Gama: Aye, but I've three sons, Fine fellows, young and muscular, and brave, They're well worth talking to! Come, what d'ye say? Arac: Aye, pretty ones, engage yourselves with us, If three rude warriors affright you not! Hilar.: Old as you are, I'd wring your shrivelled neck If you were not the Princess Ida's father. Gama: If I were not the Princess Ida's father, And so had not her brothers for my sons, No doubt you'd wring my neck — in safety too! Come, come, Hilarion, begin, begin! Give them no quarter — they will give you none. You've this advantage over warriors Who kill their country's enemies for pay,— You know what you are fighting for — look there! (Pointing to Ladies on the battlements) (Exit Gamma. Hilarion, Florian, and Cyril are led off.) SONG (Arac, Guron, Scynthius and Chorus) "This Helmet, I Suppose" Arac: This helmet, I suppose, Was meant to ward off blows, It's very hot And weighs a lot, As many a guardsman knows, As many a guardsman knows, As many a guardsman knows, As many a guardsman knows, So off, so off that helmet goes. Others: Yes, yes, yes, So off that helmet goes! (Giving their helmets to attendants) Arac: This tight-fitting cuirass Is but a useless mass, It's made of steel, And weighs a deal, This tight-fitting cuirass Is but a useless mass, A man is but an ass Who fights in a cuirass, So off, so off goes that cuirass. Others: Yes, yes, yes, So off goes that cuirass! (Removing cuirasses) Arac: These brassets, truth to tell, May look uncommon well, But in a fight They're much too tight, They're like a lobster shell, They're like a lobster shell! Others: Yes, yes, yes, They're like a lobster shell. (Removing their brassets)