Luc.
Approved warriors, and my faithful friends,
I have received letters from great Rome,
Which signify ^note what hate they bear their emperor,
And how desirous of our sight they are.
Therefore, great lords, be, as your titles witness,
Imperious, and impatient of your wrongs;

And wherein Rome hath done you any scath,
Let him make treble satisfaction.

First Goth. ^note
Brave slip, sprung from the great Andronicus,
Whose name was once our terror, now our comfort;
Whose high exploits and honourable deeds
Ingrateful Rome requites with foul contempt,
Be bold ^note in us: ^note we'll follow where thou lead'st,
Like stinging bees in hottest summer's day,
Led by their master to the flowered ^note fields,
And be avenged ^note on cursed Tamora.

All the Goths. ^note
And as he saith, so say we all with him.

Luc.
I humbly thank him, and I thank you all.
But who comes here, led by a lusty Goth? Enter a Goth, leading ^note Aaron with his Child in his arms. ^note

Sec. Goth. ^note
Renowned ^note Lucius, from our troops I stray'd
To gaze upon a ruinous monastery;
And, as I earnestly did fix mine eye
Upon the wasted building, suddenly ^note
I heard a child cry underneath a wall.
I made unto the noise; when soon I heard
The crying babe controll'd with this discourse:
‘Peace, tawny slave, half me and half thy dam!
Did not thy hue bewray whose brat thou art,
Had nature lent thee but thy mother's look,
Villain, thou mightst have been an emperor:
But where the bull and cow are both milk-white,
They never do beget a coal-black calf.
Peace, villain, peace!’—even thus he rates the babe—
‘For I must bear thee to a trusty Goth;

Who, when he knows thou art the empress' babe,
Will hold thee dearly for thy mother's sake.’
With this, my weapon drawn, I rush'd upon him,
Surprised him suddenly, and brought him hither,
To use as you think needful of the man.

Luc.
O worthy Goth, this is the incarnate devil
That robb'd Andronicus of his good hand;
This is the pearl that pleased your empress' eye;
And here's the base fruit of his ^note burning lust.
Say, wall-eyed slave, whither ^note wouldst thou convey
This growing image of thy fiend-like face? ^note
Why dost not speak? what, deaf? not ^note a word?
A halter, soldiers! hang him on this tree,
And by his side his fruit of bastardy.

Aar.
Touch not the boy; he is of royal blood.

Luc.
Too like the sire for ever being good.
First hang the child, that he may see it sprawl;
A sight to vex the father's soul withal.
Get me a ladder. ^note [A ladder ^note brought, which Aaron is made to ascend.

Aar.
Lucius, save the child,
And bear it from me to the empress.
If thou do this, I'll show thee wondrous things,
That highly may advantage thee to hear:
If thou wilt not, befall what may befall,
I'll speak no more but ^note ‘Vengeance rot you all!’ ^note

Luc.
Say on: an if ^note it please me which thou speak'st,
Thy child shall live, and I will see it nourish'd.

Aar.
An if ^note it please thee! why, assure thee, Lucius,
'Twill vex thy soul to hear what I shall speak;
For I must talk of murders, rapes and massacres,

Acts of black night ^note, abominable deeds,
Complots of mischief, treason, villanies ^note
Ruthful to hear, yet piteously ^note perform'd:
And this shall all be buried in ^note my death,
Unless thou swear to me my child shall live.

Luc.
Tell on thy mind; I say thy child shall live ^note.

Aar.
Swear that he shall, and then I will begin.

Luc.
Who should I swear by? ^note thou believest no god ^note:
That granted, how canst thou believe an oath? ^note

Aar.
What if I do not? ^note as, indeed, I do not;
Yet, for I know thou art religious
And hast a thing within thee called conscience,
With twenty popish tricks and ceremonies,
Which I have seen thee careful to observe,
Therefore I urge thy oath; for that I know
An idiot holds his bauble for a god,
And keeps the oath which by that god he swears,
To that I'll urge him ^note: therefore thou shalt vow
By that same god, what god soe'er it be,
That thou adorest and hast in reverence,
To save my boy, to nourish ^note and bring him up;
Or ^note else I will discover nought to thee.

Luc.
Even by my god I swear to ^note thee I will.

Aar.
First know thou, I begot him on the ^note empress ^{note note}.

Luc.
O most insatiate, and ^note luxurious woman!

Aar.
Tut, Lucius, this was but a deed of charity
To that which thou shalt hear of me anon.
'Twas her two sons that murder'd ^note Bassianus;

They cut thy sister's tongue, and ravish'd her,
And cut her hands ^note, and trimm'd ^note her as thou saw'st ^note.

Luc.
O detestable ^note villain! call'st thou that trimming? ^note

Aar.
Why, she was wash'd and cut and trimm'd, and 'twas
Trim sport for them that had the doing of it ^{note note}.

Luc.
O barbarous, beastly villains, like thyself!

Aar.
Indeed, I was their tutor to instruct them:
That codding spirit had they from their mother,
As sure a card as ever won the set;
That bloody mind, I think, they learn'd of me,
As true a dog as ever fought at head.
Well, let my deeds be witness of my worth.
I train'd thy brethren to that guileful hole,
Where the dead corpse of Bassianus lay:
I wrote the letter that thy father found,
And hid the gold within the letter mention'd,
Confederate with the queen and her two sons:
And what not done, that thou hast cause to rue,
Wherein I had no stroke of mischief in it? ^note
I play'd the cheater for thy father's hand;
And, when I had it, drew myself apart ^note,
And almost broke my heart with extreme laughter:
I pried me through the crevice ^note of a wall
When for his hand he had his two sons' heads;
Beheld his tears and laugh'd so heartily,
That both mine eyes were rainy like to his:
And when I told the empress of this sport,
She swounded ^note almost at my pleasing tale,
And for my tidings gave me twenty kisses.

First Goth. ^note
What, canst thou say all this, and never blush?

Aar.
Ay, like ^note a black dog, as the saying is.

Luc.
Art thou not sorry for these heinous deeds?

Aar.
Ay, that I had not done a thousand more.
Even now I curse the day—and yet, I think,
Few come within the ^note compass of my curse—
Wherein I did not some notorious ill:
As kill a man, or else devise his death;
Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it;
Accuse some innocent, and forswear ^note myself;
Set deadly enmity between two friends;
Make poor men's cattle break their necks ^note;
Set fire on barns and hay-stacks in the night
And bid the owners ^note quench them with their ^note tears.
Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves,
And set them upright ^note at their dear friends' doors ^note,
Even when their sorrows almost were ^note forgot;
And on their skins, as on the bark of trees,
Have with my knife carved in Roman letters
‘Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.’
Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things
As willingly as one would kill a fly;
And nothing grieves me heartily indeed,
But that I cannot do ten thousand more.

Luc.
Bring down the devil; for he must not die
So sweet a death as hanging presently.

Aar.
If there be devils, would I were a devil,
To live and burn in everlasting fire,

So I might have your company in hell,
But to torment you with my bitter tongue!

Luc. ^note
Sirs, stop his mouth, and let him speak no more. Enter a Goth.

Third Goth. ^note
My lord, there is a messenger from Rome
Desires to be admitted to your presence. ^note

Luc.
Let him come near. Enter Æmilius. ^note
Welcome, Æmilius: what's ^note the news from Rome?

Æmil.
Lord Lucius, and you princes of the Goths,
The Roman emperor greets you all by me;
And, for he understands you are in arms,
He craves a parley at your father's house,
Willing you to demand your hostages,
And they shall be immediately deliver'd ^note.

First Goth. ^note
What says our general?

Luc.
Æmilius, let the emperor give his pledges
Unto my father and my uncle Marcus,
And we will come. March away. ^note [Flourish. Exeunt.

^note Scene II. [Footnote: Rome. Before Titus's house. ^note Enter Tamora, Demetrius, and Chiron ^note, disguised.

Tam.
Thus, in this strange and sad habiliment ^note,
I will encounter with Andronicus,
And say I am Revenge, sent from below
To join with him and right his heinous wrongs.
Knock at his ^note study, where, they say, he keeps,
To ruminate strange plots of dire revenge;
Tell him Revenge is come to join with him,
And work confusion on his enemies. [They knock. Enter Titus, above. ^note

Tit.
Who doth molest my contemplation?
Is it your trick to make me ope the door,
That so my sad decrees may fly away,
And all my study be to no effect? ^note
You are deceived: for what I mean to do
See here in bloody lines I have set down;
And what is written shall be executed.

Tam.
Titus ^note, I am come ^note to talk with thee ^note.

Tit.
No, not a word: how can I grace my talk,
Wanting a hand to give it action? ^note

Thou hast the odds of me; therefore no more.

Tam.
If thou didst know me, thou wouldst talk with me ^note.

Tit.
I am not mad; I know thee well enough:
Witness this wretched stump, witness these ^note crimson lines ^note;
Witness these trenches made by grief and care;
Witness the tiring day and heavy night;
Witness all sorrow, that I know thee well
For our proud empress, mighty Tamora:
Is not thy coming for my other hand? ^note

Tam.
Know, thou sad ^note man, I am not Tamora;
She is thy enemy, and I thy friend:
I am Revenge; sent from the infernal kingdom,
To ease the gnawing vulture of thy ^note mind,
By working wreakful vengeance on thy ^note foes.
Come down and welcome me to this world's light;
Confer with me of murder and of death:
There's not a hollow cave or lurking-place,
No vast obscurity or misty vale,
Where bloody murder or detested rape
Can couch for fear, but I will find them out,
And in their ears tell them my dreadful name,
Revenge, which makes the foul offender ^note quake.

Tit.
Art thou Revenge? and art thou sent to me,
To be a torment to mine enemies? ^note

Tam.
I am; therefore come down and welcome me. ^note

Tit.
Do me some service ere I come to thee.
Lo, by thy side where Rape and Murder stands ^note;
Now give some surance ^note that thou art Revenge,
Stab them, or tear them on thy chariot-wheels;
And then I'll come and be thy waggoner,
And whirl along with thee about the globes ^note.

Provide thee two ^note proper palfreys, black ^note as jet,
To hale thy vengeful waggon swift away,
And find out murderers ^note in their guilty caves ^note:
And when thy car is loaden with their heads,
I will dismount, and by the ^note waggon-wheel
Trot like a servile footman all day long,
Even from Hyperion's ^note rising in the east
Until his very downfall in the sea:
And day by day I'll do this heavy task,
So thou destroy Rapine and Murder there.

Tam.
These are my ministers and come with me.

Tit.
Are these ^note thy ministers? what are they call'd?

Tam.
Rapine ^note and Murder; therefore called so,
'Cause ^note they take vengeance of ^note such kind of men.

Tit.
Good Lord, how like the empress' sons they are,
And you the empress! but we worldly men
Have miserable, mad, mistaking ^note eyes.
O sweet Revenge, now do I come to thee;
And, if one arm's embracement will content thee,
I will embrace thee in it by and by. [Exit above. ^note

Tam.
This closing with him fits his lunacy:
Whate'er I forge to feed his brain-sick fits,
Do you uphold and maintain in your speeches ^note,
For now he firmly takes me for Revenge;
And, being credulous in this mad thought,
I'll make him send for Lucius his son;
And, whilst I at a banquet hold him sure,
I'll find some cunning practice out of hand,
To scatter and disperse the giddy Goths,

Or at the least make them his enemies.
See, here he comes, and I must ply ^note my theme. Enter ^note Titus, below. ^note

Tit.
Long have I been forlorn, and all for thee:
Welcome, dread Fury, to my woful house:
Rapine and Murder, you are welcome too:
How like the empress and her sons you are!
Well are you fitted, had you but a Moor:
Could not all hell afford you such a devil?
For well I wot the empress never wags
But in her company there is a Moor;
And, would you represent our queen aright,
It were convenient you had such a devil:
But welcome, as you are. What shall we do?

Tam.
What wouldst thou have us do, Andronicus?

Dem.
Show me a murderer, I'll deal with him.

Chi.
Show me a villain that hath done a rape,
And I am sent to be revenged on him.

Tam.
Show me a thousand that have done thee wrong,
And I will ^note be revenged on them all.

Tit.
Look round about the wicked streets of Rome,
And when thou find'st a man that's like thyself,
Good Murder, stab him; he's a murderer.
Go thou with him, and when it is thy hap
To find another that is like to thee,
Good Rapine, stab him; he's ^note a ravisher.
Go thou with them; and in the emperor's court
There is a queen, attended by a Moor;
Well mayst thou know her by thine ^note own proportion,
For up and down she doth resemble thee:
I pray thee, do on them some violent death;
They have been violent to me and mine.

Tam.
Well hast thou lesson'd us; this shall we do.

But would it please thee, good ^note Andronicus,
To send for Lucius, thy thrice valiant son,
Who leads towards Rome a band of warlike Goths,
And bid him come and banquet at thy house;
When he is here, even at thy solemn feast,
I will bring in the empress and her sons,
The emperor himself, and all thy foes;
And at thy mercy shall they stoop and kneel,
And on them shalt thou ease thy angry heart.
What says Andronicus to this device ^note?

Tit.
Marcus, my brother! 'tis sad Titus calls. Enter Marcus. ^note
Go, gentle Marcus, to thy nephew Lucius;
Thou shalt inquire him out among the Goths:
Bid him repair to me and bring with him
Some of the chiefest princes of the Goths:
Bid him encamp his soldiers where they are:
Tell him the emperor and the empress too
Feast ^note at my house, and he shall feast with them.
This do thou for my love, and so let him,
As he regards his aged father's life.

Marc.
This will I do, and soon return again. [Exit. ^note

Tam.
Now will I hence about thy business,
And take my ministers along with me.

Tit.
Nay, nay, let Rape and Murder stay with me;
Or else I'll call my brother back again,
And cleave to no revenge but Lucius ^note.

Tam. [Aside to her sons ^note]
What say you, boys? will you ^note bide ^note with him,
Whiles I go tell my lord the emperor

How I have govern'd our determined jest? ^note
Yield ^note to his humour, smooth and speak him fair,
And tarry with him till I turn ^note again.

Tit. [Aside ^note]
I know them all, though they suppose me mad;
And will o'er-reach them in their own devices ^note:
A pair of cursed hell-hounds and their dam ^note.

Dem.
Madam, depart at pleasure; leave us here.

Tam.
Farewell, Andronicus: Revenge now goes
To lay a complot to betray thy foes.

Tit. ^note
I know thou dost; and, sweet Revenge, farewell. [Exit Tamora. ^note

Chi.
Tell us, old man, how shall we be employ'd?

Tit.
Tut ^note, I have work enough for you to do.
Publius, come hither ^note, Caius, and Valentine! Enter Publius ^note and others.

Pub. ^note

What is your will?

Tit.

Know you ^note these two?

Pub. ^note

The empress' sons, I take them, Chiron and ^note Demetrius ^note.

Tit.
Fie, Publius, fie! thou art too much deceived;
The one is Murder, Rape is the other's name;
And therefore bind them, gentle Publius:
Caius and Valentine, lay hands on them:
Oft have you heard me wish for such an hour,
And now I find it; therefore bind them sure;

And stop their mouths, if they begin to cry ^note. [Exit. ^note [Publius ^note, &c. lay hold on Chiron and Demetrius.

Chi.
Villains, forbear! we are the empress' sons.

Pub. ^note
And therefore do we what we are commanded.
Stop close their mouths, let them not speak a word.
Is he sure bound? ^note look that you ^note bind them fast. ^note Re-enter ^note Titus, with Lavinia; he bearing a knife, and she a basin. ^note

Tit.
Come, come, Lavinia; look, thy foes are bound.
Sirs, stop their mouths, let them not speak to me;
But let them hear what fearful words I utter.
O villains, Chiron and Demetrius!
Here stands the spring whom you have stain'd with mud,
This goodly summer with your winter mix'd.
You kill'd her husband, and for that vile ^note fault
Two of her brothers were condemn'd to death,
My hand cut off and made a merry jest;
Both her sweet hands, her tongue, and that more dear
Than hands or tongue, her spotless chastity,
Inhuman traitors, you constrain'd and forced.
What would you say ^note, if I should let you speak?
Villains, for shame you could not beg for grace.
Hark, wretches! how I mean to martyr you.
This one hand yet is ^note left to cut your throats,
Whilst that Lavinia 'tween ^note her stumps doth hold
The basin that receives your guilty blood.
You know your ^note mother means to feast with me,
And calls herself Revenge, and thinks me mad:
Hark, villains! I will grind your bones to dust,

And with your blood and it I'll make a paste;
And of the paste a coffin I will ^note rear,
And make two pasties of your shameful heads;
And bid that strumpet, your unhallow'd ^note dam,
Like to the earth, swallow her own ^note increase.
This is the feast that I have bid her to,
And this the banquet she shall surfeit on;
For worse than Philomel you used my daughter,
And worse than Progne ^note I will be revenged:
And now prepare your throats. Lavinia, come, [He ^note cuts their throats.
Receive the blood: and when that they are dead,
Let me go grind their bones to powder small,
And with this hateful liquor temper it;
And in that paste let their vile ^note heads be baked.
Come, come, be every ^note one officious
To make this banquet; which I wish may ^note prove
More stern and bloody than the Centaurs' ^note feast.
So, now bring them ^note in, for I'll ^note play the cook,
And see them ready against ^note their ^note mother comes. [Exeunt, bearing the dead bodies. ^note

^note Scene III. [Footnote: Court of Titus's house. A banquet set out. ^note Enter Lucius, Marcus, and Goths, with Aaron, prisoner. ^note

Luc.
Uncle ^note Marcus, since it is ^note my father's mind
That I repair to Rome, I am content.

First Goth. ^note
And ours with thine, befall ^note what fortune will.

Luc.
Good uncle, take you in this barbarous Moor,
This ravenous tiger, this accursed devil;
Let him receive no sustenance ^note, fetter him,
Till ^note he be brought unto the empress' ^note face,
For testimony of her ^note foul proceedings:
And see the ambush of our friends be strong;
I fear ^note the emperor means no good to us.

Aar. ^note
Some devil whisper curses in mine ^note ear,
And prompt me, that my tongue may utter forth
The venomous malice of my swelling heart!

Luc.
Away, inhuman dog! unhallow'd ^note slave!
Sirs, help our uncle to convey him in. [Exeunt Goths, with Aaron. ^note Flourish within. ^note

The trumpets show the emperor is at hand. Enter ^note Saturninus and Tamora, with Æmilius, ^note Tribunes, Senators, and others. ^note

Sat. ^note
What, hath the firmament moe ^note suns than one?

Luc.
What boots it thee ^note to call thyself a sun?

Marc.
Rome's emperor, and nephew, break the parle ^note;
These quarrels must be quietly debated.
The feast is ready, which the careful Titus
Hath ordain'd ^note to an honourable end,
For peace, for love, for league and good to Rome:
Please you, therefore, draw nigh, and take your places.

Sat. ^note
Marcus, we will. [Hautboys sound. The Company sit down at table. ^note Enter Titus, like a Cook, placing the meat on the table, and Lavinia with a veil over her face, young Lucius, and others. ^note

Tit.
Welcome, my gracious lord; welcome, dread queen; ^note
Welcome, ye warlike Goths; welcome, Lucius ^note;
And welcome, all: although the cheer be poor,
'Twill fill your stomachs; please you eat of it.

Sat. ^note
Why art thou thus attired, Andronicus?

Tit.
Because I would be sure to have all well,
To entertain your highness and your empress.

Tam.
We are beholding ^note to you, good Andronicus.

Tit.
An ^note if your highness knew my heart, you were.

My lord the emperor, resolve me this:
Was it well done of rash Virginius
To slay his daughter with his own right hand,
Because she was enforced, stain'd, and deflower'd?

Sat. ^note
It was, Andronicus.

Tit.
Your reason, mighty lord? ^note

Sat. ^note
Because the girl should not survive her shame,
And by her presence still renew his sorrows.

Tit.
A reason mighty ^note, strong and ^note effectual,
A pattern, precedent ^note, and lively warrant,
For me, most wretched, to perform the like.
Die, die, Lavinia, and thy shame with thee,
And with thy shame thy father's sorrow die ^note! [Kills Lavinia. ^note

Sat. ^note
What hast thou ^note done, unnatural and unkind? ^note

Tit.
Kill'd her, for whom my tears have made me blind.
I am as woful as Virginius was,
And have a thousand times more cause than he
To do this outrage, and it now is ^note done. ^note

Sat. ^note
What, was she ravish'd ^note? tell who did the deed.

Tit.
Will't ^note please you eat? will't please your highness feed? ^note

Tam.
Why hast thou slain thine only daughter thus? ^note

Tit.
Not I; 'twas Chiron and Demetrius:
They ravish'd her, and cut away her tongue;
And they, 'twas they, that did her all this wrong.

Sat. ^note
Go fetch them hither ^note to us presently.

Tit.
Why, there they are both, baked in that pie;

Whereof their mother daintily hath fed,
Eating the flesh that she herself hath bred.
'Tis true, 'tis true; witness my knife's sharp point. [Kills Tamora. ^note

Sat. ^note
Die, frantic wretch, for this accursed deed! [Kills Titus. ^note

Luc.
Can the son's eye behold his father bleed?
There's meed for meed, death for a deadly deed! [Kills Saturninus. ^note A great tumult. Lucius, Marcus, and others go up into the balcony. ^note

Marc.
You sad-faced men, people and sons of Rome,
By uproars ^note sever'd, as ^note a flight of fowl
Scatter'd by winds and high tempestuous ^note gusts ^note,
O, let me teach you how to ^note knit again
This scatter'd corn into one mutual sheaf,
These broken limbs again into one body;
Lest Rome ^note herself be bane unto herself,
And she whom mighty kingdoms court'sy to ^note,
Like a forlorn and desperate castaway ^note,
Do shameful execution on herself.
But if ^note my frosty signs and chaps of age,
Grave witnesses of true experience,
Cannot induce you to attend my words,— [To Lucius ^note]
Speak, Rome's dear friend: as erst our ancestor,
When with his solemn tongue he did discourse
To love-sick Dido's sad attending ear

The story of that baleful burning ^note night
When subtle Greeks surprised King Priam's Troy;
Tell us what Sinon hath bewitch'd our ears,
Or who hath brought the fatal engine in
That gives our Troy, our Rome, the civil wound.
My heart is not compact of flint nor steel;
Nor can I utter all our bitter grief,
But floods of tears will drown my oratory,
And break my ^note utterance, even in the ^note time
When it should move you to attend me most,
Lending your kind ^note commiseration.
Here is a captain ^note, let him tell the tale;
Your hearts will throb and weep to hear him speak.

Luc.
Then ^note, noble auditory, be it known to you,
That cursed Chiron and Demetrius
Were they that murdered ^note our emperor's brother;
And they it were ^note that ravished our sister:
For their fell faults our brothers were beheaded,
Our father's tears despised, and basely cozen'd
Of that true hand that fought Rome's quarrel out
And sent her enemies unto ^note the grave.
Lastly, myself unkindly banished,
The gates shut on me, and turn'd weeping out,
To beg relief among Rome's enemies;
Who drown'd their enmity in my true tears,
And oped their arms to embrace me as a friend.
I am the turned ^note forth, be it known to you,
That have preserved her welfare in my blood,
And from her bosom took the enemy's point,

Sheathing the steel in my adventurous body.
Alas, you know I am no vaunter, I;
My scars can witness, dumb although they are,
That my report is just and full of truth.
But, soft! methinks I do digress too much,
Citing my worthless praise: O, pardon me;
For when no friends are by, men praise themselves.

Marc.
Now is my turn ^note to speak. Behold the ^note child: [Pointing ^note to the Child in the arms of an Attendant.
Of this was Tamora delivered;
The issue of an irreligious Moor,
Chief architect and plotter of these woes:
The villain is alive in Titus' house,
And ^note as he is, to ^note witness this is true.
Now judge what cause ^note had Titus to revenge ^note
These wrongs, unspeakable, past patience,
Or more than any living man could bear.
Now you have heard the truth, what say you, Romans?
Have we done aught amiss, ^note show us wherein,
And, from the place where you behold us now,
The poor remainder of Andronici ^note
Will ^note, hand in hand, all headlong cast us down
And on the ragged stones beat forth ^note our brains
And make a mutual closure of our house.
Speak, Romans, speak, and if you say we shall,
Lo, hand in hand, Lucius and I will fall.

Æmil.
Come, come, thou reverend ^note man of Rome ^note,
And bring our emperor gently in thy hand,

Lucius our emperor; for well I know
The common voice do ^note cry it shall be so.

All. ^note
Lucius, all hail, Rome's royal emperor!

Marc. ^note
Go, go into old Titus' sorrowful house, [To Attendants. ^note
And hither hale that misbelieving Moor,
To be adjudged ^note some direful slaughtering ^note death,
As punishment for his most wicked life. [Exeunt Attendants. ^note Lucius ^note, Marcus, and the others descend.

All. ^note
Lucius, all hail, Rome's ^note gracious governor!

Luc.
Thanks, gentle Romans: may I govern so,
To heal Rome's harms ^note and wipe ^note away her woe!
But, gentle people, give me aim ^note awhile,
For nature puts me to a heavy task ^note;
Stand all aloof; but, uncle, draw you near, ^note
To shed obsequious tears upon this trunk ^note.
O, take this warm kiss on thy ^note pale cold ^note lips, [Kissing Titus. ^note
These sorrowful drops upon thy blood-stain'd ^note face,
The last true duties of thy noble son! ^note

Marc.
Tear ^note for tear and loving kiss for kiss

Thy brother Marcus tenders on thy lips:
O, were the sum of these that I should pay
Countless and infinite, yet would I pay them!

Luc.
Come hither, boy; come, come, and learn of us
To melt in showers: thy grandsire loved thee well:
Many a time he danced thee on his knee,
Sung thee asleep, his loving breast thy pillow;
Many a matter hath he told to thee,
Meet and agreeing with thine ^note infancy;
In that respect then, like a loving child,
Shed yet some small drops from thy tender spring,
Because kind nature doth require it so:
Friends should associate friends in grief and woe:
Bid him farewell; commit him to the grave;
Do him that kindness, and take leave of him ^{note note}.

Boy. ^note
O grandsire, grandsire! even with all my heart ^note
Would I were dead, so you did live again!
O Lord, I cannot speak to him for weeping;
My tears will choke me, if I ope my mouth. Re-enter Attendants ^note with Aaron. ^note

A Roman. ^note
You sad Andronici, have done with woes:
Give sentence on this execrable wretch
That hath been breeder of these dire events.

Luc.
Set him breast-deep in earth, and famish him;
There let him stand and rave and cry for food:
If any one relieves or pities him,
For the offence he dies. This is our doom:
Some stay to see him fasten'd in the earth.

Aar.
O, why should wrath be mute, and fury dumb? ^note
I am no baby, I, that with base prayers

I should repent the evils ^note I have done:
Ten thousand worse than ever yet I did
Would I perform, if I might have my will:
If one good deed in all my life I did,
I do repent it from my very soul.

Luc.
Some loving friends convey the emperor ^note hence,
And give him burial in his father's ^note grave:
My father and Lavinia shall forthwith
Be closed in our household's monument.
As for that heinous ^note tiger ^note, Tamora,
No funeral rite ^note, nor man in mourning ^note weeds,
No mournful bell ^note shall ring her burial;
But throw her forth to beasts ^note and birds of prey ^note:
Her life was beastly ^note and devoid of pity,
And, being so, shall ^note have like want of pity.
See justice done on Aaron ^note, that damn'd Moor,
By ^note whom our heavy haps ^note had their beginning:
Then ^note, afterwards, to order ^note well the state,
That like events may ne'er it ruinate. [Exeunt. ^note

NOTES. ^note