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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 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 pull him from his throne: Where'er I
come the Fatal Sisters sweat; 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 wounds; Been oft resolv'd in
bloody purple showers; A meteor that might terrify the earth; And make it
quake at every drop it drinks: Millions of souls sit on the banks of
Styx; Waiting the back…return of Charon's boat; Hell and Elysium
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;
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Renowmed 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。
TAMBURLAINE。 Her state and person want no pomp; you see; And
for all blot of foul inchastity; I record heaven; her heavenly self is
clear: Then let me find no further time to grace Her princely
temples with the Persian crown; But here these kings that on my fortunes
wait; And have been crown'd for proved worthiness Even by this hand that
shall establish them; Shall now; adjoining all their hands with mine; Invest
her here the Queen of Persia What saith the noble Soldan; and
Zenocrate?
SOLDAN。 I yield with thanks and protestations Of endless honour to
thee for her love。
TAMBURLAINE。 Then doubt I not but fair Zenocrate Will
soon consent to satisfy us both。
ZENOCRATE。 Else should I much forget myself; my lord。
THERIDAMAS。 Then let us set the crown upon her head; That long
hath linger'd for so high a seat。
TECHELLES。 My hand is ready to perform the deed; For now her
marriage…time shall work us rest。
USUMCASANE。 And here's the crown; my lord; help set it on。
TAMBURLAINE。 Then sit thou down; divine Zenocrate; And here we
crown thee Queen of Persia; And all the kingdoms and dominions That
late the power of Tamburlaine subdu'd。 As Juno; when the giants were
suppress'd; That darted mountains at her brother Jove; So looks my love;
shadowing in her brows Triumphs and trophies for my victories; Or as
Latona's daughter; bent to arms; Adding more courage to my conquering
mind。 To gratify the'e'; sweet Zenocrate; Egyptians; Moors; and men of
Asia; From Barbary unto the Western India; Shall pay a yearly tribute to
thy sire; And from the bounds of Afric to the banks Of Ganges shall his
mighty arm extend。 And now; my lords and loving followers; That
purchas'd kingdoms by your martial deeds; Cast off your armour; put on
scarlet robes; Mount up your royal places of estate; Environed with troops
of noblemen; And there make laws to rule your provinces: Hang up your
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TAMBURLAINE THE GREAT
weapons on Alcides' post's'; For Tamburlaine takes truce with all the
world。 Thy first…betrothed love; Arabia; Shall we with honour; as
beseems; entomb With this great Turk and his fair emperess。 Then;
after all these solemn exequies; We will our rites of marriage
solemnize。 'Exeunt。'
To the Gentlemen…readers; &c。' From the 8vo of 1592: in the 4tos
this address is worded here and there differently。 I have not thought it
necessary to mark the varioe lectiones of the worthy printer's composition。
histories' i。e。 dramas so called;plays founded on history。
fond' i。e。 foolish。Concerning the omissions here alluded to;
some remarks will be found in the ACCOUNT OF MARLOWE AND HIS
WRITINGS。