A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 05

English drama
I swear to both, by him that made us all.

                                LORENZO.

    In hope thine oath is true, here's thy reward:
    But if I prove thee perjur'd and unjust,
    This very sword, whereon thou took'st thine oath,
    Shall be the worker of thy tragedy.

                              PEDRINGANO.

    What I have said is true, and shall (for me)
    Be still conceal'd from Bell'-Imperia:
    Besides, your honour's liberality
    Deserves my duteous service ev'n till death.

                                LORENZO.

    Let this be all that thou shalt do for me:
    Be watchful, when and where these lovers meet,
    And give me notice in some secret sort.

                              PEDRINGANO.

    I will, my lord.

                                LORENZO.

    Then shalt thou find that I am liberal:
    Thou know'st that I can more advance thy state
    Than she; be therefore wise, and fail me not:
    Go and attend her, as thy custom is,
    Lest absence make her think thou dost amiss.

                                                            [_Exit_ PED.

    Why so: _tam armis, quam ingenio_:
    Where words prevail not, violence prevails;
    But gold doth more than either of them both.
    How likes Prince Balthazar this[99] stratagem?

                               BALTHAZAR.

    Both well and ill; it makes me glad and sad:
    Glad, that I know the hinderer of my love;
    Sad, that I fear she hates me whom I love;
    Glad, that I know on whom to be reveng'd;
    Sad, that she'll fly me, if I take revenge;
    Yet must I take revenge, or die myself,
    For love resisted grows impatient.
    I think Horatio be my destin'd plague:
    First, in his hand he brandished a sword,
    And with that sword he fiercely waged war,
    And in that war he gave me dang'rous wounds,
    And by those wounds he forced me to yield,
    And by my yielding I became his slave:
    Now in his mouth he carries pleasing words,
    Which pleasing words do harbour sweet conceits;
    Which sweet conceits are lim'd with sly deceits,[100]
    Which sly deceits[101] smooth Bell'-Imperia's ears;
    And through her ears dive down into her heart,
    And in her heart set[102] him, where I should stand.
    Thus hath he ta'en my body by his force,
    And now by sleight would captivate my soul:
    But in his fall I'll tempt the destinies,
    And either lose my life or win my love.

                                LORENZO.

    Let's go, my lord, your[103] staying stays revenge:
    Do you but follow me, and gain your love,
    Her favour must be won by his remove.                     [_Exeunt._

                  _Enter_ HORATIO _and_ BELL'-IMPERIA.

                                HORATIO.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 05

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