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The Complete Works of William Shakespeare - Israel Gollancz William Shakespeare [794]

By Root 18549 0
the Grecians begin to proclaim barbarism, and policy

grows into an ill opinion.

Enter DIOMEDES, TROILUS following

Soft! here comes sleeve, and t'other.

TROILUS.

Fly not; for shouldst thou take the river Styx

I would swim after.

DIOMEDES.

Thou dost miscall retire.

I do not fly; but advantageous care

Withdrew me from the odds of multitude.

Have at thee.

THERSITES.

Hold thy whore, Grecian; now for thy whore,

Troyan-now the sleeve, now the sleeve!

Exeunt TROILUS and DIOMEDES fighting

Enter HECTOR

HECTOR.

What art thou, Greek? Art thou for Hector's match?

Art thou of blood and honour?

THERSITES.

No, no-I am a rascal; a scurvy railing knave; a very filthy rogue.

HECTOR.

I do believe thee. Live.

Exit

THERSITES. God-a-mercy, that thou wilt believe me; but a plague

break thy neck for frighting me! What's become of the wenching

rogues? I think they have swallowed one another. I would laugh at

that miracle. Yet, in a sort, lechery eats itself. I'll seek them.

Exit

ACT V. SCENE 5. Another part of the plain

Enter DIOMEDES and A SERVANT

DIOMEDES.

Go, go, my servant, take thou Troilus' horse;

Present the fair steed to my lady Cressid.

Fellow, commend my service to her beauty;

Tell her I have chastis'd the amorous Troyan,

And am her knight by proof.

SERVANT.

I go, my lord.

Exit

Enter AGAMEMNON

AGAMEMNON.

Renew, renew! The fierce Polydamus

Hath beat down enon; bastard Margarelon

Hath Doreus prisoner,

And stands colossus-wise, waving his beam,

Upon the pashed corses of the kings

Epistrophus and Cedius. Polixenes is slain;

Amphimacus and Thoas deadly hurt;

Patroclus ta'en, or slain; and Palamedes

Sore hurt and bruis'd. The dreadful Sagittary

Appals our numbers. Haste we, Diomed,

To reinforcement, or we perish all.

Enter NESTOR

NESTOR.

Go, bear Patroclus' body to Achilles,

And bid the snail-pac'd Ajax arm for shame.

There is a thousand Hectors in the field;

Now here he fights on Galathe his horse,

And there lacks work; anon he's there afoot,

And there they fly or die, like scaled sculls

Before the belching whale; then is he yonder,

And there the strawy Greeks, ripe for his edge,

Fall down before him like the mower's swath.

Here, there, and everywhere, he leaves and takes;

Dexterity so obeying appetite

That what he will he does, and does so much

That proof is call'd impossibility.

Enter ULYSSES

ULYSSES.

O, courage, courage, courage, Princes! Great

Achilles Is arming, weeping, cursing, vowing vengeance.

Patroclus' wounds have rous'd his drowsy blood,

Together with his mangled Myrmidons,

That noseless, handless, hack'd and chipp'd, come to

him, Crying on Hector. Ajax hath lost a friend

And foams at mouth, and he is arm'd and at it,

Roaring for Troilus; who hath done to-day

Mad and fantastic execution,

Engaging and redeeming of himself

With such a careless force and forceless care

As if that luck, in very spite of cunning,

Bade him win all.

Enter AJAX

AJAX.

Troilus! thou coward Troilus!

Exit

DIOMEDES. Ay, there, there.

NESTOR.

So, so, we draw together.

Exit

Enter ACHILLES

ACHILLES.

Where is this Hector?

Come, come, thou boy-queller, show thy face;

Know what it is to meet Achilles angry.

Hector! where's Hector? I will none but Hector.

Exeunt

ACT V. SCENE 6. Another part of the plain

Enter AJAX

AJAX.

Troilus, thou coward Troilus, show thy head.

Enter DIOMEDES

DIOMEDES.

Troilus, I say! Where's Troilus?

AJAX.

What wouldst thou?

DIOMEDES.

I would correct him.

AJAX.

Were I the general, thou shouldst have my office

Ere that correction. Troilus, I say! What, Troilus!

Enter TROILUS

TROILUS.

O traitor Diomed! Turn thy false face, thou traitor,

And pay thy life thou owest me for my horse.

DIOMEDES.

Ha! art thou there?

AJAX.

I'll fight with him alone. Stand, Diomed.

DIOMEDES.

He is my prize. I will not look upon.

TROILUS.

Come, both, you cogging Greeks; have at you

Exeunt fighting

Enter HECTOR

HECTOR.

Yea, Troilus? O, well fought, my youngest brother!

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