Act II, Scene i

lists. A pavilion by the side of it for the reception of the

King, Princess, Lords, etc.

[Enter Simonides, Lords and Attendants.]

SIMONIDES.:

Are the knights ready to begin the triumph?

FIRST LORD.:

They are, my liege;

And stay your coming to present themselves.

SIMONIDES.:

Return them, we are ready; and our daughter,

In honour of whose birth these triumphs are,

Sits here, like beauty's child, whom nature gat

For men to see, and seeing wonder at.

[Exit a Lord.]

THALIARD.:

It pleaseth you1 my royal father, to express

My commendations great, whose merit's less.

SIMONIDES.:

It's fit it should be so; for princes are

A model, which heaven makes like to itself:

As jewels lose their glory if neglected,

So princes their renowns if not respected.

'Tis now your honour, daughter, to explain

The labour of each knight in his device.

THALIARD.:

Which, to preserve mine honour, I'll perform.

[Enter a Knight; he passes over, and his Squire presents hisshield to the Princess.]

SIMONIDES.:

Who is the first that doth prefer himself?

THALIARD.:

A knight of Sparta, my renowned father;

And the device he bears upon his shield

Is a black Ethiope reaching at the sun:

The word, 'Lux tua vita mihi.'

SIMONIDES.:

He loves you well that holds his life of you.

[The Second Knight passes over.]

Who is the second that presents himself?

THALIARD.:

A prince of Macedon, my royal father;

And the device he bears upon his shield

Is an arm'd knight that's conquer'd by a lady;

The motto thus, in Spanish, 'Piu por dulzura que por fuerza.'

[The Third Knight passes over.]

SIMONIDES.:

And what's the third?

THALIARD.:

The third of Antioch;

And his device, a wreath of chivalry;

The word, 'Me pompae provexit apex.'

[The Fourth Knight passes over.]

SIMONIDES.:

What is the fourth?

THALIARD.:

A burning torch that's turned upside down;

The word, 'Quod me alit, me extinguit.'

SIMONIDES.:

Which shows that beauty hath his power and will,

Which can as well inflame as it can kill.

[The Fifth Knight passes over.]

THALIARD.:

The fifth, an hand environed with clouds,

Holding out gold that's by the touchstone tried;

The motto thus, 'Sic spectanda fides.'

[The Sixith Knight, Pericles, passes over.]

SIMONIDES.:

And what's

The sixth and last, the which the knight himself

With such a graceful courtesy deliver'd?

THALIARD.:

He seems to be a stranger; but his present is

A wither'd branch, that's only green at top;

The motto, 'In hac spe vivo.'

SIMONIDES.:

A pretty moral;

From the dejected state wherein he is,

He hopes by you his fortunes yet may flourish.

FIRST LORD.:

He had need mean better than his outward show

Can any way speak in his just commend;

For by his rusty outside he appears

To have practised more the whipstock than the lance.

SECOND LORD.:

He well may be a stranger, for he comes

To an honour'd triumph strangely furnished.

THIRD LORD.:

And on set purpose let his armour rust

Until this day, to scour it in the dust.

SIMONIDES.:

Opinion's but a fool, that makes us scan

The outward habit by the inward man.

But stay, the knights are coming: we will withdraw

Into the gallery.

[Exeunt.]

[Great shouts within, and all cry 'The mean knight!']