The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Part 546

ACT V. SCENE 5.

Another part of the plain

Enter DIOMEDES and A SERVANT

DIOMEDES. Go, go, my servant, take thou Troilus' horse; Present the fair steed to my lady Cressid.

Fellow, commend my service to her beauty; Tell her I have chastis'd the amorous Troyan, And am her knight by proof.

SERVANT. I go, my lord. Exit

Enter AGAMEMNON

AGAMEMNON. Renew, renew! The fierce Polydamus Hath beat down enon; b.a.s.t.a.r.d Margarelon Hath Doreus prisoner, And stands colossus-wise, waving his beam, Upon the pashed corses of the kings Epistrophus and Cedius. Polixenes is slain; Amphimacus and Thoas deadly hurt; Patroclus ta'en, or slain; and Palamedes Sore hurt and bruis'd. The dreadful Sagittary Appals our numbers. Haste we, Diomed, To reinforcement, or we perish all.

Enter NESTOR

NESTOR. Go, bear Patroclus' body to Achilles, And bid the snail-pac'd Ajax arm for shame.

There is a thousand Hectors in the field; Now here he fights on Galathe his horse, And there lacks work; anon he's there afoot, And there they fly or die, like scaled sculls Before the belching whale; then is he yonder, And there the strawy Greeks, ripe for his edge, Fall down before him like the mower's swath.

Here, there, and everywhere, he leaves and takes; Dexterity so obeying appet.i.te That what he will he does, and does so much That proof is call'd impossibility.

Enter ULYSSES

ULYSSES. O, courage, courage, courage, Princes! Great Achilles Is arming, weeping, cursing, vowing vengeance.

Patroclus' wounds have rous'd his drowsy blood, Together with his mangled Myrmidons, That noseless, handless, hack'd and chipp'd, come to him, Crying on Hector. Ajax hath lost a friend And foams at mouth, and he is arm'd and at it, Roaring for Troilus; who hath done to-day Mad and fantastic execution, Engaging and redeeming of himself With such a careless force and forceless care As if that luck, in very spite of cunning, Bade him win all.

Enter AJAX

AJAX. Troilus! thou coward Troilus! Exit DIOMEDES. Ay, there, there.

NESTOR. So, so, we draw together. Exit Enter ACHILLES

ACHILLES. Where is this Hector?

Come, come, thou boy-queller, show thy face; Know what it is to meet Achilles angry.

Hector! where's Hector? I will none but Hector. Exeunt

ACT V. SCENE 6.

Another part of the plain

Enter AJAX

AJAX. Troilus, thou coward Troilus, show thy head.

Enter DIOMEDES

DIOMEDES. Troilus, I say! Where's Troilus?

AJAX. What wouldst thou?

DIOMEDES. I would correct him.

AJAX. Were I the general, thou shouldst have my office Ere that correction. Troilus, I say! What, Troilus!

Enter TROILUS

TROILUS. O traitor Diomed! Turn thy false face, thou traitor, And pay thy life thou owest me for my horse.

DIOMEDES. Ha! art thou there?

AJAX. I'll fight with him alone. Stand, Diomed.

DIOMEDES. He is my prize. I will not look upon.

TROILUS. Come, both, you cogging Greeks; have at you Exeunt fighting

Enter HECTOR

HECTOR. Yea, Troilus? O, well fought, my youngest brother!

Enter ACHILLES

ACHILLES. Now do I see thee, ha! Have at thee, Hector!

HECTOR. Pause, if thou wilt.

ACHILLES. I do disdain thy courtesy, proud Troyan.

Be happy that my arms are out of use; My rest and negligence befriends thee now, But thou anon shalt hear of me again; Till when, go seek thy fortune. Exit HECTOR. Fare thee well.

I would have been much more a fresher man, Had I expected thee.

Re-enter TROILUS

How now, my brother!

TROILUS. Ajax hath ta'en Aeneas. Shall it be?

No, by the flame of yonder glorious heaven, He shall not carry him; I'll be ta'en too, Or bring him off. Fate, hear me what I say: I reck not though thou end my life to-day. Exit

Enter one in armour

HECTOR. Stand, stand, thou Greek; thou art a goodly mark.

No? wilt thou not? I like thy armour well; I'll frush it and unlock the rivets all But I'll be master of it. Wilt thou not, beast, abide?

Why then, fly on; I'll hunt thee for thy hide. Exeunt

ACT V. SCENE 7.

Another part of the plain

Enter ACHILLES, with Myrmidons

ACHILLES. Come here about me, you my Myrmidons; Mark what I say. Attend me where I wheel; Strike not a stroke, but keep yourselves in breath; And when I have the b.l.o.o.d.y Hector found, Empale him with your weapons round about; In fellest manner execute your arms.

Follow me, sirs, and my proceedings eye.

It is decreed Hector the great must die. Exeunt

Enter MENELAUS and PARIS, fighting; then THERSITES

THERSITES. The cuckold and the cuckold-maker are at it. Now, bull!

now, dog! 'Loo, Paris, 'loo! now my double-horn'd Spartan! 'loo, Paris, 'loo! The bull has the game. Ware horns, ho!