in The Triumphs of Honor and Industry — Middleton, Thomas
Metadata
Play
The Triumphs of Honor and Industry
Author
Middleton, Thomas
Year (catalogued)
1617
First performance
1617
Decade
1610s
Genre
Civic Pageant
Play type
Occasional
Speech prefix(es)
Honor.
Words
211
Characters
1106
Typicality
0.24 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A07513
BritDrama no.
1847
Cluster
Cluster 10 — Mourners, mothers & doleful voices
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
THere is no humane glory or renown, But have their evening & their sure sunsetting, Which shows that we should upward seek our Crown And make but use of time for our Hope's bettering, So to be truly mindful of our own, Is to perform all parts of good in one; The close of this triumphant day is come, And Honour stays to bid you welcome home, All I desire for my Grace and good, Is but to be remembered in your blood, With Honour to accomplish the fair time, Which power hath put into your hands; A crime As great as ever came into sins band, I do entitle a too sparing hand, Nothing deads Honour more, then to behold Plenty coopt up; and Bounty faint and cold; Which ought to be the free life of the year, For bounty it ordained, to make that clear Which is the light of goodness and of Fame, And puts by Honour from the cloud of shame. Great cost and love hath nobly been bestowed, Ʋ Pon thy triumph, (which this day hath showed: Embrace they in thy heart, till times afford Fuller expression; in one absolute word, All the content that ever made man blessed, This triumph done, make a triumphant breast.
Plot summary
Plot — The Triumphs of Honor and Industry
As he returns by river from taking his oath, the new Lord Mayor of London witnesses a show of Indians on an island, who gather spices. Industry expounds the importance of hard work in youth, which leads to fame in old age, and describes how industry generates both wealth and love. A pageant of nations follows, and the Frenchman and Spaniard wish him well. At the Castle of Fame, there is a seat vacant. Reward invites the Lord Mayor to sit in it, but Justice says that he must first earn it by acting justly during his term in office; Reward is confident he will get his seat in a year’s time. When the Lord Mayor returns home that evening, Honour bids him welcome and asks him to embrace honour. Middleton's text implies that the pageant of Indians is water- borne, but Busino seems to describe it as a land pageant.