CALLAPINE. Thrice-worthy kings, of Natolia and the rest, I will requite your royal gratitudes With all the benefits my empire yields; And, were the sinews of th' imperial seat So knit and strengthen'd as when Bajazeth, My royal lord and father, fill'd the throne, Whose cursed fate [97] hath so dismember'd it, Then should you see this thief of Scythia, This proud usurping king of Persia, Do us such honour and supremacy, Bearing the vengeance of our father's wrongs, As all the world should blot his [98] dignities Out of the book of base-born infamies. And now I doubt not but your royal cares Have so provided for this cursed foe, That, since the heir of mighty Bajazeth (An emperor so honour'd for his virtues) Revives the spirits of all [99] true Turkish hearts, In grievous memory of his father's shame, We shall not need to nourish any doubt, But that proud Fortune, who hath follow'd long The martial sword of mighty Tamburlaine, Will now retain her old inconstancy, And raise our honours [100] to as high a pitch, In this our strong and fortunate encounter; For so hath heaven provided my escape ]From all the cruelty my soul sustain'd, By this my friendly keeper's happy means, That Jove, surcharg'd with pity of our wrongs, Will pour it down in showers on our heads, Scourging the pride of cursed Tamburlaine. ORCANES. I have a hundred thousand men in arms; Some that, in conquest [101] of the perjur'd Christian, Being a handful to a mighty host, Think them in number yet sufficient To drink the river Nile or Euphrates, And for their power enow to win the world. KING OF JERUSALEM. And I as many from Jerusalem, Judaea, [102] Gaza, and Sclavonia's [103] bounds, That on mount Sinai, with their ensigns spread, Look like the parti-colour'd clouds of heaven That shew fair weather to the neighbour morn. KING OF TREBIZON. And I as many bring from Trebizon, Chio, Famastro, and Amasia, All bordering on the Mare-Major-sea, Riso, Sancina, and the bordering towns That touch the end of famous Euphrates, Whose courages are kindled with the flames The cursed Scythian sets on all their towns, And vow to burn the villain's cruel heart. KING OF SORIA. From Soria [104] with seventy thousand strong, Ta'en from Aleppo, Soldino, Tripoly, And so unto my city of Damascus, [105] I march to meet and aid my neighbour kings; All which will join against this Tamburlaine, And bring him captive to your highness' feet. ORCANES. Our battle, then, in martial manner pitch'd, According to our ancient use, shall bear The figure of the semicircled moon, Whose horns shell sprinkle through the tainted air The poison'd brains of this proud Scythian.