LUCRECE

A Chair. Come near sir, be less officious. In duty, and use more attention, Nay gentlewoman we exempt not you From our discourse, but you must afford and ear As well as he, to what we would to say. Sirrah I would seen you oft familiar With this my Maid and waiting gentlewoman. As casting amorous glances, wanton looks, And pretty becks, savouring incontinence. I let you know you are not for my service Unless you grow more civil. Excuse it not for my premeditable thought Speaks nothing out of rashness, nor vain hear say. But what my own experience testifies: Against you both let then this mild reproof Forewarn you of the Like, my reputation Which is held precious in the eyes of Room, Shall be no shelter totheleast intent Of looseness, leave all familiarity: And quite renounce acquaintance, or I here discharge you both my service. Sirrah you know our mind. I would done, see if you can spy your Lord rerurning from the Court, and give me notice what strangers he brings home with him. This ring, my Lord, hath opt our gates to you, For though I know you for a royal Prince, My sovereigns son, and friend to Collatine: Without that key you had not entered here. More lights, and see a banquet strait provided, My love to my deer husband shall appear, In the kind welcome that I give his friend. A chair for the Prince, may't please your highness fit. It will become the wife of Collatine to wait upon your trencher. Knew you, my Lord, what free and zealous welcome We tender you, your highness would presume Upon your entertainment, oft, I many times I have herd my husband speak of Sextus worth, Extol your worth, praise your perfection, I dote upon your valour, and your friendship prize next his Lu crece. A woman's draught my Lord to Collatine. Your grace must pardon the tender weakness of a woe men brain. Me thinks twould ill become the modesty Of any Roman Lady to carouse, And drown her virtues in the juice of grapes. How can I show my love to my husband, To do his wife such wrong, by too much wine I might neglect the charge of this great house, Left solely to my keep, else my example Might in my servants breed encouragement So to offend, both which were pardonlesse, Else to your grace I might neglect my duty, And slack obeisance to so great a guest: All which being accidental unto wine, O let me not so wrong my Collatine. My Lord, I fear your health, your changing brow Hath shown so much disturbance, noble Sextus, Hath not your venturous travel from the camp, Nor the moist rawness of these humorous night impairde your health? To rest then, a rank of torches there, attend the Prince. This ring speaks for me, that next Collatine you are to me most welcome, yet my Lord, thus much presume, without this from his hand, Sextum this night could not have entered here, no, not the king himself, my dor S the day time to my Friends are from ̄ e, But in the night the obdure gates are less kind, Without this ring they Can ̄ no entram ̄ ce find. Lights for the Prince. Jove give your Highness soft and sweet repose. 'Tis late, so many stars shine in this room, By reason of this great and princely guest, The world might call our modesty in question, To revel thus our husband at the Camp, Hast and to est, save in the Princes chamber, Let not a light appear, my hart's all sadness, Jove unto thy protection I commit My chastity and honour to thy keep, My waking soul I give while my thoughts sleep, Whose that? o me! beshrew you. Heaven such sins defend. Sweet Lord stay. By a God you swear to do a de ils worser de: sweet Lord forbea By the same Jove I swear that made this soul, Never to yield unto and act so foul. Help, help. I'll die first, and yet hear me: o as you're nobl , If all your gracious and best generous thoughts Be not exiled your heart, pi tie, o pity The Virtues of a woman: mar not that Cannot be made again: this once defiled, Not all the Ocean waves can purify, Or wash my stain away, you seek to That which the radiant splender of the Sun Cannot make bright again: behold my tears! O think them pearled drops, destilled from the heart Of soul chaste Lucrece: think them Orators, To plead the cause of absent Colatine, your friend and kinsman. O! My Lord is welcome, so are all his friends, the news at Court Lords? Imposed me by my L. or be compelled To stay out late, which were my husband here, Might be without distaste, but he from hence, Which late a broad, there can no excuse dispense. Here take your work again, a while proceed, And then to bed, for while you sow, I'll read. Oh pardon me, the joy to see my Lord, Took from me all respect of their degrees, The richest entertainment lives with us, According to the hour and the provision Of a poor wife in the absence of her husband: We prostrate to you howsoever mean, We thus excused Lord Collatin: away. We neither feast, dance, quaff, riot nor play. But one hour more & you shall all to rest, Now that your Lord is absent from this house, And that the Master's eye is from his charge, We must be careful and with providence Guide his domestic business, we would now Given over all feasting and lewd revelling, Which ill becomes the house whose Lo: is absent, We banish all excess till his return, In fear of whom my soul does daily mourn. Your highness cannot taste such homely cates. What I? My Husband Colatine Here is no room for any man save him. What are you? Dream I, or am I full awake? o no! I know I dream to see Prince Tarquin so. Sweet Lord awake me, rid me from this terror, I know you for a Prince, a Gentleman, Royal and honest, one that loves my Lord. And would not wrack a woman's chastity, For Rome's imperial Diadem, o then Pardon this dream, for being awake I know, Prince Sextus, Rome's great hope, would not for shame Provoke his own wrath, or despoil my fame. No. No, I cannot. Hate me, and in that hate first let me die. The death: I care not, so I keep unstain , The vnceaz'd honour I have yet maintained. Then make my name pure: keep my body pure: O Prince of Princes, do but weigh your sin, Think how much I shall lose how small you win. I lose my honour of my name and blood, Lost, Rome's imperial Crown cannot make good. You win the world's shame, & all good men's hate, O who would pleasure, buy at such deer rate? Nor can you to arm it pleasure: for what's sweet, Where force & hate, jar and contention meet? Weigh but for what 'tis that you urge me still, To gain a woman's love against her will? Yowl but repent such wrong done a chaste wife, and think that labour's not worth all your strife. Curse your hotlust, & say you have wronged your friends, But all the world cannot make me amends. I took you for a friend, wrong not my trust, But let these chased terms quench your fiery lust. Mirable. Is not my father old Lucrecius come yet? Nor any from the Camp? Go, be gone, and leave me to the truest grief of heart That ever entr worser any Matrons breast. O! Nothing, nay nothing: o you powerful Gods, That should have Angels guardent on your throne, To protect innocence and chastity! o why Suffer you such inhumane massacre On harmless virtue? wherefore take you charge, On sinles souls to see them wounded thus: With Rape or Violence? forgive white innocence, Armour of proof gainst sin: or by oppression Kill Virtue quite, & guerdon base transgression? Is it my far above all other women? Or is my sin more heinous then the rest, That amongst thousands, millions, infinites, I, only I, should to this shame born, To be a stain to women, natum es scorn? o! I am not, thou didst deceive thy self, I did not weep, theres nothing troubles me, But wherefore dost thou blush? Indeed thou didst, and in that blush my gilded thou didst betray How camest thou by the notice of my sin? My blot, my scandal and my shame: O Tarquin! thou my honour didst betray, Disgrace no time, no age wipe away, o! Do what thou wilt, I can command no more, Being no more a woman, I am now Devote to death, and and inhabitant Of th'other world: these eyes must ever weep, Till fate hath closed them with eternal sleep. Brutus! Father! Collatine! O me! Ere I speak my woe, Swear yowl revenge poor Lucrece on her . Then seat you Lords, while I expose my wrong. Father, deer husband, and my kinsmen, Lords Hear me, I am dishonoured and disgraced, My reputation mangled, my renown disparaged, but my body, o my body Stained, polluted and defiled. Strange steps are found in my adulterate bed, And though my thoughts be white as innocence, Yet is my body soiled with lust burned sin, And by a stranger I am strumpited, Ravished, enforced, and am no more to rank among the Ro man Matrons. I hope so Lords, was Sextus the Kings Son. That unprincely Prince, who guestwise entered with my husbands Ring, This Ring, o Collatine! this Ring you sent Is cause of all my woe, your discontent. I feasted him, then lodged him, and bestowed The choicest welcome, but in dead of night, My Traitorous guest came armed unto my bed, Frighted my silent sleep, threatend, and prayed For entertainment: despised both. Which hearing his sharp pointed Scimitar, The Tyrant bent against my naked breast, Alas, I begged my death, but note his tyranny, He brought with him a torment worse then death For having murdered me, he swore to kill, One of my basest Grooms and lodge him dead In my dead arms: then call in testimony Of my adultery, to make me hated Even in my death, of husband, father, friends, Of Room and all the world: this, this, o Princes, Ravished and killed me at once, Not so, you shall not overwatch your selves Longer then I wake with you: for it fits Good huswives when their husbands are from ̄ home, To ey their servants labors and in care, And the true manage of his household state, Earliest to rise, and to be up most late. Since all his business he commits to me, I'll be his faithful steward till the camp Dissolve and he return, thus wives should do, In absence of their Lords be husband too. To please a loving husband, I'll offend The love and patience of my dearest friend, Me thinks his purpose was unreasonable To draw me in my husbands absence forth To feast and banquet, twould have ill becomed me, To would left the charge of such a spacious house, without both L. & Mistress, I am opiniond thus, wives should not stray, Out of their doors their husba ̄ ds being away: L. shall ex cuse me. My L. & husband welcome, 10 times welcome, Is it to see your L crece you thus late Would with your persons so hazard left the camp, And trusted to the danger of a night so dark, and full of horror? Will you taste such welcome Lords, as a poor unprovided house can yield? I but my Lords, I hope my Collatine will not so leave his Lucrece. I am bound to your strict will, to each goodnight. With no unkindness we should our Lords upbraid, Husbands and Kings must always be obeyed. Nothing save the high business of the slate, And the charge given him at Ardeas siege, Could would made Collatine so much digress From the affection that he bears his wife. But subjects must excuse when kings claim power. But leaving this before the charm of sleep, Cease with his downy wings: upon my eyes, I must go take account among my servants Of their days task, we must not cherish sloth, No covetous thought makes me thus provident, But to shun idleness, which wise men say, Begets rank lust, and virtue beats away. O! Jove guard my innocence. Will not my husband repose this night with us? Then with your humours here my grief ends too, My stain I thus wipe off, call in my sighs, and in the hope of this revenge, forbear Even to my death to fallen one passionate tear. Yet Lords, that you may crown my innocence, With our best thoughts, that you may henceforth know, We are the same in heart we seem in show. and though I quit my soul of all such sin, The Lords whisper I'll not debar my body punishment: Let all the world, learn of a Roman dame, To prize her life less then her honoured fame.