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Titus Andronicus - Act 4, scene 3
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Titus Andronicus - Act 4, scene 3Act 4, scene 3
⌜Scene 3⌝
Synopsis:
Titus has his friends and family shoot arrows to which are attached messages to the gods begging that Justice (as the goddess Astraea) be returned to Earth. When a country fellow enters on his way to the court, Titus gives him a letter to take to Saturninus.
Enter Titus, old Marcus, ⌜his son Publius,⌝ youngLucius, and other gentlemen (⌜Caius and Sempronius⌝)
with bows, and Titus bears the arrows with letters on
the ends of them.
TITUS
1750 Come, Marcus, come. Kinsmen, this is the way.—
1751 Sir boy, let me see your archery.
1752 Look you draw home enough and ’tis there straight.—
1753 Terras Astraea reliquit.
1754 5 Be you remembered, Marcus, she’s gone, she’s fled.—
1755 Sirs, take you to your tools. You, cousins, shall
1756 Go sound the ocean and cast your nets;
1757 Happily you may catch her in the sea;
1758 Yet there’s as little justice as at land.
1759 10 No; Publius and Sempronius, you must do it.
1760 ’Tis you must dig with mattock and with spade,
1761 And pierce the inmost center of the Earth.
1762 Then, when you come to Pluto’s region,
1763 I pray you, deliver him this petition.
1764 15 Tell him it is for justice and for aid,
1765 And that it comes from old Andronicus,
1766 Shaken with sorrows in ungrateful Rome.
1767 Ah, Rome! Well, well, I made thee miserable
1768 What time I threw the people’s suffrages
1769 20 On him that thus doth tyrannize o’er me.
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147
1770
Go, get you gone, and pray be careful all,1771 And leave you not a man-of-war unsearched.
1772 This wicked emperor may have shipped her hence,
1773 And, kinsmen, then we may go pipe for justice.
MARCUS
1774 25 O Publius, is not this a heavy case
1775 To see thy noble uncle thus distract?
PUBLIUS
1776 Therefore, my lords, it highly us concerns
1777 By day and night t’ attend him carefully,
1778 And feed his humor kindly as we may,
1779 30 Till time beget some careful remedy.
MARCUS
1780 Kinsmen, his sorrows are past remedy
1781 ⌜But …⌝
1782 Join with the Goths, and with revengeful war
1783 Take wreak on Rome for this ingratitude,
1784 35 And vengeance on the traitor Saturnine.
TITUS
1785 Publius, how now? How now, my masters?
1786 What, have you met with her?
PUBLIUS
1787 No, my good lord, but Pluto sends you word,
1788 If you will have Revenge from hell, you shall.
1789 40 Marry, for Justice, she is so employed,
1790 He thinks, with Jove in heaven, or somewhere else,
1791 So that perforce you must needs stay a time.
TITUS
1792 He doth me wrong to feed me with delays.
1793 I’ll dive into the burning lake below
1794 45 And pull her out of Acheron by the heels.
1795 Marcus, we are but shrubs, no cedars we,
1796 No big-boned men framed of the Cyclops’ size,
1797 But metal, Marcus, steel to the very back,
1798 Yet wrung with wrongs more than our backs can
1799 50 bear;
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1800
And sith there’s no justice in Earth nor hell,1801 We will solicit heaven and move the gods
1802 To send down Justice for to wreak our wrongs.
1803 Come, to this gear. You are a good archer, Marcus.
He gives them the arrows.
1804 55 “Ad Jovem,” that’s for you;—here, “Ad Apollinem”;—
1805 “Ad Martem,” that’s for myself;—
1806 Here, boy, “to Pallas”;—here, “to Mercury”;—
1807 “To ⌜Saturn,⌝” Caius—not to Saturnine!
1808 You were as good to shoot against the wind.
1809 60 To it, boy!—Marcus, loose when I bid.
1810 Of my word, I have written to effect;
1811 There’s not a god left unsolicited.
MARCUS
1812 Kinsmen, shoot all your shafts into the court.
1813 We will afflict the Emperor in his pride.
TITUS
1814 65 Now, masters, draw. (⌜They shoot.⌝) O, well said,
1815 Lucius!
1816 Good boy, in Virgo’s lap! Give it Pallas.
MARCUS
1817 My lord, I aim a mile beyond the moon.
1818 Your letter is with Jupiter by this.
TITUS
1819 70 Ha, ha! Publius, Publius, what hast thou done?
1820 See, see, thou hast shot off one of Taurus’ horns!
MARCUS
1821 This was the sport, my lord; when Publius shot,
1822 The Bull, being galled, gave Aries such a knock
1823 That down fell both the Ram’s horns in the court,
1824 75 And who should find them but the Empress’ villain?
1825 She laughed and told the Moor he should not choose
1826 But give them to his master for a present.
TITUS
1827 Why, there it goes. God give his Lordship joy!
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Enter ⌜a country fellow⌝ with a basket and twopigeons in it.
1828 News, news from heaven! Marcus, the post is
1829 80 come.—
1830 Sirrah, what tidings? Have you any letters?
1831 Shall I have Justice? What says Jupiter?
⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ 1832 Ho, the gibbet-maker? He says that
1833 he hath taken them down again, for the man must
1834 85 not be hanged till the next week.
TITUS 1835 But what says Jupiter, I ask thee?
⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ 1836 Alas, sir, I know not Jubiter; I never
1837 drank with him in all my life.
TITUS 1838 Why, villain, art not thou the carrier?
⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ 1839 90Ay, of my pigeons, sir; nothing else.
TITUS 1840 Why, didst thou not come from heaven?
⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ 1841 From heaven? Alas, sir, I never
1842 came there. God forbid I should be so bold to press
1843 to heaven in my young days. Why, I am going with
1844 95 my pigeons to the tribunal plebs, to take up a matter
1845 of brawl betwixt my uncle and one of the Emperal’s
1846 men.
MARCUS, ⌜to Titus⌝ 1847 Why, sir, that is as fit as can be to
1848 serve for your oration; and let him deliver the pigeons
1849 100 to the Emperor from you.
TITUS 1850 Tell me, can you deliver an oration to the Emperor
1851 with a grace?
⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ 1852 Nay, truly, sir, I could never say
1853 grace in all my life.
TITUS
1854 105 Sirrah, come hither. Make no more ado,
1855 But give your pigeons to the Emperor.
1856 By me thou shalt have justice at his hands.
1857 Hold, hold; meanwhile here’s money for thy
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1858
charges.—Give me pen and ink.—Sirrah, can you1859 110 with a grace deliver up a supplication?
⌜He writes.⌝
⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ 1860 Ay, sir.
TITUS 1861 Then here is a supplication for you, and when
1862 you come to him, at the first approach you must
1863 kneel, then kiss his foot, then deliver up your pigeons,
1864 115 and then look for your reward. I’ll be at
1865 hand, sir. See you do it bravely.
⌜He hands him a paper.⌝
⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ 1866 I warrant you, sir. Let me alone.
TITUS
1867 Sirrah, hast thou a knife? Come, let me see it.—
⌜He takes the knife and gives it to Marcus.⌝
1868 Here, Marcus, fold it in the oration,
1869 120 For thou hast made it like an humble suppliant.—
1870 And when thou hast given it to the Emperor,
1871 Knock at my door and tell me what he says.
⌜COUNTRY FELLOW⌝ 1872 God be with you, sir. I will.
He exits.
TITUS 1873 Come, Marcus, let us go.—Publius, follow me.
They exit.