BRUTUS

Yowl have and empty parliament then. Then what makest thou here, or he or he? o Jupiter? if this command be kept strictly, we shall have empty benches: get you home you that are here, for here will be nothing to do this day: a general concourse of wisemen tw'as never seen since the first Chaos. Tarquin if the general rule have no exceptio ̄ S, thou wilt have and empty Consistory. How powerful am I you renowned Deities, that am able to trouble her that troubles a whole Empire? fools ex empted, & women admitted! laugh Democritus, but have you nothing to say to Madmen? Then out a doors with Tarquin: whats he that may fit in a calm Valley, and will choose to repose in a tempesti ous mountain, but a madm n? that may live in tranquilous pleasures, and will seek out a kingdoms-cares, but a mad man? who would seek innovation in a commonwealth in public, or be overruled by a cursed wife in private, but a fool or a madman? give me thy hand Tarquin's shall we two be dis missed together from the Capitol? Nay soft, soft good blood of the Tarquin's, lets have a few cold words first, and I am gone in and instant: I claim the privilege of the nobility of Room, and by that privi ledge my seat in the Capitol. I am a Lord by birth, my place is as free in the Capitol as Horatius thine, or thine Lucretius. Thine Sextus, Arnus thine, or any here: I am a Lord and ba nish all the Lords from ̄ the presence, & yowl have few to wait upon the King but Gentlemen: nay I am easily persuaded then, hands off, since you will not have my company you shall have my room: My room indeed, for what I seem to be, Brutus is not, but born great Room to fr e. The state is full of Worser opsie, and swollen big With windy vapours, which my sword must pierce, To purge infected blood: bred by the pride Of these infested bloods, nay now I go. Behold I vanish, since 'tis Tarquin's mind, One small fool goes, but great fools leaves behind Exit. Murder the King, a high and capital treason. Those Giants that wagde war against the Gods, For which overwhelmed Mountains hurled by Jove, To scatter them, and give timeless Graves, Was not more cruel then this butchery. This slaughter made by Tarquin, but the Queen, A woman, fie, fie, did not this she parricide. and to her father's wounds: and when his body Lay all besmeared and stained in the blood royal, Did not this Monster, this infernate hag Make her unwilling, Chariater driven on, and with his shod wheels crush her Father's bones, Break his crazed scull, and dash his brains Upon the pavements, while she hold the reins? The affrighted Sun, at this abhorred object, Put on a mask of blood, and yet she blushed not, Jove art thou joust, hast thou reward for piety? and for offence no vengeance? or canst punish Felons, and pardon Traitors, chastise murderers, and wink at parricides? If thou be worthy as well we know thou art, to fill the Throne Of all eternity, then with that hand That flings the trisalitie thunder, let the pride Of these our Irreligious monarkisers Be crowned in blood: this makes poor Brutus mad, To see sin froliqu , and the virtuous sad. Who I your kinsman? though I be of the blood of the Tarquin's, yet no cousin, gentle princes. Because I would live: have I not answered you be cause I would live? fools and Madmen are no rubes in the way of Usurper's: the firmament can brook but one Sun, and for my partly I must not shine: I had rather live and obscure black, then appear a fair white to be shot at, the end of all , I would Sir jus been a shrub, the wind had not shook him, or a madman he had not perished: I covet no more wit nor employment then as much as will keep life and soul together, I would but live. I shall me to your preperation, but one thing more, goes Colatine along? Had I both, you should prevail with me abouea no there. Horatius Cocles, a and Mutius Scaevola are not en gadge in this expedition, Lucretius stays at home to, and Val rius. None but we three? We three, well five days hence. The time I hope for, cannot be conscribde, Within so short alimit, Room and I Are not so happy, what's the reason then Heaven spares his rod so long? Mercury tell me: I hat'e: the fruit of pride is yet but green, Not mellow, though it grows apace, it comes not To his full height: Jove oft delays his vengeance, That when it haps t'may prove more terrible. Despair not Brutus then but let thy country And thee take this last comfort after all, Pride when thy fruit is ripe must rot and fallen. But to the Oracle. What so early Valour. and your voice not up yet? thou wast wont to be my Lark and raise me with thy early notes. Prithee let's hear it then while we may, for I divine thy music and my madness are both short lived, we shall have somewhat else to do ere long, we hope Valerius. Horatius, Me thinks our wars go not well forward, Horatius we have greater Enemies to bustle with then the Ardeans if we durst but front them Horatius. Then we married men should have the advantage of the bachelors Horatius, especially such as have revelling wives, those that can caper in the City, while their husb ds are in the Camp, Collat why are you so ? the thought of this should not trouble you, having a Luc. to your bedfellow. Thank you, No, well, I'll to my Tent, get thee to thy Tent & a coward go with thee, if thou hast no more spirit to a speedy encounter. Neither, to pursue a fool in his humour? is the next way to make him more humorous, I'll not be guilty of his folly, Thank you! no, before I wish him health again when he is sick of the sullens, may I die, not Like a Roman, but a run agate. Well, then let him be ill. Cousin Colatine the news at Room? I'll thither as I live, Lucretius! How cheer you Madam? how is't with you cousin? Why is your eye deject and drowned in sorrow? Why is this funeral black, and ornaments Ofwiddow-hood? resolve me cousin Lucrece. Speak Lady you are h med in with your friends, in a pale of safety, and and cirkled in a fortress of your kindred, Let not those drops fallen fruiteles to the ground, Nor let your sighs and to the senseless wind. Speak, who hath wrong you? Be his head arched with gold. Be he no morethen mortal, he shall feel The vengeful edge of this victorious steel. Yet cheer you Lady, and restrain these tears, If you were forced, the sin concerns not you, A woman's born but with a woman's strength: who was the Ravisher? Lay your resolute hands upon the sword of Brutus, Vow & swear, as you hope meed for merit from the Gods Or fear reward for sin, from devils below: As you are Roman, and esteem your fame More then your lives all hum rous toys set off, Of madding, singing, smilings, and what else, Receive your native valours, be your selves, And join with Brutus in the joust revenge Of this chaste ravished Lady, swear Lady. She's dead, then turn your funeral tears to fire and indignation, let us now redeem Our misspent time, and over take our sloth With hostile expedition, this great Lords, This bloody knife, on which her chased blood flower, Shall not from Brutus till some strange revenge fallen on the heads of Tarquin's. We embrace it: now to stir the wrath of Room, You, Colla ine and good Lucretius, With eyes yet drowned in tears, bear that chaste body Into the market place: that horrid object, Shall kindle them with a most joust revenge. And you deer Lord, whose speechless grief is bound less, Turn all your tears with ours, to wrath and rage, The hearts of all the Tarquin's shall weep blood Upon the funeral Hearse, with whose chaste body, Honour your arms, and to assembled people, Disclose her innocent wounds: Gramercy Lords, That universal shout tells me their words are gracious with the people, and their troops are ready imbat eled and expect but us, To lead their troops, Jove give our Fortune's speed, Weel murder, murder, and base rape shall bleed. Even thus far Tyrant have we dogd thy stepes, Frighting thy frighted fear with horrid steel. Now Sextus where's the Oracle, My Mother earth it plainly did foretell, My noble virtues should thy sin exceed, Brutus should sway, & lust-burnt Tarquin bleed Sextus, my madness with your lives expires, Thy sensual eyes are fixed upon that wall, Thou never shalt enter, Room confines you all. Lucrece, force and victory. Thou Jovial hand hold up thy sceptre high And let not justice be oppressed with pride, O you Senators leave not Room and us, Grasped in the purple hands of death and ruin, the Tarquin's have the best. By thee we are consul, & still govern Room, Which but for thee, had been despoiled and taken, Made a confused heap of men and stones, Swimming in blood and slaughter, dear Horatius Thy noble picture shall be carved in brass, And fixed thy perpetual memory in our high capital. O Jove this day balance our cause, and let the innoce ̄ to blood Of Rape stained Lucrece crown with death and horror The heads of all the Tarquin's, see this day In her cause do we consecrate our lives, And in defence of Justice now march on: I hear their martial music, be our shock As terrible as are the meeting clouds That break in thunder, yet our Hope's are fair, And this rough charge shall all our Hope's repair. Say on. No, I was cousin to the Tarquin's, when they were subjects, but dare claim no kindred, as they are sovereigns: Brutus is not so mad though he be merry, but he hath wit enough to keep his head on his shoulders. To make you merry: I shall, nay, I will make you merry, or tickle you till you laugh, the Oracle; isle go to be resolved some doubts private to my self: nay Princes, I am so much endeerd both to your loves and companies, that you shall not have the power to be rid of me, what limits have we for our journey? I Oracle hast thou lost thy tongue? Mother earth to thee and humble kiss I tender. The blood of the slaughtered sacrifice made this flore as slippery as the place where Tarquin treads, 'tis glassy and as smooth as ice: I was proud to hear the Oracle so gracious to the blood of the Tarquin's and so I fell. If the madman had not been before you Sextus, if Oh racles be Oracles, their phrases are mystical, they speak still in clouds: had he meant a natural mother he would would spoke it by circumference. Earth I acknowledge no mother but thee, accept me as thy son, and I shall shine as bright in Room as Apollo himself in his temple at Delphos. Too't lads. Shall I tell the king. I will. We went from hither, when we went from he e arrived thither when we landed there, made and end of our prai ers when we had done our Orisons, when thus quoth , Tarquin shall be happy whilst he is blessed, govern while he reigns, wake when he sleeps not, sleep when he wakes not, quaff when he drinks, eat when he feeds, gape when his outh opens, live till he die, and die when he can live no lon her. So Phœbus commends him to you. Adding withal, that to depose the late king, which in others, had been arch treason, in Tarquin was honour: what in Brutus had been usurpation, in Tarquin was lawful succession and for Tullia, though it be parricide for a child to kill her father, in Tullia it was charity by death. To rid him of all his calamities, Phœbus himself, said she, was a good child, and shall not I say as he says, to tread upon her fa the skull, sparkle his brains upon her chariot wheel, And wear the sacred tincture of his blood Upon the servile shoe? but more then this, After his death deny him the endue claim Of all mortality, a funeral, And earthen sepulcher: this this, quoth the Oracle, Save Tullia none would do. If Tullia will send Brutus abroad for news, and after at his return not endure the telling of it; let Tullia either get closer ears, or get for Brutus a stricter tongue. God boy. What weeping ripe Lucretiu possible now Lords, La die, friends, fellows, young mad ap, galla ̄ ts & old courtly ruf fins, all subjects under one tira ̄ nigh, & therefore should be partners of one & the same unanimity. Shall we go single our selves by two & two, & go talk treason then 'tis but his yea, and my nay, if we be call worser to question: Or shals go use some violent bustling to break through this thorny servitude, or shall we every man go fit Like a man in desperation, and with Lucretius weep at Rome's misery: now am I for all things, any thing or nothing, I can laugh with Scaevola, weep with this good old man, sing o one one with Valerius, fret with Horatius Cocles, be mad Like my self, neutrize with Collatine. Say what shall's do? Rather lets all be mad that Tarquin still reigneth, Rome's still sad. I am of Collatines mind. Now Valerius sing us a baudy song. and makes merry, nay it shall be so. We would been mad Lords long, now let us be merry Lords, Horatins maugree thy m lancholy, and Lucretius in spite of thy sorrow, I'll have a song a subject for the ditty. Dangerous, no. Nay you shall stay Horatius, Lucretius so shall you, he removes himself from the love of Brutus, that shrinks from my side till we have had a song of all the pretty suburbians: fit round, when Valerius? Valour. Shall I woe the lovely Molly, She's so fair, so fat, so jolly, But she has a trick of folly, TO herefore would none of Molly. No no no, no no no. I'll have none of Molly no no no. Oh h the cherry lips of Nelly, They are read and soft as jelly, But too well she loves her belly, therefore isle have none of Nelly. No no &c. What say you to bonny Betty, Hayou seen a lass to pretty? But her body is so sweaty, Therefore isle none of Bety. No no no, &c. When I dolly with my Dolly, She is full of melancho . O that wench is postile to holy, Therefore isle have none of Dolly. No no no, &c. I could fancy lovely Nanny, But she has the loves of many, Yet her self she loves not any, Therefore isle have none of Nanny, No no no, &c. In a flax-shop I spied Ratchel, Where she her flax and tow did h chel, But her cheeks hang Like a satchel. Therefore isle would none of Ratchel. No no no, &c. In a corner I met Biddy, Her heals were light her ead was giddy, She fell down and somewhat did I, Therefore isle have none of Biddy. No no no, &c. The rest weel hear within: what offence is there in this Lucretius, what hurt's in this Horatius? Is it not better to sing with our heads on then weep with our heads off, I never took Collatin for a politician till now. Come Valerius, weel run oh ver all the wenches of Room, even from the community of las ciuious Flora to the chastity of divine Lucrece, come good Horat. What shals do? come a health to the Generals health, & Valerius that sits the most civilly shall begin it, I cannot talk till my blood be mingled with this blood of grapes: Fill, for Vale rius thou shouldst drink well, for thou hast been in the Her man wars, if thou loust me drink vpse freeze. He may, why else is he called the Commander? Were it in Lubeckes or double double beer their own natural, liquour i'de pledge it, were it as deep as his ruff, let the health go round about the board as his band goes round about his neck, I am no more afraid of this dutch fauchio ̄ , the ̄ I should be of the heathenish invention. Sex fit fast, for I proclaim my self a woman's cham ̄ pion, and shall unhorse thee else. Nay the less beauty the less temptation to despoil her honesty. And I angry with thee if thou shouldst not maintain her honour. Shall I end this controversy in a word? I hold some holy but some apt to fin, Some tractable, but some that none can win, Such as are virtuous, Gold nor wealth can move, Some vicious of themselves are prove to love. Some Grapes are sweet and in the Gardens grow, Others vnprunde, turn wild neglected so. The purest oar contains both Gold and dross, The one all gain, the other nought but lose. The one disgrace, reproach and scandal tai ts, The other angels and sweet featured saints. O this were a brau controversy for a Jury of Women to arbitrate. Tuscan know the Consul Brutus is their powerful foe. Ali Tarquin. Consul? Then farewell dead Horatius, think in us The universal arm of potent Room Takes his last leave of thee in this embrace. These arches all must down to interdict their passage the town. Aruns this crimson favour for thy sake, I'll wear upon my forehead masked with blood Till all the moistures in the Tarquin's veins Be spilled upon the earth and leave thy body As dry as the parched summer, burned and scorched with the canicu lar stars. But where the ravisher, injurious Sextus that we see not him? And thou with one that less then his renown Priseth his blood or Rome's imperial crown Sextus stand fair, much honour shall I win To revenge Lucre , and chastise thy sin. Hadst thou not done a deed so execrable, That Gods and men abhor, idem love thee Sextus, And hug thee for this chale ̄ ge breathed so freely: Behold, I stand for Room as General, Thou of the Tarquin's dost alone survive, The head of all these garboils the chife actor Of that black sin which we chastise by arms. Roman with your bright swords be our lists And ring us in none dare to offend the Prince By the least touch lest he incur our wrath: This honour do your Consul, that his hand may puni h this arch mischief, that the times Succeeding may of Brutus thus much ell, By him pride, lust, and all the Tarquin's fell. Lucrece, thy death weel mourn in glittering arms and plumed casks: some bear that reverend load, Unto the forum where our force shall meet To set upon the pallas, and expel This viperous brood from Room: I know the people Will gladly embrace our Fortune's: Sc vola, Go you and muster powers in Brutus name. Valerius, you assist him instantly, and to the mazed people freely speak the cause of this con course We would not loose thee, do not breast thy self Amongst thousands if thou frontest them thou art winged, With million swords and darts, and we behind Must break the bridge of Tiber to save Room, Before thee infinits gaze on thy face, And menace death, the raging streams of Tiber are at thy back to swallow thee. Nay to't boys, o 'tis brave, they tug for shadows, I the sub stance have. Do, & let it be of all the pretty wenches in the Suburbs of Room. Will you survey your forces, & give order for a present assault, your soldiers long to be tugging with the Ardea ̄ S. So yowl carry me along with you to be your fool, & make you merry. Gramercy Phœbus for these spells, alone alone excelles. For bear the presence, why pray?