Her and her fortunes: none would look on her,
But cast their gazes on Marina’s face;
Whilst ours was blurted at and held a malkin
Not worth the time of day. It pierced me through;
And though you call my course unnatural,
You not your child well loving, yet I find
It greets me as an enterprise of kindness
Perform’d to your sole daughter.
CLEON Heavens forgive it!
DIONYZA And as for Pericles,
What should he say? We wept after her hearse,
And yet we mourn: her monument
Is almost finish’d, and her epitaphs
In glittering golden characters express
A general praise to her, and care in us
At whose expense ’tis done.
CLEON Thou art like the harpy,
Which, to betray, dost, with thine angel’s face,
Seize with thine eagle’s talons.
DIONYZA You are like one that superstitiously
Doth swear to the gods that winter kills the flies:
But yet I know you’ll do as I advise.
Exeunt
Enter GOWER, before the monument of MARINA at Tarsus
GOWER Thus time we waste, and longest leagues make short;
Sail seas in cockles, have an wish but for’t;
Making, to take your imagination,
From bourn to bourn, region to region.
By you being pardon’d, we commit no crime
To use one language in each several clime
Where our scenes seem to live. I do beseech you
To learn of me, who stand i’ the gaps to teach you,
The stages of our story. Pericles
Is now again thwarting the wayward seas,
Attended on by many a lord and knight.
To see his daughter, all his life’s delight.
Old Escanes, whom Helicanus late
Advanced in time to great and high estate,
Is left to govern. Bear you it in mind,
Old Helicanus goes along behind.
Well-sailing ships and bounteous winds have brought
This king to Tarsus,–think his pilot thought;
So with his steerage shall your thoughts grow on,–
To fetch his daughter home, who first is gone.
Like motes and shadows see them move awhile;
Your ears unto your eyes I’ll reconcile.
DUMB SHOW.
Enter PERICLES, at one door, with all his train; CLEON and DIONYZA, at the other. CLEON shows PERICLES the tomb; whereat PERICLES makes lamentation, puts on sackcloth, and in a mighty passion departs. Then exeunt CLEON and DIONYZA
See how belief may suffer by foul show!
This borrow’d passion stands for true old woe;
And Pericles, in sorrow all devour’d,
With sighs shot through, and biggest tears
o’ershower’d,
Leaves Tarsus and again embarks. He swears
Never to wash his face, nor cut his hairs:
He puts on sackcloth, and to sea. He bears
A tempest, which his mortal vessel tears,
And yet he rides it out. Now please you wit.
The epitaph is for Marina writ
By wicked Dionyza.
Reads the inscription on MARINA’s monument
‘The fairest, sweet’st, and best lies here,
Who wither’d in her spring of year.
She was of Tyrus the king’s daughter,
On whom foul death hath made this slaughter;
Marina was she call’d; and at her birth,
Thetis, being proud, swallow’d some part o’ the earth:
Therefore the earth, fearing to be o’erflow’d,
Hath Thetis’ birth-child on the heavens bestow’d:
Wherefore she does, and swears she’ll never stint,
Make raging battery upon shores of flint.’
No visor does become black villany
So well as soft and tender flattery.
Let Pericles believe his daughter’s dead,
And bear his courses to be ordered
By Lady Fortune; while our scene must play
His daughter’s woe and heavy well-a-day
In her unholy service. Patience, then,
And think you now are all in Mytilene.
Exit
Scene 5
Mytilene. A street before the brothel.
Enter, from the brothel, two Gentlemen
First Gentleman Did you ever hear the like?
Second Gentleman No, nor never shall do in such a place as this, she
being once gone.
First Gentleman But to have divinity preached there! did you ever
dream of such a thing?
Second Gentleman No, no. Come, I am for no more bawdy-houses:
shall’s go hear the vestals sing?
First Gentleman I’ll do any thing now that is virtuous; but I
am out of the road of rutting for ever.
Exeunt
Scene 6
The same. A room in the brothel.
Enter Pandar, Bawd, and BOULT
Pandar Well, I had rather than twice the worth of her she
had ne’er come here.
Bawd Fie, fie upon her! she’s able to freeze the god
Priapus, and undo a whole generation. We must
either get her ravished, or be rid of her. When she
should do for clients her fitment, and do me the
kindness of our profession, she has me her quirks,
her reasons, her master reasons, her prayers, her
knees; that she would make a puritan of the devil,
if he should cheapen a kiss of her.
BOULT ‘Faith, I must ravish her, or she’ll disfurnish us
of all our cavaliers, and make our swearers priests.
Pandar Now, the pox upon her green-sickness for me!
Bawd ‘Faith, there’s no way to be rid on’t but by the
way to the pox. Here comes the Lord Lysimachus disguised.
BOULT We should have both lord and lown, if the peevish
baggage would but give way to customers.
Enter LYSIMACHUS
LYSIMACHUS How now! How a dozen of virginities?
Bawd Now, the gods to-bless your honour!
BOULT I am glad to see your honour in good health.
LYSIMACHUS You may so; ’tis the better for you that your
resorters stand upon sound legs. How now!
wholesome iniquity have you that a man may deal
withal, and defy the surgeon?
Bawd We have here one, sir, if she would–but there never
came her like in Mytilene.
LYSIMACHUS If she’ld do the deed of darkness, thou wouldst say.
Bawd Your honour knows what ’tis to say well enough.
LYSIMACHUS Well, call forth, call forth.
BOULT For flesh and blood, sir, white and red, you shall
see a rose; and she were a rose indeed, if she had but–
LYSIMACHUS What, prithee?
BOULT O, sir, I can be modest.
LYSIMACHUS That dignifies the renown of a bawd, no less than it
gives a good report to a number to be chaste.
Exit BOULT
Bawd Here comes that which grows to the stalk; never
plucked yet, I can assure you.
Re-enter BOULT with MARINA
Is she not a fair creature?
LYSIMACHUS ‘Faith, she would serve after a long voyage at sea.
Well, there’s for you: leave us.
Bawd I beseech your honour, give me leave: a word, and
I’ll have done presently.
LYSIMACHUS I beseech you, do.
Bawd [To MARINA]
First, I would have you note, this is
an honourable man.
MARINA I desire to find him so, that I may worthily note him.
Bawd Next, he’s the governor of this country, and a man
whom I am bound to.
MARINA If he govern the country, you are bound to him
indeed; but how honourable he is in that, I know not.
Bawd Pray you, without any more virginal fencing, will
you use him kindly? He will line your apron with gold.
MARINA What he will do graciously, I will thankfully receive.
LYSIMACHUS Ha’ you done?
Bawd My lord, she’s not paced yet: you must take some
pains to work her to your manage. Come, we will
leave his honour and her together. Go thy ways.
Exeunt Bawd, Pandar, and BOULT
LYSIMACHUS Now, pretty one, how long have you been at this trade?
MARINA What trade, sir?
LYSIMACHUS Why, I cannot name’t but I shall offend.
MARINA I cannot be offended with my trade. Please you to name it.
LYSIMACHUS How long have you been of this profession?
MARINA E’er since I can remember.
LYSIMACHUS Did you go to ‘t so young? Were you a gamester at
five or at seven?
MARINA Earlier too, sir, if now I be one.
LYSIMACHUS Why, the house you dwell in proclaims you to be a
creature of sale.
MARINA Do you know this house to be a place of such resort,
and will come into ‘t? I hear say you are of
honourable parts, and are the governor of this place.
LYSIMACHUS Why, hath your principal made known unto you who I am?
MARINA Who is my principal?
LYSIMACHUS Why, your herb-woman; she that sets seeds and roots
of shame and iniquity. O, you have heard something
of my power, and so stand aloof for more serious
wooing. But I protest to thee, pretty one, my
authority shall not see thee, or else look friendly
upon thee. Come, bring me to some private place:
come, come.
MARINA If you were born to honour, show it now;
If put upon you, make the judgment good
That thought you worthy of it.
LYSIMACHUS How’s this? how’s this? Some more; be sage.
MARINA For me,
That am a maid, though most ungentle fortune
Have placed me in this sty, where, since I came,
Diseases have been sold dearer than physic,
O, that the gods
Would set me free from this unhallow’d place,
Though they did change me to the meanest bird