Aar. ^note
He that had wit would think that I had none,
To bury so much gold under a tree,
And never after to inherit it.
Let him that thinks of me so abjectly
Know that this gold must coin a stratagem,
Which, cunningly effected ^note, will beget
A very excellent piece of villany:
And so repose, sweet gold, for their unrest [Hides the gold. ^note
That have their alms out of the empress' chest.

Enter Tamora. ^note

Tam.
My lovely Aaron, wherefore look'st thou sad ^{note note},
When every thing doth make a gleeful boast?
The birds chant melody on every bush;
The snake lies rolled ^note in the cheerful sun;
The green leaves quiver with the cooling wind,
And make a chequer'd shadow on the ground:
Under their sweet shade, Aaron, let us sit,
And, whilst the babbling echo mocks the hounds,
Replying shrilly to the well-tuned horns,
As if ^note a double hunt were heard at once,
Let us sit down and mark their yellowing ^note noise;
And, after conflict such as was supposed
The wandering prince and Dido ^note once enjoy'd,
When with a happy storm they were surprised,
And curtain'd with a counsel-keeping cave,
We may, each wreathed in the other's arms,
Our pastimes done, possess a golden slumber;
Whiles ^note hounds and horns and sweet melodious birds
Be unto us as is a nurse's song
Of lullaby to bring her babe asleep.

Aar.
Madam, though Venus govern your desires ^note,
Saturn is dominator over mine:
What signifies my deadly-standing ^note eye,
My silence and my cloudy melancholy,
My fleece of woolly hair that now uncurls
Even as an adder when she doth unroll
To do some fatal execution? ^note
No, madam, these are no venereal signs:
Vengeance is in my heart, death in my hand,

Blood and revenge are hammering in my head.
Hark, Tamora, the empress of my soul,
Which never hopes more heaven than rests in thee,
This is the day of doom for Bassianus:
His Philomel must lose ^note her tongue to-day,
Thy sons make pillage of her chastity,
And wash their hands in Bassianus' blood.
Seest thou this letter? ^note take it up, I pray thee,
And give the king this fatal-plotted ^note scroll.
Now question me no more; we are espied;
Here comes a parcel of our hopeful booty,
Which dreads ^note not yet their lives' destruction.

Tam.
Ah, my sweet Moor, sweeter to me than life ^note!

Aar. ^note
No more, great empress; Bassianus comes:
Be cross with him, and I'll go fetch thy sons
To back thy quarrels ^note, whatsoe'er they be. [Exit. ^note Enter ^note Bassianus and Lavinia. ^note

Bas.
Who ^note have we here? Rome's royal empress ^{note note},
Unfurnish'd of her ^note well-beseeming troop ^note?
Or is it Dian, habited like her,
Who hath abandoned her holy groves
To see the general hunting in this forest?

Tam.
Saucy controller of my ^note private steps!
Had I the power that some say Dian had,
Thy temples should be planted presently ^note
With horns, as was ^note Actæon's, and the hounds

Should drive ^note upon thy ^note new-transformed limbs,
Unmannerly intruder as thou art!

Lav.
Under your patience, gentle empress ^note,
'Tis thought you have a goodly gift in horning;
And to be doubted that your Moor and you
Are singled forth to try experiments:
Jove shield your husband from his hounds to-day!
'Tis pity they should take him for a stag.

Bas.
Believe me, queen, your swarth ^note Cimmerian ^note
Doth make your honour of his body's hue,
Spotted, detested, and abominable.
Why are you sequester'd from all your train,
Dismounted from your snow-white goodly steed,
And wander'd hither to an obscure plot,
Accompanied but with a ^note barbarous Moor,
If foul desire had not conducted you?

Lav.
And, being intercepted ^note in your sport,
Great reason that my noble lord be rated
For sauciness. I pray you, let us hence,
And let her joy her raven-colour'd ^note love;
This valley fits the purpose passing well.

Bas.
The king my brother shall have note ^note of this.

Lav.
Ay, for these slips have made him ^note noted long:
Good king, to be so mightily abused!

Tam.
Why have I ^note patience to endure all this? ^note Enter Demetrius and Chiron.

Dem.
How now, dear sovereign, and our gracious mother ^note!
Why doth ^note your highness look so pale and wan?

Tam.
Have I not reason, think you, to look pale?
These two have ticed me hither to this place:
A barren detested ^note vale, you see it is;
The trees, though summer, yet forlorn and lean,
O'ercome with moss and baleful ^note mistletoe:
Here never shines the sun; here nothing breeds,
Unless the nightly owl or fatal raven:
And when they show'd me this abhorred pit,
They told me, here, at dead time of the night,
A thousand fiends, a thousand hissing snakes,
Ten thousand swelling toads, as many urchins,
Would make such fearful and confused cries,
As any mortal body ^note hearing it
Should straight fall mad, or else die suddenly.
No sooner had they told this hellish tale,
But straight they told me they would bind me here
Unto the body of a dismal yew ^note,
And leave me to this miserable death:
And then they call'd me foul adulteress,
Lascivious Goth, and all the bitterest terms
That ever ear ^note did hear to such effect:
And, had you not by wondrous fortune come,
This vengeance on me had they executed.
Revenge it, as you love your mother's life,
Or be ye not henceforth ^note call'd my children.

Dem.
This is a witness that I am thy son. [Stabs Bassianus. ^note

Chi.
And this for me, struck ^note home to show my strength ^note. [Also stabs ^note Bassianus, who dies.

Lav.
Ay, come ^note, Semiramis ^note, nay, barbarous Tamora,
For no name fits thy nature but thy own!

Tam.
Give me the ^note poniard; you shall know, my boys,
Your mother's hand shall right your mother's wrong.

Dem.
Stay, madam; here is more belongs to her;
First thrash the corn, then after burn the straw:
This minion stood upon her chastity,
Upon her nuptial vow, her loyalty,
And with that painted hope ^note braves your mightiness ^note:
And shall she carry this ^note unto her grave? ^note

Chi.
An ^note if she do, I would I were an eunuch ^{note note}.
Drag hence her husband to some secret hole,
And make his dead trunk pillow ^note to our lust.

Tam.
But when ye have the honey ye ^note desire,
Let not this wasp outlive, us ^note both to sting.

Chi.
I warrant you ^note, madam, we will make that sure.
Come, mistress, now perforce we will enjoy
That nice-preserved ^note honesty of yours.

Lav.
O Tamora! thou bear'st ^note a woman's ^note face— ^note

Tam.
I will not hear her speak; away with her!

Lav.
Sweet lords, entreat her hear me but a word.

Dem.
Listen, fair madam: let it be your glory
To see her tears, but be your heart to them

As unrelenting flint ^note to drops of rain.

Lav.
When did the tiger's young ones teach the dam? ^note
O, do not learn ^note her wrath; she taught it thee;
The milk thou suck'dst ^note from her did turn to marble;
Even at thy teat ^note thou hadst thy tyranny.
Yet every mother breeds not sons alike: [To Chiron ^note]
Do thou entreat her show a woman pity. ^note

Chi.
What, wouldst thou have me prove myself a bastard? ^note

Lav.
'Tis true; the raven doth not hatch a lark:
Yet have I heard,—O, could I find it now!—
The lion, moved with pity, did endure
To have his princely paws ^note pared all away:
Some say that ravens foster forlorn children,
The whilst their own birds famish in their nests:
O, be to me, though thy hard heart say no,
Nothing so kind, but something pitiful!

Tam.
I know not what it means: away with her!

Lav.
O, let me teach thee! for my father's sake,
That gave thee life, when well he might have slain thee,
Be not obdurate, open thy deaf ears ^note.

Tam.
Hadst thou in person ne'er offended me,
Even for his sake am I ^note pitiless.
Remember, boys, I pour'd forth tears in vain,
To save your brother from the sacrifice;
But fierce Andronicus would not relent:
Therefore, away with her ^note, and ^note use her as you will;
The worse to her, the better loved of me. ^note

Lav.
O Tamora, be call'd a gentle queen ^note,
And with thine own hands kill me in this place!

For 'tis not life that I have begg'd so long;
Poor I was slain when Bassianus ^note died.

Tam. ^note
What begg'st thou then? fond woman, let me go ^note.

Lav.
'Tis present death I beg; and one thing more
That womanhood denies my tongue to tell:
O, keep me from their worse than killing lust,
And tumble me into some loathsome pit,
Where never man's eye may behold my body:
Do this, and be a charitable murderer.

Tam.
So should I rob my sweet sons of their fee:
No, let them satisfy their lust on thee. ^note

Dem.
Away! for thou hast stay'd us here too long. ^note

Lav.
No grace? no womanhood? Ah, beastly creature!
The blot and enemy to ^note our general name!
Confusion fall— ^{note note}

Chi.
Nay, then I'll stop your mouth. Bring thou her husband: ^note
This is the hole where Aaron bid us hide him. [Demetrius ^note throws the body of Bassianus into the pit; then exeunt Demetrius and Chiron, dragging off Lavinia.

Tam.
Farewell, my sons: see that you make her sure.
Ne'er let my heart know merry cheer indeed,
Till all the Andronici ^note be made away.
Now will I hence to seek my lovely Moor,
And let my spleenful sons this trull deflower. [Exit. Re-enter ^note Aaron, with Quintus and Martius. ^{note note}

Aar. ^note
Come on, my lords, the better foot before:

Straight will I bring you to the loathsome ^note pit
Where I espied the panther fast asleep.

Quin.
My sight is very dull, whate'er it bodes.

Mart.
And mine, I promise you; were it ^note not for shame,
Well could I leave our sport to sleep awhile. [Falls ^note into the pit.

Quin.
What, art thou fall'n? What subtle hole is this, ^note
Whose mouth is cover'd ^note with rude-growing ^note briers,
Upon whose leaves are drops of new-shed blood
As fresh as morning ^note dew distill'd on flowers?
A very fatal place it seems to me.
Speak, brother, hast thou hurt thee with the fall?

Mart. ^note
O brother, with the dismal'st ^note object ^note hurt ^note
That ever eye with sight made heart lament!

Aar. [Aside ^note]
Now will I fetch the king to find them here,
That he thereby may have ^note a likely guess
How these were they that made away his brother. [Exit. ^{note note}

Mart.
Why dost not comfort me, and help me out
From this unhallow'd ^note and blood-stained hole?

Quin.
I am surprised with an uncouth ^note fear;
A chilling ^note sweat o'er-runs my trembling joints;
My heart suspects more than mine eye can see.

Mart.
To prove thou hast a true-divining ^note heart,
Aaron and thou look down into this den ^note,
And see a fearful sight of blood and death.

Quin.
Aaron is gone; and my compassionate heart ^note
Will not permit mine eyes once to behold

The thing whereat it trembles by surmise:
O, tell me how ^note it is; for ne'er till now
Was I a child to fear I know not what.

Mart.
Lord Bassianus lies embrewed here,
All on a heap, like to a ^note slaughter'd lamb,
In this detested, dark, blood-drinking pit.

Quin.
If it be dark, how dost thou know 'tis he? ^note

Mart.
Upon his bloody finger he doth wear
A precious ring, that lightens all the ^note hole,
Which, like a taper in some monument,
Doth shine upon the dead man's earthy ^note cheeks,
And shows the ragged entrails of the ^note pit:
So pale did shine the moon on Pyramus
When he by night lay bathed in maiden blood.
O brother, help me with thy fainting hand—
If fear hath made thee ^note faint, as me it hath—
Out of this fell devouring ^note receptacle,
As hateful as Cocytus' ^note misty mouth.

Quin.
Reach me thy hand, that I may help thee out;
Or, wanting strength to do thee so much good,
I may be pluck'd into the swallowing womb
Of this deep pit, poor Bassianus' grave.
I have no strength to pluck thee to the brink.

Mart.
Nor ^note I no strength to climb without thy help.

Quin.
Thy hand once more; I ^note will not loose ^note again,
Till thou art here aloft, or I below:
Thou canst not come to me: I come to thee. [Falls in. ^note Enter ^note Saturninus with Aaron. ^note

Sat.
Along with me: I'll see what hole is here,

And what he is that now is leap'd into it ^note.
Say, who art thou that lately didst descend
Into this gaping hollow of the earth? ^note

Mart.
The unhappy son of old Andronicus;
Brought hither in a most unlucky hour,
To find thy brother Bassianus dead.

Sat.
My brother dead! I know thou dost but jest:
He and his lady both are at the lodge
Upon the north side of this pleasant chase;
'Tis not an hour since I left them ^note there.

Mart.
We know not where you left them ^note all alive;
But, out, alas! here have we found him dead. Re-enter ^note Tamora, with Attendants; ^note Titus Andronicus, ^note and Lucius.

Tam.
Where is my lord the king?

Sat. ^note
Here, Tamora; though grieved ^note with killing grief.

Tam.
Where is thy brother Bassianus?

Sat.
Now to the bottom dost thou search my wound:
Poor Bassianus here lies murdered.

Tam. [Giving a letter ^note]
Then all too late I bring this fatal writ,
The complot of this timeless tragedy;
And wonder greatly that man's face can fold
In pleasing smiles such murderous tyranny.

Sat. [Reads ^note]
‘An ^note if we miss to meet him handsomely—
Sweet huntsman, Bassianus 'tis we mean—
Do thou so much as dig the grave for him:
Thou know'st our meaning. Look for thy reward ^note

Among the nettles at the elder-tree
Which overshades the mouth of that same pit
Where we decreed to bury Bassianus.
Do this and purchase us thy lasting friends.’
O ^note Tamora! was ever heard the like?
This is the pit, and this the elder-tree.
Look, sirs, if you can find the huntsman out
That should have murder'd ^note Bassianus here. ^note

Aar.
My gracious lord, here is the bag of gold.

Sat. [To Titus ^note]
Two of thy whelps, fell curs of bloody kind,
Have here bereft my brother of his life.
Sirs, drag them from the pit unto the prison:
There let them bide until we have devised
Some never-heard-of torturing ^note pain for them.

Tam.
What, are they in this pit? O wondrous thing! ^note
How easily murder is discovered!

Tit.
High emperor, upon my feeble knee
I beg this boon, with tears not lightly shed,
That this fell fault of my accursed sons,
Accursed, if the fault ^note be proved in them— ^note

Sat.
If it be proved! you see it is apparent.
Who found this letter? Tamora, was it you?

Tam.
Andronicus himself did take it up.

Tit.
I did, my lord: yet let me be their bail; ^note
For, by my fathers' ^note reverend ^note tomb, I vow
They shall be ready at your highness' will
To answer their suspicion ^note with their lives.

Sat.
Thou shalt not bail them: see thou follow me.
Some bring the murder'd ^note body, some the murderers:
Let them not speak a word; the ^note guilt is plain;
For, by my soul, were there worse end than death, ^note
That end upon them should be executed.

Tam.
Andronicus, I will entreat the king: ^note
Fear not thy sons; they shall do well enough.

Tit.
Come, Lucius, come; stay not to talk with them. ^note [Exeunt. ^{note note}

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