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Pericles
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PericlesAct 2, scene 2
⌜Scene 2⌝
Synopsis:
At the court, Pericles and other knights present their shields to Princess Thaisa, and Pericles wins the tournament.
Enter ⌜King⌝ Simonides, with ⌜Lords,⌝ Attendants,and Thaisa.
SIMONIDES
0717 Are the knights ready to begin the triumph?
FIRST LORD 0718 They are, my liege,
0719 And stay your coming to present themselves.
SIMONIDES
0720 Return them we are ready, and our daughter here,
0721 5 In honor of whose birth these triumphs are,
0722 Sits here like Beauty’s child, whom Nature gat
0723 For men to see and, seeing, wonder at.
⌜An Attendant exits.⌝
THAISA
0724 It pleaseth you, my royal father, to express
0725 My commendations great, whose merit’s less.
SIMONIDES
0726 10 It’s fit it should be so, for princes are
0727 A model which heaven makes like to itself.
0728 As jewels lose their glory if neglected,
0729 So princes their renowns if not respected.
0730 ’Tis now your honor, daughter, to entertain
0731 15 The labor of each knight in his device.
THAISA
0732 Which to preserve mine honor, I’ll perform.
The first Knight passes by. ⌜His Squire presents a shield
to Thaisa.⌝
SIMONIDES
0733 Who is the first that doth prefer himself?
THAISA
0734 A knight of Sparta, my renownèd father,
0735 And the device he bears upon his shield
0736 20 Is a black Ethiop reaching at the sun;
0737 The word: Lux tua vita mihi.
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59
SIMONIDES 0738 He loves you well that holds his life of you.
The second Knight ⌜passes by. His Squire presents a
shield to Thaisa.⌝
0739 Who is the second that presents himself?
THAISA
0740 A prince of Macedon, my royal father,
0741 25 And the device he bears upon his shield
0742 Is an armed knight that’s conquered by a lady.
0743 The motto thus, in Spanish: Pue per doleera kee per
0744 forsa.
The third Knight ⌜passes by. His Squire presents a shield
to Thaisa.⌝
SIMONIDES
0745 And ⌜what’s⌝ the third?
THAISA 0746 30 The third, of Antioch;
0747 And his device a wreath of chivalry;
0748 The word: Me pompae provexit apex.
The fourth Knight ⌜passes by. His Squire presents a
shield to Thaisa.⌝
SIMONIDES 0749 What is the fourth?
THAISA
0750 A burning torch that’s turnèd upside down;
0751 35 The word: Qui me alit me extinguit.
SIMONIDES
0752 Which shows that beauty hath his power and will,
0753 Which can as well inflame as it can kill.
The fifth Knight ⌜passes by. His Squire presents a shield
to Thaisa.⌝
THAISA
0754 The fifth, an hand environèd with clouds,
0755 Holding out gold that’s by the touchstone tried;
0756 40 The motto thus: Sic spectanda fides.
p.
61
The sixth Knight, ⌜Pericles, passes by. He presents ashield to Thaisa.⌝
SIMONIDES
0757 And what’s the sixth and last, the which the knight
0758 himself
0759 With such a graceful courtesy delivered?
THAISA
0760 He seems to be a stranger; but his present is
0761 45 A withered branch that’s only green at top,
0762 The motto: In hac spe vivo.
SIMONIDES 0763 A pretty moral.
0764 From the dejected state wherein he is,
0765 He hopes by you his fortunes yet may flourish.
FIRST LORD
0766 50 He had need mean better than his outward show
0767 Can any way speak in his just commend,
0768 For by his rusty outside he appears
0769 To have practiced more the whipstock than the lance.
SECOND LORD
0770 He well may be a stranger, for he comes
0771 55 To an honored triumph strangely furnishèd.
THIRD LORD
0772 And on set purpose let his armor rust
0773 Until this day, to scour it in the dust.
SIMONIDES
0774 Opinion’s but a fool that makes us scan
0775 The outward habit by the inward man.
0776 60 But stay, the knights are coming.
0777 We will withdraw into the gallery.
⌜They exit.⌝
Great shouts ⌜offstage,⌝ and all cry, “The mean knight.”