Tamburlaine the Great, part 2 | Page 7

a ship and sail to it, Ere I
would lose the title of a king.
AMYRAS. And I would strive to swim through<43> pools of blood,
Or make a bridge of murder'd carcasses,<44> Whose arches should be
fram'd with bones of Turks, Ere I would lose the title of a king.

TAMBURLAINE. Well, lovely boys, ye shall be emperors both,
Stretching your conquering arms from east to west:-- And, sirrah, if
you mean to wear a crown, When we<45> shall meet the Turkish
deputy And all his viceroys, snatch it from his head, And cleave his
pericranion with thy sword.
CALYPHAS. If any man will hold him, I will strike, And cleave him to
the channel<46> with my sword.
TAMBURLAINE. Hold him, and cleave him too, or I'll cleave thee;
For we will march against them presently. Theridamas, Techelles, and
Casane Promis'd to meet me on Larissa-plains, With hosts a-piece
against this Turkish crew; For I have sworn by sacred Mahomet To
make it parcel of my empery. The trumpets sound; Zenocrate, they
come. Enter THERIDAMAS, and his train, with drums and trumpets.
Welcome, Theridamas, king of Argier.
THERIDAMAS. My lord, the great and mighty Tamburlaine,
Arch-monarch of the world, I offer here My crown, myself, and all the
power I have, In all affection at thy kingly feet.
TAMBURLAINE. Thanks, good Theridamas.
THERIDAMAS. Under my colours march ten thousand Greeks, And of
Argier and Afric's frontier towns Twice twenty thousand valiant
men-at-arms; All which have sworn to sack Natolia. Five hundred
brigandines are under sail, Meet for your service on the sea, my lord,
That, launching from Argier to Tripoly, Will quickly ride before
Natolia, And batter down the castles on the shore.
TAMBURLAINE. Well said, Argier! receive thy crown again. Enter
USUMCASANE and TECHELLES. Kings of Morocco<47> and of
Fez, welcome.
USUMCASANE. Magnificent and peerless Tamburlaine, I and my
neighbour king of Fez have brought, To aid thee in this Turkish
expedition, A hundred thousand expert soldiers; >From Azamor to
Tunis near the sea Is Barbary unpeopled for thy sake, And all the men

in armour under me, Which with my crown I gladly offer thee.
TAMBURLAINE. Thanks, king of Morocco: take your crown again.
TECHELLES. And, mighty Tamburlaine, our earthly god, Whose
looks make this inferior world to quake, I here present thee with the
crown of Fez, And with an host of Moors train'd to the war,<48>
Whose coal-black faces make their foes retire, And quake for fear, as if
infernal<49> Jove, Meaning to aid thee<50> in these<51> Turkish
arms, Should pierce the black circumference of hell, With ugly Furies
bearing fiery flags, And millions of his strong<52> tormenting spirits:
>From strong Tesella unto Biledull All Barbary is unpeopled for thy
sake.
TAMBURLAINE. Thanks, king of Fez: take here thy crown again.
Your presence, loving friends and fellow-kings, Makes me to surfeit in
conceiving joy: If all the crystal gates of Jove's high court Were open'd
wide, and I might enter in To see the state and majesty of heaven, It
could not more delight me than your sight. Now will we banquet on
these plains a while, And after march to Turkey with our camp, In
number more than are the drops that fall When Boreas rents a thousand
swelling clouds; And proud Orcanes of Natolia With all his viceroys
shall be so afraid, That, though the stones, as at Deucalion's flood,
Were turn'd to men, he should be overcome. Such lavish will I make of
Turkish blood, That Jove shall send his winged messenger To bid me
sheathe my sword and leave the field; The sun, unable to sustain the
sight, Shall hide his head in Thetis' watery lap, And leave his steeds to
fair Bootes'<53> charge; For half the world shall perish in this fight.
But now, my friends, let me examine ye; How have ye spent your
absent time from me?
USUMCASANE. My lord, our men of Barbary have march'd Four
hundred miles with armour on their backs, And lain in leaguer<54>
fifteen months and more; For, since we left you at the Soldan's court,
We have subdu'd the southern Guallatia, And all the land unto the coast
of Spain; We kept the narrow Strait of Jubalter,<55> And made
Canaria call us kings and lords: Yet never did they recreate themselves,
Or cease one day from war and hot alarms; And therefore let them rest

a while, my lord.
TAMBURLAINE. They shall, Casane, and 'tis time, i'faith.
TECHELLES. And I have march'd along the river Nile To Machda,
where the mighty Christian priest, Call'd John the Great,<56> sits in a
milk-white robe, Whose triple mitre I did take by force, And made him
swear obedience to my crown. >From thence unto Cazates did I march,
Where Amazonians met me in the field, With whom, being