Tamburlaine the Great — Part 1Marlowe, Christopher
General
Tamburlaine the Great — Part 1
Marlowe, Christopher
English drama; Historical drama; Timur, 1336-1405 -- Drama; Tragedies (Drama)
TAMBURLAINE. Come, happy father of Zenocrate,
A title higher than thy Soldan's name.
Though my right hand have [302] thus enthralled thee,
Thy princely daughter here shall set thee free;
She that hath calm'd the fury of my sword,
Which had ere this been bath'd in streams of blood
As vast and deep as Euphrates [303] or Nile.
ZENOCRATE. O sight thrice-welcome to my joyful soul,
To see the king, my father, issue safe
From dangerous battle of my conquering love!
SOLDAN. Well met, my only dear Zenocrate,
Though with the loss of Egypt and my crown!
TAMBURLAINE. 'Twas I, my lord, that gat the victory;
And therefore grieve not at your overthrow,
Since I shall render all into your hands,
And add more strength to your dominions
Than ever yet confirm'd th' Egyptian crown.
The god of war resigns his room to me,
Meaning to make me general of the world:
Jove, viewing me in arms, looks pale and wan,
Fearing my power should [304] pull him from his throne:
Where'er I come the Fatal Sisters sweat, [305]
And grisly Death, by running to and fro,
To do their ceaseless homage to my sword:
And here in Afric, where it seldom rains,
Since I arriv'd with my triumphant host,
Have swelling clouds, drawn from wide-gaping [306] wounds,
Been oft resolv'd [307] in bloody purple showers,
A meteor that might terrify the earth,
And make it quake at every drop it drinks:
Millions [308] of souls sit on the banks of Styx,
Waiting the back-return of Charon's boat;
Hell and Elysium [309] swarm with ghosts of men
That I have sent from sundry foughten fields
To spread my fame through hell and up to heaven:
And see, my lord, a sight of strange import,--
Emperors and kings lie breathless at my feet;
The Turk and his great empress, as it seems,
Left to themselves while we were at the fight,
Have desperately despatch'd their slavish lives:
With them Arabia, too, hath left his life:
All sights of power to grace my victory;
And such are objects fit for Tamburlaine,
Wherein, as in a mirror, may be seen
His honour, that consists in shedding blood
When men presume to manage arms with him.
SOLDAN. Mighty hath God and Mahomet made thy hand,
Renowmed [310] Tamburlaine, to whom all kings
Of force must yield their crowns and emperies;
And I am pleas'd with this my overthrow,
If, as beseems a person of thy state,
Thou hast with honour us'd Zenocrate.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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