ARKCODEX
Act II, Scene 2
1The same. A public way or platform leading to the lists. A pavilion by the side of it for the reception of King, Princess, Lords, etc.
2Enter Simonides, Thaisa, Lords, and Attendants.
3SimonidesAre the knights ready to begin the triumph?
4First LordThey are, my liege;
And stay your coming to present themselves.
5SimonidesReturn 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.
6ThaisaIt pleaseth you, my royal father, to express
My commendations great, whose merit’s less.
7SimonidesIt’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.
8ThaisaWhich, to preserve mine honour, I’ll perform.
9Enter a Knight; he passes over, and his Squire presents his shield to the Princess.
10SimonidesWho is the first that doth prefer himself?
11ThaisaA 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.”
12SimonidesHe loves you well that holds his life of you. The Second Knight passes over.
Who is the second that presents himself?
13ThaisaA 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.
14SimonidesAnd what’s the third?
15ThaisaThe third of Antioch;
And his device, a wreath of chivalry;
The word, “Me pompae provexit apex.” The Fourth Knight passes over.
16SimonidesWhat is the fourth?
17ThaisaA burning torch that’s turned upside down;
The word, “Quod me alit, me extinguit.”
18SimonidesWhich shows that beauty hath his power and will,
Which can as well inflame as it can kill. The Fifth Knight passes over.
19ThaisaThe fifth, an hand environed with clouds,
Holding out gold that’s by the touchstone tried;
The motto thus, “Sic spectanda fides.” The Sixth Knight, Pericles, passes over.
20SimonidesAnd what’s
The sixth and last, the which the knight himself
With such a graceful courtesy deliver’d?
21ThaisaHe 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.”
22SimonidesA pretty moral;
From the dejected state wherein he is,
He hopes by you his fortunes yet may flourish.
23First LordHe 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.
24Second LordHe well may be a stranger, for he comes
To an honour’d triumph strangely furnished.
25Third LordAnd on set purpose let his armour rust
Until this day, to scour it in the dust.
26SimonidesOpinion’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!”