and kinde,
Yet touchyng his belly, a very
bondman
I him finde:
He is to be borne withall,
beyng
so iust and true,
I assure you, I would not
chaunge
him for no new:
But mee thinkes, this is a
pleasant
Citie,
The Seate is good, and yet not
stronge,
and that is greate pitie.
C A R I S O P H V S.
I am safe, he is myne owne.
D A M O N.
The Ayre subtle and
fine,
the people should be wittie
That dwell vnder this Climate
in
so pure a Region,
A trimmer Plotte I haue not
seene
in my peregrination:
Nothyng mislyketh mee in this
Countrey,
But that I heare suche
mutteryng
of crueltie:
Fame reporteth strange thynges
of
Dionisius,
But kynges matters passyng our
reach,
pertayne not to vs.
C A R I S O P H V S.
Dionisius (quoth you) since the worlde
began,
In Cicilia neuer rayned so
cruell
a man:
A despightfull Tirant to all
men,
I maruayle I,
That none makes him away, and
that
sodaynly.
D A M O N.
My friende, the Goddes forbyd so cruell a
thynge:
That any man should lift vp
his
Sword against the kynge:
Or seeke other meanes by death
him
to preuent,
Whom to rule on earth, the
mighty
Goddes haue sent:
But my friende, leaue off this
talke
of kynge Dionisius.
C A R I S O P H V S.
Why sir? he can not heare vs.
D A M O N.
What then? An nescis longas Regibus
esse manus?
It is not safe talkynge of
them
that strykes a farre off:
But leauing kynges matters, I
pray
you shew me this curtesie:
To describe in few wordes, the
state
of this Citie?
A trauayler I am, desirous to
know
The state of eche Countrey,
wher
euer I go:
Not to the hurt of any state,
but
to get experience therby:
It is not for nought that the
Poet
doth crye,
Dic mihi Musa virum,
captæ
post tempore Troyæ
Multorum hominum mores qui
vidit,
& vrbis.
In which verses, as some
Writers
do scan,
The Poet describeth, a
[perfect]
wise man:
Euen so, I beyng a Stranger,
addicted
to Phylosophie,
To see the state of
Countreyes,
my selfe I applie.
C A R I S O P H V S.
Sir, I lyke this entent, but may I aske
your name without scorne?
D A M O N.
My name is Damon, well knowen in my
Countrey, a Gentleman borne.
C A R I S O P H V S.
You do wisely to serche the state of each
Countrie,
To beare intelligence therof
whether
you lust: He is a spie,
Sir, I pray you, haue pacience
a
while, for I haue to do here by:
View this weake parte of this
Citie
as you stande, & I very quickly
Wyll retourne to you agayne,
and
then wyll I show,
The state of all this
Countrie,
and of the Courte
also.
EXIT.
D A M O N.
I thanke you for your courtesie, this
chaunceth well that I
Met with this Gentleman so
happely,
Whiche as it seemeth,
misliketh
some thynge,
Els he would not talke so
boldly
of the kynge,
And that to a stranger, but
loe
[here] he comes in haste.
Here entreth CARISOPHVS and SNAP.
This is [the] felow Snap, snap him vp:
away with hym.
S N A P.
Good felow thou must go with mee to the
Courte.
D A M O N.
To the Courte sir, and why?
C A R I S O P H V S.
Well, we wyll dispute that
before
the Kyng, away with hym quickly.
D A M O N.
Is this the curtesie you promysed mee?
and that very lately.
C A R I S O P H V S.
Away with hym I say.
D A M O N[.]
Vse no violence, I wyll go with you
quietly. Exiunt omnes.
Here entreth A R I S T I P P V S.
Ah Sira, byr lady, Aristippus lykes
Dionisius Court very well,
Whiche in passyng ioyes and
plasures
doth excell:
Where he hath Dapsilæ
cænas,
gemalis lectes, & auro,
Fulgentii turgmani zonam.
I haue plied the Haruest, and
stroke
when the Yron was hotte,
When I spied my time, I was
not
squemish to craue, God wotte:
But with some pleasant [toye],
I
crept into the Kinges bosome.
For whiche, Dionisius gaue me Aure
talentum magnum,
A large rewarde for so simple
seruices,
What then? the kinges prayse
standeth
chiefly in bountifulnesse:
Whiche thynge, though I tolde
the
kinge very pleasantly,
Yet can I priue it by good
Writers
of great Antiquitie:
But that shall not neede at
this
time, since that I haue aboundantly,
When I lacke hereafter, I wyll
vse
this poinct of Phylosophie:
But now, where as I haue felt
the
kynges lyberalytie,
As princely as it came, I wyll
spende
it as regallie:
Money is currant men say, and
currant
comes of currendo
Then wyll I make money runne,
as
his nature requireth I trow,
For what becomes a Philosopher
best,
But to dispise mony aboue the
rest:
And yet not to dispise it, but
to
haue in store,
Enough to serue his owne
tourne,
and somwhat more,
With sondrie sports and
tauntes,
yester night I delighted the kinge,
That with his lowde laughter,
the
whole courte did ringe:
And I thought he laught not
merrier
then I, when I got this money,
But mumbouget for Carisophus I
espie,
In haste to come hether, I
must
handle the knaue finely:
Oh Carisophus, my dearest
frinde,
my trusty companyon,
What newes with you? where
haue
you been so longe?
Heere entreth C A R I S O P H V S.
My best beloued friend Aristippus, I am
come at last,
I haue not spent all my time
in
wast,
I haue got a pray, and that a
good
one I trow.
A R I S T I P P V S.
What praye is that? faine would I know.
C A R I S O P H V S.
Such a crafty spie I
haue
caught, I dare say,
As neuer was in Cicilia,
before
this day,
Suche a one as vewed euery
weake
place in the Citie,
Suruewed the Hauen, and each
bulwarke,
in talke very wittie:
And yet by some wordes,
himselfe
he dyd bewray.
A R I S T I P P V S.
I thinke so in good faith, as you did
handle him.
C A R I S O P H V S.
I handled him clarkly, I ioyned in talke
with him courteously,
But when we were entred, I let
him
speake his wyll, and I
Suckt out thus much of his
words,
that I made him say playnely,
He was come hether to know the
state
of the Citie.
And not only this, but that he
would
vnderstande,
The state of Dionisius Courte
and
of the whole land.
Which wordes when I heard, I
desired
him to staye,
Till I had done a little
businesse
of the way,
Promising him to returne
agayne
quickly: And so did conuaye
My self to ye Court
for
Snap ye Tipstaffe, which came & vpsnatched him
Brought him to the Court and
in
the porters lodge dispatched him:
After I ran to Dionisius as
fast
as I could,
And bewrayed this matter to
him
which I haue you tolde:
Which thinge when he heard,
being
very mery before,
He sodenly fell in a dump, and
fomyng
lyke a Bore:
At last he swore in a great
rage
that he should die,
By the sworde or the wheele,
and
that very shortly,
I am too shamefast for my
trauell
and toyle,
I craue nothinge of Dionisius
but
only his spoyle:
Litle hath he about him, but a
few
motheaten crownes of golde
Cha poucht them vp all ready,
they
are sure in hold:
And now I goe to the Citie to
say
sooth,
To see what he hath at his
lodginge
to make vp my mouth.
A R I S T I P P V S.
My Carisophus, you haue
don
good seruice, but what is the spies name[?]
C A R I S O P H V S.
He is called Damon, borne in Greece, from
whence lastly he came.
A R I S T I P P V S.
By my trouth, I wyll goe see him, and
speake with him to if I may.
C A R I S O P H V S.
Doo so I pray you, but yet by the way:
As occasion serueth, commend
my
seruice to the Kinge.
A R I [S] T I P P V S.
Dictum sap[i]enti
sat
est: friend Carisophus, shal I forget that thinge,
No, I warrant you, though I
say
litle to your face,
I wyll lay one month for you
to
Dionisius when I am in place:
If I speake one worde for
suche
a knaue, hange mee. EXIT.
C A R I S O P H V S.
Our fine Phylosopher,
our
timme learned elfe,
Is gone to see as false a Spie
as
himselfe:
Damon smatters as well as he
of
craftie Phylosophie,
And can tourne Cat in the
panne
very pretily:
But Carisophus hath geuen him
suche
a mightie checke,
As I thinke in the ende wyll
breake
his necke:
What care I for that, why
would
he then prie,
And learne the secret estate
of
our countrey and citie?
He is but a stranger, by his
fall
let others be wise,
I care not who fall, so that I
may
ryse:
As for fine Aristippvs, I wyll
keepe
in with hym,
He is a shrewde foole to deale
withall,
he can swym:
And yet by my trouth, to
speake
my conscience playnlie,
I wyll vse his friendship to
myne
owne commodytie:
While Aristippus fauoureth
him,
Aristippus shalbe mine,
But if the kynge once frowne
on
him, then good night Tomaline:
He shalbe as straunge, as
thoughe
I neuer sawe hym before,
But I tarie too longe, I wyll
prate
no more:
Iacke, come awaye.
I A C K E.
At hande syr.
C A R I S O P H V S.
At Damons lodgyng if that you see,
Any sturre to arise, be styll
at
hand by mee,
Rather then I wyll lose the
spoyle,
I wyll blade it out.
*Here entreth P I T H I A S and S T E P H A N O.
What straunge Newes are these, ah my
Stephano?
Is my Damon in Pryson, as the
voyce
doth go?
S T E P H A N O.
It is true, oh cruell happe, he is taken
for a Spie,
And as they say, by Dionisius
owne
mouth condempned to die.
P I T H I A S.
To die? alas for what cause?
S T E P H A N O.
A Sicophant falsely accused hym: other
cause there is none,
That oh Iupiter, of all
wronges
the Reuenger,
Seest thou this vniustice, and
wilt
thou staie any longer
From heauen to sende downe,
thy
hote consumyng fire?
To destroy the workers of
wronge,
whiche prouoke thy iust ire:
Alas maister Pithias, what
shall
we do?
Being in a strange countrey,
voyde
of friendes & acquaintance so
Ah poore Stephano, hast thou
liued
to see this daye?
To see thy true Mayster
vniustly
made away?
P I T H I A S.
Stephano, seeyng the matter is come to
this extremytie,
Let vs make Vertue our frend,
of
meane necessytie:
Runne thou to the Court and
vnderstand
secretly,
As muche as thou canst of
Damons
cause, and I
Will make some meanes to
entreate
Aristippus:
He can do much as I heare with
kyng
Dionisius.
S T E P H A N O.
I am gone sir: ah, I would to God, my
trauayle and payne
Myght restore my Mayster to
his
lybertie agayne.
[EXIT.]
P I T H I A S.
Ah wofull Pithias, sithe now I am alone,
What way shall I first beginne
to
make my mone?
What wordes shall I finde apt
for
my complaynte,
Damon, my friend, my ioy, my
life
is in peril, of force I must now faint
But oh Musicke, as in ioyfull
tunes,
thy mery notes I did borow,
So now lend mee thy yernfull
tunes,
to vtter my sorow.
Here P I T H I A S singes, and the
Regalles play.
 Wake
ye wofull Wightes,
That
longe haue wept in wo:
Resigne to
me your
plaintes and teares,
my haplesse
hap to sho:
My wo no
tongue can
tell,
ne Pen
can well descrie:
O what a death is this to heare,
D A M O N my friende must die.
The
losse of worldly wealth,
mannes
wisdome may restore,
And Phisicke
hath
prouided too,
a Salue
for euerie sore:
But my true
Frende
once lost,
no Arte
can well supplie:
Then, what a death is this to heare?
D A M O N my friend must die.
My
mouth refuse the food,
that
should my limmes sustayne:
Let sorow
sinke in
to my brest,
and ransacke
euery vayne:
You Furies
all at
once,
on me
your tormentes trie:
Why should I liue, since that I heare?
Damon my friend should die?
Gripe
me you greedy greefs,
And present
pangues of death,
You Systers
three,
with cruell handes,
with
speed now stop my breath:
Shrine me in
clay
aliue,
some
good man stop mine eye:
Oh death com now, seing I heare,
Damon my friend must die.
He speaketh this after the songe.
In vaine I call for Death,
whiche heareth not my complaint,
But what wisdome is this, in
suche
extremytie to faint?
Multum iuua in re mala
annimas
bonus.
I wyll to the Courte my selfe
to
make friendes, and that presently.
I wyll neuer forsake my
friende
in time of miserie:
But do I see Stephano amazed
hether
to ronne?
Here entreth S T E P H A N O.
O Pithias, Pithias, we are all vndone,
Mine owne eares haue sucked in
mine
owne sorow:
I heard Dionisius sweare, that
Damon
should die to morow.
P I T H I A S.
How camest thou so neare the presence of
the kynge,
That thou mightest heare
Dionisius
speake this thynge.
S T E P H A N O.
By friendship I gate into the Courte
where in great Audience,
I heard Dionisius with his
owne
mouth geue this cruell sentence
By these expresse words: that
Damon
the Greeke that craftie spie,
Without farther Iudgement, to
morow
should die:
Beleeue me Pithias, with these
eares
I heard it my selfe.
P I T H I A S.
Then how neare is my death al so, ah woe
is mee.
Ah my Damon, another my selfe;
shall
I forgo thee?
S T E P H A N O.
Syr, there is no tyme of lamenting now,
it behoueth vs,
To make meanes to them which
can
doo much with Dionisius:
That he be not made awaye ere
his
cause be fully heard, for we see
By euyll reporte, thynges be
made
to Princes far worse then they bee,
But lo, yonder com[m]eth
Aristippus,
in great fauour wt kyng Dionisius
Entreate hym to speake a good
worde
to the kynge for vs:
And in the meane season, I
wyll
to your lodgyng, to see all thyngs safe there. EXIT.
P I T H I A S.
To that I agree but let vs slip aside his
talke to heare.
Here entreth A R I S T I P P V S.
Here is a sodayne chaunge in deede, a
strange Metamorphosis.
This Courte is cleane altered,
who
would haue thought this?
Dionisius of late so pleasant
and
mery,
Is quite changed now into
suche
melancoly?
That nothing can please hym,
he
walked vp and downe,
Fretting and chafyng, on
euerie
man he doth frowne:
In so much that when I in
pleasant
wordes began to play,
So sternly he frowned on mee,
and
knit me vp so short,
I perceyue it is no safe
playing
with Lyons, but when it please them,
If you claw where it itch not,
you
shall disease them:
And so perhaps get a clap,
myne
owne
proofe taught mee this,
That it is very good to be
mery
and wise:
The only cause of this burly
burly,
is Carisophus that wicked man,
Whiche falsely tooke Damon for
a
Spie, a poore Gentleman:
And hath [incencst] the kynge
against
him so despightfully,
That Dionisius hath iudged him
to
morow to die:
I haue talkt with Damon, whom
though
in words I found very wittie
Yet was he more curious then
wise
in viewing this Citie:
But truely for ought I can
learne,
there is no cause why
So sodenly and cruelly, he
should
be condempned to die:
Howsoeuer it be, this is the
short
and longe,
I dare not gainsay the kynge,
be
it right or wrong:
I am sory, and that is all I
may
or can doo in this case,
Naught auayleth perswasio[n],
where
frowarde opinion taketh place.
P I T H I A S.
Sir, if humble sutes you would not
despise,
Then bow on mee your pitifull
eyes:
My name is Pithias, in Grece
well
knowne,
A perfect friend to that woful
Damon,
Whiche now a poore captiue in
this
Courte doth lie,
By the kinges owne mouth as I
here,
condemned to die:
For whom I craue your
masterships
goodnesse,
To stand his friend in this
his
great distresse:
Nought hath he done worthy of
Death,
but very fondly,
Being a straunger, he vewed
this
Citie,
For no euill practices, but to
feede
his eyes,
But seing Dionisius is
informed
otherwise,
My sute is to you, when you
see
time and place,
To asswage the kinges anger,
and
to purchase his grace,
In which dooyng, you shall not
doo
good to one onely,
But you shall further too, and
that
fully.
[A R I S T I P P V S.]
My friend, in this case
I
can doo you no pleasure.
P I T H I A S.
Syr, you serue in the
Court
as Fame doth tell.
A R I S T I P P V S.
I am of the Court in
deede,
but none of the Counsell.
P I T H I A S.
As I heare, none is in
greater
fauour with the Kinge then you at this day.
A R I S T I P P V S.
The more in fauour, the
lesse
I dare say.
P I T H I A S.
It is a Courtiers
prayse
to helpe Straingers in miserie.
A R I S T I P P V S.
To helpe an other and
hurte
my selfe, it is an euyll point of courtesie.
P I T H I A S.
You shall not hurt your
selfe
to speake for the innocent.
A R I S T I P P V S.
He is not innocent,
whom
the kinge iudgeth nocent.
P I T H I A S.
Why sir? doo you thinke
this
matter paste all remedie?
A R I S T I P P V S.
So fare past that
Dionisius
hath sworne Damon to morow shall die[.]
P I T H I A S.
This word my trembling
heart
cutte[t]h in twoo,
Ah sir, in this wofull case,
what
wist I best to doo.
A R I S T I P P V S.
Best to content your selfe, when there is
no remedie,
He is well reliued that
forknoweth
his miserie,
Yet if any comfort be, it
resteth
in Eubulus,
The chiefest counsellour about
kinge
Dionisius:
Which pittieth Damons case in
this
great extremitie,
Perswadyng the kynge from all
kynde
of crueltie.
P I T H I A S.
The mightie Gods preserue you for this
worde of comforte,
Takyng my leaue of your
goodnesse,
I wyll now resorte,
To Eubulus that good
Counseller:
But harke, methinke I heare a
Trompet
blow.
A R I S T I P P V S.
The kyng is at hand, stande close in the
prease, beware: if he know
You are friend to Damon, he
wyll
take you for a spie also:
Farewell I dare not be seene
with
you.
Here entreth Kyng D Y O N Y S I V S,
& E V B V L V S the Counseller,
and G R O N OO the Hangman.
D Y O N Y S I V S.
Gronoo, doo my com[m]aundement, strike
off Damons Irons by & by,
Then bryng him forth, I my
selfe
will see him executed presently.
G R O N OO.
O mightie Kyng, your commaundement wyll I
doo speedely.
D I O N Y S.
Eubulus: thou hast talked in vaine, for
sure he shall die.
Shall I suffer my lyfe to
stande
in peryll of euerie Spie?
E V B V L V S.
That he conspired against your person,
his Accuser can not say,
He onely viewed your Citie,
and
wyll you for that make hym away.
D Y O N Y S.
What he would haue
done,
the gesse is great, he minded mee to hurt
That came so slily to serch
out
the secret estate of my Courte:
Shall I lyue in feare? no, no:
I
wyll cut off suche Impes betime,
Least that to any further
daunger,
too hie they clime.
E V B V L V S.
Yet haue the mightie Goddes, immortall
Fame assigned,
To all worldly Princes, whiche
in
mercie be inclined.
D Y O N Y S I V S.
Let Fame talke what she
lyst,
so I may liue in safetie.
E V B V L V S.
The onely meane to that, is to vse mercie.
D Y O N Y S.
A milde Prince the people despiseth.
E V B V L V S.
A cruell kynge the people hateth.
D Y O N Y S I V S.
Let them hate me, so they feare mee.
E V B V L V S.
That is not the way to
lyue
in safetie.
D Y O N Y S I V S.
My sword and power shall purchase my
quietnesse.
E V B V L V S.
That is sooner procured by mercy and
gentilnesse.
D Y O N Y S.
Dionisius ought to be feared.
E V B V L V S.
Better for him to be welbeloued.
D Y O N Y S I V S.
Fortune maketh all thinges subiect to my
power.
E V B V L V S.
Beleue her not she is a light Goddesse,
she can laugh & lowre:
D I O N Y S.
A kinges prayse standeth in the reuenging
of his enemie[.]
E V B V L V S.
A greater prayse to winne him by
clemencie.
D Y O N Y S.
To suffer the wicked liue, it is no
mercie.
E V B V L V S.
To kill the innocent, it is great
crueltie,
DYONISYVS.
Is Damon innocent, which so craftely
[vndermined] Carisophus,
To vnderstand what he could of
kinge
Dionisius:
Which suruewed the Hauen and
eche
Bulwarcke in the Citie,
Where battrie might be layde,
what
way best to approche, shall I
Suffer such a one to liue,
that
worketh me such dispute?
No, he shall die, then I am
safe,
a dead dogge can not bite.
E V B V L V S.
But yet, O mightie, my dutie bindeth me,
To geve such counsell as with
your
honour may best agree,
The strongest pillers of
princely
dignitie,
I find this iustice, with
mercy
and prudent liberalitie,
The one iudgeth all thinges by
vpright
equitie,
The other rewardeth the
worthy,
flying eche extremitie:
As to spare those, which
offend
maliciously,
It may be called no iustice,
but
extreame iniurie:
As vpon sispicion, of each
thinges
not well proued,
To put to death presently,
whom
enuious flattery accused,
It seemeth tiranny, and vpon
what
fickle ground al tirants doo stand
Athenes and Lacedemon, can
teache
you yf it be rightly scande:
And not only these Citizens,
but
who curiously seekes,
The whole Histories of all the
world,
not only of Romaines & Greekes
Shall well perceyue of all
Tirantes
the ruinous fall,
Their state vncertaine,
beloued
of none, but hated of all:
Of mercifull Princes to set
out
the passyng felycitie
I neede not: ynough of that,
euen
these dayes do testifie:
They liue deuoid of feare,
their
sleapes are sound, they dreed no enemie[;]
They are feared and loued, and
why?
they rule with Iustice & mercie,
Extendyng iustice to such, as
wickedly
from Iustice haue swarued,
Mercie vnto those, where
opinion,
simplenesse haue mercie deserued:
Of lybertie nought I say, but
onely
this thynge,
Lybertie vpholdeth the state
of
a kynge:
Whose large bountifulnesse
ought
to fall to this issue,
To rewarde none, but such as
deserue
it for vertue:
Whiche mercifull Iustice, if
you
would folow, & prouident liberalyte,
Neither the Caterpillers of
all
Courtes, Et fruges consumere nati.
Parasites with wealth puft vp,
should
not look so hie,
Nor yet for this simple facte,
poore
Damon should die.
D I O N Y S I V S.
With payne mine eares haue heard this
vayne talke of mercie,
I tell thee, feare and
terrour,
defendeth kynges onely:
Tyll he be gone whome I
suspect,
how shall I lyve quietly?
Whose memorie wt
chilling
horror, fils my breast day & night violently
My dreadful dreames of him,
bereues
my rest: On bed I lie
Shakyng and trembling, as one
ready
to yelde his throate to Damons sword,
This quaking dread, nothing
but
Damons bloud can stay,
Better he die, then I to be
tormented
with feare alway:
He shall die, though Eubulus
consent
not thereto,
It is lawfull for kynges as
they
list all thynges to doo.
Here entreth G R O N OO bringeth in D A M
O N: and
P I T H I A S meeteth him by the way.
P I T H I A S.
Oh my Damon.
D A M O N.
Oh my Pithias, seyng Death must parte vs,
farewell for euer.
P I T H I A S.
Oh Damon, oh my sweete friende. |
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