What shipping and what lading's in our haven,
And then return to us. [Exeunt Lords.] Heli-

canus, thou

Hast moved us: what seest thou in our looks?
Hel. An angry brow, dread lord.

Per. If there be such a dart in princes' frowns,
How durst thy tongue move anger to our face?
Hel. How dare the plants look up to heaven,
from whence

They have their nourishment?

Per.

Thou know'st I have power

To take thy life from thee.

Hel. [Kneeling] I have ground the axe my

self;

Do you but strike the blow.

Per.

50

Rise, prithee, rise.

60

Sit down thou art no flatterer :

I thank thee for it; and heaven forbid

That kings should let their ears hear their faults

hid!

Fit counsellor and servant for a prince,

Who by thy wisdom makest a prince thy servant,
What wouldst thou have me do?

Hel.

To bear with patience
Such griefs as you yourself do lay upon yourself.
Per. Thou speak'st like a physician, Helicanus,
That minister'st a potion unto me

That thou wouldst tremble to receive thyself.
Attend me, then I went to Antioch,

:

Where as thou know'st, against the face of death,
I sought the purchase of a glorious beauty,
From whence an issue I might propagate,
Are arms to princes, and bring joys to subjects.

62. hear their faults hid, hear the flattery which hides their faults. 74. A line is probably lost

70

between 73 and 74, such as: Worthy to heir my throne; for kingly boys (Sydney Walker).

Her face was to mine eye beyond all wonder;
The rest-hark in thine ear-as black as incest:
Which by my knowledge found, the sinful father
Seem'd not to strike, but smooth: but thou
know'st this,

'Tis time to fear when tyrants seem to kiss.
Which fear so grew in me, I hither fled,
Under the covering of a careful night,
Who seem'd my good, protector; and, being here,
Bethought me what was past, what might succeed.
I knew him tyrannous; and tyrants' fears
Decrease not, but grow faster than the years:
And should he doubt it, as no doubt he doth,
That I should open to the listening air
How many worthy princes' bloods were shed,
To keep his bed of blackness unlaid ope,
To lop that doubt, he'll fill this land with arms,
And make pretence of wrong that I have done him;
When all, for mine, if I may call offence,
Must feel war's blow, who spares not innocence:
Which love to all, of which thyself art one,
Who now reprovest me for it,-

Hel.

Alas, sir!

Per. Drew sleep out of mine eyes, blood from

my cheeks,

Musings into my mind, with thousand doubts
How I might stop this tempest ere it came;
And finding little comfort to relieve them,
I thought it princely charity to grieve them.
Hel. Well, my lord, since you have given me
leave to speak,

Freely will I speak. Antiochus you fear,
And justly too, I think, you fear the tyrant,
Who either by public war or private treason

78. smooth, flatter.

86. doubt, suspect. Malone's emendation of do't, Q 1-3.

Therefore, my lord, go travel for a while,
Till that his rage and anger be forgot,

Or till the Destinies do cut his thread of life.
Your rule direct to any; if to me,

Day serves not light more faithful than I'll be.
Per. I do not doubt thy faith;

But should he wrong my liberties in my absence? Hel. We'll mingle our bloods together in the earth,

From whence we had our being and our birth.
Per. Tyre, I now look from thee then, and to
Tarsus

Intend my travel, where I'll hear from thee;
And by whose letters I'll dispose myself.
The care I had and have of subjects' good
On thee I lay, whose wisdom's strength can

bear it.

I'll take thy word for faith, not ask thine oath :
Who shuns not to break one will sure crack both :
But in our orbs we'll live so round and safe,
That time of both this truth shall ne'er convince,
Thou show'dst a subject's shine, I a true prince.
[Exeunt.

SCENE III.

Tyre.

An ante-chamber in the palace.

Enter THALIARD.

Thal. So, this is Tyre, and this the court. Here must I kill King Pericles; and if I do it not, I am sure to be hanged at home: 'tis

105-110. Printed as prose in Qq Ff. Arranged as verse by Rowe.

123. convince, refute, over

come.

dangerous. Well, I perceive he was a wise fellow, and had good discretion, that, being bid to ask what he would of the king, desired he might know none of his secrets: now do I see he had some reason for 't; for if a king bid a man be a villain, he's bound by the indenture of his oath to be one. Hush! here come the lords of Tyre.

Enter HELICANUS and ESCANES, with other
Lords of Tyre.

Hel. You shall not need, my fellow peers of
Tyre,
Further to question me of your king's departure:

His seal'd commission, left in trust with me,
Doth speak sufficiently he's gone to travel.
Thal. [Aside] How! the king gone!
Hel. If further yet you will be satisfied,
Why, as it were unlicensed of your loves,
He would depart, I'll give some light unto you.
Being at Antioch-

Thal. [Aside] What from Antioch?

Hel. Royal Antiochus-on what cause I know

not

Took some displeasure at him; at least he judged

So:

And doubting lest that he had err'd or sinn'd,
To show his sorrow, he 'ld correct himself;
So puts himself unto the shipman's toil,
With whom each minute threatens life or death.

4f. he was a wise fellow, etc. This story is more fully referred to in Barnabie Riche's 'Souldier's Wish to Britaine's Welfare': 'I will therefore commend the poet Philipides, who, being demanded by King Lysimachus what favour he might do unto him for that

10

20

he loved him, made this answer to the king, that your majesty would never impart unto me any of your secrets' (Steevens).

II-40. Printed as prose in Qq Ff. First arranged as verse by Rowe.

Thal. [Aside] Well, I perceive I shall not be hang'd now, although I would; but since he's gone, the king's seas must please: he 'scaped the land, to perish at the sea. I'll present myself. Peace to the lords of Tyre!

Hel. Lord Thaliard from Antiochus is welcome.
Thal. From him I come

With message unto princely Pericles;

But since my landing I have understood

Your lord has betook himself to unknown travels,
My message must return from whence it came..
Hel. We have no reason to desire it,
Commended to our master, not to us:
Yet, ere you shall depart, this we desire,
As friends to Antioch, we may feast in Tyre.

[Exeunt.

SCENE IV. Tarsus. A room in the Governor's

house.

Enter CLEON, the Governor of Tarsus, with
DIONYZA, and others.

Cle. My Dionyza, shall we rest us here,
And by relating tales of others' griefs,
See if 'twill teach us to forget our own?

Dio. That were to blow at fire in hope to
quench it ;

For who digs hills because they do aspire
Throws down one mountain to cast up a higher.

my distressed lord, even such our griefs are; Here they're but felt, and seen with mischief's eyes,

26-30. This being 'aside' it seems probable that the prose may be here intended to mark the distinction between Thaliard's informal soliloquies (as in vv. 1

30

40

10) and his ceremonial addresses. It is therefore retained.

8. mischief's, (apparently) 'misery's.' Steevens proposed mistful, S. Walker misery's.