1 Come, Marcus; come, kinsmen; this is the way. 2 Sir boy, now let me see your archery; 3 Look ye draw home enough, and 'tis there straight. 4 Terras Astraea reliquit: 5 Be you remember'd, Marcus, she's gone, she's fled. 6 Sirs, take you to your tools. You, cousins, shall 7 Go sound the ocean, and cast your nets; 8 Happily you may catch her in the sea; 9 Yet there's as little justice as at land: 10 No; Publius and Sempronius, you must do it; 11 'Tis you must dig with mattock and with spade, 12 And pierce the inmost centre of the earth: 13 Then, when you come to Pluto's region, 14 I pray you, deliver him this petition; 15 Tell him, it is for justice and for aid, 16 And that it comes from old Andronicus, 17 Shaken with sorrows in ungrateful Rome. 18 Ah, Rome! Well, well; I made thee miserable 19 What time I threw the people's suffrages 20 On him that thus doth tyrannize o'er me. 21 Go, get you gone; and pray be careful all, 22 And leave you not a man-of-war unsearch'd: 23 This wicked emperor may have shipp'd her hence; 24 And, kinsmen, then we may go pipe for justice.
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
25 O Publius, is not this a heavy case, 26 To see thy noble uncle thus distract?
PUBLIUS
27 Therefore, my lord, it highly us concerns 28 By day and night to attend him carefully, 29 And feed his humour kindly as we may, 30 Till time beget some careful remedy.
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
31 Kinsmen, his sorrows are past remedy. 32 Join with the Goths; and with revengeful war 33 Take wreak on Rome for this ingratitude, 34 And vengeance on the traitor Saturnine.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
35 Publius, how now! how now, my masters! 36 What, have you met with her?
PUBLIUS
37 No, my good lord; but Pluto sends you word, 38 If you will have Revenge from hell, you shall: 39 Marry, for Justice, she is so employ'd, 40 He thinks, with Jove in heaven, or somewhere else, 41 So that perforce you must needs stay a time.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
42 He doth me wrong to feed me with delays. 43 I'll dive into the burning lake below, 44 And pull her out of Acheron by the heels. 45 Marcus, we are but shrubs, no cedars we 46 No big-boned men framed of the Cyclops' size; 47 But metal, Marcus, steel to the very back, 48 Yet wrung with wrongs more than our backs can bear: 49 And, sith there's no justice in earth nor hell, 50 We will solicit heaven and move the gods 51 To send down Justice for to wreak our wrongs. 52 Come, to this gear. You are a good archer, Marcus; He gives them the arrows 53 'Ad Jovem,' that's for you: here, 'Ad Apollinem:' 54 'Ad Martem,' that's for myself: 55 Here, boy, to Pallas: here, to Mercury: 56 To Saturn, Caius, not to Saturnine; 57 You were as good to shoot against the wind. 58 To it, boy! Marcus, loose when I bid. 59 Of my word, I have written to effect; 60 There's not a god left unsolicited.
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
61 Kinsmen, shoot all your shafts into the court: 62 We will afflict the emperor in his pride.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
63 Now, masters, draw. They shoot 64 O, well said, Lucius! 65 Good boy, in Virgo's lap; give it Pallas.
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
66 My lord, I aim a mile beyond the moon; 67 Your letter is with Jupiter by this.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
68 Ha, ha! 69 Publius, Publius, what hast thou done? 70 See, see, thou hast shot off one of Taurus' horns.
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
71 This was the sport, my lord: when Publius shot, 72 The Bull, being gall'd, gave Aries such a knock 73 That down fell both the Ram's horns in the court; 74 And who should find them but the empress' villain? 75 She laugh'd, and told the Moor he should not choose 76 But give them to his master for a present.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
77 Why, there it goes: God give his lordship joy! 78 News, news from heaven! Marcus, the post is come. 79 Sirrah, what tidings? have you any letters? 80 Shall I have justice? what says Jupiter?
Clown
81 O, the gibbet-maker! he says that he hath taken 82 them down again, for the man must not be hanged till 83 the next week.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
84 But what says Jupiter, I ask thee?
Clown
85 Alas, sir, I know not Jupiter; I never drank with him 86 in all my life.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
87 Why, villain, art not thou the carrier?
Clown
88 Ay, of my pigeons, sir; nothing else.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
89 Why, didst thou not come from heaven?
Clown
90 From heaven! alas, sir, I never came there God 91 forbid I should be so bold to press to heaven in my 92 young days. Why, I am going with my pigeons to the 93 tribunal plebs, to take up a matter of brawl 94 betwixt my uncle and one of the emperial's men.
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
95 Why, sir, that is as fit as can be to serve for 96 your oration; and let him deliver the pigeons to 97 the emperor from you.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
98 Tell me, can you deliver an oration to the emperor 99 with a grace?
Clown
100 Nay, truly, sir, I could never say grace in all my life.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
101 Sirrah, come hither: make no more ado, 102 But give your pigeons to the emperor: 103 By me thou shalt have justice at his hands. 104 Hold, hold; meanwhile here's money for thy charges. 105 Give me pen and ink. Sirrah, can you with a grace 106 deliver a supplication?
Clown
107 Ay, sir.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
108 Then here is a supplication for you. And when you 109 come to him, at the first approach you must kneel, 110 then kiss his foot, then deliver up your pigeons, and 111 then look for your reward. I'll be at hand, sir; see 112 you do it bravely.
Clown
113 I warrant you, sir, let me alone.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
114 Sirrah, hast thou a knife? come, let me see it. 115 Here, Marcus, fold it in the oration; 116 For thou hast made it like an humble suppliant. 117 And when thou hast given it the emperor, 118 Knock at my door, and tell me what he says.